July 9-11, 2004 Lake Mohonk Mountain House, New Paltz, New York
Dr. Ken Harris — I remember meeting Bill thirty years ago. I was the instructor at the New York Chiropractic College, and I heard this fellow, Dr. Bahan, was coming to campus to speak—and I had heard of the Bahan family, and the legendary practice they had up there in Derry, New Hampshire, so out of curiosity I went to hear what he had to say. When I think back, I can honestly say that Bill was probably one of the most pivotal people I had ever met in my entire life. A pivotal person is someone whom you meet and after you meet them your life is forever changed—the course and destiny of your life is irresistibly and irrevocably changed—and that was my experience with Bill. I sat in a room with two hundred people and when we got finished there was only Bill and I, in my consciousness, who were still present, although the people were there. As the lecture went on I literally started to cry, for I had finally found someone who embodied everything I was looking for in my entire life. And the thing that I remember most about Bill is his sense of destiny, his sense of commission, his sense of largeness of purpose—and he had a great sense of humor as well—and he had a compassion and concern for the individual. Bill was the most encompassing person I ever met.
Dr. Lou Rotola — Bill had a presence of passion, which would be an understatement to make—anyone who was in his presence felt the essence and the inspiration of being who you are. You knew where he stood and you knew what his interest was; and his interest was you as a person. He had a great sense of humor and a laughter that was contagious. And he inspired other people, not to be like him, but to be who you are as a person, because we are all unique and different; and he espoused that so many times: one Bill Bahan was more than enough. We need you, you, you and you to continue the true healing of consciousness. You are divine being—and I can just hear him saying it with laughter and humor—and you have a body and mind and heart connection to express who you are—and the joy of expressing who you are. Well, I could go on more and more. He was afriend, and I miss him terribly, to say the least; but yet his spirit lives. His commission, definitely, was a life of service.
Dr. Bill Bahan — Just imagine the potential of the influence of one individual giving spiritual expression—truly. The first step, before one can be a person of true influence, of creative influence, the first step is to acknowledge the Lord.When the Lord is acknowledged, it naturally opens up that this person begins to be a person of influence—and you know what they begin to find? They begin to find this tremendous response all around them, that they weren’t able to see before because they hadn’t taken the first step—they hadn’t acknowledged the Lord. When we acknowledge the Lord we can be acknowledged by the Lord, and being acknowledged by the Lord, we begin to see this tremendous response around us everywhere, because in that acknowledgement we gain the vision to see what is actually with us.
Uranda June 9, 1953— I would like to meditate with you on operational factors of magic. The first one, and one that is of vital importance to all of you in your movement, could be classified as the factor of acknowledgment. To the degree that we begin to acknowledge God, God can begin to acknowledge us. Until we do acknowledge God, God's love for us is of small meaning in direct relationship—we keep everything of God in a sphere of small meaning. This principle of acknowledgment must extend on out until in the basic sense you have acknowledged God, so that He can begin to acknowledge you. You are not in position to begin to acknowledge the focalization factors of response which come within the sphere of your influence—they are overlooked, they are ignored, and you cannot very well acknowledge them. Once they are perceived, recognized, you can begin to acknowledge them within yourself; and once they are acknowledged in relationship to those whom you may influence, and you hold the pattern steady without violating the hedge, you begin to find that there are those who will begin to acknowledge you. Functional factors. You can see why I put acknowledgment first, because it is the manifestation in action, in function, of the One Law in relationship to yourself. The first part of the Two Great Commandments emphasizes acknowledgment of God with one's whole being, one's whole soul, body, mind and heart, and with all one's strength, a complete acknowledgment of God. Remember, this is a functional factor of magic. So we see in acknowledgment something that is active, not passive. We cannot acknowledge something merely by perceiving it—you have to say it. Your actions and your words must give evidence of your perception. You may see many things without acknowledging them. But if there is acknowledgment of that which you see, then there are words, there are feelings, there are thoughts, there are actions. We see acknowledgmentas afunctional factor. The acknowledgment of God permits this functional factor to begin to work in relationship to yourself, so that you begin to receive acknowledgment, you begin to be aware of that Divine acknowledgment of you. As long as you are not aware on a functional basis of the Divine acknowledgment of yourself you cannot very well function from the Divine standpoint—the pattern of relatednesshas not been established. So on a functional basis you begin to be aware, not fully yet, but you begin to be aware of the Divine acknowledgmentof you. With this cycle opening, you begin to have the ability to perceive the focalization factors of response, or potential response as the case may be, in those around you upon whom you may begin to exert influence. Unless you do exert influence that is received and acknowledged you are not going to be much of a server.
Uranda August 30, 1953— As I was preparing this morning to come here to the Chapel and acknowledge your presence, it occurred to me to wonder, how would it be if I were to walk into the Chapel and act as if I saw no one, act as if you were not here? How would it be if I were to come into your presence and fail, by my attitude and by my word, to acknowledge your presence. And I wondered how you would feel if, in such a pattern of ignoring your presence, I gave no heed to our agreement to serve together before our LORD and KING, to come here perhaps for a little time, maybe notice Martin and talk to him for a few minutes, wander about—and then wondered if perhaps he might ask me a question, “Do you not realize these people are here? These people are here; your congregation has gathered. Have you not noticed?” I wonder how you would have felt. I wonder, too, how God feels when sometimes you walk about without acknowledging His Presence. I wonder what happens in the vibrational realm of being when you act, thoughtlessly, as if God either did not exist or as if He were far away. To acknowledge the Presence of God!
Service of Thanksgiving for Bill Bahan
Martin Cecil July 16, 1983
There is a very familiar passage from the Book of Genesis, the 3rd chapter, the 9th verse and the beginning of the 10th verse, which I would like to read to you, paraphrasing the balance of the 10th verse: “And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?” Perhaps for our own particular awareness now we might substitute the word Bill for Adam. “And the Lord God called unto Bill, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was filled with joy; and I said, Here I am!” I think this passage, changed a little, represents very accurately Bill’s attitude: “Here I am!” No longer, “I was afraid and hid myself because I was naked,” but delighted to be naked and unashamed, setting aside the filthy rags of the arrogant human mind and impure human heart, which maintain a state unrelated to the garden. Bill certainly broke this precedent, a precedent which is indulged in by virtually every human being who has been born on earth throughout all recorded history.
There have been one or two, just a few, who said during these millennia, when the question was asked, “Where art thou?”: “Here I am!” No dissembling, but a straightforward answer, this answer which is required of all of us, of every human being, each one gathered today, particularly in Green Pastures and here at 100 Mile House. “Where art thou?” “Here I am! I no longer need any of the self-righteous and arrogant concepts and beliefs of the human intellect, no longer any of the theories which have been proliferated over the millennia, but to be naked and unashamed, no longer trying to foist human ideas upon the Lord but willing to be present naked and unashamed.” As I say, Bill established a precedent in this regard in this generation during his time on earth. He offered that vision to all who would receive it. It was sensed by many, accepted by some, lived by a few. The only way to know the truth is to live it.
I personally have known Bill in person for about twenty-four years. He became very quickly my loyal and trusted friend. We shared vision and understanding in a mutual recognition of true purpose, which has nothing to do with the intellectual theories of men, even if those theories are called spiritual. It is a matter of being naked and unashamed. Then there is the beginning of wisdom.
Bill was wise and a friend to everyone whom he ever met, and also to vast numbers whom he never met. The question arises now, seeing that it is constantly being posed to each one of us: “Where art thou?” Hearing that question, even though it may be faint, are we filled with joy as Bill was in saying, not merely in words but in living, “Here I am”? If we love Bill and respect what he brought we will recognize the door which he opened wide and walk through it naked and unashamed, that we may be clothed, as indeed he was, with the garments of light, the garments of understanding, the garments of truth, letting the word of truth be spoken in our living always, and sounding the Tone of Life.
Grace Van Duzen — I speak for many in acknowledging the great spirit so freely shared by this beloved man. I give voice to the joy that filled countless hearts at the unbelievably soft touch of his hand, at the irresistible trumpet call through his word, at the invitation that shone from his eyes and his smile to share his heavenly secret, to come and worship his God in the glory of living. I speak of appreciation for his unwavering agreement with Martin, for his absolute devotion to him, and for his all-inclusive love for his fellow man. We have known a mighty angel who touched and uplifted the multitudes, and we continue in the expression of that one Spirit as we are about our Father's business in the earth.
Martin Cecil—We give thanks to the Lord for having had the privilege of knowing and serving with Bill all this time, and we continue on. That’s what we are here for, that's what he was here for, that all things may be caused to work together to perfection because there are those on earth who truly do love and serve the Lord.
Without Precedent
Martin Cecil August 4, 1983
It seems as though human beings have always required a kick in the pants, so to speak, to remind them of their responsibilities. It didn’t evidently come naturally to most. You may remember the 107th Psalm, where it is said that they wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way, they found no city to dwell in, and all sorts of miseries were being experienced, self-produced of course; until finally, because the disasters came so thick and fast, they cried unto the Lord in their trouble and He delivered them out of their distresses. But then the usual procedure was to start the whole process over again. Do we still need at any time self-produced disasters to remind us of what we should have been doing in the first place? It seems a rather futile business just to go around in this wheel of life and death, which is touted by some religions as being essential, this wheel which moves us from disaster to the point where we remember that there is a way, and turn momentarily toward it. Then, having been rescued, we immediately start to sow the same seeds again. Well I trust we don’t do that anymore. It seems as though there are a sufficient number who are emerging out of that futility so that there is the fact of a body in which the Spirit of Truth has called to remembrance what is needful for momentary living. When we allow that remembrance to be fresh in our consciousness at all times we find ourselves beginning to experience spiritual maturity, to be emissaries of divine light, emissaries of the King. There is no necessity to court disaster.
I think some may, momentarily at least, have looked upon the passing of Bill Bahan as disaster. Most have subsequently risen up, because they were reminded of something that before they hadn’t really acknowledged for themselves; that is, personal responsibility. Bill was a star in the heavens, therefore leave it to Bill. I think in certain measure all of us could take a good honest look at the extent to which we ourselves may have contributed to his passing. I think we are far enough away from it now to be able to do this. I did not say anything much about it closer to the event because there might have been the tendency for people to feel very badly. But perhaps now we can be honest enough to recognize that we ourselves produce our worlds. We heard that somewhere before! But of course, in a specific way, very often we say, "Well it didn’t really apply in this instance.” Oh yes it did! We have to take responsibility if, to whatever extent, we have been wandering in the wilderness in a solitary way. Then we produce whatever troubles put in an appearance in our worlds. And by the way, as Bill himself used to say, if you have trouble, you are the trouble. We have known all kinds of things, haven’t we? The Spirit of Truth has called to remembrance so much which we more or less take for granted that we somehow know. But we don’t,because we act, we speak, we think, without weighing what finds expression against the truth which we know. If we really did that, as I have suggested before, we wouldn’t talk so much and we would many times act quite differently, because we really do know, in the sense that we have the information. We have the information, but we don’t know in the sense that we have the experience, so often, because the information stays on the shelf and we tend to revert into the same old routine of our prior addictions.
But now here comes an event which carries considerable impact and significance to us, namely the passing of Bill Bahan. How responsible were we, by reason of our own attitudes, by reason of our own behavior, by reason of our own failure, for producing that event in our world? How much responsibility do we have for that specific event? In a general sense we say, “Oh yes, we are responsible for creating the world around us,” but when it comes down to specifics do we really look at that? What was it in me that brought forth this event? I am not saying that the event, seeing it was brought forth, cannot now be used to advantage. It surely can. We can all provide increased accommodation for the spirit which found focus in Bill, for instance—and there can be a vastly greater outpouring of spirit in consequence. But it is important that we should look at these things, because we are liable to do the same thing again if we don’t. What specifically was it in one’s own living that was responsible for this event appearing in our world? We need to be quite specific about these things and there is no better opportunity than when something appears that is quite, well I suppose, shattering to some, but seen as being of considerable importance. How was it that we allowed it to happen?
If we are considering what occurs in our own experience, in our own worlds, from the standpoint of personal responsibility, we are doing this consistently and adjusting in what we express accordingly. Then there would be no need—we would not have sown the seeds anyway—for some special disaster to remind us that we should be on the job. We generate our own disasters and they are useful. They come for our sake, that we might awaken to what we have been doing, how we have been functioning in a way which makes sure that something seemingly horrific occurs. Well we are not much use if that is all we do, generate something horrific every so often. Fortunately there are calmer periods in between when we may look very carefully at what we are doing, so that we do not find ourselves wandering in the wilderness in a solitary way—that is, all on our own, pouring out human desires of various sorts, likes, dislikes, all this—but are finding instead the glorious experience of moving with the creative spirit of the living God. This is fulfilment. Why would one settle for anything less? So perhaps it is well to be sobered a little with respect to occurrences, so that we don’t pass them by with a shrug of the shoulders and say, “Well that is part of the Divine Design.” It is included in the Divine Design; it happened, after all, in this instance; but things happen the way they happen within the range of our field of responsibility, within the range of our worlds, because of us.
We have recently given considerable thought to this matter of judgment, accusation. It is still indulged in and inevitably brings disaster of some sort. If you see something in your world that you think warrants your condemnation, then what should your attitude be? To go right ahead and condemn it? Or to say to yourself, “What is it in me that would cause me to find a situation in my world that warrants condemnation in my view?” If it warrants condemnation in your view there must be condemnation in your view. That’s the thing to look at, not the circumstance out there or the person out there doing his terrible things, but what in me is still present which would engender an attitude of condemnation? We are not washing our hands of whatever the situation is and saying, “Well let it rip!” We are just not in the business of condemnation, because we know that’s not the way to clear anything; it merely multiplies trouble. So what is it in oneself which generates the feeling or the idea or the thought that something over there—that thing—needs condemnation? There is no point in condemning it. I think we all clearly see that it doesn’t solve anything; it doesn’t produce anything creative or constructive. It merely adds to the trouble, so why do it? Well we do it because there is something in ourselves that still commands us to do it. And we meekly obey if we condemn something. This is a childish thing, isn’t it? It is part of the childish things that need to be put away. Children are always judging and condemning each other. But with children it usually passes pretty quickly and they are all friends again. With adults it is more persistent, isn’t it? They hold grudges. We know better. We know there are things in ourselves that need to be put away, childish things that need to be put away, that we may be mature. We can’t be until they are put away. So, always, if one has the feeling of need to enter into judgment and condemnation with respect to something in one’s own world—it is one’s own world, you know—then it may well be that one should stop and say, “What is this thing in me that makes it seem important that I should condemn?” Very often condemnation is there because the person is afraid that if this individual is allowed to continue to function in the way he is, worthy of condemnation, then disaster will strike, everything will fall apart. Do you really think so? Do you think the spirit of God is so puny that it is incapable of handling the way things are in this little pinpoint in the universe? How ridiculous. No. Here is the arrogant human mind imagining that if I don’t do something it is going to fall apart. Well, if the human mind does something it will fall apart. So we have the opportunity, as angels, of examining what is present in our own individual hearts and minds which produces the idea in heart and mind that judgment is justified, that condemnation is justified. That is the thing to look at, something in oneself. Let that clear in oneself and one’s world changes. And suddenly you know that person or that circumstance is quite all right, because there is nothing in you anymore that wants to judge it or condemn it. You know that the action of the spirit of God, which is not judgmental—it certainly is not the spirit of the accuser—will bring forth what is needful. Therefore what a wonderful opportunity we have of allowing a flood of that spirit to pour forth, and how quickly everything is changed—in a twinkling of an eye.
Let’s let our eyes twinkle!
A twinkling eye is not present in a person who is judging and accusing and condemning, is it? It doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing. But we find when we do this that there are others who are doing likewise. It is because of this, the extent that this has been discovered, that we have the beginnings at least of a body, a body for the accommodation of the creative spirit of the living God.
This is being sent to you on September 16, 1942 — that you may abide in the King’s Chamber.
We have arrived at the active point in Eternity where the out-manifestation of the Cosmic Plan, in a definite formation in the three-dimensional world, has progressed to a degree which allows easy perception through the spiritually attuned vision. Because of this out-manifestation, it becomes necessary for us to give clear-cut expression to certain phases of Reality which will assist all who will respond thereto into a better understanding of the way whereby the individual may actively and effectively harmonize in the unified formation of out-manifesting Reality. In this we begin to see the direct correspondences between those things which are familiar to the average individual of intelligence and those points of consciousness which have, until recently, been beyond the scope of conscious comprehension.
It is only as the scattered parts of manifestation, which have come within our vision, are drawn into their appointed places, where the correspondence between all of the various parts becomes apparent, and where the whole is recognized as being subject to one great cohesive element which establishes the whole as an indivisible unit, that we can begin to appreciate the possibilities that are before us, individually and collectively. It is only as we individually and collectively appreciate, not only the possibilities, but sacred responsibilities which are presented to us by the fact of our life at this point in Eternity, that we can intelligently and effectively participate in that activity which is ordained for us and for the world. Those who readily harmonize in the ordained activity are established in the formation which is being made manifest, and those who refuse to so harmonize act as the points of resistance which allow an ever-increasing expression of what may be called “pressure of power,” that through such resistance the necessary power may be generated within the formation, which will allow the transformation and transition to a higher plane for the entire harmonized unit. Therefore, we do not look upon any person or condition as being against us and Reality, although we recognize the fact that all who refuse to harmonize in the Cosmically ordained unit are against themselves. However, since this is their own choice, we have no reason to be concerned in the matter other than to so perfectly fill our appointed places that all people everywhere may have the opportunity of perceiving and responding to Reality, and that if they refuse, they may, in that refusal, stand self-condemned.
Recognizing this Truth, we see that those who are apparently against us are really for us, although they are against themselves, and understanding this we know that every action and expression in the earth is facilitating the outmanifestation of the Reality which shall ultimately transform the three-dimensional world into such a clarified and coordinated state that the positive Reality shall be given full and free expression through this phase of creation. He who knows this to be a Truth cannot be concerned about any activity which is seemingly contrary to the outworking of the Great Plan, for he knows that there is no power on earth that can stop the fulfillment of the Plan, nor prevent the out-manifestation at the appointed time. So it is that the Blessed One can truly rejoice and give thanks, no matter what takes place, and to the degree of sincerity in this recognition, the individual's expression of rejoicing and thanksgiving will be effective in releasing Reality.
The idea of equality has long been a source of satisfaction to those who were imbued with the Spirit of Universal Brotherhood, and it has been a source of disturbance among those who have been violently dissatisfied with their situation in life without being willing to make the necessary changes of expression which would allow an altered and more satisfactory out-manifestation. It may be said that “all men are born equal,” if it be recognized that all people are born into the same world, under identically the same Cosmic Laws, with the same potentialities of Divine Expression, and therefore, enjoying equal opportunity. However, it must likewise be recognized that with every individual there is an individual capacity to receive of those available opportunities and to participate in the essential activities of Cosmic expression. Those individual capacities of function in that which is equally available to all, are that which allows individuality, and without this variation there could be no individuality, for all would be the same, in the same place and way, and there would be no delight in Being. Those who have thought themselves to be in a low estate have complained of bitter limitations and have thought themselves to be abused, while those who have thought themselves to be in a high estate have been filled with arrogance and pride in thinking that they were better than those who are judged to be in the low estate. So long as our attitudes are colored by such concepts, we limit our joy of Being to that degree.
As the out-manifestation of the Divinely ordained formation moves on apace, the responsiveness of negative Reality to positive Reality allows increased expressions of that which has heretofore been beyond comprehension, and these expressions are given to all alike, for they are properly secret only insofar as each individual lacks the capacity to comprehend them. This has always been true of all Truth. Those who have thought to keep Truth secret, and have thought to judge as to another’s readiness to receive the Truth, have thereby proven that they knew not the Truth, else they would have known that the Truth is not secret, nor is it withheld from anyone, but that each individual determines for himself the degree and quality of his own ignorance. So it is that the Truth cannot be revealed to those who refuse to receive it, no matter how many times it may be spoken or written and made available to them, and likewise, the Truth cannot be kept from those who are ready to receive it, no matter who may think himself to have a monopoly upon the so-called secrets. So it is that we see that there are two factors which determine the degree of any individual’s understanding at any given point of his expression in Being.
These two factors are: first, the individual’s capacity to utilize that which is equally available to all, and second, the individual’s willingness to take advantage of the capacities of his own nature. When the Cosmic point in Eternity arrives where every individual is functioning perfectly and fully to the extent and nature of his individual capacity, it will be found that every individual is in that capacity perfect, and that all individuals are in that state perfectly coordinated, harmonized, and unified so that the activities of each individual are essential to the whole and are a complete delight to himself and to every other individual within the whole. Recognizing this, we see that it is utterly futile to attempt to increase anyone’s capacity, and that the only thing that we can do in true Service is to assist each individual to function completely in accordance with the nature and extent of his individual capacity insofar as such an individual is vitally interested in expressing the fulness of his own Being and is, therefore, willing and ready to take advantage of that which is eternally available to himself.
Recognizing these Truths, we see that all previous activities which were designed to bring Spiritual enlightenment to mankind have willfully or ignorantly undertaken to assist those who did not wish to be assisted and to uplift those who did not want to be lifted up, and in so doing, such activities have taken upon themselves a useless burden which has benefited no one, but which has always spelled doom to the usefulness to mankind of such a service. Because of this, man’s activities in so-called service have been largely futile, even though rightly intended at the outset. Those who began to serve in the true attitude, and then, without an understanding of the Law, fell into this error have taken one of three paths: first, some few have struggled on blindly and ineffectively trying to render that service to which they felt themselves called; second, a large number became discouraged and turned into other fields of endeavor; or, third, altogether too many, seeing the futility, and being discouraged in trying to do right, have established dishonest methods and practices whereby they sought to gain control over their brother man for their own self-aggrandizement. Knowing these things, we have an unprecedented opportunity, not only from the standpoint of our present relative position in the unfolding of Eternity, but from complete knowledge of the situation and of the necessities of our activity therein, together with the ability in the Spirit to utilize such knowledge and understanding effectively in accordance with the Father’s Will. As this is true of our activity collectively, it is likewise true of our activity individually. To the degree that any individual falls into the above-mentioned grievous error in his attempts to render service, he becomes a burden to himself and to everyone else. Also, to the degree that any individual in this activity wishes to be upheld and assisted in a way that is unnatural, he becomes, through such an attitude, a menace to himself and to the entire activity insofar as he may influence those around him.
So it is that we come to appreciate the great gift of individuality, and we rejoice in the privilege of being ourselves in Reality, no matter what judgments may be passed from a world standpoint. Also, we begin to appreciate what true individualism is. It is evident that a person is expressing his own individuality only to the degree that he is functioning in the full capacity of his ordained place in the Cosmic Harmonization of Being, and it is further evident that the one who is functioning in the full capacity of his individuality cannot be judged to be better or worse than anyone else who is so functioning, any more than one might say that a rose is better than a pansy. A rose is a better rose than any other flower is, for only a rose can be a rose, and likewise only a pansy can be a pansy; and no matter how many roses there might be, they could never take the place of the pansy. So it is that each one is perfect in his own appointed place and way to the degree that he is functioning in the full capacity of his own Cosmic Reality. Understanding this, we recognize that each one is absolutely essential, insofar as his Reality is concerned, to the perfect function of the whole. Likewise, we see that the outer manifestation of any individual ceases to be essential to the degree that such a person ignores the functions of his own Inner Reality, and that the person who refuses to function in that Reality thereby, and to that degree, sets up those processes whereby he eliminates himself from the manifest picture, and this is the one and only cause of death. So it is that whatever person, place, or thing may be eliminated through a refusal to harmonize with Reality, we rejoice and are exceeding glad, knowing that it is only the unreal that passes away and that the real is coming into manifest expression with absolute surety. This leaves us without time or cause for regret, no matter what may take place.
In time past the primary attention of such sincere spiritual activities as have been in the earth has been directed toward individual development, so-called. Because it has been virtually impossible for a single individual to transcend the limitations of the world consciousness, the complete individual release of Reality has been accomplished within the period of our present world history only by the LORD of Lords and KING of Kings—although there has been a sufficiently complete release to allow ascension in a few other instances, such as are illustrated by Enoch and Elijah.
Under the influence of the Cosmic vibrations which are now being made manifest, the world at large has responded to a degree that allows it to function as a unit in those planes of consciousness to which it has been accustomed, namely, the physical and mental. As this is true, we see that even in the so-called physical things it is necessary to recognize the world as a unit if any true understanding of existing situations is to be entered into. Since the world has thus allowed manifestation of oneness in the physical and mental planes, and this can be comprehended by a person of average intelligence, it is at least reasonable to suppose that such influences of unification are of Divine origin, and that those who are responding to the spiritual influences are being drawn into a unit of life expression which will allow a perfect out-manifestation of Reality as an integral unit.
To the degree that we can recognize this, we are filled with an absolute assurance that this present spiritual activity is designed to function as a Focal Point of that formation whereby those who are responding may find their places in the unified expression of Reality, and that in such harmonization in the unit each one may find and function in the fulness of his own individuality, which means individual perfection. However, before any individual can become an effective part of the unit he must be so filled with brotherly Love that he is willing to let go of all ideas of individual development and attainment of a selfish nature in a conscious harmonization in the unit for the benefit of the whole. Any person who attempts to carry selfishness, even though it be a desire for so-called spiritual development, into his active function in the unit will find that to that degree he prevents himself from becoming a part of the unit, for the one great element which establishes the absolute cohesion in the unit is what may be called Selfless Love.
As this is true, no one can rightly say that we have attempted to keep anyone out or to bring anyone in. The one thing that we are doing is assisting each one who will respond to a recognition of his own capacity in Reality. It is evident that vows and promises in such an activity as this would be absolutely futile, for each one automatically places himself in accordance with his own response to Reality, and each one is that which he is. The person who is responding to Reality will not respond the more because of a promise, and the person who refuses to respond to Reality will not respond, no matter how many promises he may make. The person who is truly a part of the one spiritual formation will recognize his obligation to his brother man, and he will fulfill his obligation, not because it is his duty to do so, but because he is so filled with the Love of Service that he cannot do anything else.
It matters not what religion or school of thought or creed one may have harmonized in, those who are Divinely responding to Reality will recognize the Reality of the formation and they will give whole-heartedly of their expression in every phase of life to the activity which allows a still greater out-manifestation of Reality. As this consciousness is entered into, those human and petty things of the passing form, which have seemed to make up individuality, are allowed to drop away as an old garment, that the Blessed One may appear in his true individuality which is an out-manifestation of Reality. The human seeming-individuality is primarily concerned with getting something for itself, whether it be material substance, intellectual understanding, or so-called spiritual development. The Divine individuality is interested only in giving of its own Reality by the process of releasing the positive Radiance through those peculiarly established channels of expression which are established in accordance with the individual capacity in the Cosmic Harmonization. Those who cling to the human individuality will be a part of that which is eliminated when the whole world as a unit lets the old garment of human limitation drop away, that the new garment of the Christ Consciousness may clothe the whole world in its manifestation as the New Earth. We are no longer interested in attempting to find the line of demarcation between the physical and the spiritual, for there is no such line, for all is a unit and the Reality of the unit in every phase is essential to the whole.
The unit is composed of positive Reality and negative Reality. In the negative Reality there has been a failure to harmonize fully with the positive Reality, insofar as the outer form is concerned, and so it is that the world has been filled with what we call evil. In this world the out-manifestation of positive Reality is set in accordance with certain laws which were brought into operation at the beginning of Creation. The entire Plan for the formation of the outer half of the unit, in accordance with the positive Reality, was and is fully revealed in the Book of Revelation, and for those who have eyes to see it will be clear that every step in the activity of formation in Reality is in accordance with the Plan that is there revealed. The Plan meant nothing so long as the world was not ready to have the Plan put into execution, and the Plan had to remain as a mystery until those who were ordained to put the Plan into execution arrived on the scene of action. When the world itself was ready and was sufficiently unified in the physical and mental planes to allow an effective outworking of the Plan, the activity was begun, and developments since that time have been moving with such rapidity that an understanding thereof has been completely beyond the concept of the human mind. With the world condition becoming more and more intense, those who are not fully polarized in Cosmic Reality find themselves being drawn into the vortex of the disintegrative forces whereby evil is being removed from the face of the earth, and those who see this sudden destruction coming upon the wicked, are filled with fear to the degree that they have not learned to abide in the Christ Consciousness.
The out-manifestation of positive Reality through the negative Reality is accomplished through the Seven Rays, which are One. Insofar as the whole world is concerned, there are two Trinities, with the Inner Trinity manifesting as what we call Heaven and the outer Trinity manifesting as what we call the earth, and the two are blended in Oneness through the Seventh Ray, which is the Christ Love. The Inner Trinity is positive Reality and the Outer Trinity is negative Reality. We are primarily concerned with the outer Trinity, that we may be so harmonized with positive Reality as to allow the out-manifestation of the Inner Perfection. As the entire world manifestation, in its positive and negative aspects, is functioning in accordance with the Law of the Seven, so also is the Inner Trinity, in its individual expression, harmonized on the Law of the Seven, and likewise the outer Trinity is ordained to function on the Law of the Seven, and here we begin to understand the Mystery of the Triple Seven.
Those who are at the present time functioning in a consciousness of the Seven Rays of negative Reality are established as the points of consciousness in the out-manifestation of the new world Spiritual Body. It is not yet necessary for the masses of humanity to have a consciousness of that which is taking place, for each one will respond to Reality in accordance with the depth of sincerity and earnestness which are out-manifesting in his nature, irrespective of whether or not he understands the purposes of life, and those who subject themselves to the disintegrating vibration of the Flaming Fire would do so, no matter what opportunity of understanding might be available to them. So it is that we can rest assured that those who will respond to the ascending phase or vibration of the Flaming Fire will do so through their earnestness and sincerity, no matter what their degree of conscious understanding may be, in whatever religion or school of thought they may be harmonized.
The one thing that is of importance to us at the present time is the activity of the points of consciousness which represent the focalized expression of the outer world. As we have now established a definite Focal Point of consciousness in the world, in accordance with the Seven Rays of negative Reality, as Divinely ordained in Positive Reality, there is an equal opportunity in the earth for all in accordance with the individual capacity to respond. The only thing that prevents the full out-manifestation of Perfection at the present time is the focal point of consciousness which has been established in the earth in accordance with human concepts, and which holds sway over the great masses of the earth through the tendrils of human desire. As we individually and collectively allow positive Reality to radiate through us into the world, the Radiance of our focalized point of consciousness must necessarily touch the focalized point of human consciousness that is in the world.
The Law is that two positives repel each other. The human point of consciousness is positive, else it would have long ago harmonized with Divine Reality. Our point of consciousness is positive in a harmonization with positive Reality and is, therefore, absolutely immovable. That which is in the world consciousness that will not respond to the Focalized Point of Positive Reality must necessarily be repelled therefrom, that in its fighting against Reality it may destroy itself and eliminate its formation from the face of the earth. Let us continue with one accord in allowing the positive release of positive Reality into the world consciousness, for the more rapidly we do so, the more rapidly will the world consciousness begin to fight against the Divine Order. To the degree to which the world consciousness fights against the Focal Point of Positive Reality, as it is made manifest in the consciousness of negative Reality, it will eliminate itself; therefore, we can truly say that we rejoice and are exceeding glad when those who are focalized in the world consciousness begin to fight against Reality, and in this connection we remember the words of the Great Master as recorded in Matthew 5:10-12.
To the degree that we have learned, individually and collectively, to abide in the Christ, the turmoils and disturbances and persecutions and misunderstandings and revilings of the outer world cannot move us, but rather do we rejoice with exceeding great gladness that it is so, for as we remain centered in positive Reality we know that every positive expression of the outer world is automatically repelled from the positive Reality in which we are centered.
As you give prayerful consideration to these words, letting go to the Spirit, that you may understand the Inner Meanings thereof, you will surely be filled with an overpowering surge of Love for your Father within, and for the LORD of Lords and KING of Kings, in that you are granted the privilege of harmonizing in this Reality and of coming into an understanding of your appointed part therein. Also, you will be filled with a sense of the utter uselessness of the human individuality, so-called, that you may be filled with a deep sense of the sacred privilege of allowing your own Cosmic Individuality a full release out through your body Temple. You now see that this transition can take place only to the degree that you love the Lord, your Father within.
Therefore, let us all with one accord rejoice and give thanks with exceeding great gladness for the sacred privileges of Service that are granted to us, and let us let go of all those things which have heretofore weighted us down, that we may effectively function in those places to which we are ordained in that activity which is directed of the Spirit. Your own response to these Truths will reveal your present degree of harmonization in the out-manifesting formation of the new world Spiritual Body, and to the degree that you recognize yourself as a part of the unit you will function in true Oneness with the unit and no longer attempt to walk in a way that is separate therefrom, for you will see that it is in this false idea of individuality that you have heretofore wasted the opportunities, facilities, and energies which have been granted to you for your active use in the outworking of the Cosmic Plan; for your human consciousness is but a steward of the body Temple and all of the things and opportunities and facilities which are available to and in and through the body Temple. So it is also that you see with clearer vision than ever before, the glorious opportunity you have of letting go in the positive Reality of your Father within, that you may thereby render your appointed Service in assisting the outer world to let go in a perfect harmonization in the positive Reality of the Inner Planes, whereby the New Heaven and the New Earth may be fully and perfectly established in the Christ Love, which is the Seventh Ray of the Whole Holy World.
Beholding you enfolded in the Flaming Fire of your Father’s Radiance, whereby you come to know the Lord of the Sacred Three, under whose direction you may learn the secrets of the Third Sacred School of the Motherland and enter into the ultimate of your own Reality whereby you know that Joy of joys which comes from that creative expression which is in accordance with your appointed place in the Cosmic Plan—I salute you in the Spirit as I AM. Thus may you find your place in the Flaming Fire, and know the Source thereof. Peace be unto you at all times wherever you may be, through the revelation of the Father's mystery, which is the Christ Love.
We should at this point be able to clearly see, comprehend, accept within ourselves, the fact that the Christ Body must necessarily have particularized factors in it, even as they are present in your individual physical body. We cannot disregard the principles of life and function as they appear in the individual physical body when we begin to consider the physical formation of the One Christ Body made up of many members. And anyone who attempts to develop a body of power—as in a church or a philosophy or a pattern of teaching, or anything else, ideology of any sort—any individual or individuals who undertake to produce a unit pattern of function, while disregarding these principles, must surely fail. We have seen it happen in the past; we have recognized it in relationship to the outworkings of history.It is only as we allow these same laws and principles to work in relationship to ourselves as many members of One Body that we can begin to be the means by which the power manifests. This is to say, then, from the standpoint of the Unit pattern, that there is a particularized manifestation of the Shekinah Fire and Light and Cloud in relationship to each of the seven levels of Being. This trinity of the Shekinah Fire, or the Shekinah which signifies the manifest Presence of the One Who Dwells, is something that needs to be clearly comprehended, and how to convey it to you so that you can feel it and know it from deep within yourselves is something of a problem.
The spirit of God as such has virtually no meaning to human beings. The meaning begins to appear as the differentiated aspects of spirit appear. The meaning of God begins to appear to the children of men as the differentiated aspects of God appear through men, because God can have no true meaning to us except as He is revealed through the human form. And as long as you try to comprehend God without regard to the human form, as something above and beyond this realm in which we live and dwell, you will fail. So you begin to see that you cannot in any true sense comprehend God in reality except as He is made manifest through human beings. We must recognize that it is the differentiated aspects of God made manifest through human beings which permit us to begin to comprehend God in reality. And as the spirit of God can have no real meaning except as it manifests in its differentiated aspects, we begin to see the Secret of the Shekinah as the Secret of Focalization from heaven into the earth, and differentiation in relationship to the practical aspects of living. The Shekinah is the Point of Focus between heaven and earth, that which is of heaven brought to point for its manifestation on earth, and from that point expanding outward again into the patterns of life.
At the point of its manifestation of its essence, the distinctions, the different qualities, cannot be readily recognized. We see it as a Fire. But you begin to see the differentiations. If you remember this, you will understand all the foolishness that manifests with respect to human beings; and you can lead them step by step to a point where they can begin to see other differentiated aspects. They do not have the perceptive ability to see the Shekinah Fire yet. Do not try to get them to. How long did I talk to you before I ever mentioned it? It is not something that I just suddenly thought up or discovered or heard about.I have known about this Fire all the way through. I use it all the time, every day; and in actual fact, every time I come before you, in a class or a service, I begin to work on the basis of developing that Cloud and letting you be in it to whatever degree your response will permit—you will be in the Cloud of Glory of theShekinah. You may not see it, but you can reach a point where you can see it and it is wonderful. The Cloud you sense through feeling, to start with. Finally you begin to have the ability to see it, and to hear it; for there is a sound in it. But don't go trying now, because if you try to see it you will not; if you try to hear it you will not. You have to let it appear.And remember well that wherever there are vibrations of conflict, resentment, any ill attitudes whatsoever, you keep yourself shut out of the Cloud of the Shekinah and contain yourself in the cloud of darkness. Wherever there are resentments, frictions, conflicts, within or without, within the individual or between individuals, you cannot know the beauty and the wonder, the glory and the peace, of the Shekinah, the manifest evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells, everywhere, always.
The Privilege of Understanding
The Responsibility of Doing
Martin Cecil October 30, 1983 a.m.
“The Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.” His holy temple is a flesh body composed of human beings through whom His Word may be spoken, and heard in the silence of the earth. This is the Word of the Lord: “I came forth from the Father, and came into the world many centuries ago through a particular flesh body. I offered the way of salvation to the children of men on earth. I offered this to those who were in best position to receive it. The way was rejected: I was rejected. I accepted into my own body the unregenerate state of mankind. I was condemned as mankind is condemned. I was crucified as mankind must be crucified. I was placed in the tomb even as mankind must go into the tomb. I came forth from the tomb in the resurrection, thereby opening the way for mankind to come forth. A place has been prepared. The way is open. Behold, I have set before you an open door.”
These words have not only been spoken to you who are here present this morning but have also been spoken by you. In these moments we stand in the earth as One Body, not only composed of you who are here present but of many more who have understanding. We arise and ascend into the hill of the Lord, that we may stand in His holy place. The Lord is in His holy place: let all the earth keep silence before Him.
The Word of the Lord can be spoken on earth only as there are human beings to do it. That Word is powerful and creative. That Word is truth. The words of the Lord that have just been spoken are indeed the simple truth. Some of these words are understandable to anyone: others of them are in varying degrees incomprehensible. What indeed is the resurrection? There have been those who have attempted to explain away the occurrence in supposedly understandable human terms. The vast majority have accepted it, if they have accepted it, on blind faith. Something was supposed to have happened to Jesus, so that His body came forth in the resurrection; but what happened, how, is incomprehensible to the human consciousness. Of course, because human consciousness has never experienced it. There is only one way to discover what the resurrection is, and that is by experiencing it. It cannot be successfully explained ahead of the experience. Of course not, because it is unprecedented. There was one individual precedent: that One knows what it is. The precedent must now be set through the body of mankind. For this to happen there must be One who comes in the name of the Lord. That One may initially be one person but subsequently includes others who compose the body through which the Word of the Lord is spoken. That body knows the truth of the moment. What other truth is there? There are those who think of the truth as relating to the future: What shall happen? What is going to be? There is no future except in imagination. This is the reality. This is the truth now. The truth is known now! The way is known now! Life is known now! We have surely awakened to this.
The human mind is fearful, as it well may be, looking upon those things which seem to be coming in the earth; but the truth is now, the way is now, life is now. The One who comes in the name of the Lord insists upon the truth of the present moment. There is with that an awareness of the inevitability of the creative process. If one is associated with the creative process now and it is experienced now, it is inevitable now and it is inevitable in all the days to come, in all the nows to come. The truth is acceptable now. The truth is adequate now. The way is clear now. We move in it together in the flesh.
All this implies that there is a point of focus. We have been aware of this. In times past we have been offered the opportunity of discovering what it means to function intelligently in a pattern of focalization. We may not have done it all that intelligently; we may have resisted it and rebelled against it. But ultimately there must be the full experience of blessing the One who comes in the name of the Lord; only so can there be a sharing in that coming. If we understand this from the standpoint of our own experience, for it is indeed emerging with increasing clarity, then we know that the same is true with respect to the rising up of the body of mankind. There must be a point of focus for them. This is the One who comes in the name of the Lord. For this to have creative meaning to others their attitude must be: “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” Some undoubtedly are inclined to say, “Cursed is he.” Others heretofore have ignored him. Because of the increasing unification of the body of mankind—willy-nilly, whether anyone likes it or not—it is less and less possible for anyone to ignore what is happening. “Choose you this day” is also the Word of the Lord to mankind: “Choose you this day whom ye will serve.” To understand what these words mean there must be present on earth the evidence, the One who comes in the name of the Lord. Originally the Lord Himself provided that evidence, the evidence that was rejected, but now the provision is made again in a different way, in a way that is without precedent. The way, the truth and the life is proclaimed by reason of the fact that there is present a flesh body of focalization. This fact can only be proclaimed when that flesh body is humble—humble minds and gentle hearts; so may the Word of the Lord be spoken on earth, so may there be the One who comes in the name of the Lord.
Have we learned to acknowledge the essentiality of right association with focalization? If we have not done that within this body, how could the body of mankind be expected to do it? What elements of resistance, rebellion, resentment, still remain to dictate to us out of our minds and hearts? Such may be present as yet; earthly heredity has not been dissolved, but surely it shall not control. Only because there is understanding acceptance, acknowledgment, of the fact of One who comes in the name of the Lord can there be a body present on earth which proclaims that truth for others. And there is no way by which salvation may come on earth except there is the attitude, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,” an attitude to be experienced by those who are open to the experience in the body of mankind. To have that experience there must be One who comes in the name of the Lord. In humility and quietness of spirit, this truth is surely acceptable to us in this hour now.
The One who comes in the name of the Lord comes with passion for the truth, and consequently with fire, the fire of love. There is indeed something to occur on earth that necessarily is without precedent. Some suppose this occurrence to be a so-called nuclear holocaust. We know the truth in this matter. The precedent is the fire of God’s love in the truthful expression of our own living, the fire which is capable of consuming the fears, the hates, the resentments, the envyings, the greeds, that are present still in our own hearts. These can only be dissolved by the fire. Presently there are two ways by which this dissolution can occur. The creative way leaves human beings still present on earth. The other way cleanses the earth of all unrighteousness, but who is left? Let the fire of love intensify in our own hearts, governed by the truth in our own minds. Heretofore our experience has been somewhat lackadaisical. Sometimes we find ourselves put on the hot seat and we probably quite quickly repent, but how long does that state of affairs persist?
We find the whole world moving toward an unprecedented experience. This was illustrated somewhat by the plight of the children of Israel when they came to the edge of the Red Sea. They were between the Egyptians and the sea, and there appeared to be no way. Nowadays we talk about being between a rock and a hard place, and are beginning to find out what that really means, where to human vision there is no way. This is the state of affairs consequent upon the command: “Thus far and no further!” In the case of the children of Israel something happened. They found that there was a way, but they didn’t for long continue in that way. This presumably is illustrative of various occasions in the ages gone by when the human race was subjected to cataclysmic experience but still survived. It wasn’t long after the flood, according to the story, before people were complaining again, bickering again, fighting again, displaying the traits of human nature that have persisted down to this very hour. But there does come a time when there shall be time no more, when it may be said, “This is it! Shape up or ship out!” We are aware of what it means to shape up. Most people presently are not. If we do not do it, who will? Then the other experience comes: ship out.
The Lord apparently stated when He was on earth, “I go to prepare a place for you.” This has been variously interpreted. But He was speaking about what actually happened, what happened through His own experience. The place was known by Him by reason of the resurrection, so the way was prepared, the place was prepared, was henceforth available to be known, the intent being that it should be known totally by the body of mankind on earth. What would constitute the body of mankind at the time that it was known could hardly be prognosticated: that will prove itself out. We are facing facts, not fancies. And so we, knowing these things to the extent that we do, carry the responsibility. The privilege of knowing carries the responsibility of doing. A certain awareness of these things is subconsciously present in vast numbers of human beings. Privileges require the acceptance of responsibilities, something that has almost totally been ignored by the vast majority of human beings on earth. We have a spectacle of this ignoring in what is going on close to home: self serving, an unwillingness to face facts. Surely we have faced facts to the extent that we are aware of the privilege of understanding and therefore of the responsibility of doing. This is the easy way. This is the open door.
In this hour we not only stand at the door and knock, that it may be opened for all mankind, but we let it be opened for ourselves individually, that the truth may come forth in creative expression moment by moment by moment in the natural cycles of our living, whatever the circumstances may be, as we find ourselves present to get the job done. We do not judge our circumstances. We do not judge other people. We simply do the job without shadow of turning, without resentment, without condemnation, without self-pity, without any of the usual human reactions. These mean nothing to us anymore. The former things pass away because we let them go, because we are fully occupied with the expression of the truth, the qualities and the characteristics of love. Because of this we know friendship, increasing oneness with all those who have the privilege of understanding and consequently have accepted the responsibility of doing.
There is no question as to the creative nature of the outcome. We would not question it. We would not be so brash as to try to find out what it is. Just let it be. That’s all we can do anyway in the moment—let it be. Let the truth be, in the reality of spiritual expression momentarily: and behold, the creative power, the fire of love, prevails. The former things pass away and all things are made new. Again, we recognize it is not all new things—all things are made new. It is the transformation, the transmutation, of the things that are. These are made new because there stands on earth in power and great glory One who comes in the name of the Lord. Let the fire of love consume all that rightly passes away, that those things need not be consumed in an external fire. The One who comes in the name of the Lord speaks the Word of the Lord: “Behold, I make all things new.”
