The Secrets Of Ascension

The  Secrets  Of  Ascension

Divine Commission  Anniversary Meditation

Uranda   September 14, 1953  8:00 p.m.

We come to our evening hour in the Anniversary Period of Meditation. We have considered the reality of centering and something of the significance of, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” On this evening of September 14, 1953, let us consider the next step in this Cycle of Illumination.

I have felt the deepening spirit of Meditation in you this day, and you have not been as prone as in some times past to forget the significance of our undertaking. The Meditation of this Anniversary Period is penetrating and permeating every part of your beings. In this connection, let us Meditate on what we might call The Secrets of Ascension. There is that which, to the uninitiated, appears to be contradictory. There is the matter of Ascension, of being lifted up, and there is the matter of letting the things of God come down out of Heaven into the earth. I would like to help you to see these two seemingly different things as being one and the same.

We have recognized that the up of Spiritual Reality is not merely up from the surface of the earth. When we let the things of God come out of the invisible realm into body, mind and heart, coming down from God out of Heaven, we find that the body, the mind and the heart, which receive that which is of God, are lifted up and caused to ascend into a higher vibratory rate of Being without leaving the surface of the earth. In this we have the process that is spoken of as resurrection. In the world consciousness there is the pattern of the dust of dead bodies and the idea that the dust of dead bodies will be gathered together, the moisture content necessary will be secured from somewhere, and, supposedly, in a moment all the graves in all the cemeteries will open and those who have been buried will come popping up out of the ground. Something of this is generally conjured up in the imagination when we speak of resurrection. But we know that we are not talking about the dead bodies in the cemeteries, but that we have reference to those who are Spiritually dead, who are in the houses all across the land. The Master said, “Let the dead bury their dead.” This statement has much significance which has been overlooked. Those who are dead to Reality are the ones who should be allowed to take care of the processes that are deemed to be essential for those who are physically dead.

When we begin to live, to recognize the reality of the resurrection, a new vision begins to take hold. We remember the words, “Behold, I make all things new.” Generally speaking, human beings have thought of their physical bodies in this connection. The physical body would be made new, various things round about, objects perhaps. There may be the vision of a tree or a flower being made new. But, whatever else this term or statement may properly include, it includes your ideas, your concepts, your beliefs. “Behold, I make all things new.” Instead of considering this pattern in relationship to the body, for the moment, the healing of the physical body, let us consider it in relationship to the things of mind and heart. “Behold, I make all things new.”

The process of Ascension, coupled with the process of letting something come down from God out of Heaven, constitutes the resurrection and the life. We look at the Master's Life and Ministry, and hear the words which came from His lips and the sweet sound of His Voice echoing down through the centuries: “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” We see in Him a pattern of Being wherein something was constantly coming down from God out of Heaven into the earth, and we see in Him, His Life, His Ministry, in word and deed, the processes of lifting someone up to a higher level of being, the meeting place in the physical realm of being for that which is ascending and that which is descending. This level of the Divine Estate is not up from the surface of the earth—it is right here where we are. As we learn to truly serve God, we find that we become, individually and collectively, a meeting point where that which is ascending blends with that which is descending out of Heaven from God. As this process takes place—the continued manifestation of Ascension, the continued manifestation of descending Reality—all things in us are made new.

The physical changes in the body are of vital interest and of paramount importance from the standpoint of the human consciousness, and we are not belittling this phase of the outworking, but there is a certain Truth which I have suggested for your meditation on a number of occasions—a certain Truth which needs to be remembered. The physical body, as such, has no choice, but must accept that which is imposed upon it. The physical body, as such, has no choice, but must accept that which is imposed upon it. When we begin to consider the vibratory factors of the resurrection process, and remember the Creator's Words, “Behold, I make all things new,” we see that the first things which should be made new are the ideas, the beliefs, the concepts. And, following, more or less concurrently, the feelings and the attitudes, the patterns of manifestation by which the heart, or emotional nature, reveals itself, must be made new.

Now we recall something else the Master said: “Blessed are the pure in heart; for they they shall see God.” Purity of heart makes it possible for us to see God. It is not a matter of securing some certain results physically that we may see God. It is not by reason of having a physical body pop out of a grave somewhere that we see God. It is not physical change, or movement from this level to some other, that permits us to see God. It is the change of the heart that permits us to see God. “Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God.” “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord, and who shall stand in His Holy Place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.” Action springs from thoughts, beliefs, feelings, attitudes. “He that hath clean hands”—a right pattern of action—“and a pure heart.” Here, then, we see the basic principle that the mind and the heart are of primary importance in reaching a state of being where we ascend into the hill of the Lord.

Now, the Lord has evidently descended to His hill. “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?”—the human pattern. It would appear that the Lord has descended to that hill. Ascension, plus the descending manifestation of something out of Heaven from God. First the mind and then the heart, and the body accepts without choice that which is imposed upon it. Before the heart can be changed or purified, the mind must undergo certain changes. When the mind accepts the Spirit of Truth and lets the human concepts be cast out, or changed, or made new, the limited human idea is made new. Then there begins to be a comprehension of that which is coming down from God out of Heaven. The moment the consciousness of man, his intelligence, is aware of, and meets, that which is coming down from God out of Heaven, it has ascended.

Consider the level of consciousness in most human beings, individuals whose lives are taken up with a pattern of constant idolatry, subject to money, position, material things, the important, so-called practical things. Human beings are subject to those things which they deem to be practical in the world as it is. They are slaves to these supposedly practical things. I am not suggesting that there are no practical things, but I am suggesting that anything that is material cannot be of the greatest possible practical value to us while we are subject to it. If these practical things are to have real value to us, we must have dominion over them; there must be control in relationship to them. So, once we reach a point in mind where we begin to let all things be made new, we stop imagining that the measure of newness must relate primarily to physical things. It will ultimately manifest in relationship to physical things, but human beings who try to let this newness appear are inclined to measure the results on the basis of observable changes in the physical realm, in relationship to their own bodies, in relationship to their affairs, their circumstances. They think they are letting things be made new, and they are watching the physical things, and if the physical things do not change according to their concepts they decide that it simply does not work.

But, once we reach a point where we realize that our physical bodies have no choice but to receive that which is imposed upon them, we are ready to go another step and see that the same is true of all physical substance. Physical substance has no choice but to receive that which is imposed upon it. So, trying to change physical things, in body or environment, defeats the individual. These physical things will change in their season because physical things have no choice but to accept that which is imposed upon them. If physical things are, in a certain pattern, manifesting in a certain fashion, then that manifestation is by reason of that which is imposed upon the physical substance involved. If the physical manifestation does not change, it shows that there has been no change in the nature of that which is being imposed upon the physical substance.

We are not, then, immediately concerned about the changes in the physical substance. We are concerned about changes in the Divinely established machinery by reason of which something is imposed upon physical substance. The machinery by which this imposition takes place is found in the mind and in the emotional nature. But we have found that the emotional nature is not the place where the changes begin. We talk about a change of heart or the manifestation of purity of heart, but, always, when a change begins to appear in the heart we find that first a change has appeared in the mind.

Let us be sure that we recall clearly a point from our earlier Meditation in relationship to purity of heart. Generally speaking, the human idea is that if a person does not act contrary to any of the Ten Commandments, that person is, per se, pure in heart. If we truly understand what the Ten Commandments really mean, that might conceivably be held to be true, but the popular concept of purity of heart is very misleading. I have known people to imagine that purity of heart meant, primarily, no consciousness of the sex impulse and no impulse to get so angry that one might commit murder. That is a very distorted idea. Here we see that it is impossible for us to even recognize purity of heart, or to know what it is, until the idea has changed, the concept, the belief has been made new. “Behold, I make all things new.”

Now, something is coming down from God out of Heaven, and something is ascending up, right on the earth's surface, vibrationally speaking, to meet that which is coming down from God out of Heaven. Wherever else these things are that may be working out, they must first, insofar as the individual is concerned, work out in relationship to the mind. That which has direct relationship to the mind is the Spirit of Truth. The Truth, the vibratory patterns of the Divine Design and the principles of Control, are coming down from God out of Heaven, and when the mind begins to show a willingness to receive that which is coming from God out of Heaven, so that the mind is no longer devoting itself to receiving that which is coming from man out of the earth, we begin to have the Resurrection process. Generally speaking, the mind of man is preoccupied with that which is coming out of the world from man, and the mind is not particularly aware of, or even interested in, that which is coming from God out of Heaven. If we are going to let the idea be made new, the concept be made new, the belief be made new, we cannot properly cling with prejudiced attitude to concepts, ideas and beliefs which have been handed down to us from out of the past. The mind, clinging to its old ideas, concepts and beliefs, holding to them with prejudiced tenacity, imagines that it is being loyal, that it is maintaining the human being's own individuality, and that it is making possible the manifestation of goodness, something supposedly desirable. But, we have the words: “Behold, I make all things new.” The place where this newness must begin to appear is in relationship to the mind, specifically in relationship to ideas, concepts and beliefs.

Prejudice is always, without exception, based in ignorance. Ignorance is a state wherein there is a failure to comprehend the Truth of the matter, so that there is no understanding. Ignorance is a state wherein there is no understanding of the facts or of the Truth, and prejudice maintains a state of no understanding. Prejudice, wherever we find it, is maintaining the state of no understanding. There are religious prejudices, racial prejudices, national and community prejudices, maintaining a state of no understanding.

Now, remember, the physical body and all physical things have no choice but to receive that which is imposed upon them. And that which is imposed originates in ideas, concepts and beliefs. These three things, animated, become creatures of the heart. A belief which is not animated has no force, no vitality, and is something that is purely of the mind, in which relationship the heart is not functioning. But the animation of ideas, concepts and beliefs is a matter of the heart. Now we have, under consideration, the state of Resurrection to Life, the process of Resurrection from a state of dying to a state of living. Every idea which begins to have meaningfulness to the individual is animated by the heart, the emotional nature. The heart, or the emotional nature, may feel that it has the capacity to originate something, but it does not begin to specifically animate anything until there is some kind of an idea, belief or concept.

We see that before the heart can animate something there must be something, and if that something is not present in actual fact in the physical sense, then, in order for the heart to function, the mind must develop something in the dream-world in relationship to an idea, a belief or a concept. Most of that which we consider to be of religion is in this dream-world. Human beings imagine that Jesus Christ was thus and so. They imagine that things are going to be thus and so some day, and, in actual fact, their religious life is a dream-world life and they are busy letting their hearts animate a dream-world idea. But, generally speaking, in this practical world the human being does not feel that he can devote more than one hour out of a week letting his heart give some animation to the dream-world pattern, and he says, “I must be practical. I must live.” So, he lets his heart animate to some degree that which is in the physical realm round about him. But these individuals have not, in the true sense, grown up. They have not reached a state of true maturity. They have not yet learned how to move out of the dream-world into the world of practical living. They maintain their dream-world belief, and call it “religion.”

Once we begin to see this with a basic honesty, a basic integrity, we can begin to recognize that if we are to mature into men and women in Christ, we must let go of the dream-world. Some human beings, feeling this to be true, have simply tossed religion aside. They say, “There is nothing to it. Anyone who believes in religion is an old fogey, or crazy, or something of the sort.” They imagine that they have become practical by setting aside the dream-world of religion, but they have not had any real success in transferring from the dream-world state to the practical, physical-world state, because they see nothing but making money or getting pleasure, having a good time, or gaining fame or physical power, as a substitute for the dream-world state. So, they imagine that in this physical endeavor they will find fulfilment, and that idea is a part of the dream-world state wherein the physical facts of life are being ignored. Consequently, we begin to see that if we are going to let all things be made new, if we are going to experience Resurrection, if we are going to be the Meeting Point for that which is ascending and that which is descending from God out of Heaven, we must, of necessity, let the pattern of idea, concept and belief, be made new, that instead of the old dream-world ideas and concepts there may be the true world, the Divine World, the Kingdom-of-Heaven-at-hand-World ideas, concepts and beliefs, coming into manifestation. “Behold, I make all things new.” This process must begin with the mind. And, once there begins to be the idea, the heart will, by reason of interest, begin to animate the idea. It will begin to be alive.

If the idea which is animated by the heart is not of Truth, not of the Garden of God or the Kingdom of Heaven at hand, or however else we might put it, if the idea or the concept which is animated by the heart is not of God or of Truth, then the heart is not pure. The heart is pure to the degree that the ideas and concepts animated by the heart are of Truth. That is purity. When the heart is animating ideas, concepts and beliefs that are of Truth, that heart is pure. And the Master said: “Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God.” When your heart has been made pure, because your heart is animating only those ideas that are of Truth, you will, in that moment, begin to see God.

In this connection, I would like to recall to mind the Master's basic statement, “And ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free.” Human beings have often wondered how this process could work out. There has been the question in many minds as to what the Truth is, and many have denied that it is possible for human beings to know the Truth, to distinguish the Truth from the incomplete or distorted idea. However, we have come to recognize that there are some basic, central, fundamental points where man can comprehend the Truth, and test it and show that it is true. We have come to recognize that if we work according to the Law, always orienting to that One Law, we can test, step by step as we move forward, as to whether that which is being presented to the mind as an idea is true. If we are, as we have already noted, animating by our feeling natures, giving life or life force to, ideas that are not true, then we are throwing our life force away.

God's Love—I doubt if there are many here who could answer me very adequately if I were to ask you “What is God's Love?” We can say, “God is Love; therefore Love is God.” But what is Love? It is not merely affection. It is not merely a human feeling. It is something that is of the Essence of Life. It is a part of the Spirit of God

The Spirit of God has three primary aspects which may, in turn, be sub-divided into many aspects. But first we note the Spirit of Love, the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Life—these three. And we are alive. We are conscious of the fact that we are alive. That very fact proves to us, if we will receive it, that the Spirit of God is in us in this moment. And then, to some degree, our minds are aware of Truth; not merely a human opinion, not merely an idea, a concept that may have been developed. We are interested only in Truth, regardless of human concepts, regardless of age-old beliefs, regardless of anything. What is the Truth of the matter? Let us find that Truth and we will find that the working of Love through the heart, animating Truth, produces Life. But when we use the life force that is called Love to animate ideas that are not true, or ideas of hate, for instance, or fear or resentment, any ill or destructive idea, the life force is being thrown away and, therefore, the pattern of life expression diminishes. It decreases and becomes less and less until the physical form is no longer capable of maintaining life. Disintegration has set in.

On the other hand, if we utilize the life force that we call God's Love in relationship to true ideas, true concepts, true things, we begin to find that, instead of diminishing, life increases. It has greater meaning. We have recognized in past meditations that life must be born in the form through which it manifests. It does not come from somewhere. It must be born in the form through which it manifests. And we have recognized that the parents of Life are Love and Truth. The current of life force which we call God's Love is the Father-aspect of the life force that is born in your body; and that which we call Truth, or the Spirit of Truth, is the Mother-aspect. When the Mother and Father aspects of the Spirit of God blend in you, their Child is Life—but that Life must have a means of manifestation. And it is for this purpose that your physical body was formed in your mother's womb. Now, to the degree that the human mind accepts ideas that are contrary to Truth, that life force is used, wasted, in the animation of that which is destructive, in that which is contrary to Truth, and disintegration begins.

Let us pause for a moment to recognize what Truth is. We cannot, perhaps, fully define it; but we can recognize that it has two primary aspects: one of design, and the other of control. We consider the hand. If the hand is functioning according to its true design it has remarkable flexibility and facility. You can do so many things with a well-formed hand when there is control. But there might be design, in part at least, and yet the hand might be stiff. You may say, “Well, I can look at it. It's a hand.” Yes, but no control! The design is only part of the Truth of my hand. The control of it is the rest of the Truth. The physical form by which the design and the control have meaning in the physical world is important. We have a glass here. It has form. We have a flower, perhaps. Whatever we might choose, there is form and there is substance. But that fact does not say there is a hand. That which characterizes the hand is established in design and control. The same is true of the ear. And the Truth of your ear is not the same as the Truth of your hand, or your foot, or some other part of your body. The Truth of your stomach is very different from the Truth of the nose, every part having its design and the elements of control. You are not supposed to walk all through the days of your life on your hands. Your ears were not meant to see. So, each part functions according to its design when there is true control. And when the control is lost, even though you may have an ear, you may say, “I cannot hear.” You might conceivably still have a physical eye, but if control is lost in the function of that eye you cannot see. So the Truth of anything is, in essence, its true design and the elements that make possible the control according to that design. The Truth of yourself as a man or a woman is something distinct and characteristic. It is individual. No other person has exactly the same thing.

Now, if the idea pattern that is developed in consciousness is contrary to the Truth of your own Being, your own life force will be wasted in something that does not bring forth life in you, and, consequently, you are robbing your body of life. Having robbed the body of life, it begins to get out of control; it begins to disintegrate, to decay, to become ill, and then you say you are sick. The only way you can begin to re-establish true health of body or mind or heart is to re-establish the release of the basic life force of your Being through that which is in harmony with your being as a man or a woman. Once we begin to do that, the control pattern is re-asserted in the physical body and, if the disintegration has not gone too far, there is a renewing. Otherwise, it takes a re-creative process.

But, if we realize that the Father-principle and the Mother-principle in each and every one of us—Love and Truth—must be allowed to abide in true union in us in order to bring forth Life through us, we will see that wasting the life force of the Father-principle through that which is not true is robbing our own bodies, our lives, of life. Life diminishes and we fail. But if we function correctly according to these principles, the life force in us is animating only that which is true to our own Beings, which includes, of course, our relationship with God. So, being in true relationship with God, we can be in true relationship with each other and begin to live, to be resurrected out of the state of disintegration into the state of a larger life. “And ye shall know the Truth”—not merely believe it. You come to know the Truth, and, knowing the Truth, holding that Truth as the animated thing in your own mind, your own heart, in your own life, you bring forth life in yourself and glorify God thereby, and bless your brother-man.

“I am the resurrection and the Life.” That was not spoken by the man, Jesus, concerning Himself, as we shall see in our further meditations. That can be as true of you as an individual as it was of Jesus. That is what He said. “The works that I do shall ye do also.” And if we say that He did anything in the current of God's Will which we cannot do, then we, by that attitude, make Him a liar, which God forbid! The thing that He did we can do. That is one of the points that has not been recognized and realized as the Truth. We have assumed that He had some prerogative that was denied to us. But He did not say so. It is not from His lips that the idea comes. So let us begin to know the Truth. But before we can know it, we must find it, we must comprehend it, we must let it be shaped in our minds, and then it can be animated by the life force of our beings and we can bring forth Life, the resurrection from the state of dying to the state of living, to the Glory of God and the blessing of the children of men.

© emissaries of divine light