From Glory Unto Glory
Alan Hammond April 7, 1991 Sunrise Ranch
Long before we met the Emissaries, there were men and women in our lives who represented nobility, beauty, integrity. That was the One Spirit shining through human form. There may have been conspicuous people in our lives who provided this, but there were many others too. As our lives unfolded we became aware of the frailties of human nature that were mixed in with the beauty we were responding to. Then somewhere along the way we encountered somebody who really excited us, not only with their revelation of life—beauty through human form—but also with their words concerning our own greatness. We longed to fulfil this. So whatever person or group we met, we eventually found ourselves in this room this morning, seeking to increasingly reveal the truth of ourselves, our true stature, our true beauty—because this, we know, is our only meaning. Our meaning is not tied to an external pattern of accomplishment or to the acquisition of certain things. We know meaning as we reveal our true stature and beauty in every moment of living. This sounds like a tall order, but this is why we are here.
Jesus said, when he was on earth, “Come near unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”—and other things too, such as peace and joy. Here was a point of revelation of reality, the truth of Being in human form. Uranda and Martin Exeter said the same: “Draw near unto me. Learn of me, because the truth of me is the truth of you. Your meaning and fulfilment in being alive will be to reveal this reality? The question arises in this hour, as we consider our experience of life: Can we say to our worlds, “Come near unto me”? Do we extend the invitation, “Draw near unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden and miserable, and I will reveal to you the truth of Being and how to experience this natural reality”? This is why we are alive, and we can do it. Jesus, Uranda, Martin said, “Draw near unto me.”
Many of us have had more than enough education; we know who we are. We are an aspect of life, the Creator, the creative spirit of Being. That’s who we are, and we may express that, moment by moment. Each of us endeavours to reveal the Way, the Truth and the Life. If we are to fulfil our meaning and purpose on earth, we must let the light shine and reveal the true spirit in every aspect of our living. This is not just theoretical dogma. We are here to, and can, reveal the Creator. This is so exciting a prospect; this is the work of every moment. How can I reveal the beauty of the Creator in this moment?—which would be in a certain aspect of life, whatever is in focus in the moment.
When it is brought to specific issue like this, many of us get nervous, because we think of certain aspects of our lives where we know greater clarification is needed. We would not really like our lives in these areas to be exposed and we certainly would not say to the world, “Come near unto me and look at this as an example of the way to be in heaven.” But there is nothing to be dismayed about. We are here in the current of the Spirit of the Creator, and we begin to find it a delight to let the Spirit of God, our true Being, our true Spirit, shine through every area of living—even the areas of unclarity at the moment, unclarity in the human aspect of ourselves. This is exciting, because it is the unclear areas that are causing grief and we wish to let the grief pass away. So, we are not being rebuked and battered on the head by the spirit of God; we are being invited into creative action as the Creator.
One of these areas in our lives might be the workplace. Are we a radiant focus of spirit on earth, relative to work? Many people do not experience heaven in work. Am I an example? Well, there are things I don’t particularly like doing sometimes. But in becoming aware that the Spirit of the Creator has faded, I intensify it and reintroduce it. It is not, by the way, related to the kind of job we have. To be a point of orientation for people in work, one does not have to be a president. It is not the form of the work, it is the quality of spirit we express in whatever the job is. Being a spiritual focus is our success—the Spirit of the Creator.
What about relationships? This is an acutely embarrassing area for many people, because they have relationships which are unfulfilling. And so they think to themselves, for example if they are not married, “I can’t say, Come near unto me and learn from me of relationships? Well, let’s re-examine this. It is not the form of whatever relationships we have; it is the quality of spirit we express in relationship to the people in our worlds. We can be successful in this; we can be creative in our interaction with people, even if they have been pretty miserable relationships up to this very day. Suppose we are single, living in one room, hardly seeing anybody. If the quality of our tonal interaction is loving and honourable, even in our thoughts about people, then spiritually we are saying, “Draw near unto me. This is the way.”
Another area is money. Again, many people are embarrassed if you discuss it specifically. But we want to be specific. It’s more exciting if it’s specific. Many people find themselves often sliding into debt. If you examine why, there are probably areas of character that need to be addressed: honesty, living within your means—things like this need to be considered. Even though you may be living on—what?—seventy dollars a week, let’s say, you don’t have to have thousands and thousands of dollars in the bank to represent the Creator in that field; the job is to be creative with your seventy dollars a week, or fifty, or ten thousand, whatever amount it is.
So it is not the form of the area of life that is supreme, it is the quality of our momentary spiritual expression in that area. This is what we are here to reveal; that the restoration of true manhood and true womanhood is not a chore and we are not miserable sinners; we are aspects of the spirit of God, the Creator, and may emerge ever more fully and effectively through these human capacities and express our true selves into the world. What a simple message. What a delightful task!
This leads me to think a little about theology. Most theologies and myths indicate that man was once made in the image and likeness of God and revealed that True Self, but sometime in the past he fell from that state. In falling from that expression of himself, he fell out of the true experience, which is describable by the word heaven—he fell from that experience into what we know today, which is often hellish, with little bits of heaven now and then. Some theologies also say that in the future there will be a restoration to man’s True Self and the true experience. Most religions say this will occur after death and most theologies say it will be restored in experience on earth someday in the future. All these theologies and myths are in fact projections of life experience now, because we can participate in the fall today. If we do not express our Divine selves, we fall into an experience of hell or purgatory now. If we participate in the restoration now, we experience the restoration now. If we express the true Spirit now, we experience heaven now.
There is undoubtedly a longer cycle of overall restoration, but the magic is that as an individual one can experience heaven now. The kingdom of heaven is within. Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Hell and heaven are here and now. We participate daily in either the fall or the restoration. Our job is to participate in and experience the restoration now. We know how to do it: by expressing the spirit of the Lord, the King who dwells in heaven.
This matter of living in the now is an amazing study. There is so much included in what seems to be such a tiny space. The totality of Being is included in now. That’s quite a bit! It is all happening now. Nothing is happening in the past, and nothing is happening in the future. It is all happening now. So if we wish to play our part in Being, there is something to be done in the human psyche which allows us to focus in the now, which would bring us into a totally different universe, into a totally different experience of living, because, whether we have known it or not, our consciousness tends to be spread out into the past and into the future and it’s therefore not the experience of reality.
One of the robbers of the experience of heaven is unrealistic dreaming about the future, or even about the present: achievement, accomplishment, or how things should be. Relationship is an excellent example of this there are many marriages in hell because people are measuring their experience against an image of how it should be. I suppose Hollywood has helped wreck marriages and relationships, because it has fostered fantasies about this topic. No individual is the same as any other. We are all absolutely unique. A relationship between one unique individual and another unique individual creates an absolutely unique relationship. Therefore any married couple cannot expect to have a generic relationship. It will be absolutely unique. Most couples at some point begin to be dissatisfied with their relationship, often largely because they are trying to fit the unique relationship into a generic mold: “l should always feel close. l should always feel this way. They should do this. They should do that.” But if we could begin to be real ourselves and let the other person be themselves, I think we would find a more relaxed situation. Maybe it would seem more distant at first, but so what? Perhaps it can’t be much worse! Let’s give the process a chance.
The point here is that reality is present. Let's begin to explore what reality would produce, instead of living according to imposed fantasies. This applies to our relationship with the world, our jobs for example. What great achievement do we have in mind? Do you feel that you are a failure because you have not become a great painter or a great pianist or a great bank president, or some other external position? Well, lots of unhappy people have all those positions. What we are considering is how to participate in whatever jobs the design of life brings to us.
We often feel we would like to do something really great in our lives—slay a Goliath, have some great accomplishment. You may say David accomplished something tremendous when he killed the great giant, Goliath. You could also say he couldn’t miss! In order to hit Goliath exactly in the right spot—wherever that was—it was not so much being able to hit a big target as a small one. No doubt as a shepherd boy he spent hours, days, months with his slingshot, hitting what would be the equivalent of tin cans! He spent hours presumably, aiming at little things, so that when Goliath came along he couldn’t miss.
There is a lesson here: great accomplishment is achieved by constantly hitting the little things right on, with right spirit. lf we practice accurately moment by moment expressing the Spirit of the Creator even if we don’t feel like it, or even if someone is doing it all wrong—and if we don’t let our thoughts and our feelings become disruptive and vicious and the like—and we keep hitting with creative spirit the little things moment by moment, we will find that conditioning of the heart and the mind begins to occur. And when a so-called big event comes along it is no bigger than the little events we have been dealing with moment by moment. In fact the little events are the big events—this is our life, in the moment. What other life is there except this moment, whenever it is?
If you are going to provide the radiant focus of spirit on earth, it has to be in this moment. Nobody should ever be bored again, for the rest of their lives! You may say, “What can I do? What shall I do?” Well, you can provide the radiant focus of spirit on earth, for the world—no mean occupation! There is no little thing to do. It is all the revelation of the Creator through human form. When we have the attitude that this is the job, we find that we are not dreaming about: “Find me some decent people to live with. Where are the stars in this world? Where are the meaningful people? Where are the important people? Where is the action on earth?” The action is where we are. We may still have a dim view of the scene: “I'm greater than this; I’m destined for great things, with great people.” Well, this is what you have to work with. This is the part of the Cosmic Design you are in, exactly where you are. And life says, “Hey, do it then!” (Maybe not in those exact words, but that is the gist.)
Do it then! Be great in this context. Reveal your greatness in this context. If it seems difficult, well, show how great you are by taking care of it. We may begin to accept our place in the design of life and deliver the goods exactly where we are—not second guessing the Lord, life, the whole, as to where we send ourselves. We wake up to find that we are in exactly the right place to do what is needed now. In doing this, moment by moment, we find another great truth of life. We begin to discover what life is really like. When we are real, we find that life moves from Glory unto Glory—heaven is like that.
There are two aspects to life’s creative process, an integrating aspect and a disintegrating aspect. Much misery is experienced in the human psyche because of not knowing how to focus consciousness in the midst of these two contrasting aspects of the creative process. The thing to do is to focus on what is integrating. In our lives there are forms that are constantly integrating and disintegrating. People come closer—we would call that integrating—and then there are other people whom we begin to see less often and eventually they may drop off our peripheral vision and we don’t see them again. This process is going on in many aspects of our lives. Things and people are fading out of our worlds, and other things and people seem to be fading in. If we pay too much attention to what’s moving out, we will tend to be miserable.
There is no need to be miserable, because the Cosmos, the totality of Being, is One. Even if friends move away from us they are not lost in the totality of Being—they are going somewhere else in the design. We can still have communion and connection with them at some level. The point is that our job is to focus on what the current of life, the Spirit of Life, the Spirit of God, is bringing into our worlds. That is what we should be working with more and more, and creatively participating with, and we let move away whatever has to move away.
We are not talking about forcing something away. Actually there are some people and situations that stay in our lives that we wish had gone long ago! But they just won’t budge. Well, there must be something creative to do with that situation. Let’s explore it. Maybe it could be turned into heaven instead of hell. Who knows? Let’s be our great selves here. If we move through life seeing what life is bringing to us, moment by moment, integrating with our creative field, and we work creatively with that, we are not worried about what is disintegrating. It’s not really disintegrating, in one sense; it is all moving toward integrating somewhere else. Heaven is a vast place. Human consciousness has become so isolated from the whole that it can’t believe that you can move into another part of Being and have it as beautiful as what was known before. The truth of life is from Glory unto Glory. So we let it happen—jobs come, jobs go. Another pattern of activity will appear; something else will integrate. We get on with it.
Death of the physical form is always looked on as disintegrative. True, the body disintegrates, but there is an integrative part to it. So, when it comes to the disintegration of the human form, let’s not look at that too closely. Let’s keep our eye on the integrating current of life, that factor, and move with that into the sunset. It turns out to be a sunrise. What is coming now for us to participate in? What is the new creative cycle? It is going to be an exciting experience of creative activity, in which I can reveal my beauty, my greatness, my stature.
We may participate in the current of Life itself. The current of Life is an overlooked commodity. It is animating all this universe of dust, everywhere. There is colossal magic as we begin to pay attention to what is happening in us and through us and around us in this one vast current of Life. This current of Life links us instantaneously with what is happening anywhere else. The current is the same instantaneous, simultaneous current everywhere on this globe, the same current moving throughout the solar system, the galaxy, the whole universe.
There is one current of Life moving now, everywhere, doing one thing. Whatever that one thing is, it is happening through all forms. We belong to that. Some people feel lonely, but the current moving through them is integrated with what is happening everywhere. If we begin to pay attention to the quality of that current and act accurately out of it, we are playing our part in this integrated Whole. We are not only playing our part in the immediate moment (because the one Spirit is animating everything, everywhere) but we are also affecting the future.
There are many examples. Caterpillars go into the chrysalis in the current of life and when they come out there is foliage right there to eat. It’s all synchronized. In acting accurately out of the current now, we are being coordinated with what is going to happen in the future. The way is being paved and there is movement toward the future—factors in the future of your life, the design of your life—which we want to arrive at exactly right, on time, synchronized, ready to participate. It will all work perfectly if we begin to pave the way now by expressing accurately in the current of Life.
We need not be governed by forms of action. We cannot live our lives saying, “I should never do this. I should never do that. I should always do this. I should always do that,” because it is the creative current of the moment that should determine what the action is. Nor should we be governed by the emotional level of things. The governing factor is the creative Tone, the Spiritual Tone of the Creator. It’s that level at which we begin to live. It is possible to express anger, for example, that is creative. Anger can be creative or destructive. What’s the difference? There is something above the categorizing of emotion which we need to discern. There is such a thing as righteous anger, righteous sadness, righteous anything—there is a Tone. The question is: Is it an act of the Creator? We need to be able to discern that. There could be destructive happiness, for example. Somebody has just robbed a jewellery store, run round the corner and wasn’t caught; he is delighted. Joy is not always on tone! So you can’t assess the action or discern the creativity of something by its external form of action or its emotional form. We have to discern at the spiritual level. This liberates us; we are not bound by such concepts as “Oh, I must never express anger.” Sometimes anger is a noble, honourable thing to express, and creative. Sometimes it is just the expression of a silly, hurt ego, and that isn’t of much value.
So, is it not an exciting thing to be alive, to provide a radiant focus of spirit on earth? I am spirit; I am the Spirit of the Creator. We each can say this. I love to express the glorious character that I am. I am going to do it through this form—this body, this mind, these emotions—limited though they may be, I know who I am. I am the Spirit of the Creator and I am going to do my very best to reveal myself through this form and through the forms I find in my environment. This is why we are alive. This is the meaning and purpose for each of us. As we do this more and more effectively, we find we are in heaven on earth and we fulfil another part of our job, which is to encourage others to come into this new identity. As we begin to interact in this identity, a whole new level of life opens to all of us.
© Emissaries of Divine Light
