Shekinah Fire—Secret Place

Shekinah  Fire — Secret  Place

Uranda   June 16, 1953

We come to our GPC Servers Training Class of June 16, 1953. We have been carrying forward the pattern of meditation on the basic theme of Heavenly Magic, by which we may begin to let the Magic of Life spring from its true source in the invisible realms of Being, that it may find expression through the body and all of its capacities—the capacities not only of physical living but of perception and function in mind and heart. In this pattern of meditation we have been going through a process of recognizing the significance of the Shekinah Fire.

As I have explained to you in the Class who were not here for the first time this morning, the popular pronunciation, from the standpoint of the scholars, is [Shekeyenah] Shekinah, but the original Hebrew word carried something of the expression of Shekaanah, and we have chosen to use the Motherland Pattern of vibratory factors to signify this particular significance—the [Shekeenah] Shekinah Fire, which is surrounded by the Light that Glows, and in turn surrounded by the Cloud, which is the essence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells. And it is only as we become vividly conscious, in a deep-seated realization of the One Who Dwells, that we can begin to let that One have meaning in our lives. We have the tendency in the fallen world pattern of human beings, the tendency to go about absorbed in the external factors of environment and circumstance and things, ignoring the reality of the Presence of the One Who Dwells.

We have recognized, from the standpoint of our interest in what we speak of as attunements, that no man as such, merely as a human being, can heal another; that, if there is to be healing, the force that produces that healing must come from the source which produced the body in the first place; and that wonderful, though seemingly mysterious, power which was capable of forming the body of the babe in the womb with all of its delicate perfections, is likewise capable of re-forming in the physical realm itself that which has become distorted in pattern, if we learn to let the Divine Design and Divine Control have reality in our lives—have meaning. So, instead of being controlled by all of these external distractions which demand and command the attention and the life force of so many, we are undertaking here to become God-centered—centered in the reality of the Creator, to begin to know the Presence of the One Who Dwells. And in this we remember the beautiful refrain from the 91st Psalm; “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” The shadow is the evidence of the presence of something, and that which is the evidence of the Presence of the Almighty is that which we would have made manifest in our lives—the evidence of the Presence of the Almighty.

We look around us, and we have experienced as human beings, as well as having seen in the lives of others, the evidences of weakness, of futility, of uncertainty, the sense of overwhelming insecurity which drives human beings into conflicts and nations into war; and the only place where we can find that sense of security is in the pattern of correct relationship with the Source of our Being. Therefore, the essence, the focalized essence, of the Presence of the One Who Dwells, is of tremendous importance to us, individually and collectively. But this essence appears on the basis of our relationships with others, not on the basis of some human being going apart, segregating himself from the necessities of the world, becoming a hermit and trying by some means to find attunement with the Divine, or some higher Source of Being. Such a pattern leads inevitably to distortion. Even though one may attain some state of consciousness which may in some circumstances be deemed to be higher, it is impractical—it has no meaning in the practical living of life. And our God is a practical God. He was the One who established the wonderful design of the human body, the marvellous mechanism of the hand, the processes of hearing or seeing, all of the wonderful functions of the body which you have been studying, all of these things about which man knows a little but which he cannot himself institute, he cannot himself produce, he cannot even copy let alone improve upon.

And so, the Divine Source, having the intelligence, having the ability, having the power, to produce in actual fact such a practical manifestation of Heavenly Design, is likewise capable of the practical application of the fundamental principles of life in relationship to us here today in this age. And it is only as we begin to realize that the intelligence back of design, the power back of control, necessary to produce all of these designs and bring them to formation in the womb, is equally capable of producing the practical expression of life in us in everyday living, that we can begin to turn our attention from those things which have for so long been distractions, turn our attention to those things which have for so long been false gods, before whom human beings have been committing idolatry, and adultery, and before whom human beings have been pouring out their lifeblood, not necessarily as in the days of old, slashing themselves with knives and leaping upon the altar, but nevertheless as surely pouring out their life blood for that which is empty and futile and meaningless. And so today, centering our attention in the reality of the Shekinah, the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells, we will read once more this basic text in which we find so much, the Biblical picture of the primary differentiations of the manifest Shekinah.

“And I turned to see the voice.” Immediately the thought of seeing a voice suggests that which is to the human mind that which is mystical and mysterious. It may be in truth be mystical but it need not be mysterious. “And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw…” Let us emphasize the significance of those words. The first impulse in turning from the unreal patterns of the world causes the individual to let his attention change, for even a moment, from those things which are pressed in upon him in the external pattern of life. The first impulse comes as an inner sound, not necessarily heard with the physical ear, but an inner sound or impulse, that which suggests, “Turn to Me. Come unto Me.”

The human being who does not give up, who does not become subject to the external pressures of his circumstance, who does not become lethargic, who does not acquiesce, has deep within him—to be awakened sooner or later—the assurance, the belief, the confidence, that there is something higher, something better than that which has thus far been experienced. And in these awakening ones—for we have seen there are four types of people in the world: [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/functional-factors-in-heavenly-magic.html] those who are dead, those who are asleep, those who are awakening, and those who are awake—and so these awakening ones begin to sense a call, a call to turn from the prison of environment, a call to turn to some place, somewhere where there can be the liberty, the freedom to live and not merely to exist for a few moments of time, only to die. And so he begins to turn.

And why does any human being turn? He turns to see the Voice that speaks with him. He begins to turn from the patterns of the unreal world, the realm of idolatry. And being turned, he saw. The individual who does not see the things of Heaven, with the eye of the heart if not with the physical eye, has not yet turned. But as one begins to turn, and goes through the process of resurrection, transformation, rebirth, whatever one may call it, the process of turning from all of the unreal realm, begins to see the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells. Not to see God face-to-face in the first flush of recognition, but he begins to turn.

Here, we need to go back to our basic formula for a moment, as we find it in the 23rd Psalm. “He prepareth a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.” So many human beings are so filled with fear that they are afraid to turn to see the Voice lest the enemy, lest the dangers of the unreal realm, attack from behind. “He prepareth a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.” Most human beings would prefer to have the enemies removed and then the table prepared, but it does not work that way. Until the human being becomes interested enough, responsive enough, to dare to turn his back upon the enemy, he cannot begin to sit down at the table of the LORD’s bounty. And so, one of the first things necessary is to begin to let perfect love cast out all fear—the reality of love casting out the fear which made it possible for the individual concerned to turn, to begin to turn to let a new pattern of life appear.

And when you go into the field as Servers, you are going to be constantly up against that same type of problem—people so filled with fear that they are doing the things which produce their own prisons, things which destroy their own opportunities, and it is up to you to let perfect love cast out fear from the heart of the responding one so that that person, yielding to love may begin to turn and see, and understand. And so the fears—faith in the wrong things, faith in the evil, faith in the distortions, faith in the sickness, faith in the disease, faith in the enemy—keeps human beings bound to their afflictions with bands of iron; but these bands of iron are broken asunder the moment we begin to turn, begin to recognize the reality of that which is suggested by the psalmist, “Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!” But human beings have their attention so centered in the muck and the mire that they never see the wonderful works of the LORD, they never have any appreciation. And so, your job as a Server is to begin to help people turn and see the Voice that speaks with them, begin to turn and see, that they may recognize something of the wonderful works to the children of men. And so, “Being turned, I saw…”

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“And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man.” Now remember, most people read that as if it said, “The Son of man”—that “there I saw the Son of man,” and they assume, wherever the words “Son of man” is used that it simply means the One who manifested as Jesus Christ. This is not to detract from Him, but to take a careful look at the exact wording and the true significance. “And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man.” Now what is the significance of the Son of man? One who lived a life of victory. One who let the Father be revealed on earth, for that was the Master’s greatest service—the revelation of Deity in the practical expression of life on earth in this present time, not waiting till some vague and distant hereafter—the practical revelation of Deity on earth, in life. And if that is the nature of the One whom we speak of as the Son of man on occasion, and He lived a life of victory, and He said, “Follow me,” then, if he saw “one like unto the Son of man,” what does it mean? It means one who has the capacity of Being, the centering necessary, the understanding of Truth, the reality of living, which permits the manifestation of that same basic pattern—the Pattern of Victory, the revelation of Deity on earth in the practical living of life.

So we begin to see that according to the individual capacities, the focalization of the Cosmic scheme of things, this is true of every man, woman and child upon the face of the earth. It includes you, for you have a Divine Design, you have a purpose—there was a reason for your birth on earth, there was a reason and a purpose in the Cosmic scheme of things. And if you deny that purpose and refuse to let that reason be fulfilled, you make of yourself a meaningless thing, a meaningless thing which might as well not have been. But we cannot accept any such pattern. Nevertheless, you have the responsibility of helping others to begin to see and know that God had a purpose for them, that there was a reason for their birth. They are a part of the Divine Design. And to sell that idea!

There are those who are awakening, and they will be hungry, but you will see many pass ploddingly by, refusing to hearken or heed, and acting as if they had no meaning because they have no concept as yet that they are part of the Divine Design, that they are a part of the Cosmic scheme of things, and they go on their ways to destruction. But it is for you to remember that you can serve only those who respond, and never try to force your service on anyone. “According to your response, so be it unto you.” So, we let the Light shine, we live the Life, we offer the service, and serve in fact according to response.

“One like unto the Son of man.” Here we begin to see the reality of the Centering of Being, for each human being—for you—the Centering of Being for any person anywhere. And what is the Centering of Being? The reality, the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells, is that which comes into consciousness first. You do not immediately see the One Who Dwells. You see the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells, the Shadow of the Almighty, the evidence of the Presence of the Almighty. “And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot.” And the garment we have recognized as the Cloud. As it was put in the Old Testament pattern, “The glory of the Lord filled the temple, and shone round about”—the Cloud of His Presence, translated from Shekinah, the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells.

If you stop and think about it now, in quiet meditation with the mind in its self-activity brought to a state of stillness, why should you be concerned about seeing the One Who Dwells? Is He not the Supreme One? Why not leave that to His wisdom, His discretion, His purposes? Is it not enough for any human being if he begins to see the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells? What more could you achieve by seeing the One Who Dwells? To satisfy your curiosity? To make it possible perhaps for you to persuade Him to do what you want, the way you want it, when you want it? If you can desecrate the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells by such self-active thoughts and attitudes, can you hope to reach the point of seeing the One Who Dwells?

It is by reason of response, in fulfilment of the Law, that we reach a consciousness of true relatedness. The fulfilment of the one Law, the Law that sustains the atomic structure or the solar structure, the Law that contains all things between. And it is the fulfilment of the Law, response to the proper Centering of Being, that we begin to be drawn with the irresistible cords of Love into the pattern of the Divine Design where we may know the reality of control. And so it is that here the first thing that is seen, the first thing that is recognized, is the clothing—“clothed with a garment down to the foot.” And what is this garment? It is the Cloud—the Cloud of the silvery essence which contains the Light that Glows and the Fire that Burns; and this Fire does burn forever.

We remember at the time of Elijah [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/behold-elijah-is-here-youtube-video.html] and his experience on Mount Carmel, how the prophets of Baal leaped upon the altar and gnashed themselves with knives so often; but they had been forbidden to put any fire under—“but put no fire under”—no arbitrarily, humanly determined substitute for the Fire that forms the Centering of the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells. And when it came time for Elijah to act, he spoke unto all the people and said, “Come near unto me.” And they came near. “Come near unto me.” How often that Heavenly invitation has been repeated! “Come near unto me.” Don't stand back, don't hesitate, don't resist! As the Master put it, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Come near. And then Elijah turned the pattern of his attention to his own centering in God, and the Fire appeared. What was that Fire? It was the Shekinah Fire. It was the Shekinah Fire that appeared. And what did the ox represent? The stubborn, self-active human mind that is bound and determined, by its plodding and its lowing, to achieve something worth while. As an instrument for Divine intelligence it is wonderful; as an ox, it does not travel very fast—the oxcart days. And most religions are still in the oxcart days.

We need to begin to realize that the Shekinah Fire consumes, that it takes into itself the mind, the mind that was symbolized by the ox; and not only the mind, but the stones of the altar. And what were the stones? The stones of the human heart, bound and determined to have its own way, hardened against God, trying to force the issues of life, to shape things its own purposes and foolish desires. And the water? Water is the symbol of Truth. And so, before the Fire appeared, the ox and the stones had been covered with water. Before the Fire appears there must be the reality of Truth and the acceptance of it, so that the Divine Design begins to take hold, so that Divine control begins to take over and the human being is no longer subject to the false gods of his own circumstance and the desires of his own impure heart. And if the Fire consumes these things—the ox upon the altar, and the stones, and licks up the water, as we see the story given there in relationship to Elijah—what has happened? The same thing that must happen in you if you are to experience this process of Divine liberation, for the ox of the human mind must be consumed.

You have heard that before and you say, “Well now it's gone, it's vanished, it is no more! It's just burned up! It's no good!” If it is consumed, does that mean it is no longer in existence? If it is consumed by the Fire, has not the Fire taken it into itself. What Fire? The Shekinah Fire—the Fire which is at the Center of the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells. And so, the ox is not gone. It has only been consumed, that is, received into the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells. It has not been cast into some strange oblivion. And what of the water? It too has been received, licked up from the trenches even. And the stones? They too have been burned, and the stoniness of the heart, the human heart, is melted. And then, with a heart made pure—as the Master put it: “Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God”—first they shall begin to see the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells; and with a heart made pure, they begin to let the reality of the One Who Dwells find expression in daily life. They are not so concerned about climbing to the highest heavens and seeing the God of All Gods as they are about letting the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells find expression in their own lives, in the life of service.

What was the greatest service our Master rendered on earth? The revelation of Deity in action in relationship to the affairs of men. The greatest service He rendered! The revelation of Deity in action on earth in relationship to the affairs of men. Practical living. And so what do we begin to do? We begin to let the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells find expression in our own thoughts, in our own words, in our own actions, as soon as the reality of that Presence is established in us in relationship to our consciousness, in relationship to our awareness. But we must turn our attention from those things which have occupied and controlled for so long and begin to give a little attention to Deity, a little attention to the Source of Being; and then, yielding, we begin to receive the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells.

But do we just receive it and stop at it at some point? We are going to provide a container for God. The Omnipotent and Infinite is going to be contained in us, we are so great! We are so great. So magnificent we are. We are going to contain God and surround Him and use Him for our own purposes. Are we? No. Never! Why attempt then, to establish a dividing line? “I'm going to receive God into me, but I'm going to stop Him here.” No. The very fact that we are alive, that we can hear the sound of a voice, the very fact that we can breathe or sit in a chair, indicates that there is something of the working of the Spirit of God in us, or we would not be here this morning. The Spirit of God is in action in us already. It does not have to be induced. The very fact of life is one of the facets of the Shekinah, the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells. But if we insist on using that life according to the human purpose and design, we are going to lose it, it will be gone, and the physical form will be no more.

Blessed ones, the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells is already finding some expression through you by the very fact that you are alive, but why not let the fulness of the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells find expression through you? Can you, not having yet achieved attunement with that centering of Being, cause others to be inspired to know that centering? No. If you are going to bring others into attunement with the Divine Source, so that the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells may manifest in the healing of body and mind and heart, then you yourself must live in that evidence—not just a part of the time, not just for an hour a week, or an hour a day, or fifteen minutes of meditation some time or other. “He that dwelleth.”

What is the Secret Place of the Most High? It is the Shekinah, because human beings do not know it. God has no desire to keep it secret but it is because human beings have ignored it and have refused to enter into it. They have been so careful to maintain their resentments and their fears and their conflicts. They have maintained a spirit which shuts them out of the Shekinah, the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells. But the moment we begin to recognize that every blessing that we have known, every privilege of life, every breath we have drawn, has been a part of the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells, we begin to realize that the self-active use of ourselves is thievery. It is stealing. It is more than that—it is murder because it destroys the vehicle of the expression of the Presence of the One Who Dwells. And you have no right to destroy that vehicle of expression—your own body or the body of another.

Therefore, instead of shutting ourselves out of the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells until there is nothing left but a corpse, let us recognize the reality of that evidence and receive it into ourselves, so that it may consume us. Destroy us? No! Consume us—take it into itself, that only the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells may find expression because we live and move and have our Being here on earth, that every thought, every word, every attitude, every action, shall be a revelation of Deity, a revelation of the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells.

But this manifestation depends upon our relatedness with others, for as long as we take the attitude that we are trying to get something from God, we are declaring we are separate from God and we are trying to get the evidence of His Presence. Have you ever known anyone to take that attitude? Have you? “I want to have the evidence of the Presence of God. Oh I want it more than anything else.” But do you? That human being, denying the evidence already manifest, is hardly in position to recognize or accept any further evidence. Until we begin to recognize the evidence already present in the fact of life—the fact of the Divine Design in the physical form, the fact of the functioning of the mind, the heart, the feeling nature, perception, physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, so that instead of being controlled by what we perceive we use perception intelligently.

We remember that if we see a mud-hole with the eye, we walk around it—the physical eye—if we perceive a vibrational muck-hole with the eye of the heart, most human beings plunge into it and say, “This is mine!” They could not just use the good sense to walk around it. To see it with the physical eye, you will walk around it—a cactus bed perhaps—but with the eye of the heart, the feeling perception, he perceives the cactus bed and says, “Ah, this is mine; and I must perforce go and wallow in it!” And it is a painful business to wallow in the cactus bed. We learn to see with the eye of the heart and avoid those things that do not belong to us, walk around them, to stop denying the reality of the evidence already present—because we make martyrs of ourselves by wallowing in all of the muck and the mire we can find with the eye of the heart. We do not have to identify ourselves with every mud-hole that comes along. We can use discretion even with the eye of the heart, and perceiving these things, refuse to say, “This is what I am.”

But looking to the evidence of the Presence of the Almighty, the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells, we can say, “But God is not far away. His Spirit is here for the Spirit of Life is still in my body. I acknowledge the things of God. I see them. I accept them.” Then you are in position to begin to let them increase in you. And unless you can inspire others in this same process of turning and accepting, and of learning to dwell, to live, twenty-four hours of every day, in the consciousness of the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells, you are not going to serve in any true sense. Oh, you may cause a headache to vanish for the moment, but it will come back, or some other difficulty; and those who are blind will say, “Well, that person doesn’t know what they are doing, what he is doing.”

Until we can reach beyond the symptoms and change the causes in man’s relationship to Deity, we cannot achieve that to which we are called. And so, the first step is to learn to see and acknowledge and accept the already present, already evident evidences of the Presence of the One Who Dwells. And seeing these things we begin to have the spirit of thanksgiving and we begin to remember—not something forgotten in a moment while we pour out our life’s blood and sacrifice to some idol of an ill condition—something we begin to remember. We can begin to turn our backs on the enemy with supreme disdain; turn our faces to God and our backs on the enemy and begin to partake of the table which He has prepared for us, the abundant evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells—enough to fill every need of life without a single exception, enough power to correct any ill condition as long as there is life and response to the working of that power—a Divine Design that has considered every need of every human being everywhere, regardless of race or color or creed. The Way of God's Love, the Truth—the design and the control factors—and out of this comes Life. And when we let that living be a reality so that we are received into the Shekinah, the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells, we begin to be in our daily lives a revelation of Deity on earth in relationship to the practical aspects of being, of living, in this world. A hereafter? Well and good. But it is here that we are to live, it is here that there is a need for the revelation of the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells.

And so, if there is One like unto the Son of man in the midst of the seven candlesticks, that One, the Centering of the Shekinah, carries the pattern of victory for you, the pattern of fulfilment according to your own aspect of the Cosmic Design, to the Glory of God. How often we say, “to the glory of God.” If it is to the Glory of God, it is to the revelation of the Shekinah, the manifestation in you by thought and word and deed of the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells. And this, according to your design, is your purpose in life, that the blessings of the Most High may be given to the children of men. He that dwelleth in the Secret Place, he that dwelleth in the Shekinah of the Most High, shall abide under the Shekinah of the Almighty.

© emissaries of divine light

Christ or Antichrist

Christ  or  Antichrist

Martin Cecil   June 5, 1963

The LORD has offered us a tremendous privilege. I wonder how keenly aware you are, and those others who share this ministry with you, of the reality of this privilege. There are some certainly who have seen something of it. Probably if you were asked about it, in the moment you would say that you have an awareness that there is such a privilege—but to what extent is it a constant thing with you? How much does it take to cause you to forget it? It seems at times that very little is required.

We have been given the privilege of playing a part immediately, directly and consciously in the Divine Plan of Salvation. The Plan of Salvation means something a little different to us than it does to many in the world. We recognize it as a practical thing here and now, relating to human lives on earth. We have this privilege, something that may easily be achieved insofar as God is concerned. His Plan is foolproof. [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/gods-great-plan-1.html] That is fortunate. No fools are welcome.

We have taken note of the special blessings which those who live in the United States and Canada, particularly, enjoy. We are included among that number. [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/the-twelve-segments-of-mankind.html] Presumably we have something of a perspective vision regarding these things, but thus far it has not permitted a clearing to the point where human pettiness does not still continue to exist. I have been wondering what more could be done or said to allow a real awareness of what it is that hangs upon you and upon others who have been granted this supreme privilege here on earth.

Is it a little thing to you? Do you simply see it in the light of the things you are involved with day by day? How much beyond that do you see? Do your little human affairs surround you to such an extent that it is only when you are really either kicked or inspired that you begin to see something more—really see it? I am not talking about imagination.

There is so much fiddling around in this ministry on the part of those who have been offered this privilege that it seems incomprehensible from the Divine standpoint—so little vision, so little awareness and real acknowledgment of the trust that has been offered to you and those who have had the opportunity of awakening to the truth.

We have the perfect setting, prepared of the LORD, for the acceptance of God's Way. We are counted among the number who could so easily do it, because such a wonderful provision has been made—the perfect setting. And yet those who have begun to see something have been so reluctant to participate truly in that which God is offering. God's Way, the easy way, is wide open. How long does it take for a person to decide to walk in it?

This ministry has been on earth in its present form for over thirty years now [over 90 years now], and if we have thirty people who have really moved into God's Way I think it would be a generous assumption; and even those who have are surely not mature in it. The world is not waiting, in the sense that it has stopped moving toward ultimate tragedy. With the extent of tragedy there is already in the world, what would ultimate tragedy be?

The Divine Plan is foolproof. [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/gods-great-plan-2.html] There is no question that it works if it is allowed to operate on earth, but human attitudes have constantly proclaimed either, “We are not interested in letting it work at all,” or “We will try it out a little bit here and there.” But to let it be a total thing for oneself, that would be unreasonable! I am not talking about a total thing in theory. In the actual experiences of living it is not a total thing yet. The affairs of men proceed. The world hangs in the balance.

To this extent you have an awareness. We have the privilege of knowing what it means to serve God and of doing it. An impossible task, do you think? Not at all. We have the perfect setting. And yet how completely do we walk in God's Way? How trustworthy have we proven? We are all still here. To that extent it has been proven. Here is the perfect setting. Wherever we are on this North American continent is the perfect setting. The vast majority of human beings on earth are completely uncomprehending of what is actually transpiring. They do not know. They are subject to so many influences brought to bear from every direction. Some of these influences are more subtle, some of them more obvious. Sometimes plain physical brutality is involved, and more refined methods are used in other places.

It is no use looking here or there for the kingdom of heaven, for it is within you. By the same token we should not look here and there for the kingdom of hell, because that is within you too. Our contact with either of these kingdoms is inside. With respect to the terrible things that happen in the external sense there is the saying which describes the human attitude: “It couldn't happen here,” or “It couldn't happen to me.” It is happening!

It is happening to the world body of mankind. Are we separate from that? Can we delude ourselves that we are isolated somehow? We see what are called “power struggles” going on, on the large scale. It is not at all a clear-cut picture, actually, because human beings are all self-active and seeking their own gain, some in a more gentlemanly manner and with others it is more crude. It is all the same thing.

Those who serve the LORD “wrestle not against flesh and blood.” There are some things to be met; there is no doubt of that. We cannot have it “nicey-nice” in the world the way it is. Things are not really at all gentlemanly; it is just a surface seeming sometimes. There are forces at work which are crude and vile. All human beings are subject to this influence, some more than others. It is not flesh and blood, it is not the external pattern of things that is observable, that is the trouble really. We know that that is simply an effect, a result. It is what is inside people, people like us—"not flesh and blood, but principalities, powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places.” All of this is present. Where? Over there somewhere? Yes, probably it is over there somewhere. The question is as to whether we are connected up with it, in giving it support. If we are, then we do not serve the LORD. We may be counted among those who say, “Lord, Lord,” but that is as far as it goes.

Principalities! What could you place in that category, do you think? There are many principalities: medical associations, manufacturers' associations, retail merchants' associations, unions, what have you—principalities all over the place, to seek to establish and to maintain advantages for certain sections of the population. High-sounding phrases are used sometimes to declare the wonderful purposes of such things, but it all boils down to something self-centered, something which therefore can be influenced by fear and by greed, by the lust for power; and that is something very real in the world. Look at all the human beings who are scrambling to get to the top. If they are really going after it, why? Some perhaps because they want money. But what is money for? Power—to have power. There are little dictators everywhere, human beings treading on the necks of others in their principalities.

Powers. This is not something that is unknown to our own experience. Do you want to dominate anyone? Do you think I want to dominate you? It is not my purpose. I am looking for those who will share with me the dominion of God, worshipping Him in spirit and in truth, actually doing it.

Rulers of the darkness of this world. What is the darkness of this world? Is it not that which prevails in the self-active human mind? Spiritual wickedness in high places. The antichrist. There is the Christ, and there is the antichrist. Human beings tend to go off on witch-hunts, looking for some scapegoat to blame for everything. No doubt there is spiritual wickedness in high places and there are the rulers of the darkness of this world, but how can there be such rulers if there are not those who are willing to be ruled on that basis because the same things are in them that are in the rulers?

We do not think of the Christ as a person. Let us not think of the antichrist as a person. There are particular focalizations from the standpoint of the Christ which may permit the manifestation of the Body of God on earth. There are particular focalizations in the antichrist that permit the manifestation of the son of perdition on earth. All that is true. But the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of the Christ, is within the person; and the kingdom of the antichrist also. Let us not look out there for it, because it will never be dealt with by looking out there. It is only dealt with as the individual, one person for himself, lets it be dealt with in himself. That is the only place that the antichrist may be met. Human beings say, “Let's change the government. Let's destroy the communists. Let's get rid of some evil leader somewhere.” Would it do any good? No, not until the antichrist is met in me and in you. And who is it going to be met by? The Christ. But where is the Christ? In you also. Look.

Can we be governed by fears, dislikes, resentments, personal attitudes of condemnation one of another, or of ourselves, and fail to be members of the body of the antichrist? We only fool ourselves if we imagine that we can indulge in such things and not still be members of the body of the antichrist.

The Body of the Christ is pure. The prince of this world comes and finds nothing whatsoever to take hold of. How long shall we put off that experience? It is something that we either choose for ourselves or reject. Can you imagine the Christ saying, “I can't do this. I can't do that”? Of course not. Who are you? What are you? Christ or antichrist? If there is any element of antichrist in you, you are still a member of the body of the antichrist. We are concerned with something absolute—God is absolute—not something where we can just get by. The Christ! [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/silence-from-steps-to-mastership-uranda.html]

We have to meet these other things—principalities, powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness in high places—right inside ourselves. I have no doubt that you can look out there and see some wicked people. Oh my. Of course most of the really wicked ones are hidden somewhere; they are operating behind others. Behind whom, do you think, if not behind us too?

Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free—so that you can no longer be influenced this way and that by the antichrist—so that the Christ alone shall hold sway in you. Until that is true through a body of human beings there is no Body of the Christ on earth. Maybe a nice dream, a nice hope. But where and through whom? If we are not willing to take advantage of the setting with which the LORD has provided us, who is going to share the victory? Who is going to make possible the victory on earth?

There is a colossal manifestation of the antichrist in the world. It is right here, everywhere on the face of the earth. But we have a little space, a little interlude, a little place in which to allow the Christ to take form, to be made flesh. What flesh, if not our flesh? And once that is really so, even in a few hundred people—as many as we have on our mailing list right now!—there is no more problem, really. It looks as though it is impossible from the standpoint of the human mind, and of course it is from the standpoint of the self-active human mind, quite impossible; but not at all impossible to God. However, He must have a body, the Christ Body

The Christ Body is only the Christ Body when there is no antichrist present in those who form it, none whatsoever. And there is only one thing that stands in the way. Do you know what it is? The antichrist. And what is the antichrist in you? Your self-active human mind. That is the only thing that stands in the way for you, and for the world. Of course there is such an immense manifestation of the self-active human mind on earth now; it looks so vast that it could not be disposed of or changed. But it could be, very easily, if it can be done through you because you choose to let it be done now—no more antichrist. You know the controls of antichrist. Are you going to continue with it? If so, I will bid you farewell.

God seeks those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. In spirit—the Christ Spirit. And in truth—in fact. How about letting it be God's Way, absolutely? No more antichrist control at any time, anywhere. Impossible? Certainly not. The Christ is present, just as surely as the antichrist. How much wallowing in the filth of the antichrist there has been.

Do we need different circumstances, or will this circumstance do? If this circumstance will not do we do not have any circumstance, because there isn't any other insofar as we are concerned. It must be this circumstance, just exactly the way it is. We do not need to try to change it one iota, but to function correctly in it. That is always true, no matter where we are: to function correctly as things are. If we cannot do it as things are we cannot do it. And who says we cannot do it? Do you believe the liar? I do not. The antichrist is the liar.

If it is not done it is because the individual will not do it; it is because the antichrist has been chosen. We have let ourselves be chosen in such case by the antichrist. It has nothing to do with anyone else, anywhere, just oneself. It is for you to decide. What someone else says or does, or how someone else acts, makes absolutely no difference; none at all to you, to your choice. I do not care how unfair or how unjust you may imagine things to be, it still makes no difference.

What is going to be your identification—in the Body of the Christ? or in the body of the antichrist? The Christ is right and the antichrist is wrong. So there is only one right answer. Let us accept the Christ and reject the antichrist. From now on the Christ is going to do it. We do not need your human ego, the representative of the antichrist. Any human ego is the representative of the antichrist. We do not need it. We just need the Christ in this moment, the only moment we have.

The Christ, the Word made flesh. Not oneself, but some special type of person? Oh no, only insofar as an attitude of willingness has seemed to be a rather special attribute in human beings because it has been so conspicuous by its absence. But that ability is present with everyone; we do not need to be special. The Christ is present. The Word may be made flesh. The antichrist has certainly been made flesh on a grand scale. So let us acknowledge the Christ.

I thank God for the spirit of response that is in you. Let it be full and free and open to the expression of the Christ through you, because there is no reason why it should not be so. Apparently it is only the lies and the false convictions emanating from the antichrist that convince human beings so easily of the impossibility of being right, of being balanced and stable in the Central Way and walking in it—in the Christ. [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/in-christ.html] How often these words have been spoken. How little they have been experienced. Let it be for you, henceforth, in the Christ.

© emissaries of divine light

Shekinah Fire—Differentiations And Focalizations

Shekinah  Fire — Differentiations  And  Focalizations

YouTube  Audio

Uranda   June 15, 1953

Carrying forward in the current of our basic theme of Heavenly Magic, we have reached a point where our attention has been introduced to the reality of the Shekinah Fire. You will notice that I carefully worked in the pattern of our services yesterday in the current of our Training Class. And I might mention here something more than I brought out in the meditation last evening, that the original Hebrew word from which this word Shekinah was derived used the “aa” sound—instead of the “i” sound [as in the eye sound]—something after the order of Shekaanah; and bringing this out in relationship to the particular pattern that I suggested from the standpoint of the vibrational factors of the Motherland, the short pronunciation, as it is used, or as I have used it, is really a bit on the inadequate side. There is more of the vowel emphasis if we utilize all of the vibrational factors possible.

You will notice that you can prolong vowel factors, if you have the breath to do it, and the “e” sounds here in the three-syllable word [Shekeenah] concluding with the “ah” sound, provide us with an opportunity to begin to feel the vibratory factors in sound. If you have thought of the vowels primarily simply as letters or particularized sounds utilized merely to convey the sound of a specific word, you need to begin to realize that the vowels, particularly, have the peculiar quality of conveying the current of feeling. Now what is conveyed will depend upon what you are feeling. Assuming that the heart has become attuned to the Divine Source, we have the current of that Divine Source moving through the vowel sounds. You should bear this in mind in your exercising, from the standpoint of speech, in the development of your capacity in breathing, the control of the air which you use in breathing, the proper pattern of inhalation and the proper controlled patterns of exhalation. If you try to get all of your air, while you are speaking, inhaled through your nose, you will not have a good speaking voice. The air must, as mentioned in the record, be received, partially—at least some of it will come in through the nose—but received through the mouth, at the top of the mouth, along the roof of the mouth—the manner which you learn to utilize without interfering with the expression through speech. It is interesting that we have the privilege and the opportunity of beginning to practice these exercises from the standpoint of vowels right at this time when they should be emphasized from the standpoint of our basic meditation, the Shekinah Fire.

One thing we will begin to note as we proceed, and that is that you can come to a certain definite limitation when you are speaking audibly, in the sense of the ordinary vocal expression, but that certain possibilities are present from the standpoint of expression, somewhat audible of course, in what we might call “whispering”.  Now there are times when whispering is not considered to be good manners, but the use of the voice conveying sounds vibrationally in what might be conceived to be a whisper is something that is important to our attunement with the powers of reality, and it is important to our ability to convey. You notice that I used these patterns when I introduced to you the mystical significance and expression of the two words commonly spoken as Jesus and Jehovah—the speaking on the breath, in other words. [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/shekinah-and-sexhere-i-am-lord.html] Whispering of course suggests the idea, but it is speaking on the breath on a basis which modifies the more harsh aspects of the word and allows the peculiar qualities of the vowels to come into play. And you will find this to be of great importance as we move along.

One of the things that we need to begin to realize from the standpoint of the Shekinah Fire, or the Shekinah Light, is that this must be understood if we are going to begin to comprehend the significance of this text which we have been studying together: “And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man.” Now notice that this is in the midst of the seven candlesticks. The candlesticks give Light, but in the midst of the Cloud there is one like unto the Son of man.  Here we have a Biblical description of the Shekinah Fire surrounded by the Light, and in turn surrounded by the Cloud. You will have no doubt thought of the Biblical passages speaking about the “Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven.” It is something which you are now reaching a point where you can begin to understand; for wherever the clouds of heaven are mentioned in the Bible we have a reference to the Shekinah Fire, around which there is the Light, and around which there is the Cloud. The Shekinah Fire always manifests in the midst of a Cloud, and in the midst of the glowing of the Light.

So these are the clouds of heaven, or the heavenly clouds, which the Master used. It was in such a heavenly cloud that He disappeared from the view of man, and it is in relationship to such a Cloud that all things heavenly must appear to men—the clouds of heaven. Until you begin to see this, realize the reality of the Shekinah Fire and the Cloud of Glory, or the Cloud of the Presence—it is expressed in various ways—you cannot understand what the Bible means. And you can see how it is that so many millions of people, failing to recognize the mystical significance of the Bible terminology, have turned their attention to fanciful concepts, imagining that some cloud goes floating around in the sky.

Now, if you begin to see the One in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks as the Centering of the Fire, we can begin to comprehend the nature of the Fire, for it is differentiated. Notice the manner of its differentiation: “... one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot ...” What is the garment? The garment is the Cloud. “... and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow.” In other words, we begin to recognize that the upper vibratory factor, the pattern of that which is seen in the Shekinah Fire, is pure white, and the white is like snow. “His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire.” Now here we begin to enter into the Fire Pattern of the Shekinah Fire. “And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword.”

We have recognized that the sword is a symbol of Truth; that means the Voice which has the sound of many waters conveys the expression of Truth, the sharp two-edged sword. You have begun to realize yourselves that the two-edged sword of Truth is in fact very sharp. It is something which cuts away that which ought not to be and allows that which should be to remain. So, “out of his mouth,” clearly indicates the expression of Truth by reason of the Voice. “... out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.”

Now there we have the most remarkable description of the Shekinah Fire, the manifest evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells, that can be found anywhere. We begin to appreciate how it is that we have, in the consideration of this short text, gone into so many different fields so that you could begin to truly appreciate the beauty and the wonder that are contained here. Now with respect to the interpretation: “The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand [that is, the positive hand], and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.”

We have also noted in this connection the Seven Spirits before the Throne of God, and we recognize that that expression means the same thing. Now, there are these seven different vibratory levels. Just as we have the octave in relationship to music, and the eighth being the repetition of the first in a higher or lower scale, so we have the seven vibrational factors in this realm of being of which we are aware. The seven colors of the rainbow gives another illustration.

According to the level to which we relate words, currents of feeling, etc., they will have different forms. Sometimes the word itself will seem to have a very definite change, and other times not. In any case there will be differences of pronunciation, differences of the feeling current released through the words. Now it would hardly be practical to undertake at this time to introduce the vibratory factors of the Motherland Tongue. Perhaps sometime we can consider a little of that, but you have much growing to do spiritually, vibrationally, before that could mean so very much to you. However, we can use intermediate steps, which begin to convey the idea, begin to let you have an opportunity to experience that which is possible to you.

I suppose some of you must have been aware of the Silver Cloud that was in form last night, that was taking form during the service as we considered the mysteries of the Shekinah Fire. And if you couldn't see it, I am sure that you all must have felt it. But surely some could begin to see it, because it was visible for a portion of the time. You are beginning, then, as we study these things, to share the experience of the reality of them. And, as we have noted the different pronunciations possible in relationship to the name or term utilized to signify this Fire, [Shekinah] the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells, you can see something of what I mean with respect to the proper changes in the current of expression, depending upon the levels of the expression—Shekinah, Shekeenah, or Shekaanah, just to illustrate.

Now there are many variations which tend to appear as we work in the current of the spirit, and you will find that while we give reasonable consideration to dictionary patterns of pronunciation and meaning, we cannot abide within the limits so set and allow the limitless to have expression. We have to utilize the factors of a play on words, and a play on the sounds of the words, some variations in the expressions of pronunciation, and certainly some changes in consciousness with respect to the meaning that is expressed by the sounds that are made with the voice.

So we have the seven stars, the seven candlesticks, and the seven spirits that are before the Throne of God, the seven angels of the seven churches, and the seven churches themselves. The churches signify the body of being, the body as it relates physically to the endocrine glands: the pattern of the islets of Langerhans, for instance—all of the little bodies put together provide one church in your body; the thyroid and parathyroid glands combine to provide another church in your body; the substance of the seven distinct glandular patterns, whether you think of it as one gland or several.

You have noted, I suppose, in your studies, that the pituitary gland, for instance, has different parts; in other words you say it is one gland, but it is not one gland; it is a combination; it has different levels of expression. So we either have divisions within the gland itself or divisions in the formation of the body of the gland. But you have in your body, in relationship to these things, the seven churches, the endocrine system. Somebody spoke about the many systems within the endocrine system, and they form, insofar as you are physically concerned, the seven churches. But you also have a mind, and so there are the seven churches insofar as your mind is concerned. There are the seven churches from the standpoint of the spiritual nature of your being.  There are the seven churches, the body of being, in relationship to the focalized function of the heart.  But here we find that the seven churches of the heart combine all of the particular patterns of the churches at the other three levels; in other words the seven churches of the heart are simply the three levels of churches, with respect to a specific point, brought to point.

Now perhaps that is not clear. With respect to the physical body, the mind and the spirit we have at the first level, or the first vibrational factor, that which would correlate perhaps with the gonads—a particular pattern at each of three levels.  You combine all of those three levels in relationship to the heart and you have, by reason of that combination, the church of the heart in the first vibrational factor, and so on all the way through. Well now, we are not going to be able to go far enough in our consideration of the wonderful workings of the mind and its potentialities to allow us to study extensively the factors of the mind as such, that is, the seven churches; but we will give particularized consideration to this matter from the standpoint of the heart, which will begin to introduce something of these factors as they relate to mind and spirit.

But you, individually, then, have the four patterns of the seven churches in relationship to yourself as an external being. Do you see that? You have the four patterns of the seven churches as they relate to yourself in manifest, external being. Then of course we have the inner reality of the Seven Spirits before the Throne of God, the same principle carried over into the invisible realm of Deity.

But we begin to recognize that the Seven Spirits Before the Throne of God manifest by reason of specific formations, the formations of the stars—(that is, of the angels) and of the candlesticks (that is, the churches). So you have ... are ... what shall we say? We cannot say that you have seven candlesticks. You are seven candlesticks, and the seven stars function inside of you. But this is merely the differentiated individual pattern. We see that the whole pattern carries over to the Body of many members, and it is in relationship to the Body of Many Members that we can more clearly see many of these aspects in function. We should at this point be able to clearly see, comprehend, accept within ourselves, the fact that the Body of many members, which may be spoken of as the Christ Body, must necessarily have these 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 Unit, 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 these 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. You may develop some fixed concepts about an old man with a long beard sitting on a throne somewhere, but that is not a true comprehension of God—it is merely child's play. So you begin to see that you cannot in any true sense, no matter how you may delude yourself, you cannot comprehend God in reality except as He is made manifest through human beings.

To try to comprehend the wholeness or the allness of God with the human mind is attempting the impossible. 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 variations, or the distinctions, the different qualities, cannot be readily recognized. We see it as a Fire. But here, in this portrayal that we are considering in the text, there is the beginning of the manifestation of the differentiations: that which is at the top, the head and the hairs white as snow, and then the eyes like a flame of fire, and the feet like unto fine brass, the garment down to the foot round about, the Cloud, and so on. So you begin to see the differentiations.

Now one of the interesting things that you should always remember, as you either meditate yourself upon the principles of reality or as you work with those who respond to you and receive of your ministry, is that those who begin to approach the Throne of God always see, if they really do see anything, they always see some aspect of differentiation first, of the many aspects of differentiation in manifestation. Each person will tend to see one little aspect here or one little aspect there, and because he or she feels it to be something that is true and real in the Divine expression, he or she will say, “Well now, I know God to be this. I know God to be that. To me God is something else,” and they are all dealing with limited perception of differentiated aspects humanly translated into human concepts. There you have the basis for all the many varied concepts and beliefs on the face of the earth. And they become distorted or remain true depending upon the capacity of the individuals involved to see clearly and translate correctly, and upon their honesty, because some there are who, being dishonest, think to translate on a basis which will let them have extra power over their fellows.

So when you are working with others you will run up against the fact that they have some little concept humanly translated on the basis of an imperfectly perceived aspect of the differentiations of the Central Evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells, and if you undertake to clarify the point for the individual, generally he or she will take the attitude that you are trying to deny God. The person says, “Well I know I have this! I know I have that!” And you say ever so gently and so clearly, “Yes, I know. But you need to see something else too.” No matter how you point it out, how you seek to lead, the moment you turn their attention away from that pet point, they will take the attitude that you are trying to make them deny what they think they know. So they have a basis of resentment and rebellion and every sort of thing.

If you remember this, you will understand the pushings and the pullings and the turnings, and all the foolishness that manifests with respect to human beings; and if they will remain honest and steady in the pattern, you can lead them finally, 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? Someone mentioned that I was talking to the group here about this particular point a couple of years ago. I don't recall just how long it was, but that was the statement made, “about two years ago.” In other words it is not something that I just suddenly thought up or discovered or heard about, or something. 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, the Cloud of Glory of the Shekinah. You may not see it, but you can reach a point where you can see it, and it is wonderful. Sometimes it may become so dense, shall we say, so thick or full, that it simply blocks out all vision of the people around you; you cannot see the far comer of the room. I have many times known it to be so thick that I could not even see my own hand that far from my eyes—the Cloud. And the Cloud you feel, 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 what I pointed out to you last night, and that is 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.

I might perhaps pause at this point to tell you a little about my own experience, speaking from the outer standpoint, of becoming consciously aware of my life work, receiving from the heavenly realms that ordination by reason of which this ministry manifests and you are here. It was in September of 1932, and I count my official ministry from that time. The fact is that I had been working in this sphere for three or four years before that, in various ways, particularly in relationship to psychology and dietetics, and what have you, in the ordinary course of events—a seeking pattern, but it was also a pattern wherein I was doing some teaching. In any case, it was in conjunction with that that in 1929 I first began the development of the work of attunements—the reason for which you are attending this Class: so that you can be attuned and help other people receive attunements. I gave my first attunement in 1929. In any case there was the outworking of events, which I will not attempt to describe for you, that carried forward to the point of the middle of September 1932.

It was on the morning of September 13. I had been doing some meditating and writing. I was holding classes regularly, and so on, but I had not yet found that exact point of centering and expression and realization for which I longed, speaking from the outer standpoint. I do not recall now what it was, but there was some book that I was reading—it doesn't make any difference; it has no direct significance, no real relationship to it—and I had also been reading the Bible. At that time I was working very long hours. My work in relationship to giving attunements had grown until, down in Nashville, Tennessee, where this took place, the response was almost greater than I could take care of. I would begin giving attunements very often at seven o'clock in the morning in relationship to people before they went to work, continue all through the day, and seldom did my day close before eleven at night, and then very often I would receive telephone calls in the middle of the night to go out and help someone get rid of a terrible headache or something, some difficulty that had arisen. So I was on rather short rations of sleep. But, in any case, I didn't have any trouble sleeping when I had the opportunity, and it was not usual for me to awaken at a particularly early hour. Under the circumstances I felt about six-thirty to seven to be early enough.

On this particular morning, for no reason that my outer mind could distinguish, I woke up at four o'clock in the morning—on September 13, 1932—and I felt restless. For a little bit, I tried to go back to sleep. It was still quite dark at that time of year and it was no good trying to go to sleep, so I got up, looked around, and walked about a bit. I noticed this book, whatever it was that I had been reading. I thought, “Well I'll sit down and read that awhile.” I sat down and tried to read, and the pages were just words in front of me, absolutely nothing, so I set that aside and I thought, “Well I'll read the Bible awhile.” And I undertook to read the Bible and I could not get focalized in it—just words. So I walked back and forth—and as I tell you this, please remember it is in confidence. I do not want you repeating this story to other people. If it needs to be told, let me tell it. I am sharing with you something of the things we are talking about, that we are studying here. I had experienced it in a limited sense before but did not know what it was. In any case, after attempting to read and being unable to focalize attention on anything, I was walking up and down the room quietly—I did not want to waken my wife and baby—and somehow or other, apparently from any outer standpoint by accident, there was a tablet, an ordinary tablet of writing paper, on the table, and there was a pencil there. I suppose probably my wife had been writing a letter or something. She usually wrote with pencil—she didn't like a pen—and she may have left it there. In any case, how it was there I cannot tell you, but it was there. After all this restlessness—and I had even thought about dressing and going out and walking around the street for a little bit, but it was a little chilly out and, well, it didn't seem to be sensible.

Finally my eye hit that tablet and pencil there, and I sat down and relaxed just on the impulse. I had nothing to write, nothing in my mind in the outer sense to warrant any such action, but I did sit down, and as I relaxed, the restlessness began to leave me at once and the room started filling with the silver cloud, the Shekinah Cloud, until the objects of the room were blotted from my sight. I could not see as far as the wall in any direction. I was enfolded in this that looked sort of like a silvery fog. It was very peaceful, pleasant and wonderful. And I began to write, writing out certain things which, as far as my outer consciousness was concerned, were something that I was not equipped to write, shall we say. So I wrote for probably an hour, an hour and a half. My hand began to feel cramped and tired, and I stopped, and gradually the cloud began to fade and I could begin to see the various parts of the room, and I read what had been written and found it very interesting.

The next morning I awakened at the same hour. I had no reason that morning to anticipate that I would be awakened at the same hour, but I was—four o'clock. I got up and felt the same restless urge; and so, instead of fighting it as some people do to their sorrow, I yielded to it and began to write again. I did not do any wandering around that second morning, and the room filled almost instantly with the silvery cloud and I began to write. After an hour or so, why that was all for that time. The cloud disappeared once more. That was on the morning of the 14th of September. Then on the morning of the 15th it happened again. And that third morning, at the conclusion, I knew that it was done. I did not expect it to happen another morning, and it never has since that day, not in any such fashion as that.

What I wrote is for you now beside the point. Many points were clarified in my own consciousness. Questions that I had asked over and over and over again were answered. And I received the Heavenly Ordination to the work to which I have since then devoted myself, which makes it possible for you to be here. It is not necessary for me to attempt to outline the pattern of that devotion or ordination, but that was the beginning of my official ministry. September 16, 1932, I count to be the first day of my public, official ministry, after the baptism in the Shekinah Fire. And it is only because of the reality of that that you have been able to hear the things you have heard in these classes; only because of the reality of that that you have been drawn from far places to share this outworking.  And because we are studying something of the principles involved, I thought I would introduce you briefly to that ordination experience that worked out on those three mornings in the middle of September in 1932.

Since that time my course has never deviated. Many human beings have tried to force me to change my course but they could not. They chose to part company with me and go their own ways. Some of them I loved very deeply and dearly, but still it did not matter. That course has never been changed or altered, and I do not anticipate that it will be. Every type of force, virtually speaking, that the world could bring to bear has been brought to bear. But when one has gone through the reality of such an experience as that, the things of the unreal world are forever unreal and the things that are real in the realm of heavenly delights are forever real; and one works from the standpoint of the inner through the outer, no longer the outer trying to climb into the inner somehow, or rise up to it. The outer is the means of manifestation. The body is important, and its mind, its various capacities. They are all important. But the Source of that which expresses through them is no longer of the earth, earthy; it is no longer of the outer realm of knowledge and being; it is the revelation of heavenly things through the body into the world, to all who will receive.

This is that which I have been sharing with you, and it is to share it that you are here in training, that you may share the responsibilities of that ministry and carry the promise of Life and Light and Love to all who will yield and respond in the days to come. I thank God for you who are here, and for all the others who are sharing in this outworking according to their response. But remember this, once you set forth upon the path that is established by the Divine Design there is no altering it, and only the foolish try to change it into something else. When we let it be God's Design, the Design of Truth, in the realm of Heavenly Control, that is all that matters, and the ideas and the concepts, the pushings, the pullings, the feelings and everything else, which manifest in relationship to humanity, are seen for what they are, and you are no longer under subjection to them. You may feel them sometimes, but that is beside the point. If in relationship to our heavenly function in the service of our KING there is any pleasure—and there is; heavenly rewards and pleasures which words cannot describe—then, if it be necessary for a little time, in some place or other, under some circumstance or other, to suffer a bit of pain, it means nothing. Why should we object to a little suffering if thereby we can hold the line and let the currents work out and the patterns clear, until all who will may be drawn into the citizenship of the Kingdom of our KING?

So let us serve. And remember that 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. And so we share on earth the things of God and do our part for the fulfilment of the Creative Word: “Behold, I make all things new.”

© emissaries of divine light