Anne Blaney — Before we turn it over to the presenters I want to make a couple of comments about something that is obvious when you're sitting in this chair. This particular service, with its subject matter, and the focus that is going to be provided by Robert and Steve, is going to afford an opportunity for a specific generation of substance—finer substance of understanding and connection. We will have the opportunity, because of the substance that is present, to let a very specific radiation go forth. I think we will find this time very useful. So Steve, I will turn it over to you, the first speaker. Go ahead.
Steve Ventola — Hi everyone, and thank you Anne for setting the stage. Robert and I feel that this is a pivotal time to move to another level of our togetherness, of our influence into the world together. With that in mind I’m going to begin a screen share with PowerPoint.
“With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
Psalm 91:16
YouTube Video
Let's consider that for a moment in our own hearts: “With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
As we receive the spirit of these words, we recognize that salvation is a choice each one makes. As we serve Him, our salvation comes. In light of that, a few of us have been considering Conscious, Healthy Aging. The reason why I thought to develop this program is that we're all aging, and there is tremendous substance that’s been generated in our lifetimes. It’s important to acknowledge that, and to recognize that in this latter part of our lives, to make things count, to let our generation count.
With this in mind, let’s look at our reason for Being. The light that we are individually and collectively needs to be received, in alignment, in our hearts; and when the current in our hearts is allowed to be in sync with who we are, the life that we are, it allows for a receiving of that. We know that our mind is the guardian angel of our heart, and as we keep our hearts fixed by the rudder of our mind, through attitudes such as patience, tranquility, realization, assurance, it allows for a sensing of consciousness and a care for our body. Ultimately, there is only one reason to be healthy, and that's to play our part, and our part relates to having our heart and mind in alignment with the reason for our being, for the radiation of light out into the world.
I looked up the word aging, and it comes from an ancient translation meaning vital force. Instead of thinking that we’re going to get old and decrepit, aging actually relates to having a greater experience of vital force with a greater emanation. Some of us have been considering Conscious Healthy Aging with others here in Atlanta, but today we want to look at it from a Temple of Light perspective.
Let's consider the following from Martin Exeter: “Just how much of you, your mind, the capacity of mind and heart is concerned with the body of the Son of God? That is the only thing of concern, to allow the fusion to take place, that the body may be a reality.”
If you think about that, the body of the Son of God, the word Son is related to consciousness. The body of the consciousness of God, where we recognize that God is not vengeful; God is our friend. That's untangling the mass subterranean influences that have been tied up with being fearful of God. We want to actually allow for a consciousness of God to be re-established and a fusion to take place with each of us, to have a greater alert participation in the assumption of responsibility in the spiritual body, in the body of the consciousness of God on earth. Martin continues: “It's interesting, as a person gets older there's an inclination to back away from things. For those who have been associated in the creative process of spirit for longer periods of time, if that association has really been consistent, a great deal of substance has been generated… But there is something of much more to be provided by older people when this backing away syndrome is allowed to pass away.”
We have work to do as we get older. And here are comments from Lillian Exeter: “I don't really know what age I am! Middle-aged! Old-aged! I’m really nothing of that sort. I feel so young! We are always spiritually our same age; that's ourselves. Here we are!”
Here we are. Okay, so we look at it in terms of years of precious substance that all of us have generated over a lifetime and allowing that substance to substantially circulate by reason of one’s part in accord. All of us have substance and allowing for that substance to be integrated in accord, the spirit can circulate from core to periphery. The Temple of Light provides a core focus, integrating all of integrity; all who have a love for what is at the core of integrity in themselves. The oneness of love extends from core to periphery.
What we're doing here in the Temple of Light, is providing that core focus so that those, all in our world, whether they're in service with us here or the folks we meet, that we know personally in our world who are not at the level of conscious awareness that we have but are playing their part. Carol and I love going to this Mexican restaurant and there’s a waiter there that has such a precious nature, that we always ask for him. He's part of that periphery, of those allowing something of pure spirit to go into the world. It is for us to play a conscious part in terms of the core, to provide that connection.
Here are words from Grace Van Duzen: “We represent everyone everywhere.”And didn't she have that spirit! And to allow ourselves to have that same sensing, that we represent everyone everywhere.
And now words from Uranda: “All of this applies to our responsibility as Servers, because it is only as we let the power of God work through us, in actual fact, that we are going to have any real influence in the world, letting that part of the Garden of God, for which you are responsible come into manifestation in the realm of form and appear on earth, so that human beings may know that the Garden is at hand, available, within reach of all who will receive.” Think about that!
Robert Merriman [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2022/03/victoryshekinah-and-spirit-of-single-eye.html] sparked my interest to pick up the Divine Design of Man papers—and if you still have your books, I encourage you in the same way. This is from paper 86, which I found to be excellent in terms of being washed clean with the waters of truth, to allow for a greater instilling of the message we bring into world. It relates to our collective reason for being: “We have one responsibility: to rebuild and repair the altar the Lord that is broken down, until at last there shall be enough human beings drawn from out of the world mass to allow the manifestation of the Temple of God on earth. When that takes place individually there begins to be a recognition of the fire that comes down from God out of heaven and burns eternally upon the altar, the fire of God's Love.”
David passed this picture on to me; it's the altar in the Little Chapel at Sunrise Ranch, that's depicted in the book, Seven Steps to the Temple Of Light. [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2014/05/sevensteps-to-temple-of-light-uranda.html] But I have found it symbolic too, in terms of us rebuilding and repairing the altar of the Lord. Notice that there's no golden bowl on the altar, or candles representing our heart and mind. But there's a sensing that we need to allow for the visible form of those objects to appear through ourselves as representing the altar of the Lord in living form; and for us to do that collectively, so there's a vibe or energy that goes out into the world that allows for people to be drawn accordingly. And then the fire falls from heaven.
Now, as we aspire, and continue to allow for that altar to be in place, we feel that fire. We allow that fire to burn up things that don't belong anymore, and allow for a revelation in consciousness, a greater consciousness of God on earth through us. So, from Martin again: “How blessed we are to know these things, and how blessed others may be by reason of our blessing. Let us let it be so now and increasingly in the days to come.”Increasing in the days to come.
“With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
Let's let our purpose leverage our health in the choices we make, and the necessities of what is required to satisfy him in our daily living. The choices we make. The choices we make, in terms of alignment with our reason for being individually and together. Tangible care for a body individually; and playing our vital part in the body of the Son of God on earth, in the body of the consciousness God on earth Here. Here and now. Here we are. I am going to stop my PowerPoint and Robert will continue.
Robert Kauffman — Thank you, Steve. So, I did not expect to be sitting in Steve's chair this morning. It looks like we've had a lot of little snafus going on—electronically anyway—and I'm glad to see you all here.
When I took the course with Steve it started my mind thinking—that's the way I approach things—I started considering just exactly what life is for me, how does it get represented in my mind? As physicists say, life is extraordinarily messy. It's not the politicians’ way of describing it, but the physicist’s sense of it is very distinct. It means that it can go any which way; it is absolutely indeterminate, and it is always a surprise. And I have found it that way. Luckily however, we have a certain capacity of consciousness. It's a filter. It shuts out virtually everything—99.9% of everything—and it only lets in that which might be necessary for us in any given moment. You might say these are freeze-frames in the movie of our lives. And we all have a movie; we all have one, and it inspires memories; or you might say it contains memories, and those memories run the gamut of being sad, jubilant, victorious, any which way. For myself, they follow the stream of life in all of its idiosyncrasies, all of its craziness.
Now, I want to read a poem that I wrote about 25 years ago, because I think it summarizes what I was thinking about life at that point, and then I will go on to describe what goes on from there. It's called Time Slowed Down—and time is a major element within our consciousness of life. It may be purely a human element. The scientists aren’t even sure. But this is the poem.
I once knew a time when summer lasted forever
between hands made numb from snatching up brook trout,
swimming quietly in their keep,
or clapping fireflies that hovered in the dusk.
My obligations to civilization consisted of little more than meal times,
with their attendant chores, and dirty shorts, and life unencumbered.
Beyond that lay a passage into delicious wonder.
What happens when you pull a raccoon by the tail?
Why don't we fall into China if we dig real deep?
And how did girls get made so different?
Well, the other day, while speeding down the highway,
I spied a guinea hen just up the road,
making up its mind which way to go.
Undoubtedly lost in mysterious bird thoughts it could hardly have guessed
the vector force potential of the hurtling steel and singing tires
that bore violently upon it.
Spinning in an abrupt vortex of surprise, its frantic
squawks of rage probably led to any number of guinea hen legends.
Now, I know a man who spends most all his time within
the confines of his house in a small circle just off the porch.
His emphysema has relegated years of capacity for
building and installing and fixing things
to a quiet place of memories and telling of stories,
and there's not much to do except sit, think and wonder
why everyone moves so gosh darn fast
always in a rush, always gotta be someplace else
before they've hardly even arrived.
But I wonder sometimes whether he's not the lucky one
given the blessed time to be at home with himself
as his Maker leaks glory all around him,
and prepares a place of worship
And as I say, I wrote that about 25 years ago; and it's been the joy of my life to spend those 25 years discovering exactly what those final words mean. Yes, the Maker leaked glory all around my friend. He leaks glory all around me. And there is a place of worship; there always has been. But that place becomes more and more defined as the years go on, and it's become quite clear. So I'm wondering, as I'm considering the course [Conscious Healthy Aging] that Steve and I have put forth, how that happens? Well, as Uranda used to say, “You can't lift yourself up by the bootstraps.” I mean, there's no secret path here, except that there is. It's by total surrender of oneself to God, and to let life surround you, and move with you and you might say: love you.
And here's an interesting thing that Anne sent Steve and me the other day, because she knew we were considering this topic. Evidently she had read that there's now clinical proof that there's no need to believe that as we get older we're losing our faculties, that we're stuck with sentimental reminiscing over those snapshots of our lives that happened to hang on in memory. There's much more available to us, and in fact this research at George Washington University School of Medicine has found that an older person actually has their consciousness released in a very particular way. There's a membrane that separates the bicameral mind into two spheres—that's the very casual description. But this membrane becomes porous as we get older. So, although the research shows that yes, we do think more slowly; we also begin to think not just with one sphere or the other. You know, we're not just left brain or right brain. No, we're whole brain. We start to think with one consciousness. Perhaps this explains an awful lot of how we begin to be able to discern much more clearly the things that life would bring us. Our mental capacity, the conscious part of it, is somewhat constrained by this insistence on filtering out much of what Life brings us. Well the heart doesn't do that. The heart picks up everything, and we begin to see life in a much clearer way. Of course, when I read what Anne had sent, all I could think of was the Bible's dynamic phrase: “Behold, I make all things new”! That never stops just because we enter our 70’s or 80’s, or even 90’s. My aunt just died a few months ago. She was 101, and even though she was quite sick with cancer, she received guests up until the last few days—people surrounding her, coming to be with her. She was still sharp as a tack. There's no reason that this is not available to any one of us.
I want to talk about another thought that has caught hold of my mind during the past month or so: the First and Second Great Commandments. It seems that the Master was put on the spot; or at least the Pharisees were attempting to put Him on the spot. I can imagine a few bullies just surrounding Him, poking and probing, saying something like “Okay, tell us which is the greatest commandment?” What He said was, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. The second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Matthew 22:37-40
So I'm thinking about this. It's actually revolutionary; it's a revelation. It also indicates a sequence; Uranda has spoken to this point many many times. You don't reach God by pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. and bargaining with God, you know, “You just do this and then sure, I'll be glad to do whatever you wish.” No. Our God is not a God of our making. But my God is available for friendship, to be in perfect friendship with me. And I don't think I ever realized that before – certainly not back when I wrote that poem. This is what Uranda has to say about it in a presentation called Communion and Friendship, from 1953. [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2022/05/trust-which-can-be-trusted.html] He said: “The process of knowing is experienced only with the development of a sense of oneness-with, which we call Love. We cannot know any person until we have had an opportunity to experience the relatedness of the normal pattern of life with that person. We may know about many people, but there are exceedingly few who ever come to know even one person during a lifetime. When any person has come to truly know another, and to accept the relationship that is so established, there is one word which applies: friendship.” And actually, Uranda goes on to primarily describe friendship with God. He's talking about a God that loves you truly and deeply, and completely, for whoever you are.
I’d like to go back to this movie analogy that I was using. In examining it over the last month, I've come to realize there were certain essences that touched my life with consistency. You might say that I am the sum total of these snapshots, and as I dug deeper into any one of these, I began to see that there was a current, there was a consistency, and there was absolutely a calling involved in this process. And I began to understand that I was being drawn. How? Or why? Clearly, I was being drawn by God. I began to understand that this was no error, no mistake. As you know, God does not make mistakes. This was a true act of friendship, drawing me forth through so many different things, some of them difficult, some of them joyous. But all of them were powerful, in a certain sense, coming through as an invitation which was steady and true.
John Gray gave us a great image of that last week. It was a poem written by Rumi, who was a Persian poet from the 1200’s, and I'm going to read it again in case you missed his reading of it.
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing,
there is a field. I'll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase ‘each other’
doesn't make any sense.” (Coleman Barks translation)
This begins to epitomize for me the reason why we would reach, how we would reach, the goal represented by the First Great Commandment: in friendship, to be with God; to be at rest, and to rest within a state of attunement. But as they used to say on TV—‘But wait, there's more!’ “The second is like unto it”—which to me says it's every bit as important as the first. Then, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”. Now you can see why the first had to come first, because I think it can safely be said for any one of us – but certainly for myself – that there was no way I could say that I loved myself, through and through, until I loved myself through the vision of God. So what follows is the commandment: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” But I'm also beginning to find it's not a difficult thing to do. To the extent that the first is true, the second is no problem.
As we know the First Great Commandment, we begin to understand that true friendship exists out there. As I said in my poem, it’s “a passage into delicious wonder”; it’s beginning to explore and enjoy people in a way that I'd never understood before. And again—‘But wait, there's more!’ Here I’ve got to ask the question: Who is my neighbor? Terry is my neighbor. She's extremely close, and I love her dearly. And then our family has another member, a black cat. She's my neighbor. She's very meek and mild, but also ferocious, she’s a lioness when the striped cat comes onto her territory. But she has shown us a full expression of personality and character that I had never quite seen before in an animal.
This would come as no shock to Christine Pivarnik. I was really moved by the talk she gave some weeks ago concerning her relationship with her horses—it's not just the cats; these are also our neighbors. But it goes further than that. When I walk up into the garden, there are little critters in the soil, there are the bees flying around, there are the birds who keep coming back. I don't know the names of all these creatures, but I had learned the name of one of them. It's called the Eastern Phoebe. Terry and I named it Phoebe because it would come, and land on the trellis right next to us, basically at our shoulders; and it would watch us intently as we disturbed the soil. We would uproot something that we couldn't see, but Phoebe sure did! And as soon as we stepped away it would fly down and start eating, and then fly back up. And it would stay and do that with us. This is neighborly interaction. And it goes further than that.
Last month Shirley spoke of Mother God [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2022/05/divine-woman.html] and to my mind we're talking about the element of Mother God; and this second commandment is absolutely a commandment to not only be a friend to Father God, or the God in heaven, but to be friend to Mother God, the God who is in the life of everything within this wonderful planet on which we live. As I say though, if the first Great Commandment has become fact within our living, the second one is no problem. It is automatic. I can see the day when we will work together in absolute oneness with the earth, with one another, with one goal, with one objective, that the world might be whole again.
I'm going to end with just one more image. I had discussed with Steve whether to show a picture that I had drawn about the power of the combined capacity of human beings all working together; and the picture had to do with laser light, as we used to say, ‘shining our light’. It was a popular phrase back in the 80’s. We used to talk about shining our light in perfect coherence. But I'm not going to show that drawing; I think it's wrong now. Light diffuses—the power of light is that it's everywhere at once. It diffuses. Now, to get back to that movie image, I can say that I see certain things there—the essences that I presumably am responsible for, because I’m the one who sees them. Each one of you sees different essences. There may be overlap, but you definitely see many other essences that I don’t. But put together —even 144,000 of us and not to mention 8 billion human beings on Earth right now—we will cover the full breadth and reach of reality, of life, and what life brings to us in every moment. And I prefer that image, that working together we become aware of everything we need to be aware of. But no one of us can do this alone.
I would like to complete my presentation with a moment of devotion that comes from a service that Uranda gave: Seeing The Father. [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2015/09/in-from-shekinah-magic-seeing-father.html] I use it every morning. It's been a guideline: “Our gracious Lord and holy King, it is with humble joy, deep relief, and soul searching satisfaction, that we yield the kingdom of our bodies, our minds, and hearts to Thee; that Thy spirit may enter into the temple of the human form; that Thy presence may be made evident through every thought, word and deed, until it shall be that Thy will is done on earth in us, even as Thy will is done in heaven. For Thine is the kingdom, above and below; Thine is the power above, within, and around us; and Thine is the glory in heaven and earth forevermore. And we would so live that it shall be evident in our lives that it is so. In the Christ, Aumen”
And now, as Anne had suggested at the beginning, this is the time for us to release this strong vibrational impact from our hearts, and I would ask that anyone who would like to share, to please do so. And after that, Steve will have some more words to say.
Terry Kauffman — Robert and Steve, I would love to say how thrilled I am with what we were able to share together. You two are such a force, a perfect combination of male positivity and agreement. I know that the two of you have spent quite a bit of time recently considering these things, and it absolutely came through loud and clear. The thing that I would mention, and say how much I appreciate, is just the matter of my generation, my own personal generation—and each one of us can say that, we each have a generation. And to let that generation at this time count. The world is crying out for that, and who better than those of us who share a clear consciousness of who we are, and know that we are a friend indeed of the LORD. So thank you so much.
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Steve Ventola — I think that the fire we feel is burning up the old to allow for the new. And to our awareness, this is the time to really acknowledge it. We see, each of us on this screen, that we're no longer something separate from God. We're playing our part within the core of the essences of God, so that “We represent everyone everywhere.” And to have that awareness, that sense of privilege and responsibility; it's not really a hard responsibility as we actually place our capacities on the altar, so the fire can burn and our golden bowl be purified, the golden bowl of our heart, to allow for our consciousness to have its awakening day by day, moment by moment. These are precious things we share, and we are, each of us, precious too. I appreciate everyone's words in this respect. Let's really take these things to heart, to complete our mission, our purpose here on earth
We will close with a devotion: O Lord, as we still our hearts and minds, letting go of trying and striving, coming into place and recognizing those things that do need to burn; and they can only burn as we place our orientation to Thee, allowing our souls to be thine altar in expression on earth. And as we do, then the yoke is easy, the burden is light, for our orientation is sound and sure. There is a newness in letting go of what we thought we needed to hold on to, for it is only now, Thy Presence acknowledged, and Thy joy received. And as we know this joy, it lightens our hearts, and so it extends out into the world. All for Thy glory, all for Thy love. In the ever-increasing Light of Thy Name, we bless all. In the Christ. Aumen
Anne Blaney — Thanks Steve, thanks Robert, and everyone. It's good to gather in this field together. Our next gathering will take place on June 26th, and we're going to be hearing from Tony Palombo, from Lake Charles, Louisiana. Thank you all. Have a wonderful month, a wonderful day, a wonderful moment, every moment. So bye for now.
