“Bless the Lord, O my soul.” How is this possible? A door may be opened for the Lord so that He might enjoy the blessings of His creation by reason of the souls of men. The souls of human beings have cursed the Lord, excluding Him from the enjoyment of His own creation. This is part of our purpose, to make it possible for the Lord to be blessed once more by reason of the souls of men. Let us remember that the soul to which reference is made is the physical form of the human being, composed of the dust of the ground into which has been breathed the breath of life. The living soul lives for and by reason of the Lord.
We have some understanding of these things and some increasing ability to minister in the name of the Lord on earth, speaking the Word of the Lord to the consciousness of mankind, the Word that is fitting at this present time: “Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear.” For this to occur in the experience of mankind the truth of it must be proven out, the visible precedent must be established. We have the opportunity of playing a part in making that precedent visible. Our gathering here is because some aspects of the substance of our consciousness as human beings have been under the heaven—that is, influenced by the heaven—so that we were willing consciously to be gathered together unto one place. The dry land has appeared because of this and we are all present physically speaking, present and in position to let the precedent continue by reason of the command of the Lord: “Let the earth bring forth.” Let our lives reveal the truth from moment to moment but particularly now in this setting. By reason of our physical bodies being here we are capable of functioning in this setting on the basis of whatever the command of the Lord may be. We are here to discover what that command is; not to have any preconceptions about it but to let it be revealed in this moment.
All things work decently and in order. There is nothinghaphazard about the way of the Lord. Human beings are haphazard in their human nature consciousness but the Lord is orderly. There are very specific creative cycles moving, with which His angels are naturally harmonious. That movement is in fact the movement of angels. The human consciousness has had virtually no awareness of this. It has been foggy. The truth has been obscured. The reality of life has remained unknown. People ask one another what is the secret of life; perhaps some great guru somewhere will explain it. But life is no secret, except to the human nature consciousness. Life is plainly revealed throughout the whole universe but the consciousness of human beings has become so darkened that there is ignorance. Because there is ignorance it seems as though there is a need to try to discover many things, amongst which presumably would be included the secret of life. We recognize that there is no need to discover the secret of life, because life is no secret. We would accept the reality of it in our own experience moment by moment.
Every moment is a beginning. Whatever went before culminates in this moment. Out of this moment springs the reality of life, to be expressed according to its true character in this moment. What is to appear because of this movement of life is unknown. We know what is now and we continue to know what is now but we have no need to peer into the foggy future; just to experience what is now. Now is our contact point with life but the future always remains dark. Human beings generally feel uncomfortable about that darkness. They want their teacups read, or whatever, so as to find out what is in the offing. It is much wiser to accept the darkness, because that is the way it should be. We have no need to peer into the future—it is naturally dark. At the beginning of any creative cycle there is darkness. According to the story of creation in Genesis darkness was upon the face of the deep: “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” What is to emerge has not yet taken form.
The darkness with which we are principally dealing is the darkness of human ignorance. It is, one might say, an unnatural darkness. It has been called the darkness of Egypt. But darkness is always the beginning point of a creative cycle. As has been previously noted, God is very practical. He doesn't try to function in relationship to something that is not. He accepts the situation as it is. The present situation includes the darkness of human ignorance. All right, He accepts that darkness as a starting point for whatever creative cycle is necessary to allow that ignorance to be dispelled. This darkness of course is very different to the darkness which was upon the face of the deep, described in the Book of Genesis, but exactly the same principles operate in either case. Obviously the earth has been created; we don't need to do that over again; but there is a state of darkened ignorance in human nature consciousness. Darkness is the essential starting point for any creative cycle, so we accept that darkness the way it is. Human beings have very little awareness of what it is that is going on. They build their fancies in their darkness, but out of darkness light may be generated.
Darkness and light are interdependent. You cannot actually have darkness without light or light without darkness. If it were all dark, as it is in human consciousness, that is the way it is. No one thinks of it as being darkness, because there is nothing of light to make it apparent that it is darkness. On the other hand if it were all light, what would that be? There are these two aspects. We could say that darkness is undimensional substance. We would speak of it as nothing, the absence of light. But clearly, quite apart from human ignorance, we are very much aware of the darkness spread out throughout the universe apparently, perceived on a clear night. There are many pinpoints of light present. The more magnification you have in your telescope the more of these lights become apparent, but darkness nevertheless is a very prevalent state of affairs. It is a most essential state of affairs. It makes creation possible. It provides the undimensional substance out of which initially light emerges. Darkness and light relate to the two aspects of the creative field in which God works. “The earth was without form, and void.” So it is now, relative to what is yet to appear; and darkness is upon the face of the deep both of the future and of the human nature state of consciousness, but the spirit of God may move upon the face of the waters. There may be an activation relative to the darkness so that what we think of as positive and negative poles may be engendered. This relates to light.
Everything is based in what we speak of as the One Law. The operation of the One Law is light. The darkness comprehends not the light. Certainly the darkness of human ignorance comprehends not the working of the Law. There have been some ideas promulgated relative to the Law but the manner of its working has been very obscure, concepts perhaps in the human mind about it but real understanding, no; everything is still dark. The spirit of God moves upon the face of the waters. It moved upon the face of the waters insofar as you are concerned: “And God said, Let there be light.” And out of the darkness of ignorance light has emerged, because there has been an activation within the range of your consciousness of the working of the Law.
We see such creative cycles initiated in each moment, cycles within cycles. This morning we were observing the larger cycle. [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2022/05/let-waters-under-heaven-be-gathered.html] In that, relative to the world as a whole, we are at the point where God says, “Let the waters be gathered together unto one place, the waters under the heaven, those levels and states of consciousness which are in whatever measure yielding to the heaven. The waters are seen collectively; the state of the consciousness of mankind. The consciousness of mankind is present in individuals, brought to specific focus in each person; but it is all part of the consciousness of mankind, so that what moves relative to that whole consciousness will also be moving relative to each individual. The creative Word spoken by God is spoken to the consciousness of mankind. From our standpoint we would say that it is spoken by the Archangel. We properly share the consciousness of the Archangel. It is because of this that he has some consciousness on earth and, by reason of that, can speak the Word of God: “Let the waters … be gathered together unto one place.” So the waters under the heaven begin to move and that movement becomes increasingly apparent. Most people do not know what it is or what is happening, but to the extent that we have angelic perspective we see, know and understand. We participate in speaking that Word: “Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place.” And so we participate in this greater cycle.
But there are also lesser cycles, individual ones. The present moment for each individual here present is the beginning of a cycle. It is the beginning point where rightly the spirit of God, your spirit as an angel of God, moves upon the face of the waters of your consciousness and the word is spoken, “Let there be light”; so that you may become aware in the moment of what it is that is moving in the moment. This does not say that you are aware of everything that is moving everywhere in the moment; that would be utter confusion, wouldn't it? You are aware of what is moving as it relates to the particular point of the consciousness of mankind that comes to focus because of you, because of your soul as an individual. You see what you see. Someone who is sitting next to you sees what he or she sees, and I am sure you recognize that your individual visions do not exactly coincide. Rightly so. We are not all supposed to be the same. There is One Archangel—there is a point of focus in that sense—but His consciousness on earth is composed of what is present in many individuals who have emerged into an awareness of these things because of the command, “Let the waters … be gathered together unto one place.” Because this is happening within the range of your own consciousness as a part of the consciousness of mankind, you are aware of it and you find yourselves compelled to be gathered together unto one place—this place, to be specific in the present moment. But being gathered together in this place, there is a creative cycle now relative to this place, this setting, this configuration of angels. And the creative process always unfolds in order. It is an orderly process. Because it is an orderly process it brings order out of apparent chaos.
Order obviously would never be brought out of chaos if the means by which order was to be brought out of chaos was not orderly. If the cause was chaos the result would be chaos. Actually if we think of chaos as meaning a totally mixed-up state which really shouldn't be there, then of course there has been a chaotic cause for that. But there is the creative process which unfolds in the creative cycles and it may appear to be chaos to human minds but really isn't. What is happening is that various stages in the creative process are being brought forth. The human mind is inclined to think that anything that isn't the finished product isn't the way it should be. This is rather a ridiculous view because continually we are working with things that are not the finished product, and in any case, what is a finished product? I don't think we really need any finished products. That would be the end of it, wouldn't it? There is a product that is ongoing, and it is that ongoingness in the creative cycles that is perfect. That is perfection. Perfection is not some ultimate goal somewhere. It can only be rightly seen as an ultimate goal from the standpoint of our participation in it. If we are not now participating in the perfect creative cycle as we should, then presumably we have some sort of goal in mind, that one day we will get to the point where we are participating in the creative cycle and that will be perfect. But the point is that we are where we are. The Lord is quite willing to accept that fact. Even though many human beings are not, apparently, He is quite willing to accept the fact that people are the way they are. Let's get going, then, on the basis of the way things are; not on the basis of the way anyone would like it to be or hopes it will be one day, but the way things now are, the present moment.
The creative movement comes on the basis of what we have spoken of as True Cause. This is spiritual expression. It is the angelic action. Consequently, if we are to participate in what is actually happening in the creative process, we must be aware angelically speaking. We can't be aware angelically speaking as long as we are fiddling around in the realm of effects, as long as we are struggling in the realm of effects. That is the only place anyone ever struggles anyway. There is no struggle in the realm of cause. The key word in the realm of cause is Let. There is no struggle about that. Just let it. Mind you, letting is not a matter of sitting supinely, hoping for the best, because probably you will experience the worst on that basis. Letting is not a passive activity; it is an activity. It requires let-ers! You know, words require letters, and for the Word of the Lord to be spoken there must be letters in that Word. Then the Word may be spoken because all the letters are in place. When the letters are in place in the Word the Word may be spoken. If you have some particular word and the letters are all jumbled up—it is an anagram we'll say—it needs to be put together in the right way. Until it is put together in the right way it cannot be spoken; nobody knows what it is. So all the letters must be in place. The letters are the angels of God incarnate on earth.
As they come into place there begins to be a comprehensible Word. Actually it is more than a word, isn't it? There are sentences. There is something to be said. When the initial creation was undertaken, “God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” After that He didn't just shut up so that there was nothing else. Some of the further words that He spoke are recorded. Do you think He said nothing in between? The creative process is a constant one. There is constant radiation, we call it. There rightly is constant spiritual expression. It comes to specific points of focus in various ways at different times, but words follow words rightly. There is a creative language, a true language, a language which can only be spoken when there are letters available to form the words and when the words can be spoken and put together in the language. There is one true creative language insofar as the children of men are concerned, rightly, not all this mass of confused tongues that we have now. So in the creative process there is the matter of letting. As angels we need to become proficient letters, accurate letters. In this fancy writing that is sometimes used it is pretty hard to make out what it is that is being written; ancient documents are usually hard to decipher. The Word of the Lord is quite simple, quite straightforward, very exact, but in order for it to be this way on earth it requires exact letters to form the words.
Perhaps we could see Words as relating to this matter that we have described as angelic configurations. Here are some letters being put together in a Word, a Word which is not an isolated word. Isolated words are not all that useful. They may sometimes be used to stir someone from slumber, a couple of words maybe: “Wake up!” But for the most part, to have an intelligible ongoing creative expression we require a sequence of words. If we see the various groupings of angels as relating to this matter of words then we see how sentences are being formed even now. If one is included in any particular configuration let us not imagine that that is the end of it, that is all there is to it. It relates to some other configuration, and when these words are put together in their right sequence then there is a comprehensible statement, a creative command spoken by the Archangel. We have seen that what is now being spoken is in essence: “Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place.” But we are not going on repeating that forever. There are other things to be said in that connection. There are the details of the creative process; but all of them are based in the creative command, all of them are based in the creative Word, the creative words put together. So there is an ongoing unfoldment in the creative sense.
In describing these things I have used an analogy of letters and words, but I think it is an analogy easily seen as applying, because we are all supposed to be letting the truth be revealed in our momentary living. You are not going to be able to make it be revealed by any effort of willpower on your part, but it is ready to be revealed in an orderly manner when you let it, when you stop imposing human nature structures upon what it is that is properly emerging. This is customary with human beings. They tend to translate everything into the structures that are already present in their rigid minds, but the creative process is a fluid one. So we learn to let. As angels we are very proficient at letting. The human nature consciousness is not so proficient. At least it lets in the wrong sort of way. It lets according to the habits of human nature consciousness.
So we participate in a creative cycle which is constantly the first day. This seems rather incomprehensible to the mental apparatus, but do you think if there is function on the basis of the commandment that was given on the second day of creation that at that point the light went out, the first day light went out? No, it is still there. So in any moment there is always that, and it always provides the starting point in relationship to what is to follow, but we find that there are definite configurations in the field of creative cycles which allow us to be constantly present at whatever point the creative cycle may be moving. All this is most confusing to the human mind because the human mind is in darkness. Ah, we need the first day! The light that is needed in the human mind will allow an awareness of the reality of the moving of creative cycles and it is quite unnecessary for the human mind to try to pin them down. It simply may know that they are moving. It may have some awareness, as we have, of the larger creative cycle and of lesser ones but it needs also to be alert to experience light moment by moment by moment; not trying to understand something that it doesn't understand but experiencing the understanding that is available in the present moment, whatever that may be. And if that understanding doesn't live up to the expectations of the human mind, are you going to allow the mind to dictate to you what your attitude is going to be? Are you going to be disgruntled: “I'm not seeing what I think I ought to see with my mind!” How do you know what you ought to see? Be at least as willing as the Lord to accept things as they are, because it is only when we work with what is so, that we can continue to move into the greater experience of what really is so.
So from moment to moment we move in the creative cycles. The spirit of God moves upon the face of the waters. There is darkness as to the future; there is darkness in the human nature consciousness. Let there be light, the light which comes as the spirit of God moves, so that there is a sense of lightness. In that original creative process, what do you suppose there was to be seen when the light came on?—apparently nothing had yet been created to be seen anyway—just the coming on of the light, the sense of lightness, the awareness of the reality of light. Then this effort that the intellect of man makes to try to engender light may cease. It tries to engender light by increasing knowledge. This is the method used by the mind of man to produce what it imagines light to be; but that isn't light; that is darkness, that is the state of darkness, the state of ignorance. Any mind is ignorant that thinks it can produce light by increasing knowledge. It produces confusion; it produces darkness in other words. It doesn't change the condition of darkness. The condition of darkness is only utilized in a creative cycle by reason of the spirit of God. It cannot be utilized by the mind, because the mind is a part of the darkness anyway. Darkness acting upon darkness doesn't produce anything but darkness; no change. It is only when the spirit of God moves upon the face of the waters that something happens. All the rest is fancy, deception, illusion. The world produced by human nature is the world of illusion.
Of course there is a tendency for some to say, “Well that is natural; it should be the world of illusion; it is the world of the senses, the world of illusion.” That is kind of a cop-out, because there is a real world that needs to be here, that isn't a world of illusion. It is only a world of illusion because of what human beings have made of it. So if you include that world of illusion as part of the glorious creative process instituted by God then you really are deluded. A lot of people are deluded on that basis. God is willing to admit that there is a world of illusion that human beings try to live in, and because of that He is willing to start there; but let us for heaven's sake come out of it! Let us move in the creative cycle and participate in extending the creative command into the consciousness of mankind as a whole, because that is what we are here to do. And we only have meaning when we do it; so we only experience the fact of meaning on this basis. If we do not function on this basis then it would not be surprising if we sometimes felt a little meaningless, because that would be the truth of the matter. Let us have meaning because we participate in the meaning of the creative process. Let us share in the unfoldment of this, not trying to understand it, not struggling with it—that maintains the darkness—but letting the creative process continue and moving with it with increasing expertise; spiritual expertise, that is.
We have moved with the creative process in some measure this evening. Now if the mind tries to get hold of what has been happening it will wonder after the beast, won't it? “What on earth has been going on?” And yet if you have been moving with the creative process something has been going on; you know it has been going on. Well don't try to figure it out; just let it go on. That is what we are here for. We are letters, and what is going on doesn't have to conform to some concept of our minds. If it does it will be wrong for sure. Let it be whatever it is. The Lord is willing. Sometimes human beings say, “We'll do this, the Lord willing.” Well the Lord is quite willing to let it work this way. Let's go along with it. Let's share it. Then we begin to experience spiritual understanding, which is very different from an intellectual idea about something. We understand. We play our parts. We fulfil the purpose for which we are here and we participate in the speaking of the creative command by which the changes are wrought in the consciousness of mankind. This is the only way it can be done. Nothing else that human beings can do leads anywhere. It leads in fact nowhere. Let us participate in the now here rather than in moving toward the experience of nowhere.
The spirit of the living God is beautiful; it is powerful, strong, and not in the least haphazard, very orderly. So we share the coming of the Kingdom, the orderly state; first of all in our own consciousness, then in the consciousness of mankind, and then in the environment round about. As we participate in this our souls begin to extend a blessing to the LORD. He may come near to His world on the right basis, come near to a world which is being made orderly according to the living design of the Kingdom. We answer His prayer: “Thy kingdom come.” Yes, certainly! Let us let it come.
Our Divine And Cosmic Identity Volume 1 Chapter 47
The true experience of life is designed to be one of continuous expansion, so that it is always full of interest, with a sense of something new and glorious opening up. We often have hints of this true experience through young people. Their whole lives are before them. However, because most human beings are identified either with their bodies or their minds, after about the midpoint in life they begin to feel that their lives are shrinking. Human civilizations have the same basic experience. They seem to flourish, after a fashion, for a while, then decay. But we are interested in knowing for ourselves and reintroducing the truth into human experience. There is always a level of our Being which is in an expansive phase. Fundamentally, it is the lack of fine substance between the undimensional and the dimensional realms in the human psyche that has caused this disruption of the true process.
Certainly, in the spiritual field there is arrested development in human consciousness. Very little expansion of awareness had taken place since the presence of Jesus on Earth 2,000 years ago, until very recent days when Uranda and Martin Exeter continued the development of consciousness relative to true Identity and function in that Identity. We currently share in the ongoing development of their ministries, seeking to let there be an expanding expression and vision of life through human form. We have every confidence that, although some of the subjects considered may seem outside some peoples’ current experience, they may prove of value later in the awakening process, because the true spiritual Tone and lines of force are inherent in the meditations.
We don’t anticipate that the human mind is going to become aware of all the knowledge that exists in the cosmos. The mind isn’t designed for that purpose, anyway. But it is designed to have its own scope of awareness and function within the Divine Design. We recognize that in order for the true mind of the body of mankind to be present, it would require many Self-aware human beings and their coordinated thinking to facilitate the proper function of that body. There are so few people on Earth at the moment with either adequate fine substance or the basic premises in consciousness to do much real thinking. Nevertheless, we have no trepidation about that, for we know that the overall process of restoration of the true design on Earth is under way, regardless, and we are content to play our part at this juncture in the process as it is, here and now.
Many people believe that God used to speak through human beings a couple of thousand years ago, through people in the Bible or in other religious scriptures, for example, but that God has stopped saying anything now. However, Life is just as much in expression now as it ever was, and Life has something to say through human beings relative to the situation as it is now. Most people rule themselves out as possible participants in God’s expression, so they don’t have as full an experience in this regard as they might. When we seek to articulate the current of Life and Spirit that is moving now, we may quote people from the Bible because they may have articulated something we are experiencing now, and many people accept them as authority figures. But actually Life, we, in this moment choose what we will quote and what we won’t quote, simply because we want to say what we want to say now.
So it might be interesting in this light to examine something that Jesus said, to see what significance there may be in it for us today. He said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” Does that relate in any way to our personal experience? I think it does. There are various ways one can approach this statement. When we read about magnificent expressions of character, where there was nobility, honor, beauty of spirit expressed through historical figures, we recognize that that is the same character and spirit that I Am. Each of us can say this because I Am is fundamentally one spirit. The expression of it back there was my spirit. It was Me.
When we know ourselves, we know that the very core of our Being is this magnificent quality of character. This is who I Am. Spirit ultimately is one. That is why, really, to say “I agree with you” to another human being is quite a modest level of union. That is the expression of one separate person saying to another, “I agree with you.” There is, however, a level of experience that says, “I am one with you. The spirit you have expressed is my spirit. That is Me.”
This is love. Love is oneness. That is why, if one truly loves someone, there is the experience of oneness. There is then movement to protect, to enhance, because there is this experience of oneness. We are one. Friendship is rather a pale word also. By contrast, oneness—love—is the angelic experience of relationship. We are this one quality of Being. And so it is when we read about this spirit in expression in the past, we could each say, “I was there!” This quality of Being, of nobility, beauty, strength, was being expressed then. “I Am” was present then. “I Am” is present now.
There is another way we can think about Jesus’ statement, “Before Abraham was, I am,” which may initially seem a little superficial. But the fact is that each of us experienced Jesus’ words, in this sense. We were born and we generated in our consciousnesses an awareness of ourselves. After that, there was generated in consciousness awareness of other people and things. We may have learned about Jesus or Abraham in Sunday School, for example. Thus before Jesus (and Abraham) was, I Am. All these other people—even the whole world—were generated in my experience after the generation of the awareness of Self: I Am. In my consciousness, before any of these historical people appeared, I Am.
Finally, it wasn’t just the human being, Jesus, who said, “Before Abraham was, I am”; it was the Divine Being, the life essence, speaking through the form of Jesus. But Jesus said to everyone, “Follow me.” So if Jesus could say, “Before Abraham was, I am,” this is true of each of us also. Now this may not be our experience in this moment, but we can have the idea on a shelf, as it were, in our consciousness, so that we can eventually face the fact. Of course, such awareness cannot be plastered on from the outside by merely clinging to a concept. Each individual must generate for themselves adequate fine substance that connects the outer consciousness into the undimensional levels of Being. Then the awareness flows from inside-out. But it is useful to have a general picture of the truth.
There is some truth to the experience of self-centeredness. Most of our experience of self-centeredness has been of the human-nature variety, our own in particular! However, we see it in virtually all human beings now, that they are identified as segregated, isolated individuals who have little relatedness to, or respect for, the cosmos. And they demonstrate this through their lack of respect for the people and things immediately around them, which are part of the cosmos. However, if there is a generation of fine spiritual substance, the outer consciousness is blended into the undimensional levels of Being and the outer consciousness becomes aware of the true Self. Once there begins to be awareness of this beautiful Self, the beauty of Being, we realize it is the same Being that is at the core of all other forms. As there is reverence for one’s own Being, it naturally follows that there is reverence for Being wherever it is encountered. This is the fulfillment of the two Great Commandments: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God”—the truth of one’s own Being—“with all.” As we do this, we naturally love our neighbor as ourselves, because all are aspects of the same Self. This is the true Self-centeredness, which ultimately includes everything.
The cosmos is the one vast body of Being. Much of it is invisible to human awareness. We only really notice the physical aspect, but this cosmic body is animated by radiation emerging out of the undimensional levels of Being. We could call that the vertical radiation—or the current of the Spirit—coming down out of the undimensional into the dimensions of time and space. That radiation is simultaneous throughout the whole cosmic body, causing immediate and coordinated action throughout the universal body. This radiation creates and sustains every atom, moment by moment. If the vertical radiation ceased, the universe would instantly disappear.
Now, in the dimensions of time and space, it seems as though there are what you might call secondary causes operational, such as the movement of light or heat or sound. I suppose you could call them examples of seemingly lateral radiation. But bearing in mind that the vertical radiation is moving simultaneously throughout the whole universe constantly, what seems like lateral radiation is the reflection of the changing relationships of factors in the undimensional levels of spirit. To make it easier to understand, if you walk from A to B, that is a reflection of some changing relationships of factors in spirit. Those changing relationships are conveyed in the vertical radiation and in the manifestation of lateral movements in time and space. Vertical and lateral radiation are one. Of course, with the lack of fine substance in human beings to connect the undimensional and dimensional world, that translation of vertical radiation is distorted. However, if we are aware that all movement in time and space relates to the changing relationship of spiritual factors, we can consciously participate in relating to the essences of spirit present in our immediate circumstances.
In current human consciousness, light is considered to be the swiftest form of energy in the cosmos. But there is much more to the picture than that. There are other energies that move much swifter than light, which only creeps around the cosmos. Perhaps an example by which we can glimpse some other modes of energy relates to thought and telepathy. Consider this: in a human physical body there are billions of atoms and, relatively speaking, vast distances of space between them. And yet, that little cosmos shares universally and instantaneously certain sensations, certain thoughts. So it is with the cosmic body, where throughout that one body there is the simultaneous experience of sensations and awareness carried by the universal, vertical radiation from the One Spirit. Obviously these sensations and thoughts are not as we experience them in our human forms, but the principle is the same.
There are many implications to this universal unity of experience. It means that we here on this little speck of dust in the cosmic body are in instantaneous, continuous communication with the whole body. Thus, for example, in this very room this morning we have immediately connecting factors relative to the Central SUN of Suns. That is true at all times, because we are an integral part of Being at every dimension. So each of us can begin to relax in the outer consciousness and become aware that I Am an integral part of the cosmos at every level. I do not have to try to control the movement of Life, the movement of the Whole. I am identified as a part of the Whole, and ultimately I am also identified as the Whole. I do not have to anxiously hold life under control. I can relax and move with it because I know the nature of it, and I know its unfolding experience is always from glory unto glory.
As a focus of Being in consciousness, I know that God, the Lord, the Whole, wants me to serve in the Whole exactly where I am—in time and space, in this galaxy, in this planet, in this human form, in this consciousness, in the midst of these specific vibrational factors in which I find myself. If I don’t express my beauty, nobility, honor exactly where I am, where am I going to do it? If not here, where? And if not now, when?
So we are aware that we can bring to focus, here and now, exactly the same absolute forces that are at work throughout the whole universal body. In fact, this is precisely why we are here. All those divine, vertical factors are brought to focus in the quality of the sublime Being which I Am, We Are. As that radiation moves from us, undimensional Being acquires form in these dimensions in which we currently find ourselves. Life is an eternal experience of expansion, and a movement from glory unto glory, as we express who we truly are.
David Barnes — This is Shirley’s hour, but she did invite me to introduce her. It's delightful to welcome you all into this company of elders; and I think that's truly what we can call ourselves, not just because of our age, but because of the accumulated wisdom that has gathered over years of paying attention to the things of the spirit which, when they become embodied and lived, create in us an elder presence at some point in our life—with minds clear, hearts open, spirit vibrant and ready to bring something living and transcendent into the world of crazy mixed-up, man. Maybe we at one time felt that we were part of that assembly of crazy, mixed-up man, but something occurred to lift us out of that and bring us through the cycles of growth and development, where we might truly say in this day that I am an elder in the house of the Lord on earth. I think this is a good way to introduce Shirley because she truly is an elder.
I first met the Malin family 50 years ago right now, in April 1972 when I went out to Riverbend Orchard, an organic communal farm in Kamloops that was associated with the central Emissary community [The Lodge] at 100 Mile House; and I went out there to buy goat milk for my young daughter. When I was there I met Shirley's husband, along with some others. It took me a year to go back, and at that time I met Shirley directly. So Shirley and I have first met face-to-face forty-nine years ago—seven times seven—and it seems auspicious that this is your day and hour to be with us Shirley.
Over the months when we have shared Temple of Light services, there has been an emphasis, in a very subtle way, on the emergence of a new quality of man and a new quality of woman on earth, the emergence of divine men and divine women in expression, taking responsibility spiritually, in radiant action, radiant thinking, radiant feeling, here on earth, with emphasis on the fact that this is occurring in our midst, and we can see it unfolding through the lives of others all around the world in this day. A new quality and a new emergence of man and woman. Divine Man, we could say—maybe just say real man, true man, upright man, honourable man; honorable woman, true woman, radiant woman. And I find that this is emphasized today as well, as I introduce Shirley.
One aspect of Divine Woman is Divine Mother, whether she has given birth to physical children or not in Her embodiment on earth—but this sense of mothering something that is to emerge new and fresh through all men and all women who would let that happen; and through men, whether they are physical fathers are not, a sense of fathering the new emergence of sons and daughters, men and women, and caring for and loving what is seen as the emergence of Divine Woman and Divine Mother. In a very particular way, we as men and women coming forth in new ways, have a responsibility, as sons and daughters of God, to represent the Spirit of Mother God, and represent the Spirit of Father God. And one might even say, to represent the spirit of GrandMother and GrandFather, who could be seen as represented in the radiance of the Sun and the focus of Divine Being that we sense is present, and is the source of the great radiance that bathes this whole solar system of which the earth is a part.
We were born to be here on earth in this time, called to remember the fact that we are sons and daughters of God; that we are not part of the body of what has been called in scriptures “the son of perdition”—corruption, destruction, defilement. But we are here as the sons and daughters of love and truth, bringing life in new ways to this planet which has been, over many ages, defiled and, to put it directly, raped, by those who did not know what they were doing. We begin to know what we're doing, as the sons and daughters of God, representing the Father of Love and the Mother of Truth, and bringing a focus of the Spirit of Life through our elder presence as men and women. So it's a particular joy to acknowledge this relative to our friend Shirley who, since she first started to wake up, knew that she was here to be a Divine Woman on earth, and to let that develop and grow into the presence of a true elder, at whatever age that might emerge.
None of us here are particularly expert speakers. We don't look upon ourselves as professionals in that sense; although, as we develop our elder substance, something quite proficient comes through us, though we weren't really trained to be speakers; nonetheless we find we have something to say. We have called it the Word of Spirit expressed in the moment in a living manner— the rhythms of the spirit. But we're here together as friends taking our turn, each one of us, speaking what we have to speak, from our position of an elder in the body of the newly emerging Israel, which is translated as the newly emerging action of the Spirit of God coming through men and women on earth now. Israel—the action of God through men and women on earth. And the elders have been gathered to this extent in this Temple service; and in the world it's happening; and out of this developing body of elder presence comes a point of focus for the expression of spirit that provides a fresh, new exemplification of the government of God.
So Shirley, maybe I have introduced you in a way that might make it seem like that’s a large commission to take on in the few minutes that you have. But I know you have lived your life in this way. And to this hour you and we have been brought together—and it is pure joy to welcome you as a friend, an elder, a Divine Woman and precious colleague. It is good to work together this morning with you. And now we have your words to share with us now— so over to you.
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Shirley Malin — Thank you David. My heart is filled to the brim. Indeed, I'm not here to deliver some grand presentation telling everybody how to go about their lives, but simply to bring something of the substance of my own living. And it is pretty amazing to think that we have come this far, and not necessarily been very much consciously connected with each other's lives; but as with most of us in this Zoom call, we have been in this work together.
Interestingly, it's Easter Day, and in the Christian world they talk about Jesus coming forth from the tomb; but there is the assumption that he died and now he's come back to life. Well, I think we have a sensing that that is a misunderstanding of the truth of what he came to deliver to us, because he never died. He always remained this connected Being to the earthly form, and so he was able to walk out of that tomb. And I believe that this is what we're feeling in this day—we are coming to this rebirth, some people might call it, or coming forth from the tomb. I'm sure that there are a number of us on the line who are parents, and know something about this birthing process, which can be quite uncomfortable in the state that we know now; often lots of pain, and there's a reaching out to get rid of the pain; so we take a medication, or we have someone cut the baby out of our womb; but it's all part of the disaster that's perpetuated what we've known for so long. And we're here now to let the new birth occur because of what I would call the purity of heart. That has been very much my emphasis since I was a child. I didn't have much comprehension of this, but I really related to this service of Martin’s, called Woman, given in August of 1970, which was the year before I met him, and before I became aware of what was happening on earth.
When I was a child, as I look back now, I recall having chosen the two parents that I arranged to be my parents, to steward me through the youthful age, so that there would be enough discipline to experience the truth of love; not just the love that I knew and felt and really wanted to express, but it needed to be under the design and the control of the One who sent me here. And my parents were a wonderful, nurturing, loving couple to provide that beautiful sense of truth, because it wasn't based on the concepts of how one should behave so much, or what you should believe in, but there was the loving discipline, and in those days it was okay to spank a child, and I had my share of that. But it was always done in love, and precisely when it was needed. I've looked back and been so grateful because, as a woman, I’ve never had any trouble attracting men. So this whole thing that is discussed about what women do to create conditions to please themselves wasn't necessarily a big draw for me. It was more about allowing those essences that were attractive to be properly disciplined and stewarded for a greater purpose. I may not have known what that purpose was until I met Martin. Then it began to make sense. But my father had instilled in me this careful, precise stewarding of these essences, because he knew what it was that I needed to work with. And my mother, being in agreement, allowed the whole process to work out.
In this service—I thought maybe I'd read Martin’s words but now I really feel like I need to use a lot of my own words—but from this service called Woman, Martin is saying, “true government emerges on earth as a woman, clothed with the sun—spoken of in the Book of Revelation—through her is brought forth the man child who rules the nations with a rod of iron, the rod of iron representing the absoluteness of divine government.” This is what my father represented to me in the earthly sense; because if I were in need of a spanking, even though he'd just come home from work, and he was so glad to see his family, and wanting to extend his loving arms, if Mom had reported that I'd been cheeky and disrespectful, and I needed a spanking, he was willing to do it—and to me that is so precious.
Something else Martin said, which is beautiful to me, is to think of the woman as clothed with the sun, what we might call radiance. There is this radiant, loving ability to be connected with God, the Creator, the One I came to serve, and to let that light shine forth through me as an invitation and a substance of living that enfolds everybody in my world. Well, these power structures that man has created, they represent the other woman in the Bible called the “great whore,” or Babylon. So, to the degree that anyone of us has been striving for these things that would be pleasing, like marriage, and a nice house, and being raised in good company, we have betrayed our True Purpose. This was my hereditary lifestyle. I was raised in the top 5% of the money-earning people in the world, up in Canada, in Montreal actually. We had lots of standards to live by, but there was a calling to me that went beyond that, and I didn't understand it, but I knew I needed to honor it, whatever it was. And interestingly enough, my father had come to the point of being what you might call agnostic or atheist; because his best friend had been killed by a propeller of an airplane out on the tarmac and that was so devastating to him, he thought, “Well, if there's a God, he couldn't allow that.” So he just dismissed all this religious ideology; but he honored my mother's position to continue in the church and to raise the children with this “Christian” background. So we attended the United Church of Canada. Here we had our childhood religious training until age 13, when we could become a “confirmed” and registered church member. So we had to go through all that. Once completed, my parents turned it over to us, me and my sister actually, and the decision was up to us, which I thought also was a very honorable thing. There wasn't this control pattern, where it's got to be a certain way.
So I went off to university, and there was a longing in me, but I didn't know what it was about. I remember I had this young man at the university who was quite enthralled with me and wanted to marry me. Of course I had been so well trained and I had to have things in proper order. I was a virgin and he was a devout Baptist. He had this passion for his religion, and I just remember feeling, “Oh, my! I long to have that kind of passion, but it won’t be for his religion”. My father helped me through that one. This guy lived 1000 miles away from us; we were in northern Quebec and he lived down in New Brunswick. When I was home on vacation from college one time, this young lad drove 1000 miles to come and see me, and he gave me a call, wanting me to come and meet him at the local hotel. I turned the phone over to my dad and said, “This guy wants to meet me, and you told me I wasn't to see him again for 5 years—give it time”. So he said, “All right, let me take care of it.” And he went over to the hotel to meet this guy, and he was with him for about an hour. Upon his return home he said: “I told him he could come and say ‘hello’, and ‘goodbye’”; and that's what he did, and away he went. And you'd think, oh, my God—I mean how many girls that I knew my age would have been absolutely devastated by this, and rebellious! But I trusted my father. And this to me is that beautiful trust that I have learned to trust in my Heavenly Father, not just my earthly Father.
Now this is something that relates to my love for what we're about here. The group of us that come together in this way—I find us sharing this passion, or I couldn't speak like this—it’s something we're doing together. It's an essence; it's moving through us and I feel very responsible for it, in the womanly sense, because of where I came from, and what I came to do; the job I know I came to do. And I had to spend many years alone doing this work. Yes, indeed, I was married, like David said; but that marriage was temporary. It was a part of the larger design and it was necessary; but it wasn't my reason for being. It wasn't striving to have a certain classification or security in life. It was to fulfill the process that was required at that level of things in my life. So after we parted, for me, it was so important to keep that purity of heart, and love, and respect for the one who had come to be with me for a certain cycle in this development, and then it was time to move on.
And my beautiful children—I wanted to protect them from a difficult upbringing, because their father really did have anger problems, and was very emotionally disruptive in the household. But my honor was to my Father, my heavenly Father. and after I met Martin, he was the one who held that point for me; and I made all my decisions of any import based on his input; and when it came time to separate, dissolve the marriage, I consulted him. And indeed it was appropriate at that time. So any of these major decisions for me, have been coming down from above to be expressed through this form, with the purity of heart that I've known and honored. For me, it's so important to provide this purity of womanhood because Man was created male and female, to represent God on earth. So we're a unit of male and female; and woman, according to the story, was taken from the rib of man; and if we recognize the physiology of the body, that rib is a protective mechanism for the heart and the lungs; and the lungs to me would represent spirit—as one breathes in the spirit and exhales one's own expression of that spirit. And the heart, of course, is the caring, loving purity that we are here to sustain. The female was taken of Adam's rib to protect him, to love him, and to bring forth his seed in the earth. And his seed isn't just physical babies. We seem to have lost connection with the true spiritual substance, and we all turned toward this physical love and lust for things, and one another, and babies, and all kinds of failures. But to me it's time for us as women to honor the true creation, not to follow Babylon the whore anymore. And I have a visual that speaks to me so beautifully—it's a video; it's an active vision that represents what I'm talking about with the relationship between male and female. And if you watch, it actually moves. Does anybody else feel this dynamic?
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It just touches me all the way through; this is the dynamic of the heavenly male bringing his substance into the earth and received by the female; and she's wearing some greenery, which would represent the earth, and the golden crown on her head. It's constantly in motion; it's not a static thing. To me that speaks so much of the love that the male and female can experience together. But it requires being in contact with God through the heart; and it's got to be the pure heart. Man has shut God out of the earth. He's gone about all his own business to create his own world and in so doing we have lost the purity and the function that we were meant to provide. And I feel like somehow we're all sensing this, and we're coming together in this Temple.
As Martin said, there may be all kinds of things that are wrong, unjust, unfair, but all such distorted patterns would very easily evaporate if one didn't support them. I mean, all the things that are going on in the earth now. How do you suppose they have any energy to continue? Where does that force come from? It all comes from the Creator, whether it's for disintegration or integration. It's all from the same source, so what is disrupting it? What's creating the mess? It's the impure heart. It's like a transistor radio seeking to receive the transmission from the Lord, and then there's so much static in it that what comes out is indiscernible; and we have robbed all this beautiful energy that has been provided for us to fill the earth, to replenish the earth, to bless the earth; and we have distorted it because of self-centeredness. What happened to Eve after she and Adam were in the Garden, and the Lord came walking in the Garden in the evening and they were hiding behind trees? Why was that? Because Eve had failed in her commission. She had become embroiled in her feeling realm, and decided that she knew what she needed to really fulfill this beautiful feeling she had. Well, what happened to Adam? He loved her so much; he felt like he couldn't abandon her; so he fell with her; he joined her in this. And when the Lord comes walking in the Garden, they're ashamed, they're fearful. So when we see it from this viewpoint, what is it that's our responsibility now? To come out of the fearful and shameful state.
I remember that Martin used to refer to the ABC’s. How many of you would remember what the ABC’s stand for? They are a result of fear, and judgment; then we have A—accusation, B—blame, C—criticism. And don't we find ourselves doing this to one another? We may not mean to do it, but something in us reacts to something someone may have said, or maybe a different opinion they had. “Well that doesn't make sense!” We're so busy living out of this mental capacity in the self-centered state. The mental capacity was designed to permeate the whole form and bring forth the wisdom of the creative process. But how we distorted it so! And now the call is—on Easter day of all times: “Wake up and come forth into my Garden. Follow me.” And a meaningful description comes to mind:”A man builds a house; but a woman creates a home”. Can we notice that when we walk into somebody's home? Is it just a house with all the beautiful décor, or is it truly a home where there is this love and agreement, and this substance between male and female. It doesn't matter—we don't have to see everything in the same conceptual light as long as we know it in the spiritual purity of heart. And we do release the reactionary parts of our experience, if we love the Lord thy God first.
I remember meeting a young couple at the hot springs one winter when we were travelling. We have this RV and we love to go down to the Southwest when it's cold in Colorado; so we go to Arizona and New Mexico to enjoy the warmth. We were at the hot springs with this young couple whom we had never met before, but here they were. They'd just been married for a year, and their hearts were so open to what it is I had to offer that I couldn't stop talking about what we're talking about now. And they loved it! So I brought to their attention the fact of the triangle that we've spoken about, with the Lord at the apex, and man and woman at each base of that triangle; and the point that the male and female orientation, their polarity, is to the apex, to the Lord God. Then they find themselves functioning together in agreement, in a most beautiful way. Even, like I say, if we don't have the same viewpoint on things. This point is what brings us together, and we begin to make the substance that fills out this triangle, and it's an invitation for others to come to. And when I explained this to this young couple just married one year, they both said, “Wow, that makes so much sense.” They did have a religious background. But you know in this day and age we have what we call spiritual, but not religious—it's a whole subset of the younger generation—‘spiritual but not religious’. And that makes a lot of sense to me, because we're coming out of the confines, the limitations of religion. Let's let it be spirit, knowing, because we're generating this substance.
I must tell you, I know I have a very beautiful young man—I call him young because I'm the mother, so that puts me in the elder position; but here he is, with such an awareness of True Purpose that I have seen his ability—and a lot of you have heard from him; his name is Aaron, and he's online right now with his beautiful wife and their 4 year-old daughter. Nevertheless, this young man has been a point of connection for me with this male-female experience. And if you can see that picture in your head again, you'll see that it's not simply a physical, sexual state. It's something so much more magnificent, with all the essences of heaven blending with the essences of the negative aspect, the woman aspect. Woman—Womb-man—so much comes to us, but it doesn't come only at the physical level. It has to come permeating through the spiritual first. And this young man has been with me since the day he was born; since the day he was conceived, shall we say, and provided something of the maleness, even though he was my child. I never had to correct him as a child; he always wanted to do the right thing, because that's who he is. Can you imagine? I had been through childhood disciplinary spankings myself but I never had to spank this young man. And that's another reason that I felt like I had to protect him, because as big a heart as his father had, he was also tough and angry, and it was very challenging for this young man, this young boy, to deal with these emotions. And I don't say anything disparaging about his father. I hope you understand. I have a great love for him, and the part that he played in bringing forth what we are experiencing together now. Even after we had parted we remained good friends; and he had this amazing family in the Mennonite clan in Kansas, and we would go to Thanksgiving gatherings with this clan of Mennonites every year, year after year, even though we weren't married anymore; and the clan was most welcoming because of the quality of relationship we had. Or I would take him to Canada, to my family up there for a Christmas celebration. It was a part of honoring the Truth of Love, not the human self-centered distortions.
So who should come into my life in 2007? Ron Beard—and I am introducing this most wonderful man that you have seen online with me before. And if you want to talk about the Truth of Love—here's another Man entering into my life. If he weren't so shy and humble he might explain some of these things. But he even came with me and my “ex” to these family gatherings. Now imagine, in the traditional human state, can you imagine a guy going along with that? He had to break out of his own thinking about these things, and take that bold step, to trust, to trust my heart, to trust the female. She would not manipulate. She would not betray. Isn't that what we're about? And I'm so thankful to have all these other women together with me in this, in agreement with Divine Woman.
There is something new being born on earth, and we are bearing this new child. There are pressures. In the state of the world the way it is now, childbirth can be very uncomfortable. So as a world body, we're going to feel this discomfort. But that pressure is the power of God, and as we're aligned with that, can you see the changes that can come? No judgments. We don't pick out who's bad, who's good; this is evil. It's all evolving. We've called it EVOL, that which is evolving in the creative process. So there's nothing wrong with it. It looks miserable according to our eyes of judgment and discomfort and reaction. But when we can find that still, quiet place there's nothing wrong with it. We can steward the power, the love, the glory of it all, and have our eyes wide open. Okay, that's happening; that's okay. We let it go. It's like we have to have a bowel movement every day— we have to let things go. We bring in that beautiful, purifying substance of spirit, and we let the spirit create the seed that’s to come forth.
So here we are together. I see all of us in that still place, without judgment, with love. And I'm so honored to be a part of this. I'm so thankful that David could trust me to do this, because he had no idea what I was going to say, and I didn't either—except that I've been working towards this for many years. So, please, let's be together, love together, and honor our KING in great glory and thanksgiving. And I know there have been some wonderful women who are supporting me in this, working with me in this, to come together for this beautiful moment.
Deborah Starrs — Shirley, I'm so touched by what you've just offered. And it's almost a prayer, and a longing of the heart that came through, that we not only abide in this place, but we continue without ceasing. No manipulation. No betrayal. No accusation, blame, or judgment. That seems like a tall order to the human ego. But for us, in spirit, it's our joy. It's our gift to the world. And I love standing with you in this moment of pure joy and love. Thank you.
Shirley Malin — Thank you dear one. I know your heart, too. And I did want to add something about my beautiful son, having received a wonderful woman into his life after many years of patience; seeking to come out of the constraints that had been put upon him by the earthly affairs. And one day it happened, as he told some of you who may have heard, that he spotted this one woman, he said, “I know she will be my wife”, after many years of sort of giving up the idea of ever being married. And I have come to love this woman so dearly because she loves what we are about—not just Aaron, but Aaron and Mom, and the larger picture that we are bringing to focus.
So I would like to just add a little something that I wrote back in April of 2004. I told you about my continuing relationship with my former husband and his family in Kansas. Well, his mother, my now ex-mother-in-law, was still so much a part of my life, and my heart had so much respect and love for this woman. She was a big part of this ongoing relationship I had with her son. And it just so happens I wrote this thing back on April 20, 2004, and I called it Agreement Between Women:
"As fate would have it, she died within four days of my arrival in Kansas. But her glorious spirit generously imbued the whole circumstance surrounding her process of departure.
"Helen was a wonderful human being who had been living a full and creative life with graceful independence in a small, mid-western town. Just days before her illness, she had been driving herself to the supermarket to shop for food; visiting family and friends; attending the local Mennonite Church; and preparing dinner for whomsoever may come calling.
"Helen had born five children with her husband (a Lutheran minister) who had died thirty-three years earlier. She had never remarried but was very well encompassed by her four sons and one daughter. Her eldest son was the first of her offspring to marry and to this day remains wedded to the same wonderful woman, Jackie. The rest of her children have each experienced divorce at least once (including my former husband).
"In the words of her other precious daughter-in-law, Nancy, '(Helen) was treasured for her incredible ability to truly listen with her heart, to give sage advice if asked, and not notice whether her suggestions were followed'. Her attitude was always one of inclusiveness. She refrained from judgement and was open to newness and adventure. Indeed Helen set the Tone for this wonderful, creative experience of True Womanhood to be known amongst the three daughters-in-law (me being 'the ex').
"During this time together, Nancy, Jackie and I easily assumed our various roles in support of the family structure and dynamics. Our function flowed together like tributaries merging into One River of Love. We shared household duties, nursing shifts, clerical tasks, and provided welcome to visitors and emotional support to family and friends.
"Another 'former wife' was equally, warmly embraced into the celebrations of Helen’s life. To quote a sibling’s classic family humour about this configuration of women: “There is something quite functional about this dysfunctional family!”
"A mutual love and respect for the uniqueness of each woman’s contribution to the whole allowed for a truly uplifting spirit of thanksgiving. At a time of “loss” and “mourning”, we sensed a strong spirit of agreement in Love and appreciation—a kind of spiritual victory for women everywhere—one that proclaims the intelligence, the beauty and the grace of womanhood in action on earth!"
Now, oddly enough, I had this buried somewhere very deep in my files, and came upon it as I was preparing to think what it is that I really wanted to bring to focus here. So I am, again, so thankful for all the women who have come together to do this. We're in the Lord's Temple, preparing the food, ministering unto those who would come calling. Isn't this beautiful?! So again, I'll turn it over to anybody who wants to add something, before I get too excited again.
Luanne Somers — Shirley, I've loved your radiant expression in this hour. Your description of a life well lived, and the control patterns required of the time, and the control pattern of the Lord, and the love for the Lord. Last week I became aware of the name Sophia. I looked up Sophia. Some of you know. I never heard of Sophia—feminine is the term for it, but what I'm going to call “the buried shame pattern that has been missing from the Lord's action on earth.” And this is my interpretation, in the little knowing that I'm working with. So to see somebody who has lived in radiance fully in her life is a joy to behold. And the small video you showed us describes what I'm sensing. And I told someone this morning that the largeness of what I'm sensing that is being restored—I don't have words for it yet. So we're dealing, we as women, with that which has been truly under wraps. So it's wonderful to see this coming forth now, and there's someone so lovely as you Thank you.
Shirley Malin — Thank you, my dear—the woman's heart-to-heart.
Millicent Holliday — Shirley, the words are just precious. As you probably have gathered, you have brought tears to my eyes; tears for the joy that we can live in the day when the evidence of true woman-hood and true response can return to our King. So much more I could say, but the tears will not allow it. I remember a time when I first touched Emissaries of Divine Light at a swimming pool at Fourways in Johannesburg at ten in the evening. I had just touched this ministry and a man said to me, “You will meet the best of the best in the world.” And lo and behold, how true that is! You are one of the shining lights; and what joy to be together with, not only you, but with all the other elders that shine together in the earth in this day. I delight with every ounce my being. Thank you.
Shirley Malin — Thank you, Millie. And I must say I have thoroughly enjoyed reading comments that you've made on the Great Cosmic Story website. Your beautiful heart, your clarity of thinking, it's gorgeous. Thank you.
Laura Fisher —Thank you Shirley, and thank you all. I, like all women, have rejoiced in your bringing forth today; and I would like to read just a little from Proverbs, this verse: “Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far beyond rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil when he sits with the elders.” The responsibility of woman on earth was so beautifully brought forth by you, Shirley. We've been friends for a long time, and served in high places. And we all know a husband, we all know a household. The husband may not be in our lives physically at the moment, but we all know the husbandry of bearing this true spirit of the risen Christ today—the living Christ—someone who dies does not come alive again. He lived because of His connection with His Father. It is an undulating, pleasurable thing to be with you, and with all of us in this hour, this time together. Happy Easter and thank you.
Shirley Malin — Thank you. Again I say, my heart is filled to overflowing. I don't ask for anything. I just give my all, and love you all. And thank you for participating in this precious time together. Praise God!
David Barnes — Shirley, I'd like to say a word. I'm reminded, because of the spirit that we're sharing here, that the word that was used in the New Testament, and is called the Christ, means exactly the same as the word that was used in the Old Testament at the time of the children of Israel, at the time of Moses, Shekinah—said to be the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells in the center of all things. And the fire that emanates from that center, the fire of love, the spirit of the Father as it relates to this earth. And the light that glows from the spirit of the Mother; and the light extends in radiance through this holy earth, the body of the Mother. And the cloud of glory that extends from the center of things in this solar system, all the way out through the whole planetary body. In a way, we as sons and daughters of God on earth are that living cloud glory extending from where I am, where you are, as a halo of radiance this morning. All together we've allowed an experience of this, because of the spirit of your sharing with us. Stories, we've all got stories—but you told your story within the radiance of this cloud of glory; and so the essences of it have particular meaning now. We each have a story where that quality of radiant meaning can be articulated as well. And you've opened the door here to something of the spirit of Divine Woman; the spirit of Divine Mother. And also, I would say, to the spirit of Divine Man, to come forth more fully in the days, weeks, months ahead, as we share more, and differently, in the Temple of Light. In 1996 I wrote a poem just a few months before I met Anne. I'm going to read a few lines of it to all of us.
listen
the eternal heartbeat
look
a wondrous woman appearing
clothed with the radiance of the sun
with the full moon in her belly
and twelve nations gathered round
bearing gifts from the past
promises for the future
does she approach from without
or does she approach from within
we journey long and long together
secret-sharing
caring healing nourishing
breathing blessing on a fire well tended
knowing naked pleasure
in this rising springtime season
where the sun stands still inside me now
wonder finds rest inside me now
we journey long and long together
knowing the space within
and the space without
planetary beings in spiral dance
within the living body of the sacred sun
So, as I say, you've opened a door here, and we all know you better than we ever did before; and I think we each know the others who are on the line with us, more too, because of the intimacy, the intimate space that we shared with you. So we will continue to come forth together in one another's presence, and in the presence of the Grand Fathers and the Grand Mothers in the sacred sun which encompasses us all. Thank you so much Shirley. It has been a precious, precious time.
Steve Ventola — Let's close our time with a devotion. O LORD and KING, on this day we acknowledge Divine Manhood and Divine Womanhood, that there may be a blending, with pure hearts, pure hearts in this day and this time, in our hearts, in this world. And as our heart is pure, we know the truth, we are governed by the truth, we allow our feelings to blend with the truth, that Thy Light may shine in our hearts and out through our expression. One expression, thy expression, thy Christ expression. As we're unified in this way, we know our place, our one place individually and together as a whole, for here is our reason for being. Letting Thy Love radiate. In the living Word of Thy Name we abide and hold dear sacred birthright. All for Thy Glory in this day, in Thy Name. Aumen.
Let's continue in this way, holding sacred what we've shared. And we look forward to our time in May. Robert Kauffman and I will lead that time. Robert, you have some music for us.
