Borderland

Borderland  —  Loyalty  To  Our  KING

Uranda   100 Mile House, B.C.   October 16, 1947

Our Great Master came into the world and, facing the limitations, the prevailing levels of consciousness, the ceilings, the bigotry and the self-righteousness, and above all, the unresponsiveness of the world, He carried through to Victory. It remains for us, and for all who are willing to give consideration to the Way, the Truth and the Life, to prove our allegiance to our KING by likewise carrying through to Victory. Under the governments of this world much is accomplished in the name of patriotism, much is made of the point of loyalty — and that is well; but, when we accept the proffered citizenship in the Kingdom of God on earth, so that we begin to fulfill those specifications that He set down by which we might prove that we are in the world but not of it, there is the necessity of our recognizing loyalty to our KING, and our daily lives should prove our patriotism in His Kingdom. All too often individuals who claim to have accepted our KING are inclined to act as if personal considerations were of primary moment when they consider the problems and the choices that come before them. For the cause of country, human beings quite willingly relinquish many personal considerations in time of danger in relationship to enemy action. You may say that, contained within this willingness to so function is the primary factor of man's most fundamental urge — the urge of self-preservation — and we would acknowledge that such is the case. However, the prince of this world is the enemy of our KING and of His Kingdom and, although human beings, generally speaking, seem to be so blind to the fact, the true recognition of the urge of self-preservation should certainly induce loyalty to the Prince of Peace.

We know that efforts to get, in relationship to Eternal Realities, always fail. If the individual tries to be a citizen of the Kingdom in order to satisfy his urge of self-preservation, he will fail. Nevertheless, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on Him might not perish but have everlasting life”. God gave His only begotten Son in the Focalized Expression or Manifestation of Jesus on earth, and also in His provision that the One Christ Body should continue on earth. As it was essential then that there be a recognition of Jesus the Christ, it is essential now, but it is also essential now that there be a recognition of the One Christ Body on earth. Only by believing in the One Christ Body on earth can any individual truly accept Jesus Christ, and it is only through believing on the only begotten Son of God that any can hope to experience that Fulfillment that they might not perish but have everlasting Life. Therefore, the urge of self-preservation is certainly recognized. Those who think that they can believe on Jesus Christ and not believe on the One Christ Body on earth but delude themselves and fall into the snare of the serpent. But that patriotism to the Christ Kingdom, that loyalty to our KING, is something that must be given with the whole heart, gladly, joyously and not as one who would bargain with God. The Gift of Eternal Life is given; protection against the prince of this world is given and provided by our KING; but loyalty is not something that is purchased.

In man-made war in the world, there are usually professional soldiers, men who sell their services and their allegiance for a consideration. Those who think to be professional soldiers under the Banner of our KING are due for disappointment and disillusionment. He does not accept the services of any such. Those who promise allegiance for the consideration of Eternal Life will not be heard. Patriotism and loyalty are the natural, spontaneous products that spring forth in the heart and life of the individual who loves his country and his king. If we Love our KING, and we Love our Country, then loyalty and patriotism are spontaneously there, having their influence every moment of every day, in relationship to every question, conditioning our attitudes in the face of every problem. Those who claim loyalty in one breath and then insist on viewpoints in relationship to problems that arise or choices that must be made, that the consideration shall be on a purely personal basis, are giving the lie to their own claims. Personal considerations are never primary factors in the face of true loyalty and patriotism. We recognize and appreciate, in this outer world, loyalty to one's government, patriotism to one's country. These are things that carry the Current of Nobility, but the governments of this outer world although they are essential with things as they are, cannot offer the blessings or provide the joys and satisfactions that are to be found in the Kingdom that is ruled by the Prince of Peace. Nevertheless, if any undertakes to give his allegiance, his loyalty and patriotism in return for these blessings and joys and satisfactions, as if he would bargain with God, he will surely fail.

When we cross the line from one country to another in this world, our citizenship has to be recognized in relationship to such border crossings. There are many individuals in the world today — thousands upon thousands of them — who would like to cross the border from the place where they are, to some other country, who, by reason of conditions or restrictions imposed, cannot do so. The aftermath of the recent war brought into focus the problem of displaced persons in Europe, for instance — human beings who would like to cross the boundary line into some other country, some country where, for the moment at least, it seems that they cannot enter. We have, in relationship to our Ministry, the problem of assisting those who would become citizens of the Christ Kingdom to cross the boundaries into the Kingdom. There is a boundary line. Tens of thousands move toward that boundary line — and the world calls them good. Some reach the boundary line and decide to camp there, or to return back to the places from whence they came. A few are willing to accept the conditions of entry into the Kingdom. Yet, all who will come find that the Way is opened before them if they will but let it be so. The problems of development in the Spiritual sense are, essentially, the problems of crossing that boundary line, so that the individual is no more of the world, although he is in it; and, crossing that boundary line, the individual finds that he cannot penetrate to the open freedom of the Heart of the Kingdom until he passes through what we might call a Borderland.

In this Borderland the individual begins to truly comprehend the meaning of the Master's Words, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love, one to another”. In this Borderland the individual learns the customs and the language of the people of the Kingdom. In this Borderland the individual proves his loyalty to our KING, and by his life he reveals as to whether or not he is truly a Patriot of the Kingdom. In this Borderland the individual must establish the facts as to whether or not he believes in the only begotten Son of God on earth, and there is absolutely no way by which any may enter on a basis of deception. Some undertake to deceive, as a conscious act or a consciously determined course of action; others undertake to deceive unconsciously because they have deceived themselves, and because they are trying to carry the methods and customs of the outer world into the Kingdom. It cannot be done. No one, under any circumstance, can pass beyond this Borderland into the Kingdom on earth until he has learned to be true to God, true to his KING, true to his Country, true to himself, true to his brother man. If one loves one's KING and one's Country more than life itself, he is not going to pose personal considerations as being of primary importance in his attitude toward problems in his expression of choices as they arise in daily life.

At the present time we are working in that Borderland. To varying degrees you have ascended the pleasant slopes of the range of hills that is to be found in this Borderland, and from such vantage points as you have attained, you have looked into the Kingdom, so to speak, you have glimpsed some of the Glory, you have felt something of the Peace and known something of the Joy, you have experienced something of the satisfaction and the wonder of Being which are known in the Kingdom. It is impossible for anyone to slip in by disguising himself to make himself appear to be something that he is not. Each must come just as he is, willing to become a citizen of the Christ Kingdom, willing to learn the manners and customs, willing to learn the language, willing to be cleansed and purified and made Whole, willing to let the outer mind be stilled, willing to let the great calm be a Reality in the feeling realm.

He who looks back overmuch to the kingdom of the prince of this world will find himself moving outward from the Borderland and slipping back across the boundary into the realm of the prince of death. He whose eyes are steadfastly set upon that of true citizenship in the Kingdom cannot be turned aside by conditions or circumstances or by what any may think or say or do. Such an one is not looking for excuse to turn back. This gives a key to attitudes that are made manifest with respect to the obstacles that appear in the path. He who is looking for excuses to turn back always finds them, even in the Borderland, but he whose eyes are steadfastly set upon Kingdom will accept no excuses. Obstacles do not suggest that he cannot get through; obstacles simply raise the question, “How can I get through or around over, because get around or through or over I must and will, in the Name of my KING”. Those who turn back under any pretext whatsoever, because of any excuse or because of obstacle or for anything else that may be called a reason, are utterly unworthy of citizenship in the Kingdom, for those who are worthy do not see excuses when they see obstacles; they do not see reasons for turning back when they are faced with problems; they only see an opportunity to prove that they Love their KING and their Country.

Our Ministry is to those who come to the Borderland and to those who are passing through the Borderland. Those who do not, willingly and of themselves, come to the Borderland are beyond our range of Ministry. Those who cross back out of the Borderland into the world are beyond our range of Ministry. Our Ministry begins at the Border. Our Ministry is to those who would cross the Border and who would pass through the Borderland. For the time being, we simply are not concerned, from the standpoint of individuals who are on the other side of the Border. Each will, in season, be given his opportunity if he remains true to the inherent longing within himself to find fulfillment in relationship to the things of God, but, for the present, our Ministry is at the Border and in the Borderland. Those who think to gain some point for themselves or to benefit in some fashion, by placing personal considerations first in relationship to their problems and their choices, are only closing the gates in front of themselves. They gain utterly and absolutely nothing. Such action brings loss always.

Once the individual has stepped across the Border into the Borderland, every thought, every word, every feeling, every deed, reveals something as to where one's allegiance rests. If it is to our KING, to the Christ Kingdom, if it is to the Banner of the Prince of Peace, then it will be revealed through thought and word and feeling and deed — but, if allegiance still rests with the prince of this world, it will likewise be revealed. No matter how hard any may try, he cannot learn the language of the Kingdom while he retains an attitude of allegiance to the banner of the prince of this world. It is essential that the individual should learn the language and the customs of the Kingdom, and these things cannot be learned except as the individual gives full, one-pointed, loyal Response to the KING. When one has his heart set on the Kingdom he never thinks of anything that may arise as a possible excuse for turning back. He sees all such things as opportunities to prove his allegiance to his KING.

O LORD of Lords and KING of Kings, we thank Thee that it is so, IN the Christ. Aum-en.

Martin — It certainly emphasizes the fact of the futility of attempting to delude oneself, that everything that is hidden is revealed in due season; and also with respect to the Ministry, you mentioned that the Ministry related to those who expressed a willingness, or indicated a willingness, to cross the Border into the Borderland, and to those who are in the Borderland, moving in the right direction. I was thinking of that with respect to the Expansion Program. That which is offered the world in that Program should, properly, then, be designed or presented as that which is needful to cause the individual to recognize that it is possible to cross the Border, and that there is something on the other side of the Border, that the subsequent Ministry, after there is sufficient Response to draw the person across the Border, may provide that which is necessary to move through the Borderland.

Uranda — Very well put, and very true.

Kathy — I was just thinking that this Service certainly emphasizes the necessity of maturity on all planes of Being, because if some immaturity is maintained and carried forward without releasing it, then some day that immaturity is going to meet its waterloo, and there might be a little purging process, but if that little immaturity could be purged in the Truth of "all things working together to perfection for those who love and serve the Lord", then peace should permeate the consciousness.

Uranda — Very beautiful expression.

I feel and recognize and acknowledge before God our KING the meditations of your hearts as you consider these things, and the solemnity which contains joy as you enter into a deeper realization of the Way, the Truth and the Life. It is in living that we prove these things. It is not by doing deeds that one can enter in, but when entering in one does the deeds that reveal the spirit of his Being, and as we maintain a focalized recognition of our KING and of our Country, the spirit of our living must surely shine forth to encourage all of those who are earnestly moving forward on their pilgrimage to the Promised Land, that the weary ones may be given strength, that the hesitant ones may be given courage, that the doubting ones may have their minds stilled, until they shall be able to hear the Spirit speak. When human beings have noisy minds and hearts they cannot hear the Spirit speak. They may hear with their ears but they understand not; they may see with their eyes but they comprehend not. The turmoils of the feeling realm must be calmed, the waves must be stilled and the clamoring of the mind must be stilled, so that the Word may be heard and so that the Spirit of the Word may be felt, and then there is comprehension and understanding; and then it is seen that the Way is open, then it is recognized that the Truth is present and then it is realized that the Life is a Reality NOW.

© Emissaries of Divine Light

Of Supreme Importance

Of  Supreme  Importance

from  The Seed

Martin Cecil   May 5, 1974

Each year in the springtime the reality of resurrection is portrayed; and while this is recognized, and more or less taken for granted by human beings, they do not usually see it as possibly relating to themselves. First of all, except on a very extended basis they do not see resurrection as being particularly necessary. However, we have come to recognize that here is the immediate divine purpose insofar as man is concerned. So often people have spoken of the inscrutable purposes of God. These are, in fact, not at all inscrutable; there's nothing incomprehensible about them; just that man should be moved from the state of a dying soul to that of a living soul. How this might be done may be perhaps incomprehensible to human beings, but as attitudes change it becomes easy to see and understand what is to occur and the means by which it occurs. Let us not be hoodwinked into this foolish view of the inscrutability of the purposes of God. It may have seemed this way to most because there has been a stubborn refusal to allow the purposes of God to be achieved in human experience; and if they are not achieved in human experience, then human beings don't know much about them. But it is not because they could not know much about them; merely because they refuse to let them be achieved.

From the divine standpoint there has been a certain amount of maneuvering over the ages to prepare the soil, so to speak, for the achievement of these essential purposes. Various things have worked out in all parts of the world, both in the orient and the Occident, that finally somehow a setting might adequately be prepared so that the ultimate achievement could be brought to pass, the achievement which brings man again into the state of the living soul. Various patterns of religion were developed in human consciousness correlating with the preparation of the ground. There is, for instance, what was offered through the life of the Buddha; there is the record with respect to Krishna. Out of these and other specific events and people something was achieved in the consciousness of human beings to prepare the setting, so that finally it all might be brought to point and the required task completed. We need to see all these things with respect to human experience as relating to this purpose in a more or less general sense. But, obviously, when it can be brought toa final focus, there is the event of supreme importance. It's all very well to cultivate the garden and have the seedbed as it should be in the spring, but it doesn't mean too much until the seeds are sown. Then, of course, there is the requirement for the necessary climate so that the seeds may germinate and grow. Finally, because of this, the harvest may come.

People have become very wrapped up in the cultivation of the soil. There are numerous religious approaches made, and have been made all down through the ages, which simply related to this matter of preparing the setting within the scope of human consciousness so that the required seed could be planted. When the seed is planted, then the prior cultivation has reached a point of fulfilment and is not necessary anymore. If one were to continue to cultivate the garden after the seeds had been sown there wouldn't be much of a garden. This is just about what has been happening in the world. People cling to their traditions and their awareness of spiritual things, such as they are, imagining that their particular approach is about the only one.

Of course the sowing of the true seeds actually occurred at the time that Jesus was on earth, and this has subsequently tended to make those who call themselves Christians somehow feel superior to everybody else. But apparently nobody really understood what had happened, and the seed which should have been planted was put in a glass case, insofar as Christianity was concerned, so that everybody could come and look at it: This is the seed! Of course, a seed in a glass case is not likely to germinate; it must be planted in the right season, in the proper soil, when the climate makes germination rightly possible.

Now, there are those who may take the attitude that Jesus never existed. Well, whether He existed or not He certainly came into the consciousness of mankind; and that, after all, is the point, isn't it? We have noted the preparation that was specifically made before His coming, through the Israelites of old. And this might have obviated His coming, at least in the way He came, if that opportunity had become specific for the world. But it disintegrated, scattered, never adequately came to point so as to allow something to evolve out of it. However, what did remain provided the setting when Jesus was born into the world — or into the consciousness of men. And He was under the necessity, because of the previous failure, to refocalize the approach, bring it together again, and establish a new cycle that's been called, at least in one of its aspects, the New Testament. But here again, by reason of the lack of response, there was another failure on the part of human beings to recognize, appreciate and accept what it was that was being offered. Incidentally, that recognition, appreciation and acceptance has been peculiarly lacking ever since. Something has been clothed in the concepts of men, but the truth has certainly not been known. However, this one man undertook to allow all that was required of the human race to be brought to focus in Himself, and He moved through the cycle, from level to level in the vibratory patterns of consciousness, by which a living soul was once more established as a reality on earth.

This was the seed which should permit the plant subsequently to grow. All that was essential for the design of the plant was present in the seed. This is so with respect to seeds as we understand them, isn't it? When He was on earth our Master spoke of the mustard seed, a very small seed which grows into quite a large plant. But one would not recognize the form of the plant by looking at the seed. At one point, according to the record, He Himself commented on this; and these words are from the 12th Chapter of John: "The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified." There is a peculiar idea in the consciousness of many people about this, imagining that He was somehow glorified by being hung on a cross. The glorification was simply the return to the state of the living soul, the living soul which was consequent upon what has been called the resurrection man restored in the seed form. The essences were all present by reason of the experience of this one man. He moved through what was totally necessary, insofar as mankind was concerned, to experience the state of the living soul, so that in Him were the essences, the seed essences, which when allowed to germinate would permit the growth of the plant, or the tree — the tree of life, indeed — on earth, man restored to the state of the living soul.

There has been a lot of talk about salvation, and human beings couldn't see it anywhere, so they thought it must happen after they're dead. It should be fairly obvious, to anyone who honestly looks at the situation, that the place where salvation is needed is right here on earth. They even claim that it's all right in heaven, wherever heaven is; no salvation needed there. It's needed right here — and not some inscrutable process but the actual experience of a change of consciousness in human beings, so that they cease to be identified with the state of a dying soul and become identified with the state of a living soul.

This has seemed to be very mysterious to human beings, simply because they were unwilling to experience it. If one could retain the state of the dying soul and convince oneself that one would become a living soul after one was dead, then that was a happy ending. But if one begins to look at the thing with a little common sense there may be the recognition that changes are possible in human experience on earth now, and if they have not occurred it is simply because there has been an unwillingness to let them occur; there has been a won't attitude. This has often been translated in human consciousness as a can't attitude, but I don't think there is rightly any such word, really. It's always won't.

"The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified." Maybe He was speaking specifically of Himself at that point, but how about this hour as the hour which has come, that the Son of man should be glorified, not merely the seed but the whole plant?

"Verily, verily, I say unto you," — and here He was emphasizing something—"Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." Now we need to look at this word "die" because there is a very peculiar misconception in the minds of most people. If you take a seed and put it in the ground, does it really die? It certainly passes away. But it germinates, doesn't it? Out of the seed comes the evidences of life — the life is released as the seed germinates, and what was before passes away. One might see this in relationship to Jesus, because human beings have been inclined to keep Him hanging on a cross. The cross, as Christianity has envisioned it, relates to crucifixion. And the seed has been preserved in that sort of a form. We still have a lot of crosses around. There will be no cross in our new chapel, incidentally, at least as a symbol of crucifixion. The seed rightly passes away when the plant grows. Of course, if you refuse to let the seed germinate, then there it sits.

What Jesus brought and offered to the world has been more or less isolated and set in a special place so that people could look at it — from way below, of course, so that they could say to themselves, "That is so exalted that we could never be expected to participate in anything of that sort. We're just sinners here, and we can't help but sin. So we're going to remain sinners and just look at Jesus up there" — wherever. The seed has been preserved in its glass case. If something has grown and developed that has been called Christianity it had very little to do with the seed. It has something to do with various ideas that certain ones had about the seed — particularly Peter and Paul — but the seed itself was set apart, remained alone. That's right, isn't it? Of course, there were those who said, "Well, you have to accept the seed as your personal savior," whatever that meant. An idea about someone was to be the personal savior, and a peculiar picture was developed in this way of someone who was called Jesus, having very little relatedness to the truth of the matter. So, actually, what was preserved was a false seed.

The true seed did fall into the ground, and has been present in the soil. We have recognized the setting of the Tone long ago, and now that Tone has really persisted, even though covered up with all this crust, until eventually the climate was such that it might germinate and begin to grow and reveal the form — which would not be the form of the seed. You can't tell what the tree is going to be merely by looking at the seed. If you have had experience with seeds you may be able to tell that way, but the tree isn't just a big seed. The oak tree isn't an enlarged acorn. It's something different, isn't it? And when the true plant grows you can forget about the seed, right? The very fact that this seed has been preserved is indication that the true seed has never grown, because once the seed dies in this sense there is the evidence of the growth to reveal what is right and proper by reason of this creative process. There is no more necessity to try to preserve the seed. Of course, as we have seen in this particular instance, the seed that has been preserved hasn't been a true seed anyway; it's been a human concept about someone called Jesus. That wasn't the reality at all, just someone's idea; and a lot of human beings have developed ideas on this score, but they've usually been based in some sort of prior concept developed by somebody else.

We have a picture up on the wall here that is someone's idea of Jesus. All it is, insofar as we're concerned, is a reminder of the true seed, that we might be concerned with letting that true seed germinate and reveal what the plant is, what the true vine is. And one could never tell what the true vine would be merely by analyzing the seed. This is just about what has been done, hasn't it? There has been an analysis of a human concept of what the seed is, and out of that has sprang what is called Christianity. But to provide the material by which the germinating seed may begin to take its true form, that has not been allowed except as it is beginning to emerge in this present setting; not just here but wherever there are those who are willing to relinquish concepts of the seed and get on with the job of letting the plant appear.

Clearly it was apparent to Jesus, at the time, that human beings would tend to do this sort of thing, but He sought to establish a reminder through what has subsequently been called the communion service, so that somebody somewhere along the line might wake up to the fact that the plant needed to grow. But this again became a method of preserving someone's idea about the seed: "We're going to swallow this bread and drink this wine, and somehow or other this is going to cause the false seed to germinate." No. It may remind people that a seed was planted, and that when there is the right climate it will germinate and grow. Looking at it in this way, obviously the right climate is important; and it isn't the right climate if human beings are looking at a seed — the wrong seed, incidentally — in the glass case and falling down and worshiping that. That doesn't make even the false seed grow!

So this matter of dying is not death in the usual sense, is it? It's just change. Dying souls need to die if living souls are to appear. You can't have a dying soul and a living soul in the same place at the same time. So the dying soul needs to pass away. In order for the living soul to germinate and grow, the essential requirements were fulfilled in the person of Jesus. He moved all the way through the whole creative cycle. In Him was the seed, then; the stage was set for what should creatively be the experience in human beings subsequently. Well, of course, such a thick dry crust was established on the surface of the soil that the seed has been underneath that crust. But finally, at a weak point in the crust, this germinating seed pushed through its little shoot.

It's interesting, isn't it, that it was really at the weak point, the weak point primarily of Christianity because the emergence is out of that. But where Christianity was strong and beliefs were determined, convictions were sure, that's the strong point, isn't it? That's the crust, and nothing can break through there. Only where there begins to be a little questioning, a little doubting, a little uncertainty that everything that has been said in Christianity was the last word, only so could the plant begin to thrust through the soil, appear above the surface, as something other than the seed. We don't have to try to maintain a human concept about the seed once the seed has germinated. Speaking of the bread and the wine, our Master said, "This do in remembrance of me"; but when you have remembered what it's all about, then you can forget the reminder because something is actually happening. Of course, in the subsequent verses it is made clear here what the word die really referred to: "He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal," being once again identified with a living soul.

A little further on there are these words, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." This has usually been translated as referring to the fact that He was going to be lifted up on a cross. "Look to the cross," they say; look to crucifying the Lord! No, that wasn't at all what He was talking about, although that manifest event related to what was happening in the process by which He was moving all the way through in the cycles of resurrection. It only happened that way because it was imposed by human beings; it needn't have happened in that way; that was the human reaction. But what was really occurring was something else. He Himself said, "Judge not by the appearance." All that human beings have done is judge by the appearance. That's exactly what they have done insofar as Christianity is concerned — a direct contradiction of His specific instructions, "Judge not by the appearance."

"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth…" This could relate to the seed, couldn't it, the seed which falls into the earth and is below the surface, hidden. Except for the One who planted the seed, no one else would know it was there. And finally the seed germinates and grows. There is a creative cycle in this regard. It doesn't all happen instantly. Those who have looked at the portrayal of the true vine have rather imagined that suddenly there it is. No, it grows from a seed. It is an unfoldment of a life form, the form of the living soul which was called man. Presently we have non-man, the dying soul. But man is necessary on earth. The resurrection by which man is once more on earth is the immediate purpose of God. It has been for thousands of years, and finally it is coming to a point of fruition, not by reason of all the antics of human beings in their striving and struggling on earth but in spite of all that.

When we see this it reminds us of the worthlessness of virtually everything in which human beings place value. All the vast and marvelous works of non-man are nothing. What else could non-man produce but nothing? It looks like something, it looks grand to those who judge by the appearance, but the fact is that it is nothing. That's another sort of death, isn't it? So the seed germinates and grows because it was planted, because it fell into the earth, because the Tone was set, because the essences of all that was needed for the growth of the subsequent plant were present in the seed. That is indeed a marvelous thing, that it could have been established by one person who was truly alone. In spite of everything that could have been thrown at Him He did it. And because of this we certainly have a deep love and respect and reverence for the One who did it. But we recognize that what He did only has meaning as the seed germinates and the plant grows. And if we do have that love and reverence and respect, we couldn't possibly fail to allow the plant to grow, because if we did fail, then it would be tantamount to saying, "Let the seed rot in the ground!" And that is just about what human beings have been saying all this time — "Let it rot in the ground! We like this seed we have in this glass case and we're going to worship that." And if there is one thing that has been rife in the world it is idolatry. There are so many good people out there who are out-and-out idolaters. It's not the right thing to go around telling everybody that, but we need to know it ourselves for ourselves.

What was done on earth nineteen centuries ago is of supreme importance because the seed, with all the essences present in it, was planted; and, by all means, it is the deepest longing of our hearts to let it grow, simply because we love the One who planted the seed. And we wouldn't let all that go for nothing — it won't — but individually, for ourselves, we can make it go for nothing. In the total outworking it won't go for nothing, but from the individual standpoint there are lots of people who make it go for nothing while claiming at the same time that they love Jesus. That's blasphemy, isn't it? We begin to see things as they really are and not as human beings fool themselves into believing; because only the truth makes free: "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." And that is all consequent upon continuing in His Word, continuing in the Tone which He set and allowing the germination of the seed so that the seed itself may pass away and the plant be revealed on earth, the plant which is the true Son of man. He provided the seed essences in this regard, but the Son of man needs to be known once again on earth; that is, man, the living soul.

"And I, if I be lifted up … will draw all men unto me" — lifted up from the earth, the germinated seed appearing above the surface of the earth, revealing what it really is. We can describe it — the true vine, the tree of life — but what is it? Only as it takes form may we know. It's not a matter for idle speculation; it's a matter of sharing the action by which it happens, because there is attunement with the essences that are present in the seed. And those essences emerge in a differentiated, expanded manifestation in human experience as there is a willingness that they should, as there is a refusal to stand in the way and prevent that unfoldment. There is the necessity of losing what human beings imagine life to be, of dying in that sense, that there may be the experience of resurrection, of movement into the state of the living soul. This occurs inevitably in and through and for those who are willing that it should and who do not think their human values are more important than the values which appear when they participate in the living process.

The human values include all the things in which human beings have put value, and of course highest among these, presumably, are the values of Christianity as it has been understood, or maybe of Buddhism, or Hinduism, or Judaism — anything. These are the values that human beings so desperately thrust forward: "Keep these values here." That's the crust, that's what prevents the seed from germinating and growing. One must lose one's life. What life? The life related to the values that one has known. Letting go of those values, an individual imagines that he is facing a yawning chasm, nothing. But the True Tone is present, the seed is germinating, the nature of its form is inherent in the seed. As there are those who are willing to let this occur in their own experience they find their life; there it is. But no one can find his true life without letting go of the false life — "Well, I'm going to hang on to a little bit of my false life now in case there is no true life over here." But a person can hang on to that false life a little too long, you know. Then it's proven out that it is false life, because life cannot die. It is the nature of life to be alive; life is eternal. So this false condition of dying souls which human beings experience does not acquaint them with life. Life is in the Son of man; that is, in the growth and development of that form of the living soul on earth. And it is to this, surely, that any intelligent person would give himself. But it takes more than intelligence; it takes a yielding in love.

Emissaries of Divine Light

Represent the Truth

Always  Keep  the  Holy  Place  Holy

from

Represent the Truth

Martin Cecil   April 21, 1974

My particular responsibility is to represent what is true and right in all of you, and many others, to the Lord. Perhaps this representation on my part can assist you to understand what your responsibility is. We accept people as they are. This, after all, is the only way that it is possible to do. We cannot take the attitude that such and such a person will have to conform to our views as to how he should behave before we are willing to accept him. Though we may accept people as they are, we only represent what is true and right in those concerned — we see no necessity at all to represent the things that are wrong. In this way we maintain the holiness of our own beings, and we make possible the reality of the holy place on earth.

This representation of rightness relates always to the present moment. Whatever it is that comes to point in the present moment as the specific responsibility for us to handle provides us with the means of right representation. If the present moment, and the circumstance of it, is ignored, then there is no right representation present in that moment. Regardless of what it is that the responsibility may be, that is the one in which there needs to be right representation. It is, as it were, that we proclaim, “This is the way.” What is the behavior which you accept for yourself in the circumstance of the moment? This indicates the nature of your representation. It isn't a matter of trying to see the things that are right and true in people; it isn't a matter of shoveling away the manure, so to speak, so that you can find the treasure underneath. It is simply a matter of providing right representation yourself in the moment. Then what is represented by you will find a chord of attunement in somebody else. That somebody else may be immediately present with you, or may be a thousand miles away — it makes no difference. Those who find that chord of attunement with your representation of rightness will be drawn to you.

If you are doing this and are right in the moment, then, in view of the fact that you are a part of a larger body, it may mean that the one who is being drawn to you is drawn to some other part of the body of which you are a part. So there is no looking for results, peering around to see which one is going to be drawn “to me.” This “to me” attitude is the self-centered attitude, isn't it? We do not particularly care where a responding one comes to, as long as he comes to the forming body of which we are a part. But it is right representation in the moment that establishes the point of contact with what is right in somebody else, and if the Tone is sufficiently clear in that other person the drawing power of that Tone will bring him home. This is the way it works, in simple terms, so it emphasizes the importance of the circumstance of the moment. We accept the circumstance of the moment — there is, rightly, no endeavor to escape from it. This requires a certain amount of honesty. All too many people subconsciously seek escape. We have taken note of the various mechanisms in this regard which assert themselves in human experience.

Sometimes the individual will feel too tired to accept the circumstance of the moment. The very fact of seeming tiredness is part of the circumstance of the moment. The thing which the individual should do is another part: How will this be handled? Will there be a representation of tiredness in the situation? A lot of people are feeling that way all over the place, so no doubt we will provide a representation in that regard for many. But that is exactly the wrong representation to provide. If we have begun to accept the responsibility of right representation, we know how to handle a state of affairs where we feel tired, and we do not permit our feelings to govern. We do the thing that needs to be done, in the way that it should be done, with an understanding of what it is we are about, for we are not here to represent human weakness. Most people find that very easy to do, and they justify themselves in various ways. But if we are representing what is true and right in people, we are not representing what is weak and wrong. Most are inclined to take the attitude that if some sort of weakness is being felt that this, while it may be unfortunate, is more or less inevitable because it has been so customary to identify oneself with weakness, thereby representing the weakness. We are here to represent the strength. And if a circumstance arises where there is a sense of weakness, what greater opportunity could there be than to represent strength? If we are feeling very robust, then there's nothing much of weakness to handle, is there? Mind you, there's nothing wrong with a sense of robustness — we have the responsibility of representing strength.

We represent what is strong and right in people. This is an interesting thing. We find ourselves, if we do this, in an assembly — parliament, congress, what have you. We didn't have to campaign; we simply assumed the position of representing what is right in people and were elected. These in fact are the electorate. No one can stop you from being a true representative of the people. You don't need to belong to any politicical party, and you don't need to campaign, in the ordinary sense at least. Your campaign is the correct representation, so that in relationship to every detail of your momentary living experience you represent rightness. And part of the representation of rightness is strength. It is possible to be strong, you know, in seeming weakness. So regardless of the circumstance, regardless of personal feelings, regardless of likes and dislikes, the sole concern is to represent rightness in people.

I have the responsibility of representing what is right in you and in others. I do not care at all to represent the things that are wrong. This makes me your representative of rightness. And you didn't elect me. And yet, if you are content to have the rightness in you represented by me, should there be an election I would be elected. Now, you need to see this in relationship to yourself, because you have the responsibility, individually, of representing rightness in your worlds. I could not represent rightness for you if I took as an excuse for not doing so the fact that there was some wrongness present in you. Neither can you take such an attitude with respect to those who people your world. Just because you might think there was something wrong inside someone — and no doubt there is — that's really none of your business, is it? Not if you are a representation of what is right. That's your business. And so, regardless of what may be wrong in anyone, anywhere, you still have the responsibility of representing rightness. The acceptance of that responsibility is what permits the reality of a priesthood to be a fact on earth.

Some people have found it easy, apparently, to acknowledge the rightness that was made evident in Jesus. And so they say, “Look to Jesus to represent your rightness.” But Jesus is not around to provide that representation. Where are those who will accept the responsibility of themselves doing it? This is something that is open to anyone. It has very little to do with orthodox religion as such; it has nothing whatsoever to do with politics. And yet, anyone, anywhere, at any time, may accept the position of the representative of what is right in people. And those in whom that rightness is strong enough will become your constituents.

The Priesthood, as symbolized by the tribe of Levi of old, was supposed to represent to God what was right in the Twelve Tribes. It certainly wasn't their business to represent what was wrong and bring it into the holy place. To come into the holy place it is necessary that one should be sanctified. One is sanctified by the truth. That sanctification takes place because the individual simply and solely represents the truth that is present wherever it is present in people. And that representation is not just a momentary thing, as though one were to say, “It's time now to go into the holy place, so I'll pick up my true representation and go marching in.” Representation relates to living.

My representation of what is right in you is not merely a matter of words in a service. If this was all there was to it it would be pretty thin, wouldn't it? You would have no sense of any substance to it; it would be a veneer. I doubt if you'd pay any attention. Of course, even though it does have substance, sometimes you don't pay any attention anyway. But the substance relates to living, and living relates to the present moment — out of which we never get. Can you take a day off? I'd advise you not to try it! Living is of the moment, the ever-present moment, no time off, no moment when you do not have the responsibility of representing what is right and true in people anywhere and everywhere. You don't have to pick this person out or that person out; you let them pick themselves out in response to your representation. You do not have to explain what the truth is, particularly; just represent it, just be it in relationship to the thing of the moment. And you can't pick and choose in that regard. Whatever the thing of the moment is, that is your point of reference in representation — whatever it is that arises, whether it's something anticipated or something which seems suddenly to appear. There is a representation of rightness into the sudden appearance; there's a representation of rightness into what is anticipated. The question arises always: “Is it a right person who is handling the circumstance of the moment?”

How often you have found yourself representing something that wasn't so right, maybe an attitude of resentment, an attitude of jealousy, an attitude of you-name-it, which is common in human experience. This is customary for human beings, to represent to each other the wrong things and, consequently, to destroy each other, to tear each other down. We are concerned not with the descending aspect of the creative cycle, but with the ascending — to hook people up with what is moving up. And that is what we are here to represent. We may say that this is vibrational hookup; we're not going to hammer people over the head and say, “Come this way.” We simply provide the essential Tone of Life which is generated by reason of right representation.

The words were written, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” How? By representing what is true and right. The voice of one crying in the wilderness is heard by those wandering in the wilderness, not those who are self-satisfied in the land of Egypt. This is rightly your voice, heard through every circumstance because you in fact are preparing the way of the Lord and making His paths straight — the way by which human beings who are willing may come back to the Lord.

There are many who wander in the wilderness, who are betwixt and between, so to speak. They may have one foot in Egypt still, but they don't really know where the Promised Land is. And they wander, and they wonder, in the wilderness. They may have emerged out of Egypt; they may still be clinging to certain aspects of Egypt, even as the children of Israel did after they were in the wilderness. “Oh, for those fleshpots!” Those who wander in the wilderness are more likely to hear the sound of the True Tone than those who are satisfied in Egypt; and hearing that Tone, because there are those who consistently provide it in the moment, they may be gathered together unto one place.

When the point of orientation is available, and it is there constantly, there are those who will come home. You do not have to try to persuade people. If we feel under the necessity of trying to persuade people it is probably because we are aware that we are not offering the True Tone in any adequate sense. So persuasion seems to be an acceptable substitute for the True Tone — trying to convince people. But a person doesn't come home on the basis of that. Sometimes people can be seemingly brought close by this means but, if the True Tone isn't present and there isn't an adequate response to that True Tone, the person who seemed to be convinced will depart. It isn't the fancy ideas of the human mind that bring people home or keep them in the vicinity of home when they approach. They never come home on that basis, actually. It is what is moving in the heart where the True Tone sounds. If the heart is too impure, no matter how persuasive you may be, the individual won't come home.

Now, the Priesthood are always concerned to maintain the holiness of the holy place, so that nothing that defiles or works abomination or makes a lie can be represented by the one who aspires to the Priesthood — he keeps the holy place holy. By the way, where is the holy place? Just exactly where you are in the present moment. So often the holy place is looked upon as being somewhere else; perhaps: “When I get through the day's work I'll be able to have a quiet time somewhere and enter into the holy place.” And what will you bring into it if this is your view of the holy place? — all the unholiness of the day? If you do, it won't be a holy place, will it? The holy place is nowhere else but in the present moment, in relationship to the circumstance of the moment. There can seem to be some pretty unholy circumstances. Does that mean that the holy place is out? It shouldn't, if you are there. If you're there representing what is right and true, then the holy place is there and the abominations cannot enter in.

Let no excuse cause you to allow abominations to enter into your holy place. Do not imagine that you can help others by becoming involved in their abominations so as to try to make them believe that you're not so different from what they are. In such case you sure won't be! The point is that they need to be different from what they are, and you provide the evidence of what that difference should be. Always keep the holy place holy because it is the place where you dwell. And you will never invite anything into it that is not holy, that is not right, that is not true, and you will never leave your holy place to go into somebody else's unholy place. This begins to indicate the nature of a Priest or Priestess in the Tabernacle of God — each one represents what is true and what is right and therefore holy.

It is my particular responsibility, now shared increasingly by others, to represent what is true and right in the Priesthood, that the veil between the holy place and the Holy of Holies may constitute no barrier anymore to the Shekinah — the evidence of the presence of the One who dwells. It is my responsibility in this hour to represent what is right and true in you. I would that all that is not right and true should be relinquished. But even if it is not, I accept whatever you are as a symbol of what you should be, and I represent what you should be. What is not true or right is always excluded from the holy place insofar as I'm concerned.

On occasion some of you may have been keenly aware of this when something that didn't belong was brought close to me. In such case it's almost as though there were a wall. Some, on occasion, have felt rather badly because of this. They came up against a wall. I've been judged and blamed because of this, or sometimes the individual will feel very badly — there must be something terribly wrong with the person concerned. Then there is indulgence in self-centeredness; weeping and wailing — “Oh dear. Woe is me.” Either judgment or such self-centeredness is quite unnecessary. Just recognize that there was something present that didn't belong, that's all. As you become increasingly aware of the True Tone you will know immediately what it was, too. You don't have to figure it out. Incidentally, this is the only way you can know what it is that doesn't belong. You can't tell by the judgments of the mind, which is inclined to say, “Well this is pretty good.” Some of the pretty good things stink. In fact, if you try to bring them along, try to push them into the holy place, you'll come up against the wall. Thus far, and no further.

Now, when you are true to the Tone yourself, that Tone will operate the same way through you, and others will, on occasion, come up against the wall in you. But you understand what it is — there is no condemnation. Some people get headaches butting their heads up against the wall, thoroughly convinced that what they are bringing is really needed in the kingdom, when it doesn't belong there at all. We need to learn to keep the holy place holy. We are only able to do this when we are keenly aware of the true nature of the Tone. The true nature of the Tone appears perhaps, in whatever measure, in a service such as this. It appears on the basis of whatever rightness there is available to represent, so it will appear in this unique manner on the basis of all who are here present. In another setting it will appear in another way. But the True Tone is always harmonious with itself, no matter how it may take form in any particular setting, though it does take form in a unique way with respect to the setting. This makes it impossible for someone to say, “Well, I know what the Tone is on the basis of my observation of the way it appeared in that setting. So I'm going to take this Tone now and I'm going to blare out in the same way wherever I am. I know what the Tone is. I don't need any more understanding in this regard. I know what the Tone is.” But the Tone is peculiar to the setting even though it's harmonious to itself in every setting.

The most vital thing, insofar as what is unfolding in the world now is concerned, is that there should be those who have a keen ear for the Tone. The Tone being reproduced sometimes gets off-key — then it is that others are being invited to be off-key. Those who have already some keenness of hearing will immediately be aware that it is off-key. Then with others there is the tendency to judge the off-key tone which they have touched as though it were the True Tone, emerging through this particular focalization, when it isn't at all. Woe unto those who offer an off-key tone as though it were the True Tone. So, how important it is that one find that True Tone, to become keenly aware of it.

Now, it appears in a service, but don't imagine that what is said in the service is the Tone. It is what is being conveyed by what is said that is the Tone. And if you don't perceive what it is that is being conveyed you don't perceive the Tone; you may hear the words and you may say, “Oh, those are wonderful words. Now I'll go out and I'll reproduce those words” — and we've had a lot of jargon appearing on that basis — but it isn't the genuine thing at all. It doesn't indicate what the Tone is. It may multiply human concepts pro and con, but what is the Tone? How much of the Tone do you think you have heard in what has been offered this evening, for instance? You've heard some words, but the Tone always has more depth to it than what may emerge in any particular service. Because, as has already been indicated, if it is the True Tone, it is a Tone of living, total living, not just the Tone of the momentary service. The Tone may be touched in the service but not yet really known. It comes through the experience of living. And those who begin to touch the Tone must be very cautious that they do not jump to conclusions and try to force or impose something on others before they themselves know what the True Tone really is. It is never a matter of forcing concepts about something on somebody else. You may think your concepts about the truth are better than someone else's concepts about the truth, but who's going to judge in the matter? It's not the concepts that count; it's the Tone of Living, the real Tone of Living.

The real Tone cannot be experienced by anyone who does not dwell in the holy place. To dwell in the holy place, what is right and true must be represented in the circumstance of the moment, in relationship to whatever is to be done or not done in the moment. How is the situation handled? By a true representative of what is right or by a representative of something that is wrong? That's always the question in the moment. And human beings have such firmly embedded habits with respect to representing what is wrong that it takes some real alertness to handle the momentary circumstance as it should be handled by a true person who is a real representative of what is right. And when what is right is represented for human beings consistently, those in whom that rightness is sufficiently strong will come home in spite of themselves. In fact, it could be said that you couldn't keep them away. There's no great task to bringing home those who are ready to come home — and that isn't everybody by any means — those who are ready to come home, when the right Tone is consistently there.

“I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” Here is the True Tone. Let that be your voice in the wilderness. We may abide in the holy place when our representation is true and right. And through the holy place Shekinah emerges, the True Tone is released, and the fact that the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof, the world and they that dwell there-in, is made evident.

© Emissaries of Divine Light

The Sovereign Soul

 

The sovereign soul

Who lives self-governed and at peace,

Is centred in himself, taking alike

Pleasure and pain; heat, cold; glory and shame.

He is the Faithful and Illumined One, glad

With joy of light and truth; dwelling safely

In the Central Way, with senses subjugate.

By this sign is he known:

Being of equal grace to comrades, friends,

Chance-comers, strangers, lovers, enemies,

Aliens and kinsmen; loving all alike,

Evil or good.

Within the Hedge he lives;

Restraining heart and senses, silent, calm,

Let him express Reality, showing

Pureness of soul, abiding on the Rock,

Tranquil in spirit, free of fear, intent

On Me, expressing thought of Me.

That Faithful One, so devoted, so controlled,

Comes to the peace beyond — My peace, the peace

Of highest Heaven!

Bhagavad Gita 

from

Extending  the  Hedge

Martin Cecil   1966

 

The hedge relates to control. Only that is included within the hedge that is under control. When we consider this from our individual viewpoints we may recognize that the reality of our identity is within the hedge, but it does not include very much because, for the most part, that which should be included is not under control. If we assume the position of being what we are in reality, then we are looking forth from the secret place, first of all toward that which constitutes the outer form, the physical body, mind and heart, which is surrounding the hedge. But the hedge is inside and we are inside the hedge. If we can take this position, looking out, then we extend the opportunity to accept control to our physical bodies, minds and hearts, that which is called the soul.

Whatever responds and yields may be included in the hedge, because it is under control. That's the only way by which anything can be included in the hedge. There is an exactness about this which is absolute too — it is an absolutely exact thing; there is no deviation whatsoever. You don't know what love is until you come through, and you can't get through without passing that flaming sword, coming through the hedge, coming through because there has been an acceptance of control. When we know this for ourselves, then we are in position to extend the control to the soul, so that it may come within the hedge; and coming within the hedge, we may have something to extend beyond into the environment. Let love radiate. The radiation can begin to go forth, and that which comes under control reflects that radiation and we see it. It is something more than control. Control is one of the elements of truth. There is a design present, which is the other element of truth. And there is love, of course, which is inseparable from truth. These are all contained within the hedge. It is a flaming sword — the fire of love and the sword of truth. It is a protection when we are within it. It looks rather a savage thing when we're outside — a flaming sword, for heaven's sake! — but it only seems this way when it is pointed at us. When we stand on the other side we have hold of the handle and it's all right. It turns every way and nothing can pass it that does not accept control, that does not accept the nature of the kingdom. So it is a protection, isn't it? And the further it extends out, the more is contained back of it, the more is enfolded in that protection into which nothing enters that works abomination or makes a lie or defiles. Nothing can get through. Nothing can get through to you when you are within the hedge in conscious identity. The reality is there now, always has been, but we've been so busily involved with the soul that we overlooked the truth of the matter.

 

So let us stand where we belong and see things from that standpoint. And our first view relates to our own soul. The word is, “Come up hither, come inside the hedge, and I will show you things which must be hereafter” — the soul may become aware of that which needs to find expression hereafter. And when we begin to share this attitude and viewpoint, this position, how easy to take responsibility for the soul and for the environment around us. We are protected, and nothing can get to us that would be destructive. It is our desire, in that state, to enfold as much of the environment as possible that will come into the hedge. If we all function correctly, and others stand with us, I wonder how long it would be before the world could be included within the hedge sufficiently so that everything outside of the hedge would cease even to seem to be a threat? Once the hedge reaches a certain point in its expansion, then the available territory for what won't come into the hedge becomes more and more circumscribed. And the things that don't belong in heaven on earth get squeezed out. That can happen with quite a rush when the time comes. But in the meantime we have something to do right at home, right here, because until the soul is included in the hedge none of the environment is going to be, really, because it is through the soul that we work.

© Emissaries of Divine Light