Openhearted Response
Key To Intelligence
Martin Cecil October 10, 1982
One could ask the question: Is it really safe tor human beings anywhere or everywhere to open their hearts to the sounding of the Tone on earth? Will that Tone be sustained? We may sound that Tone now in a collective sense and there may be response thereto in a collective sense. There is a particular focus of something here because we are together in person. Radiation occurs and response comes again. When the bread is cast upon the waters it may return after many days; it is not anticipated that it will be an immediate thing. Will there be a collective place to which that response can return? We have a sense of cohesion and unification when we are together like this and there undoubtedly is such a sense when we are geographically separated, but how consistent are we as individuals in sustaining the Tone when we are not together in person? It must be so sustained if there is to be a continuing consistency of collectiveness. If the radiation goes forth by reason of a collective body it will return to that collective body. If upon the return there is nothing there, then the cycle is aborted and what was set in motion ceases. So, regardless of where we may happen to be and what we may happen to be doing, the consistent sounding of the Tone individually is vitally important, because consequently it is sounding collectively and there is a place for the collective response to return to. As we are aware of this we are concerned to sustain this collective sounding of the Tone. And it doesn’t only relate to this grouping here. In this moment it relates to this grouping here because that’s what is here now that we are dealing with, but there is a larger collective radiation occurring also. So this Tone needs to be sustained in the larger sense as well, so that there is on earth a place toward which human hearts may open with safety.
What is happening is happening subconsciously; we may say, the collective response which returns is subconscious. But we are conscious of what we are doing. There must be this conscious focus for the sounding of the Tone and for the receiving of the response to it. Because we are conscious of these things it obviously is our inevitable responsibility. So we are concerned always to be on hand with the Tone sustained and a delighted willingness to receive what comes back in response thereto. As I say, this, insofar as the returning cycle is concerned and those who participate in it, is an unconscious thing.
There has been some thought given to the matter of various peoples of the world who were supposed to be representing the subconscious mind of humanity and other people who supposedly represent the conscious mind of humanity. I think we can forget about that, this evening anyway, and begin to recognize in a more practical way that all of us sitting here necessarily have as our equipment both conscious and subconscious minds. We wouldn’t be very effective if somehow or other we could separate them. The amnesia victim tends to find a condition of this nature and it is somewhat unhinging. The subconscious mind is a most necessary part of our equipment, as is the conscious. We have noted that the conscious is less in volume than the subconscious mind. It is more of a skin on the surface, with a very great deal underneath in the subconscious sense.
As our own individual subconscious minds and hearts have opened toward the Tone, we have experienced a loosening up of the structures that were already present in the subconscious mind. I’m sure all of you could testify to that fact. It is indicated very particularly because of the different outlook you have toward what is going on around you. Your attitude is changed somewhat from what is generally the case with human beings everywhere. There is a new awareness. This couldn’t happen if the already existing structures in our subconscious minds had not begun to dissolve so that the substance contained in those structures was freed up. Being freed up it was available to take form in a new way, by reason of the activation of the spirit. And it is because of this that we see things in new ways. The structures of old were largely dead structures. If they had any life at all it was because we ourselves momentarily gave them a little life. Something rose up into the conscious mind out of the subconscious structures and we injected a little life into it. But when structures are brought forth by the action of spirit they are living structures. And that is quite different, because one of the hallmarks of a living structure is constant change. It will not stay in the same form for very long. We have all experienced this ourselves during the course of our presence on earth. We have all found these changes occurring. In the human state of affairs it is usually a downgrading change. We are more interested in letting it be turned around so that there might be life and life more abundantly. We have our own subconscious minds in which something has been occurring—rather fixed hereditary structures have, in some degree at least, been dissolving. To the extent that this has been so, there has been some substance available then to take form according to the requirements of the truth, the spirit in the moment.
Most people tend to have structures which they carry around with them, not only in their subconscious minds but in the notes that they feel necessary to enable them to come up here, for instance, to this lectern, in order to say something that is presumably to have some meaning and impact. I do not say that notes may not be useful or valid for a while, but sooner or later it is necessary, as the structures already present dissolve, to let them go. Even the ones that we have written down ahead of time need to be relinquished, so that we are in position to allow the spirit of the moment to bring forth what is required in the moment. This should be increasingly possible to us, because the prior structures in our subconscious minds have been in the process of dissolution, making available substance to fill out the living form which appears on the basis of the sounding of the Tone, or the speaking of the Word, in whatever way that may occur. We couldn’t do that right away. There have been those who read something in the Gospels about not thinking what you shall say but your Father in that moment will give you the words; then they came up here and were struck dumb! Well it was not surprising, because there wasn’t sufficient available loose substance, unstructured substance, to fill out the form that would appear. Not only that, but perhaps there wasn’t that much experience of the movement of the spirit. It was an unknown quantity very largely.
Now the spirit moves. It is always moving. So it is our dumbness, not the fact that the spirit isn’t moving, that makes us unaware of it. It moves in two ways—the Law works, positive and negative. So there is a positive aspect to the movement of the spirit and a negative aspect to the movement of the spirit. The negative aspect relates to what happens in our subconscious minds and hearts. The spirit moves there, and if consciously we are willing to let it happen it will proceed to dissolve the structures that are present in the subconscious mind and heart, freeing up substance for its own use, for the use of the positive aspect of the spirit. So something begins to rise up, compelled by the negative aspect of the spirit through the subconscious mind and heart, rising up toward the level of the conscious mind. But there is spirit already present at the level of the conscious mind, or above it, which is there unknown to the conscious mind. It is always there, as long as life remains. But it remains meaningless until something rises up out of the heart to give it the substance that is required to allow spirit to take form. As it takes form then we know what it is. Until it takes form we don’t know what it is. We can’t somehow turn our eyeballs around, or up, and examine this spirit which is supposedly there, in order to find out what it is and what it’s doing and what it would like to do. That is quite impossible. It is factually there; however we don’t know it and we can’t prove it until we allow all the elements to be brought together in the way they work. When we let them be brought together in the way they work, then we begin to know, because it is working. It isn’t working because of our great cleverness but because there was a willingness to allow it to happen. Now there must be a conscious willingness which is matched by a subconscious willingness.
Because we have evidence that there are human hearts everywhere on earth beginning to open up more, to yield more, we have evidence of the working of the spirit, the negative aspect of the spirit, through not only individual human beings but through the whole population of the earth. Something is happening. We may look out and say, “Oh, that’s wonderful, something is happening. We’ll be able to take advantage of this—for the Lord of course.” But how? What is happening in that collective sense is theoretical very largely, insofar as we are concerned. But there is something which may be actual in our own experience, and that relates to our own subconcious minds and hearts, and the conscious mind that is present.
The spirit rising up through our hearts raises up available substance that is not being held in structures. Freed-up substance begins to be lifted to the level of the conscious mind, and because this is happening, by reason of the negative aspect of the spirit, it correlates with the positive aspect of the spirit, because it is one spirit. The available substance then is offered into the level of the conscious mind to clothe the positive aspect of spirit that is already there and in action. The spirit never ceases to act. We don’t have to wind it up to get it to go. It never ceases to act. We may not have known that, because there was so little substance available to clothe that spirit in form. All these subconscious structures maintained a structured state in our conscious minds, because what came up into our conscious minds came out of this bank of structures, and so we would always think along certain lines.
Sometimes human beings assume that they are freethinkers. Never! What is thought always is based upon what is available in the subconscious mind, and what is available in the subconscious mind all came out of the past. It isn’t of the present moment; it all came out of the past and is all structured. So there is, to put it nicely, precious little freethinking. The real freethinking comes by reason of the action of the spirit, but the spirit can only be known to be in action consciously, in our own conscious minds, to the extent that there is substance available to clothe it in form. Then we know. Then there is the awareness of what is being brought forth by spirit, the conscious awareness in our own minds of what it is that is being brought forth by spirit. But the mind at that point doesn’t say, “Oh, I’m very clever. Look at what I now know. I thought this all up all by myself.” Nonsense! If it happened, it happened because of the action of spirit. The conscious mind needs to stay humble; otherwise the action will cease in the conscious mind’s experience. It doesn’t cease insofar as spirit is concerned, but there is nothing to clothe the spirit until the conscious mind is sufficiently humble to allow the material to rise up, the freed-up material to rise up out of the heart.
Individually we all have this mechanism, and as individuals we can let it work. It may be seen that when it is working just in the individual sense it tends to be rather restricted; because man was designed as a whole—not as a bunch of individuals in a box, but as a living, breathing, thinking, feeling, living whole. As individually we allow this to begin to work we begin to find that it relates to something beyond ourselves as individuals. It begins to fit into a design. Here in this room this evening, now in this moment, we all have our subconscious minds and hearts along. They are all here. How available they are to the working of the spirit is a question, I suppose, that probably can’t be immediately answered. We’ll find out. So there is the spirit working through the heart, raising something up collectively—free substance available. We share also conscious minds. We have a collective subconscious mind and a collective conscious mind. What is raised up of free material out of the subconscious mind can begin to clothe the spirit, the positive aspect of spirit, in form. And we share the clothing of the positive aspect of spirit in form consciously, because it is the freed-up substance in all of us that is being used. Now, I may give it form in specific words, but the words are not merely mine and what can be said will depend upon the extent of freed-up substance that there is available to give form to the positive aspect, the creative aspect of spirit in its positive expression, in its radiant expression.
From my own personal standpoint, over the years I have had available what was present in the individual sense in my own subconscious mind. Added to that, as the years went by, was what was made available through other minds and hearts. Gradually it has increased to the point where we are aware of at least a unifying body with its subconscious mind and heart and its conscious level of understanding. When I stood up here in days past—I’m sure it’s not true now anymore—there were those who sat in the audience or the congregation anxiously awaiting some profound words to be spoken which would illuminate everything. But, you see, that only could be said by reason of what was available in the way of substance to clothe the spirit in form. It is absolutely dependent on all of us, always. It is never a one-man show; it couldn’t possibly be; it wouldn’t work that way. We all share the responsibility of allowing the substance to be made available for the action of spirit. The substance is raised up by the negative aspect of spirit in our own hearts. It is present in its positive aspect already, at the level of the conscious mind, and the conscious mind knows that when the substance rises up and clothes the spirit in form. Then we are able to share something consciously and there is a creative radiation in consequence, because the machinery that has been here all along, the living machinery, is beginning to work again—creaking at the joints a little, to start with, but gradually it may be allowed to intensify and pick up speed and power as it continues to move. I have offered an explanation of something, but it is not the explanation that really means anything. It is the experience that means something, isn’t it?
In this sophisticated, intellectual Western world, most think they have to have everything explained before they will move at all. They have to be convinced in their minds that it’s all right. Well something has to be said in this regard to satisfy the mind, presumably, but not so that anything can happen that way from the standpoint of what needs to happen. It merely allows the mind to relax, shall we say: “Well, it seems to be all right.” It doesn’t really understand anything. (By the way, the intellect of man doesn’t really understand anything!) The trick is to provide what will allow this conceited creature to let go of its conceit for a moment and relax, so that something can move in the heart; because until something moves in the heart there is no substance available to clothe the spirit, and until the spirit is clothed in this way there is no such thing as the experience of intelligence. Ha, ha, ha!
As we have moved along the way over the years I have been under the necessity from time to time of pulling the rug out, so to speak, because the tendency has always been in the human state to build structures. The tower of Babel is an immense one in the past and it symbolizes something. But Emissary structures did begin to proliferate over the years, so from time to time I had to do or say something which would cause them to fall down, hopefully—some manfully tried to hold them up—because what is needed is freed-up substance, not substance freed up out of one structure to be put into another. Let the substance that is present subconsciously be freed up, so that it is available for the use of the positive aspect of spirit. Then we can begin to be intelligent, because the thought forms that appear are brought forth by spirit which understands. They are brought forth, clothed in this substance, and the conscious mind understands. That happens because of the working of this machinery and not on the basis of the usual human endeavor, which is to stuff stuff in from the outside and from the past. This has seemed to be necessary because there was no experience of rational thought. Human thinking appears to be rational, at times at least. It is an expression of logic and reason perhaps but, as we have noted, the premise has been false. Therefore no amount of logic and reason can possibly bring an intelligent answer, at least only intelligent at the level of irrationality!
Rational thinking comes on the basis of the action of spirit, raising up the substance that is available in the subconscious mind to clothe the positive action of spirit in form, so that it is comprehensible to the conscious mind; not because the conscious mind thought it up but because the conscious mind is sharing in the process by which rational thinking can take place on earth, the thinking of God. It was said in the Old Testament: My thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are not your ways, saith the Lord. Well that has been the case, but it’s not what should be the case. True thinking is the thinking of spirit utilizing the equipment for so doing, and the equipment has no more right thereafter to go its own way, imagining that somehow by its own efforts it’s going to find the ultimate theory which will explain everything. It could never happen, and who would want it anyway? What do we want a theory for? Why not experience what the fact is, what the truth is? So the only way we can do that is to participate in the natural working of the equipment which was made for this purpose in the first place. It has for a long time been used otherwise, so there are a lot of habits to be transformed, but we find ourselves participating in this transformational process.
We see that the important thing is that the heart should be freed up so that the structures are dissolved—this for people everywhere. It is not a matter of going out and trying to explain some mental concept, some theory that somebody has about the way the universe operates, or whatever it is. That’s totally irrelevant. It’s not a matter of convincing human minds. If conscious human minds will just relax, let go, stop trying to figure it all out, and allow the movement of spirit to do what is necessary through the heart, then some rational thinking can put in an appearance, but not before. So if we see people on earth now beginning to open up their hearts, that is the very thing that is needed. Of course when a person begins to open up the heart, so that the spirit has a chance to move and structures begin to dissolve, the individual may become aware of this and be afraid—“I’m going to lose everything”—particularly those who have stuffed themselves with structures. But we all have structures anyway, whether we have deliberately put them there or not; we have inherited all kinds of them. And when a person begins to feel that these things are getting a bit wobbly there is a tendency to object and try to hang on to what it is that is being dissolved. Fear! The first word of the Lord usually was, “Fear not.” Don’t be afraid to let it happen, because here is the way to freedom, the way to understanding, and the way to the experience of true manhood and womanhood.
So together we share this opportunity of allowing the heart to be opened because there is, in our own experience, something stable and trustworthy present. It should be sufficiently in our experience now for us to say that we know it. It’s there. We don’t have to keep checking it out every now and again to make sure it’s there. We know it’s there, so that we may provide what is necessary of the continued, sustained sounding of that Tone for others, maintaining that so that it is a sure thing, a safe place, toward which response may come, collectively and individually, for it comes individually in our own individual circumstances to be taken care of, to be handled by a trustworthy person.
We rejoice to move in this current of the spirit. We have called it that without probably knowing what it was. It’s a good word, current, isn’t it? There are usually positive and negative poles involved with current; yes, certainly, that’s true—the current of the spirit. But it works the way it works. It won’t work any other way, so we might as well accept the way it works. And what a relief, what a very joyous and satisfying relief, that we can move with the absolute assurance that we now know, to provide what is necessary to all those yielding and opening hearts wherever they may be on the face of the earth.
© emissaries of divine light
