One Generation — One Substance

One  Generation — One  Substance 

Martin Cecil  September 29, 1985

The organ, the cello, the ram’s horn and the human voice are symbols. There may be a sensing of the truth thereby symbolized. Human minds and hearts have long been asleep to the sounds of heaven symbolized by these earthly sounds. If all that is heard are the earthly sounds, there is little of any consequence. If, beyond the earthly sounds, the heavenly sounds reverberate in our consciousness, it may be a call to awaken. We surely would offer the sounds of heaven into the earth that, resonating in the consciousness of mankind, the invitation is extended to human minds and hearts everywhere to awaken to the truth.

No longer need there be the endeavor to find the truth, to unearth it—it is simply a matter of awakening to it. It is already present, the sounds of heaven are already present, but the connecting substance which would allow these heavenly sounds to be made known in human consciousness has been lacking. Insofar as human consciousness is concerned there has been a vacuum in it, so that no sounds could be heard. We are aware of our own special opportunity and responsibility of letting this substance be generated in our own consciousness, so that there is a connection to the heavenly sound and we may become aware of it. It is not only sound, it is also light. The light and the sound, as there is substance in which they may be revealed, bring an awakening of consciousness in our own experience, the consciousness of heaven. Something begins to be known that is quite new to human minds and hearts. “Behold, I make all things new.” “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth.” The newness relates to human consciousness. This is not new in fact; it has always been present—it could be said to be eternally new.

So we have the ongoing responsibility of letting this spiritual substance be generated through our own living, because our concern is with heaven, with the qualities and characteristics of heaven of which we have become aware, to the extent that we have allowed the substance to be generated within ourselves so that our sight might be restored, our hearing might be restored, our awareness might be restored, in heaven. We have had a lot of awareness in the world that human egos have created, our own included. Layer upon layer in this regard has been added generation after generation all down through the ages, so that there has been a thick veil, and heaven has been hidden.

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” These words have been repeated generation after generation by great numbers of human beings without any real understanding of what was being said, because the substance was not there to allow the light and the sound of heaven to be known. Now the substance begins to be present within the range of our own experience so that our own hearts and minds begin to become aware of something that is quite new to them. This is a faint beginning. The extent of that newness is presently quite incomprehensible, simply because there isn’t substance available at the level where it could be comprehended. It is our business to continue indefatigably allowing this substance to be generated because we dwell in the secret place of the Most High. Then we always live and express in our living what is highest in our present experience. It needs to go higher, but it can only do so as the substance is there. The substance is there only because of the established fact of our own quality of living. This has nothing to do with belief; we are dealing with facts, the actual state. What is the substance that we individually have allowed to be generated, and how refined is it at its upper levels? because this will determine what extent of spirit can be received and expressed. And as it is received and expressed there is further generation—further wakefulness. The vision is pretty dim to start with, even though it is distinctly different from what had been known before in the sleeping-cum-dreaming state, which is the state common to human beings everywhere in the condition of the human ego.

All of this could be said to be really very scientific: it works the way it works, and we can’t fool it. I suppose we can pretend some, but then we are only fooling ourselves. We are learning to let it be genuine, to let what finds expression in our living be genuine, be honest, be clear and true, in the awareness that substance will be generated and the substance that is present will be purified, so that the light and the sound of heaven may become more specific in our own awareness. It becomes specific as it is expressed. It is not known by just being latent. To be of any value at all it has got to be expressed, it must be actualized, and we have gained some experience in this process.

It is all a process, isn’t it? It is the process by which human minds and hearts may once again be awakened to the truth. Awakening to the truth is a fairly easy process—the yoke is easy and the burden light. The actual process is describable as awakening. We don’t have to make the truth. In a sense we don’t even have to discover it. All that needs to happen is for our minds and hearts to awaken to it. It is already present. And part of that awakening process is the expression of what it is we have become aware of.

When we are keenly interested in letting this process work within the range of our own experience, then we have little time left—should be none at all—for indulging in the examination and manipulation of shadows. Here is the light shining and the sounds of heaven beginning to reverberate because there is substance in our own consciousness to accommodate it. Then we know. You can’t explain that to somebody who doesn’t have the substance. The words fall on deaf ears, and to deaf ears the words are meaningless. Amongst ourselves we can speak and understand. We understand to the extent that we have the substance of understanding, and that is the substance of living in heaven. So the awakening can occur, the awakening to the truth, and the truth is known to the extent of the substance that has been generated.

It has been said in times past that the restoration, whatever that may prove to be, must be accomplished in one generation. I think that has been interpreted as meaning that it must be accomplished in whatever time element is involved in a generation of people—forty years?—it must be done in forty years. Well it hasn’t been. It is one generation. Human beings have generated all sorts of peculiar coarse substance over the ages which has cluttered up the landscape, a great variety of generations. But there is one generation that has been lacking—that is the generation of the substance which can accommodate the sounds and the light of heaven. We are in this business. We are in it together. We have understanding of this.

We have spent considerable time over the years assisting those who would be willing to be assisted in the process of letting this substance be generated, because nothing whatsoever could be done until that happened. We only know what it is when the substance has been generated to make us aware of it. This generation of substance is the process of waking up. We have day substance instead of night substance, so that we may be aware of the truth, of the fact that the light is present, the sounds of heaven may be heard.

So, in whatever measure, as individuals we have participated in this process, at times rather reluctantly. But there has been some substance generated; otherwise we would not be in position even to speak about these things. Something therefore is on hand to receive heaven. There is substance in mind and heart capable of receiving heaven. The usual human view in this regard would be: capable of receiving the Lord. But that isn’t really the way it is, is it? Who is the Lord? If one is concerned about receiving the Lord, then certainly one must have assumed that he was separate from oneself, and so the condition of separation still remains, and that is the sleeping or coma state. Mind and heart are to receive the Lord—right. But who is the Lord? I Am. That’s his name, isn’t it? It is the truth, the truth of oneself. There is only one truth.

As we participate in awakening we awaken to oneness. Perhaps we can begin to appreciate more what it means because there has been more of this one generation of pure substance capable of accommodating heaven. That substance is not different for us as individuals—there is one substance and there is one heaven. Insofar as the separate condition of human minds and hearts is concerned, this all seems to be very incomprehensible. Well of course! It is not comprehensible until mind and heart can accommodate it; and they can’t accommodate it except they have substance to do so; and there won’t be any substance there until it is generated; and it won’t be generated until we live the truth, the highest that we know. The highest that we know is the extent of truth being presently accommodated in the available substance. Be true to that and the generation continues. Deny that, the generation ceases.

Of course that is denied every time one enters into judgment, every time one becomes involved with the shadows—and the substance that has been generated to accommodate heaven begins to be dissipated. We have been inclined to do that. We generate a little, but then we get all involved with some situation or other which comes to us to be tested—not to test us but to be tested—we get involved with it, we dissipate the substance and we are back to square one again. There has been a good deal of this over the years. That’s why it has taken this long to get to where we are now. It has always, I am sure, been a mystery to the Lord as to how it could possibly have taken so long. He is happy that it has come along as far as it has, I am sure of that. We should be happy too, seeing that that is where our identity belongs. But it is only partially there until we have the full range of substance to accommodate the whole spirit, the holy spirit. Then we begin to be in position to know the truth.

In this one generation of substance, the substance which, as it is generated, is common to all of us, the job gets done. Only within this one substance will the job be done—it is done in one generation. Who is to say how many of us will still be alive when the job is done? That’s not the point. The point is that there is the generation of the substance, the substance is available, and the job gets done. We have a collective body taking form in the generation of this substance. And the life of this body continues. The substance is present, which means that I am present. We each say that individually while we are all isolated little egos, but that’s not the truth of the matter. That’s the human ego state. The truth of the matter is something else, something that we don’t know in our human minds and hearts yet because it hasn’t happened. That’s fine. Let’s not fuss about not knowing; let’s be delighted in what we do know. And there is a lot that we do know in the experience of what we have called spiritual expression.

Spiritual expression is possible to the extent of our substance, and as we are faithful in this the substance continues to be generated and our awakening continues. That is the awakening, not of us, in fact, but the awakening of the human mind and the human heart, which is present for all of us, the human mind and the human heart which heretofore have been used by the human ego. The human ego identity is gone, and we are not wrestling with all these things in form; we are simply allowing the creative process to work. It doesn’t work by the sweat of the brow; it works very simply, very easily, when there is identity in heaven with the light and with the sounds of heaven. Then these may be expressed and the earth reflects it automatically. There is no stress and strain.

Obviously in speaking of these things there is indication that what is to transpire is something of which the human ego has absolutely no experience. It can’t figure it out. Therefore there is a tendency, as long as one is centered in that, to say that it doesn’t exist; it isn’t anything. Well there are things happening which give some indication that it does exist, and there are things to come, I suspect, in quite a rush. “I saw a new heaven and a new earth.” That’s right. I am here. I am come. We can all say that. And to the extent that we speak truly, we know that there is just One. We are no longer isolated, individual human beings trying to make themselves big and fat and happy on earth.

There is something happening which is beyond belief. It is not happening because we decided to make it happen; it is happening whether we like it or not, whether anyone likes it or not. It might be described as a cosmic happening, something that goes way beyond this little earth. Nevertheless it includes this little earth, and because it includes this little earth it includes all of us and the whole population of the world. And the happening is proceeding on time. All things are made new. There is a new heaven and a new earth. It is on the way. We awaken to it. We become aware of it and, becoming aware of it, we become aware of ourselves. There is a new identity, not that old, inadequate human ego. We belong in heaven; that’s where we are adequate. And if we are adequate in heaven we are adequate in the earth. But if you try to become adequate in the earth without being adequate in heaven first, you’ll fail. It is utterly impossible.

The adequacy of identity is in heaven. So heart and mind need to awaken to this, and they awaken as there is substance to receive heaven, in whatever measure, so that there is a consciousness of the reality of it. Then one may continue in the process. The process is going to continue whether we continue in it or not. But how delightful to share in the process! Do you know what happiness is? Participating in a creative process. Why not be happy?—not by trying to get happiness but simply by participating in the creative process, being willing to let it work the way it’s working, delightedly, standing together in heaven, which is on earth because we are on earth.

And behold, all things are made new. Incidentally everything seems to be falling apart. Yes, certainly the human ego state is falling apart; that’s what it needs to do. Let’s not let that falling apart include us, because we no longer hold on to what it is that’s disintegrating, namely the human ego. We are willing to abide in heaven under the Shadow of the Almightly, as a part of the Radiance of the Almighty, the shining of the light. “I am the light of the world.” This was recorded as having been said by the Master on earth. He also said, “Ye are the light of the world,” so anyone can make that statement if they are willing to let it stick. If we are in heaven then we say “I am the light of the world.” If we are on earth we may try to say it, but we won’t be it merely on earth.

Let us abide in heaven absolutely, letting the substance be generated, so that we can receive more of what is present there into our own expression of heart and mind. As it comes forth through heart and mind we know it. As each one comes forth through heart and mind the truth is known, the truth of oneself, which is not separate from the truth of anyone else. To know what that means it must be experienced. We share this opportunity now in this moment and in the continuing moments. We accept the responsibility individually. It is not dependent upon somebody else. It is not dependent upon me. I am dependent upon me; you are dependent on you. It doesn’t matter where we may be in the geographical sense. We may all be together in heaven consistently. As heart and mind awaken to that, the reality of it becomes more and more obvious. There is much to be known that is not yet known. We share in the greater knowing consequent upon the quality of our living, the generation of the substance which receives heaven.

© emissaries of divine light

This Generation

from

This  Generation

Martin Cecil   December 26, 1962

I have emphasized the fact before that the change must come in one generation. It could be, presumably, any generation, as long as human beings exist on earth. If they leave it too long, of course, there will not be any generations left. But it must come in one generation, though human beings have a comfortable idea that somehow or other the next generation may be more successful. That which has to be experienced is what has been defined as a change of polarity. Fallen human beings are polarized with respect to the mass consciousness of humanity; Divine Man is polarized in Divine consciousness. If we take just one person and consider this changeover, we recognize that there must be a transition. Everyone starts off with the wrong polarity. There must be movement through a period of experience to right polarity. It is not something that is done instantly; but unless it is done in that person while he lives, it is not done. Isn't that right? After he is dead there is no more chance for that person.

As we multiply one person by whatever number is required—say 144,000—then it must happen to those 144,000 individuals during the course of their life; otherwise it does not happen. If the attitude is taken, “Well we'll do it just so far; we couldn't possibly go all the way; but our children will then carry on from there,” we delude ourselves, because the children only receive a blessing if the generation who are the parents carry through. Otherwise they are left betwixt and between; they are neither one thing nor the other. They do not have the evidence made manifest of the Divine State and they do not have the experience, to the same degree, of the fallen state. There is perhaps a tendency to consequently take things for granted and to lack appreciation for that which is, to the extent that it is. They have not been through the harsh—I was going to say reality; it should be unreality—of the fallen state, and they have not been offered the experience of the Divine State, if those of the previous generation have not carried through.

It must be done in one generation, because if the generation who were in the process of carrying through do not, then the children, or succeeding generation, have to start all over again. The idea that the hope is in the children is nonsense. The idea that the succeeding generation offers the hope is foolishness. It is the generation that is here now that offers the hope. It is now that is the appointed time. It is the only time we have. If in one generation there are those who do carry through, and there are children associated with that generation, then that is a different matter, because they have the manifest experience of the Divine State at that point, and they know what it is then. But if it has not been made manifest they do not know what it is, and they will find that they have to go down into Egypt again and come clear all over again—if they are going to do it, that is. There has always been a block with respect to the fulfilment of the Divine Plan, and that block has been just one generation—never any more, just one generation. We can take the attitude, “Well we'll do our best. We'll go as far as we can,” but it will not get the job done, and another generation—if one is on hand—will have to start all over again.

You have been through some experience to bring you to this point, to enable you to emerge from the fallen state to the extent that you have. It has been quite a journey, hasn't it, to bring you to this point. You have had many experiences, passed through many things. You have known clearings of various sorts. All that has been put into you, so to speak—this is the Lord's investment in you. We cannot bequeath it to someone else, can we? It is something that happened to us, not to anyone else. We cannot just take it out of ourselves and put it in our children. If they are going to share it they must experience it too. There isn't anything vicarious in this process; we have to know it for ourselves, and therefore we must come all the way through if our lives are to have the meaning which is the Divine Purpose. If we do not come all the way through we fall short. That is what is called sin, by the way—falling short of the mark. If there is a falling short it is so much waste, isn't it? There has been development, and development working out through us—we just didn't make it. Well if we didn't make it we didn't make it, and what might have been on the basis of our restoration was not experienced—gone—and all that went into our lives to make it possible for us to experience the restoration is wasted because we are gone.

This is something that must work out in one generation; otherwise it doesn't. It will not evolve there, because it is not a matter of evolving through human self-activity. Human beings have been doing that, but that never achieves the goal, never gets anywhere except to ultimate annihilation. It is something new. Our Master Himself revealed this when He came. He let it be done in thirty years—one generation insofar as He was concerned. So He revealed that it could be done in one generation. He also, incidentally, revealed that it must be done in one generation, although that has not been so clearly seen. Look at all the generations we have had since, and still it is not done insofar as human beings generally are concerned, because there has not been a recognition of this one fundamental principle.

It is not a matter of evolving in human self-activity so that we become better self-active human beings. That is not the goal at all. The goal is to become Divine Beings, and we cannot become Divine Beings as long as we remain self-active. It is a matter of moving through the transition from the control of the devil to the control of God, and when God controls, when the Divine consciousness is accepted, then the Divine State can begin to appear as a result. As long as the devil controls, then the fallen state must appear as a result. No matter how much progress may be made in self-activity, the fallen state must remain; conflicts will continue until the final conflict, somewhere along the way.

The statement was made by our Master to the effect that except the days should be shortened no flesh should be saved. Now that has generally been translated to mean that there was going to be such an appalling state of destructiveness on earth that unless that were curtailed everybody would destroy everybody else; so this period of awful destructiveness, when human beings were in such tribulation, would have to be shortened so that somebody survived. Well there might be some application in that sense, but we may also see that the days must be shortened in the sense of one generation. Unless the days are shortened in that sense, no flesh shall be saved; unless the change, the transition, the restoration, comes with respect to an adequate body of human beings in one generation—wherever that generation may be—no flesh shall be saved, because there isn't any other way by which flesh may be saved.

It is the acceptance of the Divine control, in actual fact, of a sufficient number of responding ones which allows the Divine control to begin to manifest as a reality on earth—something which human beings have not experienced. They do not know what it would be. They have no idea that such a thing is even possible, for the most part. They certainly have no comprehension of what would happen if Divine action began to appear on earth because there was a form through which it could appear. There simply has not been such a form, except here and there on an individual basis, since man fell; so human beings have no awareness of what it would be, and the results which would be the natural result, the natural consequence of the Divine control working, are therefore considered as being fantastic. From the standpoint of human self-activity such results could never appear in a million years, but from the standpoint of Divine activity they could appear in one generation. But there could be no Divine activity in this sense, no transfer of the Divine control, until there are those who are willing to accept it. Because there have been no adequate instruments of such acceptance, there has been no experience of what the consequences would be.

If we are letting our lives be dedicated to this Divine purpose of the restoration, we must experience it within ourselves first. It is not as though we could say, “Well we have a vision of this—the restoration, the goal. We see how wonderful it would be. God's power is adequate; we believe that; therefore somehow or other, because we have this vision and understanding, it is all going to work out successfully.” It is not. If it works out successfully it has to work out through someone, and if our dedication is genuine, we are saying, “It must work out through us.” And in that actual experience the reality begins to be known: Divine activity, the power of God manifesting on earth to make possible that which naturally appears in consequence. We do not have to concern ourselves with that which is to appear. That takes care of itself. All we have to concern ourselves with is letting the experience be known to us under the dominion of God.

Because man has been functioning in the fallen state there has been no available instrument for the Divine use; the power of God has been entirely excluded in the truly creative sense, but such as has been able to appear has had to appear through the fallen consciousness of human beings. The life force that is moving through people—that is, the power of God—is under the control of the fallen consciousness of human beings, and consequently it has kept everything in a turmoil. The very moment there begins to be something which is under God's control the power of God can begin to move through that in a creative sense—there begins to be a shift, and we are here to share in letting that shift take place actually. But unless we ourselves experience what it means to be under the dominion of God, unless we ourselves begin to discover, and consequently experience, what it means to function on the basis of Divine consciousness, we cannot share in that which needs to be done.

Shall that which has been experienced through us and through others over these past years,

bringing us all to this point, be allowed to go for nothing?

It is not just a matter of the number of years a person may have been associated with this Ministry in the conscious sense—it is the number of years a person has been on earth moving toward this point of conscious recognition of these things, for all experiences have been used. Each one of you has come through cycles which are distinct and individual to you, and all these things have brought you together here—not only you who are here present tonight but all who are here in our Ministry in actual fact—to this hour. How much investment the Lord has in us, then, investment which can either come to fruition or be written off. The Lord is pretty accustomed to writing it off. It might be a change for Him if it was allowed to come to fruition, if there was an actual willingness to carry through to the point of fulfilment; not personal fulfilment in the sense of something which the individual thinks would be pleasing to himself, but fulfilment in the sense of being absolutely under the dominion of the spirit of God, whatever might occur thereafter. To what extent is that true of you now? How free are we? How much dominion does the truth have in us actually? All of you know that it should be so, all of you feel that you are dedicated to this purpose; but does it go beyond the theory, really? Sometimes a human being will have something in mind that he would like to do, and if that is suggested, “Oh yes! I'll go right into it! Wonderful!” but if it is something else that he had not considered as being too desirable, and it meant that he was not moving into what he wanted to move into, what then? Is it what we ourselves personally want to do that is important? Or is the need in the Ministry of the Lord important? What needs to be done? That is the important thing. Whether we want to do it or not is beside the point, and if we have such wants anymore it is obvious that we are not yet sufficiently under the control of the Divine consciousness.

We are here to fill the needs of the moment. We are not in the Divine state in the external sense—of course not, because there has been no cause for it to be here yet. We have to establish the cause first, and thereafter the Divine Estate will appear and that no doubt will be wonderful. But in the meantime it is not here and we have to function on the basis of the things that are here, filling the needs that are here without question as to whether it is personally pleasing or not. “Is this the thing that is needed in the Lord's ministry, in the fulfilment of the Divine purposes?”—that is the question. And it is in the filling of the needs in the Lord's service, no matter what they are, that we find our joy. That is where the joy is. The joy is not in doing what we like to do, but in doing that which is needful in the fulfilment of the Divine purposes. And when we begin to do that consistently we begin to find the secret of joy.

Our Master said that He would give His joy, didn't He? And what was His joy? To do the will of Him that sent Him; to do what was necessary in the fulfilment of the Divine purposes, even if, as it worked out, it was necessary for Him to go through what He did. It is in that that we find true joy, because we begin to find ourselves under the dominion of God, we begin to find ourselves participating in the instrument for Divine activity, so that the power of God may work creatively on earth to bring forth fruit—Divine fruit. It will not restore the world to the Divine state in a moment. How many years do you think it might take? We will not question that; but the very moment that the power of God begins to work creatively on earth because there is a means for its manifestation, the issue begins to be forced, and consequently the days are shortened.

The answer comes quickly. Human beings are forced to make their choices. In one generation the restoration can become a reality; not in the sense of its final manifestation necessarily, but the restoration nevertheless, because the cause is established. How long it will take for that to work itself out so as to cover the earth is something which need not particularly concern us. Our concern is to let the cause be established, because we know that when it is there the results are sure, in the cycles and the seasons of the Lord. And the cause is established as we ourselves have the experience—in no other way. Only as we ourselves know what it means to be under the dominion of God in the expression of our lives do we share in allowing any creative expression of God's power. Thinking about it, theorizing about it, imagining things, accomplishes nothing; it is only when it is done that the fulfilment comes.

Our Master spoke some words when He was hanging on the cross. He said, “It is finished.” It was done insofar as He was concerned; and the fulfilment came, didn't it, for Him. We need to be able to say, “It is finished.” There is no adequate group of human beings in any generation since the fall of man that has been in position to say that—a lot of things left undone, half done. Well here we are in the world as it is. Can it be said of our generation—there is quite a scope to a generation—shall it be said of our generation that they finished the work which had been given them to do? When that can be said the restoration will be a reality, the cause will have been established, and the results will appear.

© Emissaries of Divine Light

The Pioneering Spirit

The  Pioneering  Spirit

Martin Cecil  June 27 1965

It is interesting how there is an inclination always to seek more, rather than to make use of what there is. I doubt very much if at any time we have extracted all the potential from any given state of affairs. There is a saying that the more human beings have the more they want, which seems to be very true—a constant reaching for something just over the horizon while ignoring the wonderful potential that is immediately at hand. This relates to the gospel, doesn't it? “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” We see how frantically human beings everywhere nowadays are trying to grasp more, either in the material sense or the intellectual sense; however, completely oblivious to the fact that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and what is present already is not being rightly or fully used.

This afternoon Lillian and I had the privilege of attending a garden party given for the old-timers of the area. I wasn't considered an old-timer, but there were a number there who certainly were. The one who put in an appearance first amongst all of those present was a man who was born in this country in 1902. Most came into the country later, after they were adult. A number came in the year 1913. Some of these men are over eighty years old, but still quite chipper, as they say. There were some ladies there too, who also were in the pioneering classification. They were reminiscing a little about the old days, indicating something of what the country was like when they first arrived. Back in 1913, for instance, there were very few people except along the road; quite a bit of freighting; but going back into the country a little way, it was all more or less virgin country with grass growing high. It has probably grown a little higher over the years, but at that time there was certainly more than there is now, because there was no livestock in the country—domestic livestock, at least—although there were apparently a lot of rabbits at one point.

In any case, it was certainly a pioneering spirit required in those days. This pioneering spirit was still quite evident in these people. They are strong and independent. One of them was speaking of walking a number of times back and forth between Ashcroft and Bridge Lake, almost a hundred miles. This was about the best means of going, presumably, at the time. Another man, whom I didn't know before—of course I knew most of these people, because they were here when I first came out to this country in 1930—another man, who came from the prairies quite recently, indicated that he used to drive his team from the farm, wherever it was, to the logging area in the early days—sixty-five miles I think he said it was—and he would walk all the way. The pioneering spirit which makes use of what is available is a most essential thing from the standpoint of those whom one might call spiritual pioneers. It may not be quite the same physically these days, although the physical exertion involved in pioneering in that sense certainly didn't do these people any harm—strong and virile at over eighty years of age.

I think we could perhaps consider the value of exercise in this sense. One of the men there said he had a cow which he kept so that he would have to go out and get it in and milk it every day, twice a day, in order to keep moving. As he put it, if he ever sat down that would be the end. So he deliberately has set this task to himself so as to make sure that life continues to move. Most of us do a good deal of sitting. If we don't sit in the office we sit in the car. We might be reminded again of the prayer thanking the Lord for legs “to carry us to the car.” That's about it, isn't it? We seem almost incapable of walking anyplace: it takes too much time. Does it? I wonder. I wonder, if we don't walk, whether we are going to have less time in the end.

What a wonderful thing that vibrant, independent spirit is. Now, we have spoken of independence, indicating that we can't really be independent of each other. It is not properly a question of trying to become self-sufficient. None of us is everything all rolled into one—we depend on each other. If I speak of independence with respect to the pioneering spirit, I am speaking of the ability to handle oneself effectively, to stand upon one's own feet, and to cease to be tied to momma's apron strings.

Certainly we need, and have needed, to learn to function together in a coordinated pattern, dedicated to the same purpose, allowing the same spirit to move through us. Of course, when this one spirit moves through us, it is revealed in an individual expression—we are certainly not all the same. The individual is supposed to be himself. However there obviously has been the necessity of utilizing our circumstance to enable us to develop a group pattern where there is an awareness of interdependence—interdependence in the sense that we all have something to contribute to the whole, not interdependence in the sense that we all imagine that we have something to take out of the whole. Now this is a very usual viewpoint on the part of many, perhaps defined by the words, “The world owes me a living.” It doesn't. The world owes us nothing. Nobody owes us anything. We have the opportunity of offering something in order that there may be a world. If everybody is extracting something from the world there isn't much left.

When we begin to function on a basis that offers something into the world, something that may flow through us from the Divine source, then the world becomes a better and fuller place—fuller of the right things. This is multiplying and replenishing the earth with what we have to contribute from the Divine source. We all have something to contribute to allow the whole to live. We're not trying to get anything out of the whole. We're seeking to give something so that there may be a whole in manifestation. And this requires people who are capable of standing on their own. They stand on their own, taking responsibility for themselves, but they find when doing this, and when offering something that is right into the whole, that the whole becomes a reality and there is relatedness in the whole, so that there is something available for the manifest function of the whole. In this sense there is coordination.

We have been developing this pattern of coordination over the years. The question now is as to whether we can assume responsibility for ourselves independently, and allow a continued manifestation of what is right in the whole. Human beings, when they begin to feel what they call independence—capable of handling themselves, and perhaps they have a little money in the bank—then are inclined to ignore the whole. They want what they want, and they're going to go about getting it in their own way. The world is full of these sort of independent people, and we have unutterable confusion in consequence, and because of this sort of independence human beings are very easily manipulated and controlled, because all you have to do is dangle the carrot in front of their noses and they will go chomping after it. There is the offer of the reward, and in the background the big stick which says, “If you don't, look out!” So these supposedly independent human beings are caused to be manipulated and controlled by those who have ulterior motives.

We very often find the people who imagine that they are being independent, that they are breaking out of some particular pattern or other—incidentally we find this in the student world very often: they're going to break out of something and they have a cause of some kind—submitting themselves thereby to the manipulations of others who have some understanding of how to use the situation to their own advantage. This is supposed to be independence! “We're going to throw off the chains, you know!” and immediately the chains are assumed, wrapped around tight. Not the same ones. The individual doesn't recognize that the chains are there just the same. It isn't a matter of breaking out of anything. It is a matter of recognizing that freedom comes from within oneself. It has absolutely nothing to do with the environment. The environment, once freedom comes from within oneself, begins to be shaped by that fact; but if the individual imagines that he is going to become free by manipulating his environment he will be sadly disappointed. We find this idea very prevalent in the world, that all you have to do is to change the environment, make laws, legislate, so as to make sure that everybody has their rights. What rights? What rights do we have? I think the only right—we might note the word—is to be right, and to be right we must express what is right from within ourselves, and it has nothing to do with anything imposed from the outside. There are so many human beings chasing will-o'-the-wisps offered to them on the outside, and this is the way by which people can be controlled and manipulated, and caused to do all sorts of things which they don't really mean to do. Some glowing picture is painted so that there may be a following after that, and it seems so wonderful, they're really going to accomplish something, but back of it is always the human manipulating hand, and it never works out the way that it is expected. Of course not.

Freedom must come from inside. “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”; not trying to get more knowledge with respect to things outside—that doesn't allow a person to come to know the truth—but to express that truth which is the reality of the individual himself. When that begins to express, then that is known and that is what brings freedom. Each one must do it for himself. Each one must become man or woman enough to do it, and it is this sort of independence that I am talking about. However when there is such expression it is found that we all fit together and we are not separate from each other. There is a whole of which we are all parts, but the reality of that whole is only known to the extent that we use our circumstances not to get something but to provide a means for expressing our own truth. Then there is a standing in one's own reality of being, and this is not dependent upon anyone else. We have an interdependence after that point is reached, but on a very different basis. We are all required to play our part together, but as individuals. The apron strings must be cut in the sense of our depending upon someone else to hold us up. We stand of ourselves, or sooner or later we fall, because the prop vanishes. I am sure you have all had much experience of vanishing props. Only when we reach a point where we stand because we are what we are, are we free; and this has nothing at all to do with the environment. So many have excused themselves: “Well this circumstance makes it impossible for me. Poor me, you understand. I am so ill-treated, I am so unfairly treated. I am in this miserable state because of all the things that have happened to me. Nobody knows the trouble I've seen! Nobody knows the childhood I had. Nobody can expect me to stand on my own feet.”

How important is that pioneering spirit, where a man can start walking from Ashcroft—he doesn't know where he's going—into a wild, unpopulated country, and has the assurance within himself that he can make it. There isn't a very great deal of this sort of pioneering left for most people, but there is an unlimited field in this spiritual sense of which I am now speaking. It requires exactly the same sort of spirit. It is the pioneering experience in a nation that makes the nation strong. Once that is gone, if a new field of pioneering doesn't open up, the beginning of the end is at hand for that nation. Everyone becomes soft, and they try to live on the fruits of the pioneers, without contributing anything very much themselves. This is pretty much what has happened on this continent. There has been a sort of pioneering idea developed with respect to space now, but the real area which is at hand for everyone relates to what might be called spiritual pioneering. Scarcely any of it has been done. If you consider religion as being spiritual, which it seldom is, then what do we find? We find everybody accepting such pioneering as was done in this realm maybe two thousand years ago. No more pioneering after that point. We reap the fruits of those original pioneers, and of course the fruit is getting pretty stale by now. There is a wide-open field here, but it takes this spirit of independence, which at the same time does not reject the realization of interdependence.

In the pioneering days of this country, or any country, there was a good deal of what is called neighborliness, a lot more than there is in the more supposedly civilized condition. There was a great deal of help offered amongst the pioneers, and people would do a tremendous amount in this regard. It was all taken as being natural in those days. People won't do much now as a rule unless it is organized in some fashion. But there can be independence, and yet a recognition of interdependence. We have had experience of interdependence. We need more experience of independence in this interdependence, not so that we become independent and say, “To hell with everybody else,” which is the tendency for human beings; but having the independence, being capable, being able to handle things, still recognizing the need for the manifestation of the whole and recognizing responsibility in the whole, recognizing what one has to offer to allow the whole to be a living whole, and knowing for sure that if you don't offer that there is going to be something lacking, there is going to be a blank space, you are going to let other people down, and if you let others down you are a failure yourself, because our meaning relates to each other.

The pioneer is not always looking for a soft life, is he? He wouldn't start out into the wilds if he were looking for a soft life; and he knows that he can't carry on his back all the things that would make life comfortable in the wilds. If he tried to do that he wouldn't get very far. No, there is a willingness to make use of what is present; not bewailing the fact that something isn't present, but looking around to find what is present that could be used effectively to fill the need. There was a certain amount of pioneering still going on in the outer sense when I first came to the country. There were no stores at hand. You couldn't just get everything that you wanted by going over and buying it. We had a store here at 100 Mile House, and it certainly was quite remarkable what was carried in it. Most amazing items appeared from under the counter sometimes. But there wasn't all this plethora of goods that are all around us nowadays. If you wanted to build something, or achieve something, you had to use a good deal of ingenuity. You had to think, and see what could be done with what was at hand; and some remarkable things were done on that basis. We speak of things “going haywire,” nowadays, but scarcely anyone knows what haywire is. But haywire is one of the most useful things—in the pioneering days at least. I recall an occasion when I was driving along and suddenly the clutch ceased to function. It just flopped back and forth on the car floor. I crawled under the car to look and see what had happened. In those days cars were more simple than they are now; you could fix them with haywire! A cotter key had fallen out. I immediately looked around; there was a piece of haywire lying on the road, just the right size. I pushed it through the hole, bent it, and the clutch was ready to go again. Nowadays it seems that there isn't so very much of this. If you don't have any nails, go down to the store and buy some. You wouldn't think of pulling them out of a board, straightening them and using them again.

One of the reasons why good use had to be made of everything was because there wasn't much money around either. Money wasn't so important. For years I never had any money in my pocket, ever, around the country here. If I drove to Kamloops I'd have to get it out of the drawer and put my wallet in my pocket. But we never used money. We used what was available, and I think we could do more in this line, even today. Now if something breaks, you get a new one!

We have had to make use of things that some have thought should have been discarded long ago. Perhaps Norman may remember a remark he made about Oliver's attitude: he wasn't willing that anything should perish, but that all should have eternal life! Well this was a necessity. We seem to have an idea that we must have everything new and shiny, and that if it isn't new and shiny it isn't any good. I don't think that's true at all. I've always been impressed with the old bathtubs. When I first arrived here there was one of these, on legs, in a crate in the warehouse. There wasn't any running water of course, or anything. How it got there I don't know, or what it was meant for, but the ranch foreman at that time was about to use it as a sheep dip. However, I was at the time building the Lodge, so I had a use for it, and it was the bath that was used in the Lodge for many years. I think it has changed now—I don't know; it has gone somewhere else. But it was a very much better bath than these miserable things that they have nowadays. You could sit in it comfortably, and yet no one would have a bath like that in their bathroom nowadays, for heaven's sake! People get ideas, don't they? and they all want to conform. You're not with it unless you have the same as everyone else has, or what is considered to be a little better. Sometimes I think it is a little worse.

All this relates to the pioneering spirit. A pioneer is not a conformist, is he? And he is capable of making use of what is available at hand. I have always felt that this was a good school in my own case, that I had to do this, because later I found I had to make use of the human material that came to my hand. It wasn't always shiny and new! It helps to give a certain spirit of tolerance, so that you are willing to accept what the Lord offers. You don't condemn it; you don't immediately say, “Well that's no good. Throw it away.” You look at it and you say, “Now what use can be made of this?” In the case of living human beings, of course, there is tremendous potential. There may be potential in a bent nail—you can straighten it and use it again—but how much more potential there is in a human being who is slightly bent. As there is the straightening-out process some of this potential begins to be made available for use. We need to see this in relationship to each other, so that we are not impatient with one another, and certainly we do not condemn one another. If you find a bent nail when nails are scarce, you don't condemn the nail for being bent—you go to work to straighten it out so that it may be used. And if we see things that are wrong in each other, we don't condemn those things, properly, as we should already recognize, but we seek out those things which make for right use, and these are always present in people. Usually we overlook them to a large extent until the person isn't there anymore; then suddenly we find there is a blank and we're so sorry that we didn't really take full advantage of the situation. Here was something wonderful and we didn't really appreciate it. Only when it isn't there do we realize how wonderful it was. And so let us appreciate what is present, and seek to make the fullest possible use of what is present before we want any more.

I think that this applies to our Ministry as such. There is an idea, or has been, on the part of many, that we need to go out and really drum up business; we need more people. Do we? Have we made the fullest possible use of what we have? Oh undoubtedly there must be more—in fact it should include everyone—but how is it going to be that it does so? Because we go off half-cocked? Or because we ourselves learn what it means to pioneer in the true sense, so that the fullest possible advantage is taken of everything that is now present? And when we've done that, I don't think there will be any difficulty, any problem, about getting more recruits. If the recruits we now have are not adequately trained, what would we want more for? Let us let our own potential be experienced fully, and then when that is so, I am sure there will be others clamoring at the door. We can look with a supercilious attitude at people out there somewhere and say, “Well why don't they see what we see?” But that isn't really the point. Would we want them to behave the way we behave? When we are right, when that which finds expression through us is right, then we would be happy to see others express likewise.

Many people talk about the Golden Rule—it was mentioned several times in our party this afternoon—but most people don't know too much about it. “Do unto others as you would they should do unto you.” Express the truth! This is what we would do unto others, because we would be delighted if they would do that unto us. Allow the full potential that is now present to be used in every respect, and we will find that the reality of freedom is experienced. We become capable people, effective. We have been introduced to the idea that the word can’t is spelled won’t. If something can't be done, seemingly, there is an opportunity to investigate a little—if there is a need, and it seems as though it can't be done, we should look again. The approach should be, “How can it be done?”

So the pioneering spirit, what a tremendous thing that is!—the pioneering spirit which causes a person to know his own worth and to recognize that the facilities are at hand by which the fulfilment of purpose may be achieved. Our vision should be a little higher than if we're merely going out into the wilds to pioneer in the ordinary sense. We have another purpose, but we equally must be assured that this purpose is capable of achievement, and that we can do it individually speaking. It is not just a matter of saying, “Oh I know that the whole can do it.” Well the whole certainly must do it, but there must be a whole then, and this requires all of us individually, knowing within ourselves that we can do it; not just in a pattern where we're propped up by other people standing around us, but also in some situation where we are required to be entirely on our own, without any apparent external help whatsoever. There must be that sort of independence in the spiritual sense before a coordinated pattern really works; otherwise the coordinated pattern will tend to be an apron-string pattern, everybody propping everybody else up. When you take away one of the props the whole shooting match falls down.

Let us concern ourselves with this sort of a spirit, an independent spirit in this sense: not to take us out of the whole, but to enable the whole to take form on the right basis of coordinated interrelationship. And it is through this sort of a whole that something can really be achieved in a greater sense. We can do so much as individuals, but the whole is what gets the whole job done. Without the independent individual there can't be a whole. But remember, independence is not an ignoring of others. It is not an ignoring of the design, of the pattern. It is not trying to do things on one's own without regard to anyone else. The really strong person is capable of working with others. It is only weakness that tends to take a person away from others. So let us participate in this venture, in the attitude of pioneers, with the same sort of a spirit, that thereby we may be in position to use everything to advantage and to get the job done.

© Emissaries of Divine Light

Brought  Face-to-Face  With  Facts

from  True Brinksmanship

Martin Cecil   October 1, 1961

With the pressure coming on in the world of man, the necessity of playing our parts correctly becomes even more evident. If we are to serve truly, we rejoice in the increase of pressure. We know very well that that which is being experienced in the world is just exactly the way it should be. “Not one jot or one tittle shall pass from the law, until all be fulfilled.” Pressures are an essential part of the outworking of God's purposes, for human beings have given abundant evidence that they will let it be on no other basis. Opportunities have been offered over and over again by God for the fulfilment to come in the easy way, so that all the children of men might experience the blessing which God offers so freely, but time and again it has been made evident that human beings will not move, will not even consider the ways of God, without harsh and tragic experience. And so it is today. If any in this unhappy world are to experience restoration there must be those who are capable of leading the way; there must be those who, in the circumstances as they now are, have themselves adequately experienced the restoration so that they may be in position to offer leadership and to share that which they know with others.

You all have a recognition of the fact that we must be in the world but not of it. We are of no value if we are out of the world, and we are of no value if we are in the world and of it. We are only in position to play a constructive part when we are in the world but not of it. In the creative processes of God there is that which acts and there is that which is acted upon. For the essential restoration to take place in this sphere of God's creation these two aspects of creative function are required: that which acts and that which is acted upon. It is evident that if order is to be brought to this chaotic world there must be that which acts in the creative sense, capable of restoring or bringing forth order. Obviously there is a very great deal to be acted upon. If we are identified with that which is being acted upon, with this great mass which is observable all around us, we will find ourselves in a realm of increasingly tense discomfort. How capable are we, at this point, of holding true to an identity with that which acts, so that we do not find ourselves in the realm of being acted upon? Obviously, if we are simply in the realm of being acted upon we are in the same state as everyone else. Here is the distinction between those who are in the world and of the world and those who are in the world but not of the world. The only way by which anyone can be in the world and not of the world is to be identified with that which is acting rather than that which is being acted upon.

Recognizing the importance of the increasing pressures in the world for the outworking of the Divine purposes, we should be keenly aware of the importance of our own clearing from an identification with that which is being acted upon. We could hardly rejoice in the evidence of increased pressure if we were ourselves subject to that pressure. Human beings who place themselves in that position are concerned with finding a way of escape. If we function correctly we are glad that there is no way of escape. Every seeming avenue of escape is being closed, so that human beings become increasingly aware of the fact that there is no way of escape. Always hitherto it has seemed that there could be a way of escape, and so people have not, in any general sense, been willing to face themselves. They always felt that if the worst came to the worst they could duck out. But now, where would we go to escape? There is no place on the face of the earth, and fortunately there isn't much place yet to go to through outer space. Everyone is trapped in a condition where there is no escape. It seems like a terrible thing to those who begin to become aware of it, something to engender desperation; but to those who are wise and who understand, it is cause for rejoicing, because finally mankind in the fallen state is being brought face-to-face with facts, facts that hitherto they have been able to avoid facing. There was always a way of escape, but at last, as it inevitably would, the time comes when man has produced the conditions which force him to face the facts. Of course at this point very few have actually done it. But as the pressure increases it will become most definitely apparent to all people that they have reached the end of their self-active endeavors. There is no way by which they can be successfully continued without complete self-destruction

We note the increasing pressure as it relates to the world situation. We begin to appreciate the correct attitude toward it of those who truly serve. “Rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them,” for the time is at hand. The pressure must mount to whatever heights are necessary for the fulfilment of the Divine purposes. This is the reason for it from our standpoint, and we can observe how human beings are playing into the hands of the Lord. It has sometimes been thought that there have arisen certain scourges in the world in order to compel human beings in the right direction, the assumption being that God raised up wicked men to bring this pressure to bear. Of course God did not do anything of the sort. God raises up those who respond to Him. But the actions of self-active human beings have produced conditions where self-active human beings have certainly played a part which the Lord was capable of using to advantage. He did not put them there to do it. They put themselves there, with the help of many others. But seeing that they were there, the situation has been used to advantage, and it is being used to advantage now.

Those who have been dwelling, as they supposed, safely in the so-called free world are very much irritated and afraid because of what the communists are doing—most disturbing. We cannot continue to enjoy ourselves as we used to do. That's about the size of it. “Why don't they leave us alone, so that we can enjoy ourselves as we please?” It would be too bad if it was that way. When human beings are prosperous and self-satisfied they imagine they do not need God. As a little background insurance they may maintain their membership in a church. They do not really need God, they think. The pressure comes on, things begin to get difficult, and there is a turning toward God. “God help us to preserve our way of life. Our way of life, if you please. Of course our way of life is good; therefore it must be the right way of life. God must support us in it, naturally.” This seems to be the reasoning. And so it is very disturbing when the Germans or the Russians, or somebody or other, begin to bring pressure to bear. However, it happens this way. And from the standpoint of the Lord it is a wonderful thing, just right. I suppose we could say that the communists are doing a good job in this regard. They may think that they are going to achieve their own ends by it, and that is all right; they probably would not be doing it if they did not think that. So let them do it, because we need the pressure; human beings are not going to come to the point of repentance without it.

However, we recognize at the same time that there must be a control which holds what we might call the balance. The maintenance of an adequate measure of control in the world, so that pressure can be increased without going over the brink, is important. On the one hand we recognize, from the standpoint of the fulfilment of the Divine purposes, greatly increased pressure is needed; on the other hand we see what an unfortunate thing it would be if this increase of pressure took human beings over the brink. So there is a nice balance point there. In order to maintain it there is the necessity of having something on earth which is capable of extending Divine control into the world of man's making on the basis of God's power.

You have some vision in this regard, recognizing the relationship between your individual, personal environmental affairs and the larger picture as it relates to the world as a whole. These things are not separated in actual fact. They certainly are not separated from the standpoint of that which must be done through this Ministry. How much rebellion or objection or feeling of being overwhelmed is there yet in you when the pressure begins to mount in your own environmental field? If you can't handle your own environmental fields on the right basis I don't think you would be much use in relationship to the direct service as it applies to the world situation. As has been repeatedly emphasized, it is what you do in your little affairs—and they are very small in actual fact, relatively speaking—that determines as to whether we have control or not. We take the attitude that we welcome an increase of pressure. Where? Just out there somewhere? In relationship to people over there? Well that is part of it, yes—we need increased pressures out there. But do you think you can have increased pressure out there without having it right here? Of course not! It is going to be everywhere. If we relinquish right control here, with respect to our fields of responsibility in this Ministry, where will the control come from to maintain the balance out there?

Can we look at this honestly, with a true recognition of fact? I have been observing some little pressures building up here and there—actually nothing to speak of, and yet how quickly a sense of being overwhelmed arises. We only feel overwhelmed when we begin to identify ourselves with the things that are being acted upon. We need to recognize something here, because our physical bodies have a very obvious relatedness to that field of affairs which is being acted upon. If we are identified with our physical bodies we shall find ourselves subject to the state of being acted upon. Our identification needs to be with that which is acting. When it is, our physical bodies may share the action; but if we are identified with our physical bodies, then we reverse polarity and we will be overwhelmed. The physical body is privileged to share the Divine action, but it is not the source of the Divine action. We are to be identified with the Divine action. We recognize that our physical bodies are important to enable us to be in the world, but if, at the same time, they cause us to be of the world then we nullify the value of our being in the world. We might just as well not be here. We are in the world because we have physical bodies—and we see the importance of being in the world—but we are not of the world, because we let our identity be with that which is acting and not with our physical bodies. While we have a keen awareness of the importance of the physical body, it does not dominate our attitudes. It is important because it enables us to be identified with that which is acting while we are on earth, but we can be identified with that which is acting, regardless of whether we are on earth or not.

So we begin to allow something of the reorientation in attitude toward our own physical bodies. This is not what we are. This is simply the means by which we are enabled to be in the world, and consequently to be in position to let that which is acting come into the world through our physical bodies. We welcome pressure when we are identified with that which is acting, because such action, extending from the Divine source, partakes of the irresistible force, and there is no pressure possible of being engendered on earth which can be greater than that. Therefore we are in position to maintain control, and it is the maintenance of that control which is so vital as this pressure is built up.

Now where are we going to maintain that control? Are we going to imagine that it is somehow reaching out to those in responsible positions in the world? By some magic means we are going to make sure that they behave? No, if it is going to be at all, it is going to be right where the person is, in the immediate environment, in relationship to the immediate affairs. If we say we welcome pressure in the world because we see the necessity of it for the fulfilment of the Divine purposes, we welcome it right here where we are. We are delighted to let it build up in our environment. If we find that in our environment there is a state of disorder, well there is a state of disorder in the world. The question is as to what our attitude is toward it, what we do, what our function is in relationship to that. Do you imagine that we are going to be able to get everything just so, to suit ourselves? I don't think so. I don't think we would be of any use to anyone if we got it that way. We have to be able to meet situations as they are in the world, not as we would like them to be; and if we find disordered states within the scope of our own field of responsibility, well that's fine. If we rebel against it we are rebelling against pressure, and if we are rebelling against pressure we are rebelling against God, because that is absolutely necessary in the fulfilment of the divine purposes, human beings being the way they are.

So with the attitude that says, “Oh isn't this terrible? What awful things I have to deal with! Why can't people function rightly, so that I wouldn't be under this pressure?” we are sure to fail. Have we reached a point where we are in position to handle pressure on the right basis, or not? If we haven't, God help the world, unless there is some group of people somewhere of which I know nothing doing the right thing. To take responsibility to stand firm and to work through whatever it is without being moved by it—this is being in the world but not of it. The idea of being in the world and not of it has been to so many such a fanciful thing. It has not been real at all. Right where we are, we are in the world; right where we are, we can so function that we are not of it. Of course that is the only place we can function anyhow.

Pressure. Those things which we experience day by day, what is our attitude toward them? How do we handle them? How do we meet the issue? Do we get all bothered about it? If so, we are identified with that which is being acted upon. We are absolutely useless. When a little pressure comes, what do you do? Do you throw in the sponge? Here, in relationship to our little daily affairs, is where the control pattern is established, if it is established. If it is not established here it is not established anywhere else insofar as we are concerned. There will be those things which come to us by reason of what is occurring out there. Problems of different sorts will be increasing as the days go by. There will be those things which are more personal in nature in the immediate environment. What do we do? What is our attitude? Where is our identity? “Rejoice, ye heavens,” as the pressure comes on. That pressure will be felt, because we have physical bodies in this world. We are not exempt. Of course it is felt. If we were exempt from it of what value could we be to anyone else? Everyone else has to take it. So do we in that sense. The difference is that we should be centered and identified with that which is acting. If you are all involved in the self-interests of your physical body in various ways, you cannot at the same time be identified with that which is acting. So we are very much aware of the pressure. Of course. Necessarily so. Everyone else is and will be increasingly. But we surely should know how to handle it, how to meet it, how to deal with it, how to work through it, that the evidence of victory may be seen on earth. The very moment a person begins to become involved with that which is being acted upon, it looks like a hopeless business. And of course it is, in that state, absolutely hopeless. That is why pressure is so valuable, because it forces people into the recognition that it is hopeless to continue in that way. If we become involved in the patterns of futility, what failure that is, because we know better. We do know better.

And how is it that the direction of your identification is determined? By the direction of your response. If your response is to that which is being acted upon, well then you are going to be acted upon; if your response is to that which is doing the acting, then you share in the action. There is no doubt, no fear, no uncertainty—there is no pressure that can be engendered on earth which would be overwhelming—none at all. Conceivably it could be overwhelming to the physical body. It seemed to be so in our Master's case, didn't it? But His identification with that which acts was not broken—neither need it be for any of us. It is only as that connection is maintained, held, so that we are on the Rock, that this glorious opportunity can be used to advantage in the fulfilment of the Divine purposes. Everything is just set right; we wouldn't have it any other way at all. This is the way human beings have made it. All right, we accept it that way, and we will use it to advantage. And we recognize that the pressure is going to increase; human beings insist upon having it that way. It is a deliberate thing insofar as human beings are concerned. All right, that's fine. We can take it. We know how. Most other people do not. And there are very definite ceilings from the standpoint of self-active human beings. Some are able to maneuver to higher levels, and they are the ones who are the top dogs in the world of man, but they can only go just so far.

But these things have to be proven out. It is not a matter of talking about it, theorizing about it. We need to see these things before they happen, but we need to be able to function correctly as they do happen. And our ability to do so is determined moment by moment in relationship to these things around us. And when we can handle these things and maintain the control firmly at all times, we can do a little maneuvering in the field of brinkmanship ourselves, and have it work to the glory of God.

© Emissaries of Divine Light