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.
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