To All People

from

To  All  People

Martin Cecil   December 16, 1979

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” The secret place of the most High could well correlate with the balance point; when we dwell there, then, we abide under the shadow of the Almighty. The shadow of the Almighty is the evidence of the presence of the Almighty. That has been referred to as Shekinah. Shekinah is the spirit of God, in combination with the fine vibrational substance of heaven. This fine vibrational substance, in combination with spirit, pours forth when the door is opened. Each one individually is the door when he or she comes to that balance point.

It is a matter of dwelling, of staying put, exactly where we belong — namely this point of balance. There is properly a steadiness known and absolute trust. That absolute trust is a natural experience at the balance point. When we get away from the balance point, out a little on either limb, we do not find it so natural to trust; that is, to trust the Lord. We then begin to trust our mental processes and we consequently become subject to the devil once more. But dwelling at the balance point, in the secret place of the most High, trust is natural; this is the point where knowing is the natural experience. Knowing and trust are really two aspects of one thing.

When we assemble for a service, as we have done this evening, we have a very special opportunity to come to this balance point together and to dwell in the secret place of the most High, finding ourselves consequently abiding under the shadow of the Almighty. The fire that burns, the light that glows, the cloud of glory, are to be experienced. This is Shekinah. The reality of the shadow of the Almighty is only known as the door is opened. The door is opened by reason of one’s own living expression. It is the expression of Shekinah that allows Shekinah to be known. It is the outpouring of the spirit that allows the spirit to be known. As long as Shekinah is locked behind the door human beings cannot know it, even though it is present. The very fact that material form is present gives evidence of the fact that Shekinah is present; but Shekinah remains unknown to human beings until the door, which they are when they come to this balance point, is opened. The opening of the door correlates with what we have called spiritual expression. When there is the fact, the reality, of spiritual expression the door is opened. The spiritual expression is the evidence of the fact that the door is opened. There is a pouring forth into the realm of the coarser levels of substance which are present here in the world.

We are approaching Christmas, which is a celebration from the Christian standpoint of the birth of Jesus. The birth of Jesus is obviously more than the birth of a baby. There has always been a desire, on the part of good Christians at least, to find additional proof of the fact that Jesus was born and existed on earth. The attitude being taken was much along the lines: “If we can find some historical artifacts going back that far, which definitely indicate that this baby was born and Jesus lived on earth for thirty-three years, then this would be a convincing argument for the validity of Christianity.” Well we are not too interested in the validity of Christianity as such. It certainly has not achieved all that it might have done. We could hardly say that the world is revealing peace and goodwill. Surely this should give pause to good Christians: If the power of God relates to Christianity, why is the world the way it is? Is there something wrong with the power of God, or could it be that there might be something wrong with Christianity? We ourselves have some awareness of the trap into which so many have fallen and it has been our concern to emerge out of that trap, honestly recognizing that Christianity as such, while it may have seemed to hold great promise, has not allowed the fulfilment of those promises. Therefore why sustain something which evidently is blocking what might occur if the truth was actually in action?

We have seen these things in some measure and have exhibited a willingness to emerge consciously — at least out of the brashest of Christian beliefs. I suspect that subconsciously there are still some elements of that pattern remaining in view of the fact that Christianity is of long standing in the world, hereditarily speaking. However we do approach what has been called Christmas, which is a Christian celebration — admittedly not at the time that Jesus was born. We have a certain awareness that there was something more than the birth of a babe involved. Here was the initiation of a particular aspect of the creative cycles. Here was the incarnation in human form of the Lord Himself. He came on earth for a particular purpose. The beginning point of this purpose insofar as human awareness was concerned came at His birth. According to the traditional stories that have come down to us about that birth there was a glorious outpouring of something in connection with it, one might almost say more glorious than anything that happened later. Here was the promise of something tremendous, a promise that has not as yet been fulfilled. The promise is summarized rather well by what the angel was supposed to have said to the shepherds.

It is interesting that shepherds were involved in this situation, for we have seen the necessity of shepherding those who are willing, away from the limbs on which they find themselves, into the point of balance. The shepherds were looking after their sheep, and where there are sheep presumably there is a need for shepherds. As someone commented, “Sheep never become shepherds.” No matter how one might train a sheep it would never be a shepherd. This perhaps illustrates somewhat the distinction between the human nature state and the state of man. It also indicates that no amount of evolution in the human nature state will produce man. If a shepherd is to appear from a sheep state it is a new creation, isn’t it? It is something altogether different. You would never mistake a sheep for a shepherd. In any case, in this story, which may indeed have some meaning insofar as we are concerned, there was an angel who put in an appearance, and he spoke to the quaking shepherds. And he said this, first of all: “Fear not.”

Now I think that is very good instruction, because fear tends to put in an appearance when there is a recognition of the real transformation that must occur. Because fanatical human beings who have gone out on the spiritual limb have revealed themselves all too often as being crazy, there is a fear of, I suppose, what might be referred to as spiritual craziness. If you go out on that limb too far the unbalance might become too extreme and then you would have had it, which is probably true. But we are not talking about going out on a limb. We are talking about coming back to the balance point, whether from the spiritual limb or from the material limb. And it is at the balance point, where steadiness is a reality and where absolute trust is natural, that the door may be opened and the transformation occur. The transformation occurs by reason of what passes through the door, by reason of Shekinah: the outpouring of spirit through the fine vibrational substance into the coarser vibrational substance. And that has a transforming effect upon the coarser vibrational substance, and also upon the structures in which that substance may be held presently. There is an unimaginable transformation to occur.

The words that the angel used were these: “Fear not.” Don’t be afraid for what is happening. Just stay in the point of steadiness in absolute trust. “Fear not: for, behold,” look, see, recognize, “I bring you good tidings of great joy.” Tidings is another word for news, isn’t it? Good news. Oh, that is the gospel! News, something new, something in which the experience brings great joy. The experience is this outpouring experience. Because we are living on earth in spiritual expression we ourselves are letting the kingdom come, letting this outpouring take place in our own living relative to our own immediate circumstances. We could not let it outpour anywhere else.

Whatever the circumstances, they have been brought to us so that the action of spirit, the action of Shekinah, might come to bear upon them. What we know is what we express. If we refuse to express Shekinah we don’t know it. If we refuse to express Shekinah because we assume that our circumstances are sufficient to stop it we have, ourselves, introduced the blockage. We have erected a dam, saying in effect, to the outpouring of spirit, “Thus far and no further.” Well of course thus far slams up against the barrier that we have erected, and slamming up against that barrier it starts to push the barrier back. It should be doing this to whatever is not harmonious to spirit in our circumstances, but because we have erected a barrier in ourselves it is pushing up against the barrier in ourselves and not in the circumstances. It pushes us, with our barrier, out into the circumstances and we find ourselves more deeply embedded in the circumstances, so that we are inclined to say once more, “I told you so. The circumstances prevent it.” But we ourselves have produced the whole situation.

The tidings of great joy are the tidings that we are allowing to find expression — spiritual expression — in our living in the circumstances the way they are. Those tidings will come up against the circumstance when we do it, and immediately something will begin to happen in those circumstances. There will be what proves to be harmonious to the action of spirit and there will be also what proves to be inharmonious. There will be a separation of the sheep from the goats in consequence. You have known this in theory for a long time, but why not let it be a proven fact? It is useless as long as it remains merely a theory, but we are in position to let it be a proven fact. This is what is being said here by the angel to the shepherds, and the shepherds were quaking there, not very sure of themselves or what was happening. This is why “Fear not” was the first statement made, as it indeed always is.

“Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” That is quite interesting: “to all people,” something outpouring to all people and something outpouring through all people. The opportunity is there for all people. The Christian view has simply ignored all that, or looked upon it merely from the standpoint of the fact that here was a baby being born, and they have concentrated on that. The birth of that baby, that one person on earth, was supposed to be the object for all people — but that is not so. It is the outpouring of Shekinah in the expression of life that is for all people. True enough, here was one person who proved it out, but that has been rejected by everybody else. The fact of the matter is that Jesus, when He was on earth, was rejected by His contemporaries. That is the precedent that was set, and it has carried through until this day. That would be a shocking thing for Christians to hear, that they have rejected the One whom they suppose is their Savior. We presumably are sufficiently clear of our involvement with that old state so that we could come to a balance point to see these things.

“I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” The city of David was a particular town, a place, a geographical place on earth, but it refers to all geographical places on earth. “A Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Here is the acknowledgment of collective Shekinah for all people. It is only for all people if all those individuals who are the people accept that outpouring in their own living. Otherwise it is not for all people, and it has not been for all people in the experience of mankind. So we have an awareness of our own individual responsibility in this matter — but what was being initiated then is what is being initiated now, what is moving now. It never ceased to move; but there are very few on hand, if any, who would accept the responsibility of providing an open door through which it might move in actual experience.

Let us see if we can expand our outlook a little, if we can see with a greater perspective. How quickly even those who have the opportunity of seeing with perspective revert into the myopic view of human nature. Obviously there is nothing that human beings can do to save the world. All they would be interested in doing anyway would be saving their own skins, saving human nature, which has to pass away. There is something far vaster at work relative to what is happening on the surface of this little planet than is usually supposed, particularly by Christians, who seem to imagine that the salvation of man, whatever that means, is the whole purpose of the universe. How ridiculous! There are those who have been a little concerned as to how what has been called the fall ever took place. It doesn’t seem reasonable to the human mind that it could happen. If man actually was a divine creation, how could he have messed things up so badly, contrary to the true outworking of things? We have been aware that there came a point in the experience of man on earth when the fall was a possibility. Man functioned for quite an extended period of time as divine man, as true man, and it was only relatively recently that the fall took place. Why then, if he had the experience of the wonder of the true state, would he choose to take advantage of the possibility of falling? Of course at that point he had not experienced the fallen state, so he did not know what that was. But there is something involved here which is far more, far greater, far bigger, than man.

The solar system is moving through what may be described as space. It is also part of a galaxy which is also moving through space. There are a number of movements here, besides those closer to home, namely the earth moving around the sun. Because the sun is moving through space the earth is too, and of course the earth is rotating on its own axis. We might look at other movements, but this is enough. Let us consider then the fact that the solar system is moving through space. In times past, space was looked upon as a more or less uniform vacuum. Nowadays they have discovered that it isn’t — there are variations in space. There are different vibratory states in space through which the solar system passes, both on its own hook and because the galaxy is moving too. The variations in that vibratory condition in space were what made possible the fall in the first place. It was recognized that there was a possibility here, and due warning was given in the matter. Man fell, and we find ourselves in this rather wretched condition now. This condition is incapable of being compared to what was before. It is like comparing the sheep with the shepherd.

So there was a period of time during this movement through the vibrational substance of space when it became possible for man to fall — and he fell. By the same token the solar system moves continuously, and at some point moves out of the vibrational substance of space which made possible the fall. Moving out of that vibrational substance the fallen state is no longer possible. Now this stretches the outlook a little, but it is in fact what brings to pass the restoration, at least we trust so. It certainly brings to pass the elimination of the fallen state. That is absolutely inevitable, because the fallen state cannot exist anymore in the vibrational substance of space into which the solar system is now moving, and no human beings have any control over that whatsoever.

We see the evidences of these things occurring on the surface of the earth, particularly in human experience. There is an intensification in every conceivable way. The end result of all this is the elimination of the fallen state. If all that human beings are aware of is the fallen state then presumably it is the elimination of human beings. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance — in other words exhibit a willingness to leave the fallen state behind and move with what is moving. What is moving is moving by reason of God. Nothing moves at all without God, but it is a dimensional experience relative to the solar system and consequently to the earth.

The solar system has passed through a number of changes in this vibrational sense which have produced reactions of various sorts on the part of human beings on earth, and also changes of various sorts in the solar system itself. The idea of a new age is a faint touching, a sensing, of the fact that the solar system is moving into a different consistency of vibrational substance in space. This will happen. Nobody can stop it happening. The only question that arises is: How many human beings are going to be willing to move with what is moving, are going to be willing to let the human nature state be dissolved in their own experience and allow the changing vibrational experience to bring restoration, transformation? Human beings were transformed in the downward path into something other than they were before. On the upward path they must be transformed again if they are to continue to exist. The only possibility of continued existence for human beings is in a transformed state. That transformed state is brought about by the release of Shekinah into the expression of living, regardless of the circumstances.

So there is something happening of vast proportions and we find ourselves in this situation on the surface of the earth. By reason of what has been happening we have come clear in varying degrees from the human nature state and consequently are in position, as shepherds, to behold. Now the sheep who were hanging around there with the shepherds on the hills did not know what was going on. The shepherds were the only ones who knew, and they were afraid; but by reason of the influence of the angel and of the subsequent heavenly host they moved with what was moving, and the story continues, as you know. Those who move with what is moving are the ones who make it possible for others to move with what is moving. They are the door to salvation then, and when others begin to move they in turn become the door to salvation and the way of restoration is made clear.

Now we have been looking at some things that are certainly unprovable by any human mind but nevertheless things that are knowable as there is in fact a movement with what is moving. That movement brings us to a place of balance, and in that place of balance we find ourselves to be the door of salvation to others; not that salvation is going to be handed to anyone on a silver platter, but experiencing the transformation ourselves the way is made clear for the experience of that transformation by others. It has to occur by their expression, just as it has occurred by our expression. It is not that anything can be handed from one person to another. Here is the Shekinah emerging on the basis of a willingness for that emergence to occur on the part of men and women. The way is clear: the change vibrationally speaking, from the standpoint of the movement of the solar system through space, offers the setting in which this transformation can occur. But by the same token it offers the setting by reason of which the dissolution of human nature occurs. We can take our pick!

It is occurring in our own experience, on the basis of emergence, without dissolving us. At any point of course a resistance may become firm enough toward what is happening to push us out of the picture, just the same as it may happen for others who do not have the opportunity that we have. Those others will have the opportunity that we have if we let it work for us; but you see a vast difference here between talking to people and telling them about something, and what is necessary — namely the actual experience of it. Maybe there is the necessity for someone to say something, but it is the actual willingness to yield to what is moving that allows for the experience of the transformation. It seems foolish that anyone would wish to buck that, but it is something that is done.

Seeing with this larger perspective, surely we may the more easily comprehend what is occurring in our own experience and what is occurring with respect to others round about us. There is something here much bigger than the whole human race, and yet the human race is offered the opportunity to participate in what is occurring. Whether they participate or not, and to what extent, will determine what happens in human experience. God is not willing that any should perish — amongst other things, I don’t suppose He is too interested in undertaking the creation of man again. Why bother? There are some around here already made, after a fashion at least, who are capable of being restored, being transformed. We are here to let it happen. But we are here to let it happen in the expression of our own living. We are not laying something on anybody else. We are opening a door for others, but what is happening is happening in our own experience, in our own flesh bodies, in all that we are, vibrationally speaking, as Shekinah comes forth, as the spirit of God proceeds in its process of re-creation. How that happens, how a sheep might be transformed into a shepherd, is something about which the human mind knows very little. It may have some ideas as to what happens when a caterpillar is transformed into a butterfly. It knows that that happens. Well here is a rather greater transformation to occur, and the spirit of God is perfectly capable of doing it and will do it. The transformation will occur. It is our responsibility to see that there is something still around after it has occurred.

I don’t say these things to initiate any speculation. There is no reason to speculate, because there is no basis for the speculation. It is simply that we might have a broader perspective and not get caught up still in human nature self-centeredness, which sees human things as being big, when they are virtually nothing. Let us participate in the creative cycles which you now have the opportunity of seeing, beholding, are in operation far beyond the immediate human experience. But the immediate human experience is included in the operation; and being associated with this immediate human experience, it is wise for us to be aware of what is happening and exhibit an easy willingness to associate ourselves with what is happening.

© Emissaries of Divine Light