Other Tongues

Other  Tongues

Martin Cecil   August 18, 1974

There is considerable evidence of the movement of the creative spirit of the living God,

bringing something new to birth through the conscious minds of many people.

As we sit together this evening do you hear the sound of angels' wings?

These are not just fanciful words;

they're a means of conveying an awareness consequent upon the movement of the Spirit of God.

That movement brings a consciousness of being a part of the Hosts of Heaven,

no longer restricted to the evident limitations of human beings on earth.

It is most essential that we should experience the feel of it. The mind tends to scoff, or if it doesn't scoff it wants to get in on the act with its self-centered trying to be something. The conscious mind of human beings uses human beings. We may see quite easily how this is happening everywhere in the world. Human beings try to use each other, and all this using business is based in the fact that the mind uses human beings. In the conscious mind an image is built of what the person is supposed to be, according to this conscious-mind view. The mind does this to us; it creates a false image, an idol. In the general sense, human beings accept this as what they are and the mind rules.

We have the opportunity of rising up out of this subservient condition, and begin to sense the truth that we are living, breathing beings, part of the living God. And this truth is not in the least dependent upon external appearances; this truth of ourselves is not dependent upon the shape of our bodies or the age of our bodies, the extent of mental development, or any of the usual things that are assumed to identify us in the human world. We begin to emerge out of that trap into a realm of freedom.

The truth makes free, but in order to allow the truth to make free we must know it—otherwise we cannot experience the freedom. We must know the truth, not just something about it. It isn't a matter of building peculiar concepts; no matter how accurate a model of the truth our concept may be, it's still a model. It's not the truth, and the model doesn't free us. It is knowing the truth that allows the truth to make us free.

We find ourselves voluntarily functioning in the world in rather restricted conditions, but this in no sense need restrict us. Our experience of ourselves transcends the apparent restrictions. And what is true is born in the moment into conscious expression in our living. This birth which takes place brings with it the creative power of change—of resurrection.

This morning mention was made of the outpouring of the spirit—mention was made of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. These are terms which have particular relatedness to the Christian world, presumably, but the truth is certainly not limited to the Christian world. Power, the creative power which changes things, which permits the resurrection, comes by reason of the Holy Ghost—the Spirit of Truth—the Spirit of Truth which provides what is necessary in the creative working of the human machinery.

We have seen it relative to what have been called the subconscious aspect of the mind. There is much to be known. Some have thought the truth was known in a blinding flash. “Now I am illuminated,” the individual might say But the illumination is of the moment—the truth of the moment is known. That's all that needs to be known; that's all we actually have capacity to know. We live in the moment and the truth is to be born in the moment in the conscious expression of life. This is the transmutation of water into wine—a miracle. But, as we have noted, the miracle is merely the natural happening. The lack of miracles in human experience is evidence of unnatural happenings, the unnatural happenings which are of a very plodding and heavy nature. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden.”

This is the human state where there are no miracles—a very limited, restricted, unnatural state of affairs. Those functioning in that state, looking at the natural state, to the extent that they might be able to see it—which in any case is very little—say, “There is a miracle.” The miracles of Jesus are emphasized as being so rare and so exceptional and so apparently impossible. This simply gives evidence of how far the natural state has receded from human experience. So, power comes because of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth.

It is recorded that our Master said He had yet many things to say unto His disciples, but they couldn't bear it. “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.” There are some who have been inclined to imagine that the last word has been spoken and is all recorded in the Bible. What, then, about the things which Jesus could not say when He was on earth but which would be known by reason of the Spirit of Truth? There is much more to be known, much more to be experienced, than is written in the Bible. This does not detract from the value of what is written in the Bible or in various other scriptural writings, but the truth is open-ended. It certainly hasn't all been said yet; it hasn't all been known. If it had, what would we do for the rest of eternity?

This morning, because there have been those who have permitted a continuing experience of the truth in whatever measure in their daily living, so that they were capable of tarrying in Jerusalem, as it has been put, we were able to come together in an upper room, a higher level of consciousness and understanding, to be with one accord in one place. Because of this, there was the experience of the spirit moving. That was described as a mighty, rushing wind, a sound that was heard like that, which filled the whole house where they were sitting—and I think there was something of the sort here this morning. The sound may have related to spoken words, amongst other things, but all spoken words are consequent upon the controlled breath, aren't they?—the movement of air. There was the movement of the air of the spirit in the experience of those who were present, and a sense of delight, a sense of intensity, of zeal perhaps, of fire, an awareness of something moving in the heart, a consciousness of love, of oneness.

“And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost”—the Spirit of Truth which was with you and also came to be in you. “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” We have before considered this matter of other tongues, relinquishing some of the peculiar concepts that have been developed along these lines. When you reach into your grab bag of concepts, on the basis of your conscious mind, you bring out something that is more or less predictable. And we noted this with respect to those who may perhaps ask questions, seeking to have their needs filled.

Human beings everywhere are asking questions, being very conscious of their needs, of their emptiness, and looking for someone to fill them. Not necessarily are the needs looked upon as being spiritual needs. The need may be simply to go to the medical doctor and get a pill. People are looking for things with which to occupy themselves in various ways to fill the void. Those who are successful in the self-centered pattern are those who find ways and means of filling the needs that other people think they have. And people are willing to pay for that—concepts are hauled up out of the grab bag and those who have ingenious minds get them fitted together in a certain way and, lo and behold, here's the thing that is going to fill somebody's needs! People are fooled along these lines and imagine their needs are going to be filled that way.

Now that is the pattern of the usual tongue. This is what happens in the world; and, even coming into the realm of our own experience with respect to spiritual things, I'm sure that all of you have had experience in this endeavor to find a suitable concept to satisfy the mind of someone who comes to you seeking an answer. After all, you have the answer! Some of you have read a great deal of literature—you have the answers, so that you may look down your file and say, “Ah, here's the answer to this question,” and you hand it over. But it never is. It may seem to satisfy the individual for the moment, because he only had a concept as to what his question was, and so another concept may satisfy that concept. But it doesn't answer the question really—the true question that is present in that person, not the way he misinterpreted it. To answer the question truly, you must speak with other tongues.

What is born through your consciousness must come as the spirit gives it utterance, not as the mind, looking things over and deciding that it should be this way or that way, then provides a mental answer. That is the old tongue. But there are other tongues—the tongues which provide what is right and fitting in expression as the spirit gives utterance.

The Spirit of Truth guides into all truth, and all truth is quite a package, one would suppose, so it might even take eternity to experience it. And that's the truth! So it isn't all truth at once; it is truth in the moment, the truth that should be born into your living expression in the moment. The moment is all you have; you never have more than a moment, so why would you need more than can be born in that moment? This gives indication of the naturalness of patience.

When there is a tranquility of mind, a serenity of attitude, so that your mind is no longer in charge of the game, then the Spirit of Truth can begin to assume control. But the Spirit of Truth must have something to work with. We should have very much available for the Spirit of Truth to work with. Those of you who have attended Class know that one of the first things to be considered is the matter of the movement of the mind, the working of the mind, in the analogy of the water wheel. The water pours over the water wheel and the water wheel turns; that's the way it should work. It shouldn't be cranked around. In its turning it lifts up out of the cistern of the subconscious what is fitting for the expression of the moment, and it is that which is born into the conscious expression of the individual's life, rightly. It is born in each moment, springing forth eternally—all truth.

Of course, you may not have this same equipment eternally for your use, but at the moment that's beside the point. This is the present experience—the equipment is here; the mind is present and capable of being operated in the way that it was designed to be operated. It will move this way quite naturally when allowed to do so. The main sticker is the conscious mind which has become accustomed to ruling the roost and is reluctant to relinquish its authority. It is inclined to think that it knows best, and it's done a good job of convincing people that this is so, when it isn't. This is not the purpose of the conscious mind. The conscious mind is the facility through which the birth into the expression of life occurs. It is the only way you can live. If you try to make it work some other way you find yourself a dying soul and your experience of yourself in season will be a dead soul. That's not much of an experience.

The living soul is known when life is being born through the Son level of consciousness into expression on earth. And that birth comes by reason of the Father level of consciousness—which is there in any case, and no human being can touch it or change it—and also the Holy Ghost level of consciousness. Here in simplified terms is the equipment by which the living soul experience may be known. The Spirit of Truth is available, first of all because the Spirit of Truth is with you—external to you. It must be external to you before it can be internal to you. But the purpose of it being external to you first is that it should be internal to you. The purpose isn't that it should be kept external to you forever, although this is attempted by some who try to get external Spirit of Truth to tell them what to do. Well, external Spirit of Truth is not interested in that at all—that's not the purpose.

This occurred in relationship to Jesus when He was on earth. His disciples kept looking at Him. He had all the answers. They didn't need to have any of the answers because He had them all—He could give them, so they didn't need to bother. It was expedient for them that He went away, so that internal Spirit of Truth might be experienced. External Spirit of Truth had been with them in the person of Jesus—it continued to be with them in the person of the disciple John, but they failed to recognize that, even though there was a beginning of the experience of internal Spirit of Truth. Our concern is to be guided into all truth—not a blinding flash of truth in the moment but whatever the truth is that should be born in the moment, which is a very little thing if we see it relative to all truth. But if we let it be born in every moment and we go on letting it be born in every moment, then eventually it will be all truth. How long that eventually may be is another question. But this is the way it works. And we see the equipment for this creative process as being available to us and we begin to sense and feel its working.

We can't look at these principles and say, “Well, now, there should be something coming down from the Father consciousness and there should be something coming up from the Holy Ghost consciousness, and they'll get together here in my conscious mind and then I'll know.” No. We may be aware of the principles—let them rest where they belong. We don't have to worry about them; they're not going to change. They're still there even though they're in storage. There is the necessity of finding the feel of movement in this creative process. And we have guidance in this regard, guidance which allows the birth of an increased expression of life in each moment. That guidance comes partly externally, but increasingly internally. The provision is made externally for you and you properly make it for others. You can only make it for others to the extent that it is internal to you. If it's internal to you it can be external to somebody else. And when this works as it should, you're not struggling to find some concept to give to somebody to make you look as though you were wise.

You allow what is fitting to be born through you in the moment and it may possibly look foolish. It may look foolish to that wise creature, the conscious mind, because it thinks it knows when it doesn't. But you will find that what is expressed will fill the need, the real need, not the assumed need. The individual to whom you are giving the truth in this way may not be satisfied. You're not trying to satisfy that person anyway. All you are doing is providing what you may to assist the Holy Ghost to come upon that person, or to assist that individual to be willing to let it happen. You're not a celestial cow which may be milked periodically by those who want answers, so that they never need to discover the truth for themselves; they can always come to you to get a quart of milk. That isn't the way. What you provide you know,if you are functioning correctly, is what is required. The other person perhaps won't 

Most people have rather fixed ideas as to how the answer should come. If it doesn't come in the way that they think it should, they think the answer hasn't been given and they go away dissatisfied. But maybe somewhere along the way they'll suddenly awaken to the fact that the answer was given. You may have had the experience yourself. You didn't see it at the time, but then later there it was.

And also, from the standpoint of allowing this process of birth to take place through you, you provide things for people in other tongues, tongues which you may not know. You may have had someone come to you who had met you sometime in the poast, and they will say, "Well, you said something to me that stayed with me to this day," and you haven't the faintest idea as to what you said. But if the spirit gave utterance it was what was required. It hits home with the person if that person is open to receive it. Very often people receive it on the side, so to speak. You're not actually giving anything to that person; you're giving it to somebody else, but it slips in on that person. The person you're giving it to may receive refuse to receive it, but somebody else does. So, there are many other tongues, many ways by which this creative process works when the spirit gives utterance. Some of that utterance we understand. We know what is happening with respect to such and such a person perhaps, but we don't know what's happening in other realms where the particular tongue one was speaking to this person is another tongue to somebody else.

Now I'm speaking to all of you and each one hears in his own particular language, and yet what I'm saying is the same, in appearance, for everyone. But there is something more than the appearance, obviously, because it comes out differently for everyone and yet the same truth. We learn to allow this birth to take place, moment by moment. And the spirit gives utterance. The expression is of the spirit. And because it is that, it is powerful. It goes forth and achieves that whereunto it is sent. So here is a change from the expression of the liar—that is, the conscious mind on its own—to the expression of the spirit. And immediately the experience is a creative one, the outpouring of the spirit; the Holy Ghost is come upon you and you receive power. And that power relates to Cause insofar as your field of responsibility is concerned, where the effects appear.

This evening we have moved again in a cycle of meditation together to the extent that we have allowed ourselves to be moved by the creative spirit of the living God, to the extent that we have not been holding on to the crank of our mental processes, so that they can work as they were created to work and so that we may share in the unified movement of the creative spirit of the living God moving through all of us because we are with one accord in one place. As this is so—to the extent that it is so—the spirit gives utterance through each consciousness, the essential tongues are being used, and the creative power reaches forth into open and yielded hearts and minds everywhere on the face of the earth. Then, when we see that what goes forth does not return void—when we see what comes back by reason of what has gone forth of the increased expression of the truth of life—it is cause for joy unspeakable. It may be that tears come to our eyes—nothing wrong with that—tears of joy, the movement of the spirit of God known and experienced.

And we have an increasing feel of it; we have the feel of it not only with respect to our immediate circumstance but we have the feel of it with respect to the world. We do not segregate the immediate circumstance from the world. We do not segregate portions of our circumstance from other portions of our circumstance. It is you that provide the continuity.

Only when you judge by the appearance do you see walls and barriers between everything—fences. But there is no fence when you are giving expression to the Truth of Life, because this occurs regardless of the circumstance. The circumstance doesn't matter. There are some people who moan and say, “Oh, you should live where I live. You'd never be able to stay properly centered there—all these things coming at me all the time.” Well, people like to indulge in a little self-pity. How about indulging in the Truth, because the Spirit of Truth is present, wherever you are. That's the point!—wherever you are. And so, wherever you are the Truth of Life can be born through you. It doesn't matter where. It doesn't matter what the circumstance is, it can still be born through you—and it will be born in that circumstance in a way that is fitting. What I may express in a service here is not what I would express in Denver! But there is something to be born there just as much as there is something to be born here, and when the spirit gives utterance it will be fitting to the circumstance.

How beautiful to let it be so, to let the spirit give utterance because the conscious mind has resigned from its position of supposed authority. And it becomes the Son, by means of which the evidence of the Father is made known on earth. So, once again we've shared this time in the current of the spirit, with one accord in one place—living, breathing beings part of the living God.

© emissaries of divine light

The Twelve And The Thirteen

The  Twelve  and  the  Thirteen  —  Focalization

from  The Significance of the Twelve Disciples

Uranda   May 19, 1954 pm  Class

We recall that the Master had twelve disciples, and that He Himself made the thirteen. We recall there were thirteen tribes of the children of Israel, and that this thirteen, one and twelve, is repeated in various ways through the symbolical and allegorical portrayals that we find in sacred writing. You will recall that the pattern was consistent at all times, regardless of the particular arrangement—in other words the group might be seated as we have here this morning, scattered this way or that, and that would not change the fact that the arrangement was of a triangle in relationship to this number thirteen. There is the one, and then the two, three, four—or one, two, three, as we ordinarily think of it—depending on the starting point which is signified by whether we talk about twelve or thirteen. The outer manifestation pattern is properly of twelve, so in the ordinary pattern of consideration we begin here: one, two, three. But if we are considering the heaven and the earth, the unification of the two patterns, the visible and the invisible, then we begin at the apex as the one, relating to the invisible realm of being, and we have here the two, three, four, which would be followed either by from five to thirteen down here, or by the four to twelve—depending upon the area indicated by the particularized expression, whether we were talking about thirteen or twelve. 

Considering it for the moment from the standpoint of twelve, we have here the one, two, three, and it is easier for us to see, for the moment at least, the basic principles that are involved here. Obviously this one, two, three here, with the other nine at the base of the pattern—the particular arrangement there is not of too great importance.

The important point is that these three, generally spoken of as Peter, James and John, relate to the three phases of being in the body of mankind and must not be considered merely as segregated or separate individuals—particularized men. They were supposed to provide the focalization for these factors in the body of mankind. But separate the men involved from the body of mankind and conceive them to be of and by themselves that which is so symbolized and you have a confusion in consciousness which is bound to prevent the manifestation of power, bound to prevent the outworking of purpose.

So we see here that the usual order in which they are mentioned, Peter, James and John, is one which is, shall we say, natural to the limitation patterns in human consciousness in the body of mankind—because Peter related to what? Peter, James and John. What would be natural here? If we do a little thinking, if we do a little meditating, what three would these be? Would we say the body, the mind, the heart (or the emotional nature)? No. If we do we are obviously taking the attitude that these nine [at the base] have no purpose. If you go into the Bhagavad-Gita, for instance, you will find the expression there with respect to "the city which hath nine gateways." The city which hath nine gateways—and what is it? It is the physical body of man. There are nine openings in your body—seven in the head. There are nine openings in the body. In that consideration, then, we have the nine disciples which were supposed to represent these factors in relationship to the body of mankind: the city which hath nine gateways—either the individual human being or humanity. And remember that if these twelve disciples had any meaning, or are to have any meaning to us, we must see them in relationship to that which they focalize and not as if they themselves were the sum total of that which is signified.

This particular point here has been one upon which there has been much stumbling in relationship to myself for instance—to assume that if I carry a particular focalization, then I am that in its sum total all by myself, which is not the case at all. I have never once suggested that it was, but have emphasized over and over again that, while I provide a focalization of something, I of and by myself can achieve nothing, for only as that focalization is allowed to have meaning in relationship to the same factor in the field of others can I, as a focalization, have any significance. 

So the twelve are focalization points. The thirteenth was a focalization point focalizing for us in manifest form on earth the invisible realm, and in particular that which we speak of as Deity, God, God the Father. So the Master, although manifest in form, was the representative on earth of God, the One who provided the particularized initial manifestation in a cycle—but He indicated clearly that His place was not here on earth but was rather in the invisible realms. "I go to my Father." So it is obvious that if we are to consider heaven and earth, the invisible and the visible, the basic principle revealed all the way through from the standpoint of the One Law, that which is the One in the invisible realm is the positive aspect of that which must of necessity manifest also in the visible realm, in its negative counterpart. If that negative counterpart is not present in the outer expression, that which is of the inner positive pattern would certainly be of little or no value. It could not be contacted. There would be no focalization and the approach to it would be scattered and largely meaningless except in the realm of idea.

Consequently we see here that either approach is perfectly all right, because one and one make two. One plus one equals two. And whether we consider the two as the union of heaven and earth or simply as the sum total of the two halves of the one thing, we have the same results. If you were to consider the vibratory factors present in the name of Jesus you would find that the sum total of those vibratory factors comes to focus in the figure 2. That which begins in the invisible, or heavenly, realm comes into the earth and manifests in action on earth. We begin to see that the numerals did not just happen but are in fact particularized focalizations of vibratory factors. The figure of itself has no force or power. But the figure, or numeral, is a symbol which suggests to us certain things, and if we are in attunement with that which is symbolized, then there is meaning, there is power—because we recognize that which the numeral signifies and have a relationship not to the visible indication of the factors but a relationship with that which is signified. Now if that is clear and remembered we can avoid in the days to come a great deal of confusion.

So there would naturally have to be the One—a point of focus for the release of the factors of Deity into the earth, the point of focus for that purpose. But there would have to be a correlating point in manifestation on earth if that focalization was to have meaning, particularly if THAT focalization was not incarnate. During the time that the Master was incarnate that correlating focalization was not so prominent, was not in the outer sense of great significance during that period, because the Master's own body provided, for that period of time, the reality of that particular focalization, inner and outer, in one being, and we rejoice in that. But as soon as His manifest expression on earth had come to a close and He returned to the Father, which is to say His true point of focalization in the invisible realms of being, then His body through which He had as a person been made manifest no longer provided, in any way, shape or form, that means by which the negative aspect of His own positive being could be caused to have meaning on earth. It ceased to be the body, then, of Jesus, in the sense of the man. And the Master's own statements with regard to this particular point have been grossly misunderstood, and out of it has come much confusion. However, we begin to see here that since it is obvious that the nine disciples relate to factors that are present in the physical being as such—the two eyes, the two ears, the two nostrils, the mouth and the other two orifices in the body—this is that which relates, then, to the body as such. And the three would relate to the mind, the emotional nature, and the spiritual nature, or the focalization on earth of the spirit.

We have, as we pause to consider it, very clear indications of what the Master recognized in these three disciples to provide the particularized focalizations essential for the accomplishment of His purpose. We remember that Peter was well known for his impulsiveness, for instance. Now that tendency toward impulsiveness was not a thing which was in itself bad; however, when allowed to control, it became destructive. But it is something that appears on a distortion pattern out of the heart, or the emotional realm, doesn't it? Cleared to its right pattern of vibrational factors, that quality would be manifest as something else—not as impulsiveness but as an ever-readiness to yield to the working of the spirit of God as it flows forth in daily life. So it was not the Master's intention to squelch, destroy or in some other manner limit this quality in Peter. It was His intention that it should come under controlled direction so that it should be a means by which the spirit of God could find ready manifestation. 

But what was it, and what is it, that finds manifestation when we have the pattern of impulsiveness as it is known in the world? In the pattern of impulsiveness it is not the spirit of God which comes into manifest expression through the heart or the emotional realm; it is something of the idea of the human mind. Impulsiveness is always a mental thing made manifest, and consequently, even though it may seem at the time to be a good idea, it turns out to be bad. So we have Peter as the symbol of the heart, or the emotional realm. We have James as the symbol of the mind, and if you have ever read the Book of James, recognized his particular style of expression, you will find there that which clearly reveals what the Master saw in this particular man which could provide a focalization of this factor in relationship to the body of humanity—not that he of and by himself should be the whole thing, but that he as a single individual might provide the focalization of this factor for all men and women. That takes care of Peter and James.

John

John of necessity would have to be the remaining point of focalization; and if we examine it we note the pattern of outworking—the beloved disciple. Sometimes human beings say, "Well even the Master had partiality; He loved one of His disciples more than the others." Not in the sense of partiality, no, but in the sense of recognizing the focalizations of being. They could not all be with equal closeness to Him. Human beings have a confusion on this point, and they imagine that they should have the privilege of having equal closeness with all other beings, equal closeness to the Lord. But a little sense, a little consideration, a little logic, a little reason, shows that it would be highly impractical even if it were possible, which it is not. There must be focalizations which provide representation with respect to the whole, otherwise we would have nothing but confusion in heaven, as well as on earth. So the one point is properly the negative aspect of the inner positive, in the sense of the manifestation in visible form of that which is of the inner reality. And John, the beloved disciple, was that point of focalization, the one who was supposed to be the direct representative, the one who provided the initial point of manifestation, for that which was present in the One above in the invisible realm.

And then that was supposed to manifest next in relationship to the mind as such: the mind—the realm of logic and reason, the mind that establishes a clear, sensible channel for the manifestation of that which originates in spirit. And next the heart, or emotional realm, the feeling realm. Actually the correct arrangement of those names from the standpoint of that which was symbolized would be John, James and Peter. But they always put it Peter, James and John—just backwards. Peter, James and John, but it should have been recognized as John, James and Peter. And if Peter himself, and all the others involved, had been willing for him to be what he was supposed to be, there would have been no confusion. Then he could have been of value to humanity, and humanity's recognition of Peter could have been of tremendous importance, of great value. As it is, it is backwards. And attempting to establish a control pattern in the mass of humanity on the basis of a focalization in the feeling nature, making it supreme over the mind and over the particularized focalization of the spirit, establishes a condition wherein the power cannot manifest, where every time it begins to manifest it is bound to be used in distorted patterns, tangent activities. 

There hardly breathes a man or woman upon the face of the earth who has not at some time, to some degree, been a means for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, something of the Holy Spirit in its holy pattern. Now of course, in the broad expanse, it generally turns into an unholy manifestation. Why? Because of this very thing—the distortion pattern as was established then, and has been maintained since, because the uncontrolled emotional pattern has been allowed to be the focalization. And this is the thing about which so many thinking people have rebelled in relationship to religion, that conflict, as it is called, between so-called science and so-called religion; because the scientist wants to be able to use his mind, he wants to be able to see, he wants to have a sense of logic and reason; whereas from the religious world the statement is: "No, you do not have to understand. You do not have to be able to answer the questions. You just have to believe. There are many questions we do not know the answer to," they say, "and if you just believe, just feel it, just believe, then everything will be all right." And those who have rebelled against that have been called agnostics and atheists and so on, because they have not seen the true picture either. So in our consideration and attitude in life, we must be very, very careful, at all times, under all circumstances, in all contacts with others, to bear in mind the correct pattern: not eliminating the feeling nature, but relegating it to its proper position and recognizing that the first point of visible meaningfulness comes in relationship to the mind. The first point of visible meaningfulness—idea, concept, mind, the realm of reason and logic. And it is only as we begin to have a right understanding of the relatedness of logic and reason to the working of the spirit through man that we can emerge from the chaotic pattern which has engulfed the Christian world through the centuries. 

Now even here, with this highly esteemed Class, there tends to be a resistance to a movement into this particularized pattern of recognizing the vital significance of logic and reason in relationship to spiritual function, a tendency to feel, to react, on the basis of the old idea. That tends to appear even among those of you who say with your lips and mean—you are not dissembling—that you want to understand, you want to have a clear idea, you want to use logic and reason. But this old Peter, James and John pattern has had such a terrific impact upon the world that it reaches into the subconscious of those who have given any attention to spiritual things—and of the others also, on a different basis. We begin to see that we have the connecting links insofar as focalization is concerned, and it does not mean that those twelve or thirteen beings, as such, are to function on some sort of segregated basis. The One who is The ONE, at the apex in relationship to the invisible realm, is not, on the basis of segregated, personal individuality, the whole thing. He provides the focalization of something, and it is the fact of that focalization which gives meaning to Him, value to His position. And that does not detract from Him, nor is it in any sense a failure to adequately appreciate Him, although you will find that many people, when they first begin to get a hint of the idea, imagine that we are somehow detracting from our Lord, trying to make Him be less than what He is supposed to be, which is not the case. We are simply recognizing, on a basis of logic and reason, that which gives Him meaning, that which is the truth of the matter, by reason of which He is Lord and King. 

So, as He provides the focalization of Deity, out of Deity, from Deity, in relationship to this world in which we live, we can see that He does provide the positive aspect of that in most excellent manner. We have no reason to complain. It is right. However, that which He provides must be allowed to manifest through the whole, and that whole cannot receive from that focalization without itself having focalization. And human beings, with their selfish, self-centered patterns, have been inclined to say, "Well if I could be the focalization, I would not mind it too much perhaps, but I am going to have a personal relatedness." And they imagine that the point of focalization is trying to be the whole thing of and by himself, which, in the true case, is never so, for that which is the point of focalization, being true, is ever conscious of that which is focalized and the purpose of the focalization, and does not at any time attempt to function merely as a segregated individual human being. So if we call the Master the Lord of Love, it is well, but He is not the whole thing all by Himself. He provides a focalization in relationship to us, in the invisible realms of being. 

And how shall that focalization have meaning if not by reason of the truth which is perceived by the mind in the realm of logic and reason? And so the Lord of Truth is the one who is the representative, or negative aspect, of the One, providing a means by which that focalization may begin to have meaning to all. It does not mean that the spirit of truth is contained exclusively in the Lord of Truth. It only means that there is a focalization by reason of which the spirit of truth may be allowed to function effectively and with meaning through every man, woman and child on the face of the earth. It means that there is a contact point, so that the spirit of truth can have true meaning to you; and without a focalization, can it be so? We have the history of the world for twenty thousand years, and to what degree have all these billions of people—in their desire, sincere and earnest, to have a contact with the spirit of truth—to what degree have they allowed it to manifest, to what degree have their minds been correlated with the truth in relationship to their ideas and concepts? So we begin to see that John and James and Peter were vital key points in relationship to that outline which the Master established to provide a means by which there could be a release of the invisible realm into the visible. He set up that machinery and established it so, and man, thinking himself to be wiser than God, changed it around. He decided he would rather follow Peter and conceive him to be the supreme focalization. Well actually, when we stop to consider it, what is the difference here? Who is supreme? Who is over another? It is a particularization of relationship. Not to say one is higher, or better, or more important than another. One without the other is meaningless in any case. So one is not giving Peter any special credit by trying to make him be something that he was not. 

And Peter failed to see these basic principles and was himself a leader in establishing the disrupted pattern of idea. There was a certain amount of vanity, and since he felt that he loved the Lord greatly, and since he felt that the response and attitude of the people was such that he could receive their acknowledgment on a basis of supposed humility, then he could take the reins and be the leader. But what did the Master say to him? "Feed my sheep. Feed my lambs." And how is the feeding done? That which you are fed, how does it come? If I were to bring you a plate of food, the plate would be very, very important, wouldn't it? Or would you rather have me carry it in my hands? It has to have a container. The container for that which feeds you is that which is provided by the mind, the clearly established idea, concept, or what we think of on a limited basis as truth. But within that there must be that which you feel, or it does not feed you. Merely an intellectual idea, which you have no feeling of personal relatedness to, does not feed you at all. In addition to giving Peter a chance to clear out of his three denials, the Master made three statements—three statements—"Feed my sheep," clearly indicating the position at the third point there in relationship to this particular pattern, clearly indicating that that which was to feed had to come through the heart, the feeling nature, but it must be couched in the patterns of truth and centered in the Lord of Love. And the patterns of truth had to have a particularized pattern of focalization, the mental realm.

But if you think of the Lord of Truth as the particularized focalization of the mental realm you are going to be confused again, because if one here is to be a representative of one there, then there must in turn be a representative here, number two, providing the manifestation from the standpoint of mental plane activity, finally correlated with the feeling nature. "Feed my lambs," and "Feed my sheep." And how do you feed a lamb? By the expression of love, and feeding something that you feel. And if in the words I speak, the James aspect of my expression, there is the current or centering of the spirit which manifests in a current of feeling which you yourselves may perceive, then you have that established in focalization which has meaning to your body. But it must be the right way. It will not work in the reverse, try as you may. It will not work in reverse. Now you may say, "The first real contact the body has in relationship to all of this is through Peter." Oh yes, the first thing that you perceive—moving from the outer side now—the first thing that really begins to have meaning before idea is cleared, you perceive Peter. And if Peter has become a little bit arrogant, and a little bit self-active, and assumes that he is the focalization, one and two are never seen, and everyone assumes that Peter is the representative of God. We can see how it happens, and see how the weakness in Peter promoted it. We are not condemning Peter, or anyone else. We are examining things so that we may see the facts as they are, the patterns of being as they are established by God Almighty, and avoid for ourselves the tragedy of making the same mistakes. For only as we work according to the truth can we be free. "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

© Emissaries of Divine Light