And now we come to our GPC service training class of June 23, 1953, and I've just been reminded that this is the first anniversary of the first Commencement Day of our first GPC Servers Training Class. And we continue our theme of Heavenly Magic. Are you finding something of Heavenly Magic in our patterns of consideration? There is nothing more wonderful than the magic of living. And one cannot live in darkness. One can exist in darkness and give the appearance of living for a time, but in such a state, generally speaking, one is asleep, to some degree at least.
And that reminds me of a basic fundamental principle in relationship to health, which we might interject at this point. Sleep while one is in darkness, physical darkness, allows the control patterns of the cerebellum and the medulla oblongata to function on a basis that tends to clear away the toxic poisons that have developed in the body during waking hours; but sleep in the daytime is never as restful, as some of you have learned from experience. Sleep when it's light, in the sense of daylight, makes a difference physically speaking. And actually, unless the room is dark, something of the same result can be attained by having the eyes covered with a dark bandage. It isn't complete, but it does help because the sensing of light and darkness is primarily through the eyes. If you have the sensing of light completely shut out from the eyes you can get better rest, if you must rest while it is daylight than if you do not, or if the room is dark, otherwise there is a tendency to develop a feeling of fullness, uncomfortableness, in the back of the neck; and the body functions are not cleared of the acid conditions, or the toxic conditions, so that your periods of rest are not nearly as helpful. The body was made on the basis of function in relationship to physical light and physical darkness. Physical darkness is important to the correct function of the rehabilitation process that works out during sleep; so sleep in a dark room is much more effective than sleep in a room where there is light, physical light. Of course there's the need for air, and other factors that enter into it, but clearing the body of toxic poisons can be best done through sleep by having the room dark, or at least the perception of light shut out from the eyes. That's only partial in that case but it does help. So we’ll end our parenthetical consideration there, of the physical factors of light, and turn our attention to the consideration of light in the spiritual sense—light and darkness. Spiritually speaking we do not need the darkness of ignorance or ill conditions or distortions.
The life—the Life of Shekinah is the Light of men. In Shekinah was Life. Life, as we know it physically, must come from Shekinah or we cease to have it, regardless of the pattern of existence the human being may follow, all life comes from God through Shekinah, without any exception. But, the Life as it is in Shekinah is the Light of men. We must, of course, be physically alive in order to perceive light, to distinguish light from darkness. And as that is so physically, it is also true mentally, emotionally, spiritually. We must be alive to spiritual things in order to distinguish between the light and the dark of the spiritual factors of Life.
“In the beginning was Shekinah, and the Shekinah was with God, and the Shekinah was God.” So we have learned that we cannot separate between the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells and the One Who Dwells. There is no dividing line. And as far as we are concerned we are contacting God the moment we contact the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells. “All things were made by Shekinah.” There is a key statement that is of utmost importance to us. Anything that we attempt to make without regard to Shekinah is not then truly made. If we would have a creative expression in life, if we would share God's creative activity, we must function in relationship to Shekinah; otherwise nothing worthwhile is brought forth or established in the realm of form.
“All things were made by Shekinah”—all things were made by God's use of Shekinah. Your mind is supposed to be a capacity by which Divine Mind can function in this level of things in relationship to the use of Shekinah. Now if you, as a human being, undertake to use Shekinah you will fail; but if you function on a basis which allows the Divine control to be conveyed through you into the earth, then on this level, in this physical realm of things, Shekinah is used by God through you. We need to have that distinction clearly in consciousness so that you do not, as a human being, attempt to use Shekinah; but you must not refuse to use Shekinah. That could sound like a paradox. If you refuse to use Shekinah in the pattern of Divine control and say, “But Shekinah is higher than I”—and many Shekinah patterns are—you will never be able to be truly creative. And here we have one of the delicate factors with respect to growth, progress, development spiritually, and that is to find the balance point between arrogance and egotism and the true expression of your Heavenly individuality of Being.
Humility, true humility, keeps you from becoming arrogant or egotistical, but false humility keeps you from functioning on a basis which will let God convey something through you into the world. Where is this balance point? Between that which is actually egotistical and that which is simply a recognition of your Divine Heritage as you share the expression of Deity on earth. I have known many people who, because they did not have clear vision, assumed that I was egotistical. I have had many people attempt to fight against me, fundamentally on that one point, the assumption that I was being egotistical. On the other hand, if I had functioned on a basis which I have classified as false humility, could I have been an instrument for the expression of God's blessings to you? Obviously not. We must not deny our correct relationship with God. It is not being egotistical or arrogant when we function on the basis of God's Love and Truth and Life in an acceptance and a recognition of that which is the reality of God's Pattern for us.
You recognize that I have said very little about my particular place in the Cosmic scheme of things, but I cannot deny it and I am forced to mention it on occasion, briefly though it may be, in order to help bring the Whole Pattern together for you, so that you can see and understand. But in that, if you have eyes to see, I believe you will find that it has always been with a spirit of humility before God that I even touched upon that particular point. On the other hand, if I were to carry a false pattern of humility so that I was responsive to conditions, to people, and I could not convey a positive pattern to you, I would be useless to God and useless as far as you are concerned.
So, it is very easy for the human mind to confuse the true expression of Being and call it egotism. On the other hand, there is a fine balance point, and sometimes people assume that they are simply being positive in the nature of their own true reality when in actual fact they are being egotistical; when in actual fact they are being arrogant. And so, one of the things that you have to learn to see in the Light is this line of distinction, so that you are not caught in the pattern of arrogance and egotism on the one hand and on the other hand you do not become so subject to those conditions around you that you cannot be a proper point of positive expression for the release of God's power on earth. You cannot deny the reality of the positive pattern of God's power by your actions and attitudes and still let it manifest.
Human beings, given a little authority, given a little power, tend to abuse that power and use it selfishly, and very often they appear to find certain satisfactions in imposing ill conditions upon others. One of the characteristics of those who rise on the basis of world patterns to a position of dictatorship is that they establish in themselves the life and death control of other people, and they feel that they are justified in almost offhandedly requiring the death of some human being, or diminishing the life opportunity in some human being—imprisonment or something of that sort. One of the ways we can distinguish, in ourselves or in others, with respect to this proper functioning in the positive point of Being is in relationship to the constructive pattern that is involved.
Is the authority, the power, used in such fashion that it arbitrarily denies other human beings their full pattern of rights and privilege? If such is the case there is probably the manifestation of arrogance and egotism. If, on the other hand, there is that which human beings might conceive to be egotism and yet there is a pattern of consistent dedication to the constructive, helpful, creative pattern of life in others, then we can recognize that there is at least some indication that it is in harmony with the Divine Plan. Now the dictator always produces an imitation of this.
We can see it very easily in relationship to Hitler, for instance. He was presumably making his nation a people of supermen and women. They were going to be greatly benefited; he was the altruistic leader, and he was making his people to be supreme; and he was concerned about their health, and this, that and the other thing. He had patterns where there was the appearance of the right factor of function on the one hand, while on the other hand he was utilizing a process which actually detracted from their individual power to think, to use their own capacities to determine a right course of action. They were being shaped into a mold; and as long as the pattern of the mold held they were very effective, but thrown on their own so that they had to take responsibility and meet issues, and emergency patterns, then they tended to go to pieces; they didn’t have the right word of authority from further up the line. So, instead of actually producing that which was creative for his people, he produced that which destroyed them. The mere fact that he was concerned about their physical health, and had great programs for the young people, etc, along that line, he was destroying their minds, destroying their initiative, destroying their individuality, forcing them into patterns that were machine-like so that the machine—having strong physical bodies—could be more effective. The appearance of the concern about health physically, blinded untold, tens-of-thousands to the real process that was at work. So there was an imitation, the appearance of the manifestation of Heavenly Magic.
As we have noted in times past, the outer mind in self-activity can appear to duplicate the Magic of Life up to a certain point—the Magic of Reality, or Heavenly Magic—but it reaches a point where it cannot. And if that which appears to be a duplication of the Divine Pattern of Heavenly Magic is being used unselfishly, perhaps it has some value, perhaps it is moving in the right direction—even though in the world at the present time we find so many situations where there is good, where it is moving in the right direction, but nevertheless it is a far cry from what it ought to be. So we want to be careful about judging, yet we must recognize that this appearance of duplicating the constructive expression, the appearance of the altruistic attitude, the savior of his people, etc, was merely a cloak. It turned out to be the manifestation of a wolf in sheep's clothing.
And that’s the pattern that the Master utilized in distinguishing here, revealing the difference between correct attitude and pattern of function, and that which is of the world. Those who have a cloak of sheep's clothing—what are they? Are they sheep? If they are sheep they need a shepherd. But they fool the sheep. They may not delude the shepherd, but what are they concerned with? Not so much the shepherd as the sheep. If one is a true leader one will not have the appearance of a sheep. Now that may sound a little strange to you.
The pattern indicates that we all are, in one sense, at some point along the way at least, sheep in the fold of the Great Shepherd. That pattern is used in the beginning of the cycle. But that is the range of the servant pattern. At first we must be servants, or slaves even, before we can reach the point of being friends. But once you go through the transition, from the state of the servant to the state of the friend, you are no longer a sheep. So, if there is an emergence out of the pattern of the world helplessness into the pattern of true Divine function, you are no longer symbolized by the sheep. But you must function under the Pattern of the Shepherd until you learn how to emerge.
Well our classes here, and the purpose of our function, is to help you to emerge into a range where true leadership can manifest through you—not the leadership of arrogance, self-righteousness, not the supposed leadership of egotism, but the true leadership. In other words, you are either a member of the flock of the sheep, assuming that you are responding, or you are a member of the Body of the Shepherd. That will clarify the point for you.If you are a member of the Body of the Shepherd, and you have been received as a friend, then you function as a Shepherd, and to the sheep you may appear, to some of them, to be assuming something—if you are, it will soon be shown—but, the fact that human beings may judge you to be assuming something, judge you to be arrogant, judge you to be egotistical, does not make you so unless you let it. You can have the proper pattern of response to our KING and be a member of the Body of the Shepherd. And if you are a member of the Body of the Shepherd, you won’t need to wear a cloak of sheep skin.
Now how did you get the sheep skin to begin with? You killed one of the sheep. You see? How did anyone get the sheep skin? By killing one of the sheep. So the wolf in sheep’s clothing fails to appreciate the True Pattern. There is the seeming pattern that will delude other sheep perhaps, for a little while, the pattern of black magic—but you are either numbered among the sheep, if you are responding, or you are numbered as a member of the Body of the Shepherd, and you do not have to wear a sheep skin. So those who claim to be leaders, who point to the sheep skin on their back to emphasize the importance of accepting them as leaders, do not know what they are talking about. See what I mean? They’re pointing to a sheep’s skin, and say, “Look, I'm one of the sheep, I'm just one of the sheep, look at my sheep’s skin.” But he who emerges as a true leader isn’t wearing a sheep skin. He is wearing the badge of membership in the Body of the Shepherd. And there is the difference—so you do not need to be confused. “Beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing,” the Master said, and we begin to see how true it is.
And what is the true nature of the Shepherd? There are millions of people in the world who assume the patterns of leadership, who want to appear as sheep. Some of them really are sheep and some of them are wolves in sheep’s clothing. But he who emerges as a true leader is not wearing a sheep skin. He is not one of the sheep. He is a member of the Body of the Shepherd. And you are invited to be members of the Body of the Shepherd. So let us watch, individually and collectively, with respect to this delicate point of balance, so that you do not become egotistical or arrogant, and yet you do not sell your birthright for a mess of pottage, you do not refuse to be what you ought to be, even if someone classifies you as being arrogant and egotistical. Time will tell, always, time will tell.
“All things were made by Shekinah; and without Shekinah was not any thing made that was made.” Having recognized this important distinction which we have been considering, we can see that the sheep are those who need to have something made for them, they need to be led into green pastures, they need to be taken to the still waters to drink, etc. But the one who is the leader, the one who is a member of the Body of the Shepherd, will carry the true characteristics of the Shepherd, and he will be functioning in relationship to Shekinah so that he can make something. We begin to see two classes of people in the sphere of the responding ones. There is another class, of course, those who are dead and in whom there is no response. But, there are the sheep and there are the members of the Body of the Shepherd. The sheep have not yet learned how to function in relationship to Shekinah. They must be protected from themselves, they must be led, they must be drawn into a position where they can begin to know the reality of Godhood; they must begin to know how to function as a Shepherd that they may not be sheep forever.
The only reason there is the pattern of the sheep in the world is because man fell. God did not create human beings to be as sheep, and He did not establish Himself to be as a Shepherd to the sheep. Remember, it is not the Divine Design that makes you or anyone else as a sheep. That is the nature of the responding one as he moves out of the pattern of sleep into the pattern of response, moving in the direction of the Divine Design—and gradually he awakens to the reality of his own True Being and steps into the sphere of the Body of the Shepherd, becomes a member of that Body and is so restored to his Divine Estate. We have this point clearly set forth in the Psalm which we have recognized to be the formula: “The Lord is your Shepherd”, etc, “He restoreth your soul”—and remember what your soul is. The soul is the outer manifestation of your Being. And God breathed the Breath of Life into man's nostrils, and man, the physical man, became a Living Soul—a Living Soul. “He restoreth your soul,” to its Divine Estate, which is to membership in the Body of that which is now functioning as a Shepherd. But that Body will function as a Shepherd only as long as there are sheep, but the day will come when there are no more sheep, when they have all entered the Body of the Shepherd, and then the function will be restored to the pattern which was originally designed for it.
You know, the processes of working out salvation for human beings is a substitute pattern for Divine activity. God had to produce a substitute pattern. He had to begin functioning in a sphere that was not a part of the original design, the original purpose—simply repairing the machinery that broke down. After the machinery is repaired—that is important—but after it is repaired the work will be in harmony with the true purpose of the machinery. We will not go on fixing the machine forever. Once that is repaired and mankind is restored to his Divine position, he will begin to share God's creative activity according to the Original Purpose. You do not need to be concerned about trying to understand that Original Purpose, but you can remember this illustration. For the time being, God is working to repair the machinery that was broken down. Once the machinery is repaired, and all is in order, the machine will be used in the work for which it was originally designed. Now it is repair work; then it will be the use of the machine. And that is all you need to know about it at the moment, except that it will be creative work.
The immediate point, then, we need to realize is that “He restoreth your soul.” The Shepherd restores you into a position in the Body of the Shepherd, and He has assumed the role of a Shepherd only because there were sheep, and as soon as there are no more sheep He will put aside His robe of the Shepherd and function according to His true nature, His true purpose, and no longer as the Shepherd. “He restoreth your soul.” And God, Shekinah, breathed the Breath of Life into man's nostrils and man became a Living Soul. So the man is the soul, if he has the Breath of Life in his nostrils. Let us remind ourselves: “All things were made by Shekinah; and without Shekinah was not any thing made that was made. In Shekinah was Life, and the Life of Shekinah was the Light of men.” And in the beginning Shekinah breathed the Breath of Life. In Shekinah was Life—and in the beginning Shekinah breathed the Breath of Life into man's nostrils, and having the Shekinah Breath of Life in his nostrils man became a Living Soul.
What is the distinction to be seen here then, in order that we avoid any confusion in thought and attitude? Any human being who is alive is a soul. He is either a dying soul or a Living Soul. Many human beings—body, mind and heart—are souls, but they are dying souls. If they will respond and if there is a Shepherd, if there is a pattern of creative activity available to them, they can become Living Souls; but they do not become Living Souls until the Shekinah Breath of Life is in their nostrils. Now something of the Shekinah Breath of Life has already entered into you, or you would not be responding as you are. But what is this process by which the Shekinah Breath of Life may enter into your nostrils so that you may be in actual fact a Living Soul?
The Master, while He walked among men, set the stage for that particular pattern of outworking, that the Shekinah Breath of Life might again be breathed into man's nostrils, that human beings might cease their function as dying souls and that they might become Living Souls. You will recall that at the time that the disciples allowed the beginning of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, or the appearance of Shekinah, what is popularly called the Day of Pentecost, they were in the habit of breathing upon someone. They breathed upon so and so and he or she received the Holy Ghost. What is the Holy Ghost? The Holy Ghost is the outer Cloud Factor of Shekinah, insofar as the general sense is concerned—that is, the Body of Many Members.
You have recognized that the Holy Ghost has a particularized application in you as an individual, but the same pattern holds true in the Body of Many Members. So, every human being has a ghost or, in one sense, is a ghost. He is a dying ghost, or he is a Living Ghost. If he is a Living Ghost in the pattern of the Heavenly Magic, it is the Holy Ghost—but if we must distinguish that which is of reality by calling it the Holy Ghost, by inference we immediately acknowledge that there is an unholy ghost. There would be no necessity of saying Holy Ghost if there was no such thing as an unholy ghost, would there? No. So the very fact that we say Holy Ghost clearly indicates that there is an unholy ghost, and the unholy ghost is the pattern in the dying soul. The unholy ghost is the pattern in the dying soul. The Holy Ghost is the pattern in the Living Soul, and the Holy Ghost also manifests in relationship to the Body of Many Members.We begin to see, then, that what is called the Day of Pentecost was actually the beginning of the process by which the Shekinah Breath of Life was being breathed into man's nostrils, that they, then, might become Living Souls. But they got the first whiff of the breath, they started to get a little of it into their lungs, spiritually speaking, and they got so exhilarated, so thrilled, and their minds got so busy, that they went rushing out and started functioning on the basis of the whiff, on the basis of the little beginning.
Now if you will recall the Master's instruction to His disciples, He said, “Tarry in Jerusalem until the day of Pentecost is fully come”—until it is fullycome. The disciples disobeyed that direction. They did not do it. They did tarry until the Day the Cycle of Pentecost—that is, the Cycle of Shekinah—started to appear; and the minute it started to appear they assumed that that was all. They jumped to some conclusions and rushed out and tried to use the power that they felt in themselves according to what they thought would be good deeds, not realizing that they were actually disobeying our KING, spoiling the pattern, throwing away the opportunity to let the Day of Pentecost fully come.
You see, it never has fully come. There was just the first faint Dawn of it, just the first faint breaking of the New Day, beginning to dispel the darkness for those who were awake at sunrise. They did not even let sunrise come—Sonrise, the manifestation of the Body of the Son. The day, the cycle—not a twenty-four hour day—the Day of Pentecost was supposed to fully come, and it did not, because Peter and the others spoiled it. They did not let it fully come. And God has been waiting nearly two thousand years, nineteen hundred anyway, for some human beings somewhere to so function that the Son would no longer have to stand still. The Son has been standing still for a long time. What is the story about Joshua making the sun stand still? Well the Son has been standing still; the Dawn did not fully come; there was just a little of the light of the Dawn. And instead of letting the Body of the Son take form and rise above the horizon so that the day might fully come, those who were supposed to be the members of the Body of the Son went rushing off to use the power they felt according to their own idea of what would be good—and so the Son stood still and darkness has remained for nineteen centuries while God waited for human beings to appear on earth who would let the Dawn of the New Day come, who would allow the Son to rise, the Body of the Son to appear, to let the Day of Pentecost fully come.
And if we are to let this work out in relationship to ourselves, that we may be a true blessing to others, we must let the Shekinah Breath of Life come into our nostrils so that we may become Living Souls, and as Living Souls, we, who were once dying souls, can be members of the One Body, the Christ Body, the Body of the Rising Son, that the Day of Pentecost may fully come, that darkness may be dispelled from the whole earth and the Kingdom of Heaven be made manifest.
Once you begin to actually see this Divine Pattern, the Divine Purpose, you no longer have the urge to go out and try to do good, as Peter did. So many people have followed Peter's example, Peter's leadership. But when they do they are not following our KING, because Peter did not follow our KING. He let a little truth appear in his two Epistles. He let a little truth appear there. He was a good man. Oh, he was a good man, was Peter! But let’s follow our KING! It isn’t enough merely to follow a good man, a man who was so good that the moment he began to feel the flush of God's power coming into his being he couldn’t wait, he could not let the Day of Pentecost fully come until he realized what was happening. He had to rush out and start using it. What does this tell us?
This tells us that he began—and the others, focalized in Peter however—he began to let the Cloud have some meaning; but he did not wait until he was fully attuned with the Cloud so that he could see the Light within the Cloud. And then, becoming attuned to the Light that Glows, they should have let themselves see what was within the Light, that they could comprehend the meaning of the Fire. There were those who sensed the reality of some Fire in it, yes. “And there came a sound … as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.”
“A sound … as of a rushing might wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting, and there appeared upon each of them as if it were cloven tongues of fire.”There was some recognition of the fact that there was some Fire inside of the Light that Glows within the Cloud, but they hadn’t become attuned to it, there wasn’t any real unification in it, there wasn’t any real pattern, there wasn’t any real Divine control established. They had not waited until they could see and know and obey the One within the Flame, the One within the Fire. If they had waited until they could hear His voice, so that they could obey the Word of the One within the Fire, they wouldn’t have gone off on impulsive tangents as they did—the world story would have been different, where the restoration would have been completed to the Divine Estate centuries ago, as God intended that it should. But impulsive Peter, and the others who followed his lead, spoiled it, ruined it, and did not let the Day of Pentecost fully come.
It is for us to let it fully come, that the Breath of Life, the Shekinah Breath of Life, may be breathed into your nostrils, and that Life shall be your Light. But the Light is not all. Behind the Light there is the Fire, and within the Fire there is the One Who is like unto the Son of God. Let us let the Day of Pentecost fully come. Let us obey our LORD and KING.
The body of mankind is rightly the body of the Son of God. The body of the Son of God, in the person of Jesus, was crucified. What was done to Him established what should occur in the larger sense. “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” They do not realize that they are setting the stage for the crucifixion of the whole body of mankind. And so the crucifixion of the body of mankind occurs, brought to pass in a variety of ways. Certainly there is need for forgiveness for the abysmal ignorance of clever human intellects. There can be no forgiveness without repentance. It seems as though there is as yet little inclination to repent: “Let us further develop what is possible to the human intellect”—no recognition of the need for forgiveness and therefore the essential requirement of repentance.
You are aware that there is a focus of spirit present on earth. [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/the-radiant-focus-of-spirit-on-earth.html] This is the base for whatever may occur to permit this focus of spirit to be expanded so as to provide what is necessary to the whole body of mankind. What is necessary in that regard becomes known to this expanded focus of spirit which we may refer to as our Body. The Body of the KING may become a reality to the extent that those concerned have the experience of how it works; not the theory of how it works, not a belief in some principle or other, but the actual experience of the working. This actual experience of the working comes because there is a focus of spirit within the Body which is to provide the expanded focus of spirit for the body of mankind.
The rising tide of spirit has brought forth a focus of spirit in a very specific way. I would acknowledge that as having been so in Uranda. Here was one who provided a specific focus of spirit, a focus that I personally, amongst others, acknowledged and accepted. Also, by reason of the rising tide of spirit continuing in its natural movement and unfoldment, thissame focus of spirit came to point in my own experience and has subsequently been offered to you and to others, to those who have been in position to acknowledge and to accept it. As there have been those who were, then there has been a basis for the development of the experience of the way the creative process works, so that those who did acknowledge and accept—and any others who may do so in the future—are in position to assume the responsibility for the larger provision of the expanded focus of spirit for the world. No doubt there is still something to be learned, something to be more fully experienced of the way the creative process works. Because there is this focus of spirit, there is a point of origination for whatever it is that needs to be differentiated within this body which is to provide the expanded focus of spirit.
There are external things which need to be handled, and everybody has these things. But far more important to me than all of this, which has its own importance, is what is going on from the standpoint of the creative process. It relates to everything that is happening. The creative process is all-important, and nobody could ever say, “Well I am too busy to pay attention to it.” That’s a cop-out, because what you are doing is of no value at all, what you are doing in the external sense, unless it is associated with the creative process.
The point of origination for the movement of the creative process is in the spiritual focus. It takes the expression of spirit moving in the creative cycle to bring forth what is needed, and what is needed at that point is perfect. It might not be perfect at some other point but it’s perfect then. There must be a connection with the focus of spirit from which the creative process proceeds. If there isn’t that, there is no creative process embodied in expression on earth. So I draw this to your attention and, through being able to do this with you, draw it to the attention of many others besides.
How easy it is to move with the spirit that is brought to focus in each moment. It’s only when we disassociate ourselves from that that we find confusion, turmoil and pain putting in an appearance. We all participate in the expression of this One Spirit. It is done in particular ways by each person, but as long as it is in fact a differentiation of that One Spirit there is the basis for agreement, there is the basis for authority and for power, the power of action, the power of radiation. And isn’t that all that’s needed?
If we think of the creative process once again: radiation—that is the first necessity—to which there is response on the one hand and reaction on the other. We are concerned with the response. The reaction will either turn to response or take care of its own disintegration. But the response allows for the attraction which permits the experience of union, union with this One Spirit within this One Body. And participating in this One Body there is unified radiation. And so the cycle continues and builds. But it doesn’t do so because of the individual in some sort of separate endeavor. It does so because the individual is participating in the Body, and the Body is permitting the expression of that One Spirit, the spirit of the King, to radiate into the consciousness of mankind. We all have our associations in a direct sense with that consciousness and also in an indirect sense with that consciousness. We are all connected subconsciously. And so what finds release in radiation through this Body penetrates into the consciousness of the body of mankind, which is not separate from us.
The creative process proceeds apace, and we rejoice to be together in that process, which is one of joy. We may know pretty well when we are participating in that by the level of joy, or lack of it, that we are personally experiencing. The Master spoke of His joy, the joy that He left to be shared by any who are willing. And our willingness has become greater presumably as time went on, and consequently our experience of joy is naturally greater.
Expanding Light — Increasing Intensity
Martin Cecil February 18, 1973
We all have our roles to play; because we love the Lord, it delights us to do so. We have a constant consciousness of the reality of a Living Body in which we play particular parts. Being conscious of these things and aware of the reality of the spirit of God, our part relates more particularly to what we have called spiritual expression.
There are many responding ones in the world, many people of integrity, who unknowingly compose this Living Body which has long been unconscious of itself. The dawn of consciousness as this relates to that Body comes through a few to start with. You and others are included in this few, but because there are but a few, relatively speaking, whose behavior begins to let them share the vision does not mean in any way that the Body is very small. The returning consciousness of that Body is perhaps a small thing at the moment but the Body itself is far-reaching; it is present throughout what we call mankind.
The returning consciousness of that Body is a little thing to start with, a small point which may, if allowed to do so, expand and, like the rising of the sun, push the darkness back so that the darkness begins to retreat out of the Body as more light appears. This light of course originates in the Lord, in the point which has position but no magnitude. It must take its magnitude through the dimensions of human beings and this it is proceeding to do. In those wherein the sun rises “with healing in his wings” the darkness must retreat first. It is an inevitable thing that is taking place, just as inevitable as what is portrayed by the rising of the sun in the morning; no man can stop it. If we go very fast we may be able to keep ourselves in the darkness, but this is a little bit tiring. How much better to yield to the expanding light so that the darkness which may remain in us as individuals can be pushed out, that there may be light and no darkness at all. The expanding light will push the darkness out; that is the inevitable part of it. The question arises as to whether it pushes us out because we cling to the darkness or whether, relinquishing the darkness, we delight in de light!
Those who tend to find themselves involved with the darkness—and that is most people—see the turmoil, see the darkness. If identity is with that, there is no comprehension of the light: the darkness comprehendeth not the light and consequently the appearance of things becomes increasingly desperate. But if there is an awareness of the light there is an understanding of what it is that is happening. It might be said that the darkness is being compressed into a smaller volume on the periphery of things; it does not remain anymore at any very great depth but it is all coming to the surface. And there is only so much surface area, and whatever depth of darkness still remains, to accommodate all the darkness. The darkness which before was much more widespread in depth is being pushed to the surface, that it may be pushed out. Those who love darkness rather than light must of course be pushed out with it. But becoming increasingly aware of the reality of the light because we love it, we find that the greater volume of experience, because we live in depth, is of light rather than darkness. The darkness is at the surface of things. Of course if we still have some addictions in that realm of darkness we may find ourselves involved at times with the surface of things and then it is rough going. There is nothing wrong with the fact that the darkness is at the surface of things but there is something wrong if we continue to play around at that surface.
Relinquishing addiction to the darkness with all its vast variety of aspects, we may welcome the light and abide in the light. In this we begin to experience what life is. Human beings in the world have had very little experience of life; their major experience has been of death, death in varying degrees, percentages of death, until it reaches one hundred percent. But now there is life emerging because of the expansion of the light.
I have been speaking of the expanding light, pushing the darkness back. The purpose is to push the darkness out of this Living Body of which we have become aware—we have spoken of it as the Body of the Son of God—that there may be no darkness present in it at all. Now it doesn't all happen in a blaze of glory. The restoration of consciousness comes—this is the consciousness of true being—from a point which has position but no magnitude through a point which has position and magnitude, so that it may expand in the Body of the Son of God. And that is what is called the resurrection. We have become aware of the part which we may play in this by reason of the fact of the expansion of light from within ourselves, so that we become aware, in whatever measure at this point, of what is written in the Book of Life in this present moment, within us in this present moment. As that light expands we read more clearly.
We are sharing a vision of these things which relate to the expansion of light—we use the word “light” to describe something indescribable—by which the darkness is dispelled. As the dawn comes the darkness recedes on the surface of the earth from the position where the individual may be standing—the darkness is being pushed back so that the light floods the land.
If there is darkness in you anywhere there is no light there where the darkness is, and so the light cannot be made available as inspiration for another insofar as that point is concerned. How little real trust there has been in the Lord for so long, trust that if as individuals we mind our own business He will get the job done. He doesn't get the job done because we mind other people's business; just our own, our own behavior. In our own behavior we have increasing responsibility, as the light increases, of wisely handling people; not according to the concepts in the realm of darkness, with which most of us are very familiar, but in a new way.
Here is the emerging character of life, and life has never lacked power. We have noted before so many evidences on every hand, even in this little world where we live, of the power of life. We see it exemplified every spring. Immense power, isn't it? We may see it moving in little things, the unfolding of a leaf. “Well there's not much power there!” How many leaves are there? How many trees are there? How much vegetation is there? How many animals and birds are there, and fish and everything else? And even human beings—three and a half billion human beings on earth sustained for a brief moment by life. No lack of power! What will the experience be if, instead of frustrating it, we agree with it? What is the experience in this moment, as we behave rightly in this moment?
Let us remember that behavior is not a vague thing, but a very specific thing, relating to thoughts, feelings, words and actions. All these areas either allow the expression of life or inhibit it; all these areas are included in what we call behavior. When our thoughts and our feelings, our words and our actions, are inspired by life in our own experience we move in the process by which the expansion of light continues. It is this, unknown and unknowable to self-centered man, which achieves the purposes of God. Not by self-centered, self-active efforts, not by good ideas, not by humanly proven methods, is what needs to be done done, but by the spirit of the Living God, which in its release and expansion is the “Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world”; it is present in all. Accomplishment on this basis seems as foolishness to men, but it is indeed the wisdom of God; it's the only way it works.
So, sharing in this vision—based in our behavior—we begin to know what life is all about and we let it be about its business. The world is due for a change, overdue, and while the periphery of events may pose problems, insurmountable problems, to self-centered human beings, they are only the evidence of the darkness being compressed into a decreasing space, that it may eventually pop out altogether. It does this because of the expansion of light, and the expansion of light comes because there are those who come near unto the Lord.
No one can come near unto the Lord and keep the darkness; but coming near unto the Lord, we share in the increased intensity of light, that others also may come near unto the Lord and share likewise. Because they do there is an increased intensity of light: radiation, response, attraction, union, unified radiation, and the unified radiation is more intense than the original radiation. And so it goes, and the job gets done. We begin to understand what the job is and we begin to know how to do it. So in our behavior now, and in the days to come as these in turn become the present moment, we may play our part intelligently, with assurance and with understanding. We develop the ability to handle those who respond to the light and we do not at any time offer anyone darkness. We do not need to fight with darkness, but neither do we need to agree with it. We agree with the light. “Let there be light … Let your light so shine before men.” This is the way we let it intensify now.
If a guru might in fact be classified as a spiritual master then he may provide a very essential element in the creative process as related to his followers. This is illustrated well by the Master Jesus, and His disciples. The Master and disciples portrays parent and children. People are initially, at best, only spiritual children; therefore guidance needs to be given, but at some point the children, having passed through the cycles of being children, begin to mature. If the guru continues to insist upon the position he held before, while his followers were still children, they will likely never grow up. There tends to be this settling down into a comfortable situation, but a true master will never permit this to be sustained unduly. The young birds need to be pushed out of the nest.
We all remember how in the Master's ministry He indicated finally that His disciples should no longer be called servants but friends. The word friends is perhaps the best translation that could be found for the new maturing experience, but if this word is seen in the light of human understanding of so-called friendship it doesn't provide a very accurate picture. During the time of the master-servant relationship there's a very clearly evident indication of positive and negative factors: the positive master, the negative disciples. Because of these positive and negative factors there could be the beginning generation of the essential collective pneumaplasm, or spiritual substance, which would be needful to accommodate the experience of friendship. Without that substance what is implied by the word “friends” cannot be known.
So there is the need for the generation of the required vibrational substance. This happens on the basis of the interaction between positive and negative. The right basis for that interaction is love: the disciples love the master; the followers love the guru. Thus there may be the beginning generation of the essential substance. A child loves his parents simply because they are there; the situation is not analyzed at all. There is love for the person of the parents. In the case of the followers and the guru, or the disciples and the master, there is love for the person of the guru or the master. This is the starting point for the generation of substance, the substance which is to accommodate the truth. The truth can never be known without this essential vibrational substance. The truth is not a concept of the mind; it is something else altogether. It is a reality, an already existing reality which remains unknown even though it may be theorized about until there is the substance which will accommodate it, thereby bringing it within the range of the experience of those individuals through whom the substance has been generated. This is the basis for knowing the truth.
So the initial stages include spiritual children who are responding in love to their spiritual master just because he is their spiritual master. But as substance is generated, so that the truth can begin to be accommodated within the experience of these maturing children, then the love begins to change toward what it is that is being represented by the master. We may recall here again the words of Jesus: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” He indicated the necessity of His disciples loving Him; either merely loving a person whom the disciples had become more or less familiar with, or what was revealed by that person. Obviously the change is to loving the latter, in other words the Way, the Truth and the Life which He was—not merely a physical person but what was made evident by reason of the presence of that physical person, namely the Way, the Truth and the Life. The change begins to occur when this becomes the nature of the disciple's love, because what he loves—the Way, the Truth and the Life—is acknowledged as being acceptable in his own experience and is not merely left to the master. The Way, the Truth and the Life is available to all people, oneself included. The loving of that then immediately begins to associate one's own experience with the Way, the Truth and the Life, and this opens the door to what has been called “friendship”—fundamentally association, increasing oneness with this One Spirit.
The word “friend” tends to be interpreted in human consciousness as indicating that those concerned are functioning at the same level. Certainly when Jesus indicated the necessity of loving Him—the Way, the Truth and the Life—He was not saying, in effect, “I'm going to cease to be who I am. I'm going to vacate my position of focus.” He didn't say that at all, and that is not implied by the word “friend”. Friend is the experience to the extent that the truth is being accommodated by this spiritual substance which has been generated. But the truth includes design; in other words there are particular relationships between those who participate in knowing the truth. Knowing the truth certainly does not engender the sometimes present human attitude, “I'm just as good as you are.” Maybe. Who knows? There is a design, there is a pattern of right relationship. There are various levels in that relationship. It isn't a flat thing, so that everybody can look at the other and say, “I'm on the same level as you.” Not at all. Who wants to be? That would be very dull. There is a beautiful design, the design of friendship.
Friendship does not necessarily engender familiarity. There is the fitness of things—namely wisdom. The substance which is generated by a right participation in the creative experience of love allows for a vast range of natural and proper relationships. This same substance which accommodates the truth accommodates wisdom. Wisdom is a part of the experience of truth—there is a sense of the fitness of things. There is, one might say, when the substance is available, the experience of the excellency of wisdom, and this same substance accommodates power, the excellency of power. The power is available for right use under right control in the true design. So used, it is creative and makes possible the fulfilment of the purposes of God. We think of this at the moment primarily from the standpoint of what we have called restoration. All this is available once there is the substance to accommodate it.
This substance is initially generated by the clear-cut relationship between parents and children, between master and disciples, and it's generated on the basis of love: love by the master for his disciples and love by the disciples for the master. But, that love of the disciples for the master begins to come out of a childish condition into an increasing awareness of what it is that is being revealed by the master: namely the Way, the Truth and the Life; and the love is for that, for participation in it, for the experience of it, and on this basis there is substance available to accommodate the truth so that the real design can begin to become apparent. The design is seen on the basis of the sense of the fitness of things, and relationships appear as fitting, not arbitrarily established in external form but naturally emerging through the action of spirit, shared spirit, and all concerned find themselves related to one another in particular ways. The one who provides the focus, the one who was considered to be the master, for instance, is seen in the design. That position in the design might not be described by the word “master” but there is a recognition of a point of focus in the design, and it becomes evident that there are other points of focus also which are present, because these other points of focus do not question or deny the first point of focus. The design naturally emerges on this basis from level to level.
This is not to say that any particular person is stuck at some level. There is a creative requirement which necessitates different configurations in the design of truth, so there are natural changes which occur, and all this is included in the pattern of friendship. There is an ease of relatedness which does not cause human beings to be puffed up nor to denigrate themselves. It certainly does not require that one push someone else down or lift someone else up. It is found that all naturally emerges once the substance is there to accommodate the truth. If the substance isn't there the truth is not known and the design remains a mystery. Because it is obscure in such case, human beings have been inclined to try to invent their own designs, and they organize in various ways. They organize in the field of religion; they organize in the field of politics; they organize in all the various fields that human beings have produced for themselves. This, as we well know, is not a revelation of the truth. The truth, after all, makes free, and human beings are surely bound. The essential factor, then, is seen as being this vibrational substance which, when it is present, alone makes possible the knowing of the truth.
There have been those who have struggled to understand the truth, to get all the principles of reality lined up so that they could consider that they then knew the truth. But if one is struggling to do that, indulging in mental gymnastics, one is neglecting the essential generation of substance which alone makes possible knowing the truth. That generation of substance requires, initially, participation in the disciple-masterconfiguration—not that it's going to be that way forever, but it is essential to start with. Also, something needs to happen to bring a balance within the individual himself, the positive and negative aspects which are present in each person, so that there may be a stability experienced in living, a stability which comes because of the centering in love—to start with in the master, and then in what it is that the master reveals, namely the Way, the Truth and the Life. When that is loved, and one is as an individual centered in that, the positive and negative aspects are present in balance within oneself, there is the generation of the required substance and the truth begins to be known. But the substance which is being generated individually blends with what is being generated by other individuals, and the truth begins to include the larger design in one's own experience and one may, because of one's love and absolute centering, trust what it is that is emerging, so that there is no necessity for any competitiveness or any attitudes of, “I'm as good as you are, or maybe I'm better than you are.” Let it alone. We're not in the good and evil arena anyway. What is to be experienced is perfect—it need not be judged. It is what it is, and we know what it is when individually and collectively we have generated the essential substance to accommodate the truth, to accommodate the excellency of wisdom and the excellency of power.
Power presently is exercised by human beings by various means, the principal of which is, generally speaking, money. The world appears to be governed by those who are in position to control the substance of money. They are in position thereby to exercise manipulation. Now this is the appearance of things at the moment, and most human beings feel rather insignificant and futile in that sort of a picture because there are the big boys, whoever they are, pulling the strings in various ways and most people feel as though they have no say in the matter, they’re just pushed around. They try to fight for their rights, they organize, they create organizations and unions and everything else to try to do a little manipulation themselves; but all this because there is a sense of futility as individuals, an awareness of the fact that power is being exercised by somebody and why can't we have a cut of the cake? I trust that there is no further interest in that unholy arena, so that we might be free in the arena of love—loving the Way, the Truth and the Life, loving that to the exclusion of all else in our own experience, so that we are true to this. Then we find ourselves stable and assured, because there is, on the basis of this love, the generation of substance which accommodates the truth—the excellency of wisdom, the excellency of power.
We begin to find that there is power of a new quality, power which is exercised through the Way, the Truth and the Life. As long as it is so exercised it is a constructive power capable of recreating the world. If as this quality of power begins to be sensed there should purposefully or even inadvertently be a failure to remain aligned with the Way, the Truth and the Life, then it may become a very dangerous thing. The power is real. But staying true to the Way, the Truth and the Life, because our love absolutely centers there, we may allow this power to move as it is designed to move, and we remember that we ourselves are associated together in friendship to let this design be a reality on earth. Then the power is present and moving. That movement is reflected in what transpires; in other words spirit takes its own form. This aspect of spirit, namely power—which incidentally relates to love—takes its own natural form. That natural form includes whatever is necessary for the creative achievement of Divine Purpose.
Included among the forms is whatever is necessary in this regard in the way of money. One can see that on this basis there is no impelling necessity to somehow make money. Human beings have been making money for a long time. They made so much of it that’s it’s becoming worthless. The presses pour it out. It seems an aspect of policy now to try to rein back the presses. Well we’re not interested in what human beings try to do in their manipulations. All our concern is that we should accommodate, because we have the substance to do it, the essential wisdom and power coming down from God out of heaven.
The spirit of God is quite capable of creating its own forms, and does so as we let it. Letting it relates to this matter which was originally defined in terms of “friendship”, but we may begin to see that being friends does not properly involve elements of familiarity when these are not fitting. If we have the substance for friendship we have the substance for wisdom; therefore we have the sense of the fitness of things and we know how to relate to each other. There is something to learn in this regard. Humanly speaking we do not have much experience, so there is something to be learned in that sense, but it is learned easily when there is a centering in love—in the Way, the Truth and the Life. There is a recognition then, because there is the sense of the fitness of things, of whatever focus points are present relative to ourselves in the design, and we function in a fitting way with respect to these focus points and with respect to everybody else.
Now we begin to find that the Divine Design, the design of truth, includes friendship, friendship which manifests itself on the basis of the design, not on the basis of some human concept of everybody being equal, everybody being at the same level—flat. How flat! What a flat experience! How uninteresting! How uncreative! There must be those who fill the design with substance at all the required levels, so that there may be interaction, so that there may be the generation of love, the truth of love, the truth of love in the true design.
We begin to discover that this is so, and there is a delight in whatever it is that is experienced in that design. There is oneness known—unity. There it is. And we all individually have parts to play in this to the extent that we can participate in it because we have generated the substance individually that connects us with the substance of the whole. In one sense I suppose it could be looked upon as being something rather exclusive at the moment, because so few people have the substance which would enable them to connect up with the spiritual substance in which the truth is accommodated. Now there is more generation taking place as the days go by. It is happening in various ways the world around, so that there is an increasing availability of substance to accommodate the truth, to accommodate the design. As the design begins to appear within one's own range of awareness let us rejoice in it and not reject it, because fulfilment is only known in the design the way it really is.
Now we have the opportunity of sharing in letting this design be a delighted reality in our closer association in person. We know that it includes many more with whom we may not at the moment be associated in person. But we are now associated with people in person, and here is the proving ground in one's own experience. Human beings are very prone to envyings and jealousies amongst themselves, which is all indicative of the fact that there is virtually no substance there to accommodate the truth. Of course if there is indulgence in these emotional sprees then any substance that there was is dissipated, and it's impossible to let anything be generated until the individual comes out of that emotional state. We're not in competition with anyone. We are delighted to allow whatever is fitting to appear.
At the moment the true design is accommodated by the substance generated mostly by a few people. This makes it seem as though that is exclusive, but the intent is that everybody should generate it, and then it wouldn't exclude anyone. But so many, by their disruptive attitudes, refuse to generate the substance, dissipate any that comes within the range of their destructive actions, and then feel excluded, when they excluded themselves. From the standpoint of those who participate in this generated substance there is no exclusion. Everybody is welcome if they have the substance to experience what may be known. If they don't have it they can't experience it. And certainly we wouldn't violate the Law by trying to make anyone experience something which they couldn't experience. The substance must be there. We would allow the generation of it in our own living and we would encourage others to participate in that generation so that there may be the experience of the abundance that is available once it can be accommodated because there is substance.
So we have taken a look at these things, that we might have a clearer outlook as to the nature of the truth. We have said for years that there are these two aspects of design and control, but the implications of this have thus far not penetrated all that deeply. There is a design, a spiritual design, and that is all-important. What emerges in form is quite secondary. What is experienced in spirit is the design. So, participating in our balanced living because we are centered in absolute love, in the Way, the Truth and the Life, increasing substance is generated. It is refined by reason of our living, and the truth is then accommodated—the excellency of wisdom and the excellency of power. The power is sufficient, once it is properly accommodated, to transform the world. It is in the process of doing it now, but the days need shortening lest no flesh should be saved. It requires those who provide the substance for the accommodation of the excellency of wisdom and the excellency of power. There is much to be experienced in this that has not yet been experienced, but we may have the assurance that as our centering in love remains true and stable it is all brought to pass with absolute certainty.
I rejoice with you in such stability as you know, and I rejoice with all in whom this stability is increasingly experienced, whoever they are, wherever they are, for so shall the Kingdom come and God's Will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
“It is vital that one should be aware of what is happening vibrationally. This is a vibrational ministry. Our concern is to abide in the Vibrational Ark. How capable are we of receiving intensification of spirit? Some have described that as fire falling from heaven. It is this that is of supreme importance. When we sense an intensification let’s pay attention to it so that we don’t get side-tracked by something else. We talk about apocalypse. Apocalypse means the passing of all that would be referred to as civilization. How it dissolves is unimportant. Thatit dissolves is important. It is very important that this should have dissolved in us, so that we are capable of receiving the fire falling from heaven. Now we come to apocalypse—the passing of the first heaven and the first earth, the passing of everything of human invention. This boggles the mind, but it doesn’t boggle the spirit. There is an actual passing going on now, but it is a long way from being complete. The passing comes because there is this focus of the fire present in human form on earth. We are responsible, and whenever there is an intensification in a vibrational sense, that is what is to be welcomed. What that intensification is going to do specifically in any given moment remains to be seen. Sometimes an intensification is interpreted as fear. Almost anything that human beings touch in feeling can be interpreted one way or another. It can be revealing of the emergence of the creative process, the intensity of the fire, and cause for the greatest thanksgiving. Interpreted as fear, there is the inclination to run for cover. The instruction is to standstill. “Be still, and know that I am present.” It is that presence that permits the fulfillment of the purpose for which we are present on earth. I am the intensity. The intensity may be allowed to build. ‘Be still, and know that I am present. I come in the name of the King.’ The King’s name is I AM. I am present. In that presence, the power of the spirit of the King, the power of love, pours forth under control and within the design of truth. It is under control because what is experienced is known for what it is and is not misinterpreted. ‘Be still, and know that I am the King and I am present.’ Such a statement does not cause any of us to assume, as an individual, the position of the King, but it does allow the King to be present because I am present. There begins to be a sense of reverence and respect, love and humility, because we are in this moment in the presence of the King. All people are in the presence of the King, but the fact has been hidden. There is the mystery of God—but here it’s finished.” Martin Exeter August 1987
