Spiritual Leadership And Authority

My  Voice  Sounds  In  My  Composite  Body

Martin Cecil  October 7, 1979

World events are the magnified surface evidences of the spirit of God in action. Those who share the Voice of the Lord, speaking in His name, are the spirit of God in action. As there are such who have assumed spiritual responsibility, the controlled fulfilment of the creative purposes of God in this world must come to pass.

There was One who lived on earth many centuries ago who accepted this Supreme spiritual responsibility of leadership on earth. His name was Jesus. He did not receive wide acceptance; certainly not by the religious authorities of that day, although there were one or two amongst them who were somewhat moved by His expression of spirit. Nicodemus was amongst these. Nevertheless He Himself never denied His own spiritual authority. He didn't impose it on anyone. He invited an acceptance of it but He didn't try to impose it upon anyone. He was rejected, denied, betrayed, crucified. Moving in this particular path He opened a door for the restoration of man at some future time. He also made sure that human nature would receive its just deserts. In receiving the fulness of the results of its own action it would be dissolved.

We live in the day of its dissolution. The die was cast a long time ago, but there is a point of fulfilment. We certainly would not attempt to prognosticate the day or the hour of the completion. We can prognosticate very easily the movement toward that completion. We are in position to observe it on every hand. Surface events in the world proclaim this movement—their significance is in that proclamation alone. The dissolution of human nature is at hand; how closely at hand remains to be seen. It is closely at hand for some individuals, of course. This is so daily. But for the larger fulfilment we make no attempt to prophesy. No man knoweth the day or the hour, not even the angels of heaven. So why bother? There are plenty of people in the world who make prognostications from time to time; none of them thus far have been fulfilled. We are interested in the fulfilment, not in the prognostications.

That fulfilment comes as there are those who speak the Word of the Lord on earth, who share this Voice. This is then the spirit of God in action within the body and the consciousness of mankind. The spirit of God has been in action ceaselessly throughout the whole universe; but it hasn't been known in the ordained creative expression, in a manner that would permit the fulfilment in the body and the consciousness of mankind, heretofore. If it had been known before this there would have been fulfilment before this. Even the Master Himself could not bring that fulfilment as one person. He did not attempt to do the impossible. He was willing to let it work out, in the only way it could at that time, with respect to Himself as an individual; but that cast the die for the future, the future which is now.

There are those on earth who have begun to share the expression of the Word of the Lord, so that His Voice may sound on earth; immediately the controlled expression of the spirit of God is present within the body and consciousness of mankind. This is a present fact in a certain measure, at a certain level. The results which occur and are observable as world events are different in these days to what they have been in the past. There was little happening in the past to resolve anything, for this could not occur until there was present on earth a sufficiency of the spirit of God in action. This is occurring now and the events, the world events, are unfolding in a more or less inevitable manner. We witness these on every hand. As I say, all this is consequent upon the spirit of God in action. There is more action to be brought forth, there is a larger experience to be known in this regard, that the books may be balanced and the human business wound up. Not one jot or tittle shall pass from the law until all be fulfilled.

My concern has always been to find those who would share my Voice, who would speak with me, that the spirit of God might be adequately in action in the body and consciousness of mankind on earth. There have been those in times past, and even today, who are looking for a fulfilment of this sort. It might be describable in terms of the second coming of Jesus, and also in other ways. There is a looking for leadership. Those who think of themselves as Christians, the more sincere ones at least, are waiting with bated breath for the return of this figure. But who is it they are really waiting for?

Long ago there was some poetry written that has come to be called the Song of Solomon. Many people have felt there was something significant in these words; they have tried to interpret them in various ways. There are certain words from this song which have become familiar to us because we have used them quite frequently, recognizing that they have a meaning relative to the present. The first verse is this: “The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.”

Here is a beautiful picture of spiritual leadership of some kind toward which response is being invited and, indeed, apparently being offered to some extent. The one who provides this spiritual leadership is spoken of as “the Beloved.” Someone must have loved this one, whoever this one might be. Who is he that cometh leaping upon the mountains and skipping upon the hills? I suppose good Christians would see Jesus achieving this feat. But who is the beloved? Others would say the Lord, not necessarily equating the Lord with Jesus. But who is the Lord? If we consider either of these two possibilities—maybe they're one, the Lord and Jesus—then who is being talked about or considered or believed in? A figure in a stained glass window, a figure in a beautiful painting, a concept handed down out of the past? Who is he? It's nice to have someone who can't really be identified, because then it's an open season for everybody to fill in the details in their own imagination. But the fact of the matter is that this figure has been a mental construct, a human invention. I'm not saying that there may not be a reality, but how is that reality to be known?

The reality could have been known when there was One on earth who accepted the responsibility of it and revealed it. This was done by the One called Jesus. The One called Jesus today is an imaginary figure; there are all kinds of beliefs about Him. But there is the continuing apparent need for spiritual leadership. Human beings have been waiting in one way or another for that spiritual leadership to put in an appearance. Some have believed that this one was a spiritual leader, some have believed that the other one was. But on the basis of the extent of our awareness of the truth, we see that those who emerge in this fashion onto the surface of world events, out of this human state of consciousness, are the result of something else.

What would your view be in this matter? Where is the spiritual leadership? Who is “he” who comes in the Name of the Lord? There was one person a long time ago who came in the name of the Lord. He Himself was recognized by some as one who spoke with authority, not like the scribes. He was conscious of His own authority. He knew that the answer could not be found by the eruptions on the surface of the human state; the high priest wasn't going to make available the spiritual leadership that was necessary, because it does not come out of the body of mankind but, rather, down from God out of heaven. Surely that's where good Christians are looking for the second coming of Christ: down from God out of heaven. But how? What would make sense? What would be factual and not merely imaginary? There has been an imaginary hope in this regard for a long time.

If there has been reference to a Beloved, to “He,” to one who comes in the Name of the Lord, of whom it might be said, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,” who is He? We have some dawning awareness of a reality here which is of a factual nature and no longer clothed in imagination. Sooner or later there needs to be the Beloved, or “he”, present if the job is to be done. It cannot be done otherwise. And this He, this One, is not a single individual. As I have pointed out, it could not be done by a single individual, even by the Lord Himself. It requires what we would call a collective Body, with a collective consciousness—all this in Oneness—so that there is One who comes in the Name of the Lord. There is a Beloved on earth, present with human beings, whose Voice sounds and who comes leaping upon the mountains and skipping upon the hills. This indicates an ease of movement, does it not?—a naturalness and an ease of movement, a triumphant movement high above the level of human nature consciousness. There are those who have been invited to participate in the authority of this One.

How much do you, as an individual, still glance around to see if you can spot, somewhere or other, a spiritual leader of some kind who is going to achieve great things? A few thought they had him spotted in me. I have been at pains to disillusion those who have this view, because He who comes in the Name of the Lord is not one person. The coming of one person was done nineteen centuries ago. All that could be accomplished has been accomplished by one person; and that one person was, indeed, a Supreme One. But no matter how Supreme He really was, and is, He could only do so much. He did not come to impose the Kingdom; He came to invite the remnant to receive it. As He said, “It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” No one was holding back, and no one has been holding back since; and yet year after year, day after day, good Christians pray, “Thy kingdom come,” having the attitude in fact that our Father is holding back on it; He has to be persuaded to cause it to come. But it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom—two thousand years ago!

So we have this spiritual responsibility of leadership, not to impose the Kingdom but to let it come by reason of those who respond to the invitation to do so. But the invitation must be extended. When these words were written they were written by one, presumably Solomon, who had a rather frustrating experience in life, or in his existence, shall we say; he got embroiled in human nature. Yet at the start he had some sensing of the reality, of the truth, some sensing of a Beloved, of He who would come leaping upon the mountains and skipping upon the hills. He apparently wrote about this, looking for that one, looking for the answer, looking for the Lord. Human beings have been looking for the Lord for a long time, as though He wasn't present. Are there those of us, present on earth now, who could properly rephrase these words?

“My Voice sounds on earth! behold, I come leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.

“I am like a roe or a young hart: behold, I stand behind the wall of human nature, I look forth at the windows, I show myself through the lattice of human nature.

“I speak to human consciousness, and I say, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away, come away with me, to be with me, to let this Voice resound on earth, that it may be heard by those whose hearts are sufficiently open to hear it.”

Those who do hear it, and start to come away, reveal in their experience the creative action of the spirit of God, the evidence of that, that they may be restored to share in the expression of that Voice. There are some who move strongly and clearly in this fashion. This is, after all, the starting point for anyone who is to experience restoration to the truth. There are others who move sluggishly. It may be seen, then, that there is One who comes in the Name of the Lord on earth, not one person but One Unified Body and Consciousness, by reason of which the spirit of God is in action within the body and consciousness of mankind. This is the One who has the authority. This is the One who provides the leadership. While we may see that that leadership, to be effective, must be a Composite Body, nevertheless it is a composite body because the individuals who compose it have taken responsibility for their own spiritual authority.

We cannot look to the Pope, or to any other high figure in the religious world, or in the philosophical world, or in the intellectual world, or indeed in the political world, anywhere, as though someone else was going to do what needs to be done. This has always been the trouble in the world, has it not? “Let it be by the hand of another.” And there were those who were interested in trading upon this attitude which human beings tend to have, so that they might exercise control and spurious authority over people. As long as one is looking for someone else to provide the essential spiritual leadership one can be easily deluded, one can be easily trapped. Human beings everywhere have been rushing into these traps constantly. The world is filled with hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands, of these mousetraps—all baited with the essential cheese—and human beings, with great enthusiasm, rush into their bondage. When they get caught, then they blame other people for it. How ridiculous! They wouldn't have been caught in the first place if they had been taking responsibility for themselves, but they didn't and they were caught—being caught, they still don't take responsibility for themselves; they have to find some other scapegoat. This has been done within the range of the experience of every individual who is here present, and it is still being done in some measure.

When there is the spiritual action in controlled expression emerging in the body and consciousness of mankind, as it is beginning to do, then the dragon is cast out of heaven—he's cast out into the earth. And he has great wrath. Why? Because he knows that he has but a short time. All sorts of nonsense spews out of the dragon's mouth in the earth. Of course, for those who abide in heaven it doesn't make much difference; he's wasting his time anyway. But he's easily spotted, you know. The accuser of our brethren: that's what he was called, wasn't he? So when you see or hear someone mouthing accusations, you know who's doing it. It saddens me a little at times to realize that after all these years he's still present on Sunrise Ranch. But that's the way it is; we need to face the fact. There are those who have sustained him and kept him alive with their accusations. But there is the heaven. And those who dwell in the heaven, those who participate in the Voice of the One, these carry the authority of God because they come in the Name of the Lord. Certainly these also are present here and there as well, composing a body, a Body which speaks with authority and is never deluded into imagining that there is anyone else anywhere going to provide the essential spiritual leadership. There isn't. It is provided in this One Composite Body; and each member of that Body must know for him- or herself, “I am the One who carries the authority.” Do you think that is too much to be experienced? If it isn't experienced on earth by those who have been offered the opportunity there is no hope for anyone, because there can be no spiritual leadership on earth.

The spiritual leadership of a single individual has long ago been rejected by the children of men; so that opportunity will not be repeated. The Master came on earth, He was rejected on earth; that's that. The only way left is by reason of this Composite Body, the True Vine of which the Master spoke. The fruit of that True Vine is the spiritual action which brings forth what is to be brought forth throughout the Body and the consciousness of mankind. It is now happening. The spiritual leadership and authority is present on earth. You have an awareness as to where it is. Never look for it anywhere else!

We may, having that authority, acknowledge value where value appears in the spiritual sense. It seems to me the Master did this, even to the extent of acknowledging that one of the Romans, a soldier indeed, had more faith, more openness and yieldedness to spirit, than He had found anywhere else in the whole of Israel. He acknowledged that the centurion was this quality of man, but He didn't turn over the reins of authority to the centurion. How ridiculous! He Himself had the authority. He knew what He was doing. This man, whom He acknowledged, acknowledged that he knew what he was able to do in his particular field of responsibility; but he saw the Master in a much larger field of responsibility. Why did he see that? He was open to recognize what was the truth of the matter, what the fact was, as revealed by the Master Himself. He demonstrated His authority.

Do you think that there are those here present who are capable of acknowledging that authority—you, perhaps, as an individual, relative to yourself, saying, “I am the Voice. I am the One who comes leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. I am the One with the spiritual authority”? Woe unto those who try to imitate it! That doesn't work. But the opportunity has been available, the invitation has been extended, for years. Just a handful have been willing to accept it. Quite a few have been willing to hear, to listen, to hear the Word of the Lord, and even to say, “Yes, that...that...that's the Word of the Lord all right. That...that's very true. I...I...I have realizations; I'd like to tell you about them.” For those who hear, realizations may have value for a while, until they reach the point of doing something. Then they can forget their realizations, because they will discover what the fact is, what the actual experience is; and that is unlikely to jibe with even the best Emissary realizations. I've been regaled with realizations for years. I don't think I'm any the wiser for it, because it is always what one expresses oneself that counts: that you know. Constructs of the mind are fancies, imagination.

The Voice of authority sounds on earth as there are those who personally, as individuals, accept the responsibility of it—not just one day, but now. Then what might be referred to as the second coming of Christ is an immediate reality; it is spiritual action by which spiritual purposes are fulfilled on the basis of the attitudes and works and choices of human beings all over the face of the earth. It may be said that they are compelled, but they are not told what choice to make. The invitation is extended, and it can be accepted or it can be rejected, but all have to abide by the results of their choice. In a general sense that choice is made largely unconsciously. It is made on the basis of the person's works, the way he behaves, what the quality of his character is. This reveals the choice that is being made. We have become aware of these things, so we have a particular advantage. We can accept the right character and stop glorifying the character of the accuser. Accepting spiritual authority, spiritual leadership is provided and what we are on earth to do gets done. There is no question.

I trust there are those within the sound of My Voice, and those who are beyond the sound of My Voice at this present time, who acknowledge the truth of these things in their own living.

© emissaries of divine light

Position  in  the  Divine  Design

Martin Cecil  July 18, 1964

In a recent service I spoke of the importance of position in the Divine Design. There is a recognition in man's world of the importance of position. The position of the President of the United States is considered to be of supreme importance in the world today—regardless of the particular man who may be in the position, regardless of whether the President is considered to be a good one or a bad. Presumably, if he is bad enough, the position could be caused to cease to have any further meaning—or any other position, as far as that is concerned—but with the way things are, this position is looked upon as being one of importance; whoever occupies that position is worthy of receiving respect. We could perhaps mention some other positions that are outstanding in this regard in man's world, but I think this illustrates.

The same principle is true in God's world: position is vitally important. There is a certain flexibility in the filling of position, particularly as it relates to whatever might take form on earth. Obviously this must be so, because human beings come and go. The only means by which Divine Position can be filled on earth is through human beings, so flexibility is essential. Those who begin to give meaning and form to position in the Divine Design on earth do not make the position be, they do not actually make it any more important than it is, but they do begin to allow such positions to become meaningful, operative, effective, on earth. But it is the position itself, in the Divine Design, that is the important thing. The individual who fills it is important to the extent that he fills it, because the position is important. Anyone who does begin to emerge into such a position should receive respect, not just alone for himself but because of the position. It is quite important that we should begin to see this.

If there is anything taking form of the Divine Design in relationship to this Ministry, any who carry special responsibility are emerging into certain positions. There needs to be the recognition of the fact of the positions into which various ones are emerging. Of course it is true that there is position for everyone, everyone carries responsibility, but if there are those particular positions which carry special responsibility, then the individual who is in it is in it because there is some measure of expression through himself to at least begin to fill the position. The position itself should carry with it an awareness of its Divine Nature, and consequently there should be respect with respect to the position, regardless of who it is that may be filling it; however, of course, if someone does begin to fill it, obviously that person must be expressing something which makes the filling of that position possible. Therefore the individual, from the standpoint of his own expression, deserves respect.

From my standpoint, I cannot, at any time, arbitrarily appoint someone to some certain position and say, “Now you fill it.” A person, to fill a position, must emerge into it; it cannot be imposed on anyone. I am talking, of course, about the Divine Design. For the filling of position in the Divine Design there must necessarily be the expression of something through the individual in order to begin to cause that person to move into the position. The position, whatever it is, whether it may be clearly defined or clearly understood from the Divine standpoint, or from the human vision of the Divine Design, nevertheless is worthy of respect if there is a recognition of the value of the Divine Design.

According to the particular time of outworking there will be, presumably, certain individuals available to fill the position. If the outworking comes at some other time, then obviously there must be some other individuals available for the outworking, because human beings don't live forever. So here we come again to this matter of flexibility.

There are positions in the Divine Design which need to be filled. We are not concerned with competing for them, because we certainly couldn't fill them on any such basis; neither do we fill them on the basis of being elected by our fellows because they think some certain person would be good in that position. The positions are filled, to the extent that they are, in manifestation on earth, to the degree that the qualities and characteristics that are required to allow that position to take form appear through some person. And when they do appear through someone, that person is in that position—an entirely natural process. There is nothing really arbitrary about it at all.

There has been a recognition, by most if not all of you, of the true nature of the Seven Spirits before the Throne of God. We have designated those spirits by certain names, the Spirit of Love being supreme. Then there are six more spirits: the Spirit of the Womb, the Spirit of Life, the Spirit of Purification, the Spirit of Blessing, the Spirit of the Single Eye, and the Spirit of the New Earth. We could say that these definitions of spirit are more or less arbitrary, but the words have a particular relatedness to the nature of the spirit.

We recognize that the Spirit of Love, in its pure essence, is of such an intensity that if it were released through us as human beings here on earth, we would instantly be destroyed. We have recognized that this Spirit of Love must properly be transformed, or stepped down, from level to level or from plane to plane, so that it may function creatively at each level. We have an awareness of the fact that we live in a Seven-Plane World. What that means may not be adequately understood, but in any case only the Seventh Plane provides the facilities for the pure expression of Love. Each other plane requires that that Love be transformed, or stepped down, so that it may manifest constructively and creatively at the particular level involved. The means by which this transformation, or stepping-down process, takes place is what we call Truth. Truth allows the pure essences of Love to manifest according to the Divine Design, under control, at the particular level where the manifestation is required. Of course it is required at all levels, at all planes. The Truth is available to permit this stepping-down process with respect to every plane and every level.

If we move out from the pure essences of Love, moving downward, we might say, from that apex, we come to the Spirit of the Womb at the level of the Sixth Plane, the Spirit of Life at the level of the Fifth Plane, the Spirit of Purification at the level of the Fourth Plane, the Spirit of Blessing at the level of the Third Plane, the Spirit of the Single Eye at the level of the Second Plane, and the Spirit of the New Earth at the level of the First, or physical, Plane. If the Spirit of Love is to reach us, who function in the first three planes of Being in this outer world, it necessarily must be transformed and stepped down so that it may appear at each level of these three planes according to the Divine Design and under control. We could say that the Six Spirits below the Seventh, the Spirit of Love, reveal the nature of the Spirit of Truth as it relates to these six planes. That which is coming down from God out of heaven, to manifest on earth, must necessarily pass through the higher levels to reach the lower levels, and there must be the facilities available for this to occur if it is to be experienced according to the Divine Design.

We have noted that in man's world the opposites of these spirits have tended to dominate. Instead of the Spirit of Love there has been a rather intense expression of the spirit of hate. I don't think anyone has paid very much attention to our Master's suggestion that we should love our enemies. It is considered the thing to do, to hate your enemies; if you don't they might get the better of you. Of course this indicates a complete lack of comprehension with respect to the Truth. However the spirit of hate certainly has been very dominant in the lives of virtually everyone. There has been a bit of what has been supposed to be love, too, of course. Then instead of the Spirit of the Womb, which is a very protective spirit, the spirit which would allow something to be conceived and gestate peacefully and naturally, there has been the spirit of barrenness. Have you ever experienced that spirit, the spirit of desolation? This is quite a popular spirit with human beings; they feel so very desolate at times; they identify themselves with this spirit. And then the spirit of death, rather than the Spirit of Life. So much in man's world is based in concepts about death, and because of the high expectation of death, it is a very important factor in man's world—so much revolves around death and the expectation of death. Fear enters in here, doesn't it?

Then, considering the Spirit of Purification, we have the spirit of defilement, and how quick human beings are to defile sacred things. Unfeelingly, thoughtlessly, they trample over the things of God. The tender plants that are beginning to grow in the hearts of their fellows are so quickly defiled by human function. Instead of the Spirit of Blessing, the spirit of cursing. Human beings curse each other—curse the other fellow so that he goes under and you go up. And instead of the Spirit of the Single Eye we have the spirit of double-mindedness. And instead of the Spirit of the New Earth, the spirit of decay.

These opposites are not according to the Divine Design, nor are they under Divine Control. And yet human beings do identify themselves with these spirits, don't they? Probably all of us have identified ourselves with at least some of them, if not all of them, in times past. We take up our position as fallen human beings on the basis of these spirits. With some, the spirit of hate may be particularly dominant; with others, the spirit of cursing—whatever. Human beings gravitate toward the particular areas where these spirits are dominant, and consequently occupy position accordingly; we might say position in the devil's design, if there is any design. By the same token, when we begin to experience these true spirits:

The Spirit of Love.

The Spirit of the Womb, which enfolds sacred things to keep them holy and safe.

The Spirit of Life, of vibrancy; the increased expression of that which is divine on earth.

The Spirit of Purification, which enables those things which are responding to come up

and move over into the Divine Design, into the Divine Pattern.

The Spirit of Purification relates to the Fourth Plane. The Fourth Plane is the connecting link between the First three planes and the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh planes. Everything that ascends must pass through the Fourth Plane. It relates to the Flaming Sword, that which purifies. Coming up out of the world, the outer three planes must pass through the purifying flame to reach into, to come into, the Divine Design, which is established from the standpoint of the higher planes. We are concerned to so function that all that comes to us is purified by reason of its coming to us, and not defiled. So often something comes to a person, he doesn't like it, and he acts in a way toward it which defiles, doesn't offer any opportunity for that which comes to be purified, to be lifted up, to become something meaningful, to be changed.

And then the Spirit of Blessing, extending something of a blessing, constantly; we are to be identified with this spirit.

And to maintain centering with the Single Eye; we begin to find attunement with the Spirit of the Single Eye.

And the Spirit of the New Earth is something which is known through actual experience in living, not a constant feeling of going down and down and down, but coming up, moving higher, moving into something fuller and freer, the Spirit of the New Earth.

All these spirits permit us to find attunement with, and experience of, the Spirit of Love in a manner that is creative and constructive. And once we begin to find a balance within ourselves with respect to all these spirits, and we begin to know them from the standpoint of our own experience in function, in living, we will discover that one of them will seem to be more particularly dominant, more particularly natural, to us. To reach this point is to emerge into position in the Divine Design, the experience with respect to one's own dominant spirit in the Divine Design.

Now how could anyone be appointed to position in the Divine Design? From the human standpoint it would be absolutely impossible—because a person must move through this experience to emerge into a growing awareness within himself of the particular aspect of spirit which is dominant, or natural, in his or her own expression. If the Divine Design is to emerge in manifestation on earth it does so because there are those who begin to experience this fulfilment and consequently give form and manifestation to Divine Position on earth. But first comes the balanced attunement with these Seven Spirits before the Throne of God. There must be some awareness with respect to the meaningfulness of them. There must be an awareness of these spirits as they relate specifically to oneself.

What is your function as it relates to the Spirit of the Womb? Do you know? Do you have any idea? Here is the Secret Place—the Spirit of the Secret Place within yourself, the secret place where gestation of things Divine occurs. And just as in a mother-to-be there is the need to exercise care and thoughtfulness with respect to that which is gestating in the womb, so must there be care and thoughtfulness in relationship to the correct attunement with this spirit. What is it that is gestating in you? Perhaps you don't know yet. It is still in the womb. It hasn't come to birth. Something has come to birth already, but there is far more, isn't there?

Do you have Mother Love toward that which is unfolding in you?—the Spirit of the Womb, the Spirit of Life. Is your attunement with the Spirit of Life, or is it rather with the things which relate to dying? Which? Are you concerned with the increase of life as it is manifesting in you and around you, or are you fussing about the things which you think are reducing life in you and around you? With which spirit are you attuned? To which spirit do you give consideration? Which spirit do you welcome?

And the Spirit of Purification. What of all the things with which you are dealing day by day? Do you feel a sense of responsibility for these things, that because they come to your hands they have the opportunity of being purified, they are being uplifted, they are being drawn closer to God?

And the Spirit of Blessing—all these things again which come to your hands. Do you consider how you may bless, rather than find yourself in a battle, a state of conflict with things round about, fighting with them because you are afraid of them, instead of blessing? Love your enemies.

The Spirit of the Single Eye. Is your eye single? How easily can you be distracted? How easily can you become involved in the patterns of double-mindedness? Well, you don't quite know! The Single Eye—Single Spirit—Single Spirit—the Single Mind. Singleness of attitude, singleness of purpose. The Single Eye.

And the Spirit of the New Earth, which relates to the sense of lightness. The Spirit of the New Earth is experienced naturally when a person is true to all the spirits that went before. Then something begins to occur in his own physical body, and that is sensed; it begins to be known and experienced—an uplifting, healing experience—the Spirit of the New Earth.

Finding attunement with these spirits, so that one naturally is aware of their importance and of the fact that they are working within the range of one's own experience, there begins to emerge a dominant sense of something which relates to one's own True Being, one's own True Identity; something with respect to these spirits is brought to focus. It is true of everyone, and it is distinct for everyone. It may be an aspect of the Spirit of the Womb or any of the other spirits, but it is distinct for each one. And as that begins to appear, and be sensed, the individual is beginning to move into position in the Divine Design. Because someone is moving into position the Divine Design begins to take form on earth.

Now many people must move into position in this sense for it to take form, but of course all these aspects of spirit are drawn to point somewhere—they come to focus somewhere in some person. It may be a person, it may be a couple, and there will be others involved as the pattern builds. But here is the framework, here is the foundation, of position, and you may recognize easily enough that it is based in spirit, not in some outer manifestation, some outer form. It is based in spirit, in these spirits, and the individual relatedness to them. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord.” That which is to be achieved must appear, must emerge, on the basis of spirit. If a person is so centered in the external form, so involved with manifest things round about, that he has no facility left to experience spirit, he is in a bad way, because the creative power, God's Love, works through the Divine Design, through the Truth, under control, on the basis of spirit.

We begin to see the Divine Design is spirit. It is to take form, yes, on earth, but the Divine Design itself is spirit insofar as we are concerned. It isn't form, it is spirit. We permit it to take form to the extent that we have experienced spirit; then it can emerge. But without the experience of spirit it cannot emerge. And the experience of spirit relates to something that is very comprehensible, actually. When you examine it in relationship to your own experience, to your own living, you can see that these aspects of spirit which we have defined this way, with these specific words, have a relatedness to your living, to all your expression in life. They properly establish the nature of that which finds expression through you with respect to all these levels of being.

Here is something which allows for the emergence of your own True Identity in experience, and it can come in no other way, because it comes down from God out of heaven; it doesn't come out of the earth. And so here is a new look at the Divine Design, a new look at certain broad but specific aspects of spirit which establish position in the Divine Design. And until a person begins to experience something in this regard, position in the Divine Design is no more than a dream or a fantasy. But we can't experience anything in this regard without paying attention to it, without recognizing its importance, and without recognizing its relatedness to oneself. So here is a field of Meditation, with the door open wide for all who would go in thereat, that the attunement with the spirit of God may be more adequate than it has been. It isn't a vague thing, it isn't something that just happens, as we have so often emphasized. We have to do something. We have to do a little thinking, for one thing. Is this such a terrible chore? It seems to be, for some. Perhaps we could get used to it.

It requires a little thinking, a little consideration, an examination of one's own experience in living, a consideration of how one handles things, on what basis, and how do these spirits relate to it? We begin to become familiar with the idea, and do even, perhaps, put ourselves out a little to do something about it. We find that it becomes natural. We don't have to think about it so specifically—it becomes automatic. But if you never think about it to start with, it never becomes automatic, does it? So we have to do something. But the door is open for that doing, and we may share an increased attunement with the spirit of God, with God Himself, through the Seven Spirits before His throne.

© Emissaries of Divine Light

Response  is  the  Expression  of  Divine  Being

from  Reverence in Life

Martin Cecil  November 12, 1961

In my ministry to you I believe you sense the fact that I know there is Divine Being in each of you. I think you sense the fact that I am not just simply trying to kid myself on this score, that if I had been trying to kid myself I would have been discouraged quite a while ago, in some instances at least. There is a knowing. Because of that knowing, the door is always open. There are certainly occasions when I have drawn attention to the things that do not, or should not, have any weight, meaning or value, because perhaps you may have overlooked the fact that they did not have any weight, meaning or value. But all that was presented, all that has been said or done, has been based in the fact of the reality of Divine Being. Some of you have been aware of the reality of Divine Being in me, and you have responded to it. I rejoice. But what is real response to God? What happens when there is real response to God?

The individual who responds, him- or herself, gives expression to Divine Being. That is the evidence of response. Encouragement has been given to the spoken word or the written word of response, and there has been response which was an expression of thankfulness and perhaps a recapitulation of some of the things that I had said; but the real response is the expression of Divine Being through the individual, something which has never been expressed before. It will not be unrelated to the particular pattern in which the expression appears; for instance, in a comment period after a service. We might say that kindergarten response is one thing, where there is simply an expression of appreciation. It is all right as far as it goes; but until it reaches a point where there begins to be something coming forth through the individual that is the expression of Divine Being for that person, there is not yet any evidence of a maturing response. Here is the evidence of response. This is response—the expression of Divine Being made manifest. It is this for which I look. Perhaps there has been the development of this in relationship to some of you. It has appeared in some measure. But it is this expression as it appears, when it appears within the scope of our unified Body, that causes this Ministry to be unique.

There have been spiritual leaders all down through the ages. There has been a Supreme Point always on earth somewhere, but there have been others as well. There has been response to those spiritual leaders by human beings, but the response virtually has never gone beyond the kindergarten stage; for true response causes those who respond to share in giving expression to the Divine Being which is focalized through the spiritual leader. In virtually every case, if you look back over the record, the spiritual leader has stood alone. There have been those who had a devoted response, we might say, in certain points toward that spiritual leader, but it never caused them to begin to participate, to become a part of that which the spiritual leader was expressing, and consequently afterwards, after the spiritual leader was gone, nobody really knew what it was that he had brought into the world. We have that clearly revealed in relationship to what is called Christianity—scarcely anyone has the faintest idea of what it was our Master brought into the world. They have developed a whole host of beliefs and concepts and ideas, but none of them the reality, because nobody shared in it in fact.

There will be something original, something which has never appeared on earth before, the very moment that there is the development of a Body of human beings who are actually sharing in the expression of Divine Being that is focalized in the spiritual leader. But it means precious little as long as it just remains there. It only means something when it begins to permeate the Whole Body, so that that which is expressed through the individual members of the Body is the expression of Divine Being. It is not just response, or what is supposed to be response, which centers in a sort of adulation of the spiritual leader. The true response is revealed, the evidence appears, in the expression of Divine Being through the individual who is responding. If it does not appear in that, there is no real response. As you begin to find an awareness of Divine Being in relationship to yourselves and your fellows, then there is the beginning of the evidence of response: the expression of Divine Being through you. And this will be unique, absolutely unique.

We have had the privilege of associating for a little while with a spiritual leader [Swami Premananda] who is expressing something of Divine Being, traveling around the world, offering something to many people. There are many who respond to him in the sense of appreciating what he says, most of them without understanding what it is. They feel something, it feels good for the moment; but what is needed in the world is a pattern in which those who respond share in the expression that is made manifest in its focalized essences at the point of the leadership. There must be that point. There has been such a point constantly, all down through the ages. It is not that that is really unique in our ministry. Perhaps the recognition of it is something. But the sharing of it!—that is the unique thing.

Richard was mentioning the other day, some lady who was a secretary of Gandhi, and she is involved in some movement in relationship to this nonviolent program, which is another form of conflict. The subject was brought up with Premananda, and he was very quick to indicate that this was not at all what Gandhi was offering. In other words those who were followers of Gandhi have virtually all of them failed to comprehend what it was that he brought. They were not really sharing in it at all. Just the same thing as happened when our Master was on earth; the disciples had no faintest idea. Do you, in this Ministry?

It is in the measure that you do know something, share something, participate in something, experience oneness with something, that there is the unique provision on earth of that which makes possible salvation. It has never been on earth yet. If it had, the world would not be the way it is. No religion has provided it—the way human beings have functioned in relationship to their religions, at least. The truth has been brought over and over again and offered, and there have been those who have felt that the spiritual leader was wonderful, but they never reached the point of sharing what was being expressed. Only as that point is reached does this Ministry, or any other ministry, have any meaning. Of course, the spiritual leader must be a spiritual leader. He must be right. He must be providing an expression of that which is Divine for it to work, but it only begins to work as there are those who share that spirit.

The spirit appears individually through the individual expression, but it is never a violation of that which is focalized at Center. And as there begins to be this sharing, as you begin to know it because you are aware of Divine Being wherever you look, there is something unique on earth, and it is not wonderful just for its uniqueness but by reason of the fact that it provides what is essential to the creative achievement of the Divine purposes, making possible the changing of human beings. This may be shared by all of you and many others, to the glory of God, for you reverence Him and your attitude is one of reverence as you live and serve.

© Emissaries of Divine Light