Fearing the Unknown- 4th October 1991

TO be death-defying does not necessarily mean that you take outrageous risks and risk your life - it could mean rather, that throughout life you defy the fear of death.

There is always anxiety about change, particularly those changes that lead into unknown regions; and understandably much disagreement upon speculations, and sadness upon loss.The pictures range from the whimsical to the sublime, from the nonsensical and ridiculous to damnation - and all in all there can be nothing less than confusion when one merely enters the subject which has locked doors.

Whilst we know of the power of regeneration with regards to living forms and their component cells, one may ask if in fact, such abilities may also be transferred in ways that pertain to our own higher substances. Even when the answer is 'most surely', it is small comfort to those who have little 'proof' of this being correct, sound and true to the life of the spirit.

Also in this, one may wonder as to personal identity and be fearful and guarded that that which we have acquired, nay shafted onto our higher self, may be cast away and dissipated, proving of no use or remnant, and rendering our persona incomplete. 

So we are uncomfortable at the prospect of passing at the moment of death, when all that we have come to recognize shall be removed from view and we no longer make an impact on the life we have come to know. There is sadness at the thought of non-participation and all of us do humbly come to such release, with sadness in parting. Yet in time the burdens of the world press in, and if a man has outlived his middle years he begins to know of the separation which takes place, as the sensory images become shadowy and the handshake grip less firm. There is an attraction drawing him away from the world, and the world itself loses the magnetism which once attracted him so. It may be that there is a transitional period between the two worlds, a pre-death condition in this the 'twilight years'.

Regardless of the passage, and to some extent the preparation for death, it can be said that great courage is of necessity, courage which assures us that come the time all will be well. We know of course that it is eventual - whenever, whatever, the outcome is ordained and explicit. To come to recognition of this in a way which denies the fear of such passing is wholesome to the individual, as reminder of the limitations we have in our term of a lifetime. As a reminder it serves well, that we may begin to view our life moment to moment with precious savor, rather than disregard this time, in belief that it shall remain forever the same.

Although there is nothing new being said here, it is important to ponder, for there shall always be 'unknown' destinies ahead of us, death itself being but one of the first. There are locked doors everywhere. There are doors concealed from us, in this our life. We are curious about one, but ignorant of so many, which can in fact become less of a mystery were that we truly endeavored to explore.

Of course opinion can be, 'I don't want to know', as in the case of death all mysteries may become unspeakable. This condition of soul is something else again. It really does not pertain to the reality of a situation, of expected findings or disappointments, it relates moreover to 'not wanting to know'. It is important that we should root out the dilemma of the one who emphatically maintains this, time and time again, when met with the unknown. It is important because such an attitude is almost self-fulfilling. It is self-denial and most difficult, for there can be many a rude awakening. For as a traveller who sets about to see the sights upon the agenda, and not upon the landscape, he may miss out on much beauty, and much which makes the journey worthy. However, the dips and the curves that are not mapped out, will still be made apparent and catch the unwary. Even dips and curves can of themselves be quite negotiable when visible, but prove hazardous to the blind man who may not adjust and calculate accordingly.

And so, in the first instance, we must accept that there is much we do not presently understand - the after-death condition being just one of the mysteries that will one day be encountered. Secondly, we must hold the attitude which says, 'I seek to understand, I am ready for the unknown, so that when it comes upon me, I shall be ready to learn - make it known to me'. That the mysteries become a challenge, and with vigor and refreshment we approach change and all that is indefinable to us, with confidence again.

Many of us view our little children, who in innocence are eager to make discoveries and eager to tread the unexplored path. We impress upon them our concerns in the world and necessarily watch over them for the main part; fearful for them in the ways we have found to be dangerous and harmful. Of course, as an adult we have limitations also and learn that we cannot do entirely as we please- we cannot run willy-nilly headfirst into danger waving a flag of discovery. Apprehension may well be warranted and informed concern a necessary approach; and adulthood, our maturity, is a strict keeper who accordingly dictates the alarms of limitations.

Once we have reached the sober point of knowing best how to watch out for ourselves, we can also compensate such necessity with an overview as to the nature of all of that which is still widely unknown by us. We dearly wish for a 'fix-it man' who may instantly fix the immediate problems. We have no fix-it man and therefore there will be times where we may feel quite helpless, and that no remedy or advice is available to us.

Perhaps in the short-term we shall not be satisfied and will have to look to the longer term, that we might find answers to adjustments and keys to the past. And so, there will be dark, unknown periods. It is in these times that we need the outlook which defies our fears and trusts in the unknowable becoming known.

If our attitude is always that we can keep destiny apart from us simply by ignoring her, then we are mistaken. If we are to glean any knowledge from her, then we must learn to accept her and begin to see and interpret her, as she presents herself. If we close our eyes to her as from the start, we shall be evermore frightened and startled at first greeting.

We must never act against our conscience, for this is a personal violation of oneself, as well as of others. We must heed concern in all seriousness, when called for. As past experience decides, we learn to discern accordingly.

However, when one approaches the realms of that which is utterly unknown by us, at that moment one need not fear, especially if the fear is unwarranted. We carry a great burden of this 'fear of the unknown' within us. It inhibits much of our thought. It makes for much nervousness. That we cannot accept something which is beyond our personal control, and we have lost unto this fear that stable feeling of surety. But it is not because the world and its aspects, the Cosmos and its aspects, are so much larger than ourselves, that makes us fearful, it is rather the fear itself. For conditions in life are kindly to the soul and are not destructive.

There are episodes of grief and pain, which are in respect to the soul only endured for brief periods. A single lifetime is alike to a change in the wind and its course, and is measured quite differently to our immediate perceptions. We know inwardly that we are supported and nurtured in this our Cosmic home, and that conditions do change, but we endure and endure happily. The connection therefore is to be made from us, in our daily perceptions, to us in our highermost aspects. This connection cannot be effected if we are fearful and completely hesitant to make such connections.

We hiccup, we jolt, we jerk, we run the other way - all of these reactions and more, are an overreaction if we are truly facing the unknown. For the unknown, being unknown, cannot tell us of dangers if it is the unknown. We might as well believe there to be as much happiness and wonder, as dangers concealed. If there are dangers, there is little which will help us until we know what they are - and we shall not come to know what they are unless our eyes are open to them. Fear does not help in either extreme.

As to death, it can be said that the expression on the face of the departed usually will speak to us of the moments prior to passing. It is not only that the muscles are relaxed so, it is the expression of serenity, the expression of one who has faced the unknown and found old friends. For there is nothing which is unconnected from the rest, all roads adjoin, no one road jumps apart from another - and although not clearly visible, death is only around the next bend!

At the Summit of Worldly Passion- 22nd September 1991

THE changes occurring in the world today do but represent a small skerrick of that which moves the breath within them invisibly, and is but a whisper of what is to come.

As a man may swing in and out from passions and also endure those quiet periods in which changes may effect, one finds that the apex of his experience is at the height of the passion; and this also applies to episodic fluctuations upon the globe in like manner.

For us all, in this and the next century [this], we have come to such an apex, such an expression which is accelerated with swift magnitude. Concurrently also, the aspects within the outer starry system have set forth conditions that too incur many a great change. People may be reached in a way not hitherto possible. There shall be understandings, there shall be remonstrations which are unique to this time. Much which will define and determine the new order of the next two or more thousand centuries, shall be marked out in this our experience which is before us.

For many the pace is fast and furious. The heartbeats of men will quicken, their breath will shorten. To some the peaceful Globe appears to be spinning much faster; whilst to others the changing times present with every day a new perspective rushing in. 

It is not only within the imagination that these marked changes occur, but also in reality the conditions of the past are drawing together and seeking expression of fruition. That which was labored for in the physical world one and two thousand years before, does return now to be answered and transmuted through this our present.

That which we do is greatly magnified today. Were one to reach out to a man with wisdom and heart-touched teaching a century ago he may or may not have responded well. However today, not only will that one man return your gaze and your smile, but also one hundred others shall be touched by this small gesture. For the time is perfect for men to begin to reconcile that which was hitherto vague and unknown to their conscious physical existence. The ethers are more responsive, men's thoughts are more plastic than ever. Materialism has reached a certain height and has begun to turn a corner.

Although there are many grand options as yet unclaimed, and furthermore there are acts of conscience yet to be answered, the possibilities are there in the extreme and the developments are sure to arise. The pioneers who have been before and labored for this period, worked hard and are not to be denied. Some are in existence physically, some look on from spheres higher, all will be gratified. 

This is not to say that humanity's heartaches and sorrow has come to an end. It is to say that we are facing an epoch in which conditions are exalted and magnified, for better or for worse.

It is fortunate for those who are wakeful and may remain so. It is important that they try to help their brothers reach considerations which are primarily important to spiritual considerations. This is not a lifetime to be squandered or lost, but rather experienced as completely and exactly. 

We cannot make sweeping predictions on actual occurrences, although we may work and hope for certain tides of change to free up those bondages which have hitherto been laid man upon man. But with certainty we can offer something of the nature of the times and reiterate the importance of that which we all do and are a part of.

Some of the older races upon the Globe may well resist such changes foretold. This is understandable and sadly for them the greatest of changes will be effected precisely in those very regions. This will occur in physical upheaval – perhaps sadly, disastrously so. For the Earth does push and pull and does strain at the outer periphery, and where it does not meet with the required flex it shall fall asunder and be torn at that part which has no compromise. 

The global tendency is of great renewal - alike to the shedding of the skin of the snake. For the new world must meet at the summit of the old, and one shall depart whilst the other moves forward. Because of this our work is crucial in assisting men to realize more fully what becomes of them in the times ahead, and also that they are all the more responsive, receptive to the words of truth. For a time they shall even be affected within their very substance of racial-blood identity, whereby they shall be easily removed from those overwhelming ties and characteristics so inherited. From this there shall come a worldly sympathy and greater expression of brotherly affection, because of this very 'loosening' which has already begun. This is not to suggest that they shall turn their backs on the race that is theirs, or disinherit their families. But rather they may throw off those blood characteristics which distinguished them in great degree, and make new the finer bodies, whilst at the same time perceive all men in like manner. Even the Negro may be born once again with eyes of blue.

If there is to be one region which appears quite effortlessly to spring into change, it is the kingdom of the plant world. Here men might find great comforts, medicinal and otherwise, in coming to cope with these fast and furious times ahead. It is said that new species sprang up at the time of our Lord's visitation, and once again we shall see this in small faced flower or tangled bush, varieties which have not been before. With them come attributes of that which is much needed upon the Earth. They accommodate the impulses which are now drawn and brought unto us. Beware however, of those species which are known to be of poisonous variety, for they will become in strength tenfold; as some men may also.

In gold there shall be found yet another new quality; and also a metal which is an offspring from gold, alike to it and valued especially. Plagues which did strike the old world will resume fury and alike to the dreaded dragons which taunted and corrupted whole villages at a time, shall again seethe with larger, more hideous attacks. For sickness will too be exacerbated. But of all that is good for men and wondrous to be known and held, will be made all the more apparent.

When great spiritual beings enter down into the realms of earthly existence there is something of a tremendous impact made known by them doing so - unintentional perhaps, but real in consequence. Christ's presence made known upon the Earth does make for a veritable whirlwind of activity; even though the grass may not flatten beneath His Feet, the ground beneath does quake and shake, the feeble tremble and the goodly are glad. Long has been the grandest of expectations, and now at our highest moment of passion, He returns with great impressions made.

The travelling minstrel goes about the world,

Singing songs for his keep, and songs for his love,

And inspires both with enchanting resonance.

Subtle & Awesome Beauty- 2nd October 1991

The sky is deep, the water blue,

Around the Sun a golden hue,

Upon a laugh, I shall arise,

To kiss the cheek,

Wipe dry the solemn eye,

I live for life, life lives for me,

I plunge the depths, I skim the sea,

Thy beauty smiles, I live for Thee,

I am a child of vast mystery.

ONE can never come to appreciate beauty in all of its forms, enough. Beauty is undeniably present within the ugliest to the most magnificent manifestation, and is never spoilt by our lack of consideration. It is easy to understand how so many have revered beauty first and foremost, giving over to a life of celebration and enlightenment which seeks to reveal the captured spirit, which in pure form is Creation.

There have been dark periods whereby men and women were almost unaware of the profound beauty of the world and of the heavens. Conditions were such that the soul-perception was persuaded by just about everything else but our indefinable beauty. It was as though she had vacated the Earth for a period, had been swept off into hiding and required the longing desire of Men before she could make her splendid return; for there are many considerations other than Beauty. It is a strange concept that of all that may be overlooked, Beauty herself may be the one. But there is much that can come before a man and his love, which does blind and bind him to false enchantment with hollow exploit.

There is much that is untoward, for that matter quite irksome, when one comes to soul-instructions set out by men which are bereft of beauty. For whatever reason, there are those who would deny her graceful presence and touch of her hand, and prefer to concentrate all inquiry upon extractions of philosophy or mental chit-chat, and take the child from its mother, so to speak.

For those who suffer a dull and glib existence beauty is so needed, in surroundings and in appreciation. She is self-explanatory. She is not related in any way to subjective desires or compromises, but rather to be known in that which lies outside from ourselves. She does not entertain, she is neither frivolous nor subdued, but in stately innocence, to be regarded, respected and paid with gratefulness, for she holds the mirror in which one may view the Face of God.

Beauty unlike fashion, cannot be cleverly contrived or incited. Although she is far from shy, she may not be brought forth and made known to us because we wish to replicate her in any way. However, when one meets with her and comes then to find her at every meeting, the heart is glad and fulfilled and the purpose of much existence becomes apparent also.

There are many demons which frighten a man from his manhood. He appears to be unreachable, he appears to be 'out of touch' with the spiritual realities. For these men in particular, it is important that the answer corresponding to their fearful malady of incongruous banality is made with impression that speaks once again to their inspirative self. There are answers around us for all forms of complaint. 

The greatest interference which one finds, is when men are satisfied for second best and become content with such. In the case of beauty, men often regard many a mistaken value and draw their appreciation (which is limited) therefrom, without the eyes to see the true reality from the attractive, but unattractive form. Shallow perceptions invariably lead to further shallow interpretations. The heart comes to know of the treasures of Creation as being of themselves truly valuable; whereas those who discern not by the heart, but by some measure of personal preference, only perceive value as value enhanced and not intrinsically in place regardless of appreciation.

Some are not interested in the sky if they cannot attach money to it. Some are not interested in the spirit of anything if they feel that they cannot personally claim ownership over it. And that which they do value, being most valueless, gives nothing in return. They may labor lifelong for the valued valueless mock-treasures: the tinsel of self-gratification and the glitter of personal accomplishment. In all of this unrewarding effort they have little remaining at the end of the term.

It is a question of ego-identity. In truth one's ego-identity may only become infilled by exterior relationships fulfilled. However, the man who is self-enclosed and self-ego orientated and will not submit to the larger world, denies that which it may offer him and goes without. We are fearful that we shall lose identity when met by great beauty. We are fearful that we become as a luckless shadow in her presence. But this is not her nature. For as with all of the goodly graces endowed with the spirit of heaven, she imparts much of herself unsparingly, always. 

Vanity is a shrewd and awkward bitch. She is vile and would have no other in her place. But her rightful place is not within the heart of man, and never can be. But deceptively she may work her way to the outer chambers and stand before beauty in the way of the soul.

If we are to awaken to the true realities of both the spirit and Creation, we must necessarily begin to step out from our own ego-identity and give space over to those graces which offer themselves. It is good for a man. One can see at the moment of certain inspirations, much wonderful activity, much swelling of ethereal impulse lit with colorful and radiant hue. If one might perceive this enhancement of a soul so inspired, they would come to understand that the vague and mistaken dull values give over no such life as beauty can. A good quiet rapture may charge the ether delightfully, whilst titillation or exaggerated wallowing emits and receives only murk and mud.

You will know this to be true in your experience. It does not take a special eye to see this that you know to be absolute reality. A child may show you in his exterial delights, if you have forgotten the great and simple pleasures and the love of beauty.

It is within all of Creation and her peoples that such beauty is to be found. There is no aspect save for that of vanity's denial itself, that is without beauty. And we in awesome contrast shall find it everywhere; and as we do it shall mirror back, that we become too as beautiful.

******

"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything

that is beautiful; for beauty is God’s handwriting

—a wayside sacrament.

Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky,

in every fair flower, and thank God

for it as a cup of blessing." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault. Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope. They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty. 

-Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Inclines & Outlines- 1st October 1991

IMAGINE that you are perched upon a rock table which sits upon a mountain of glass - so smooth the surface, so slippery the decline! You have no way of knowing just how you may make the descent in safety. There is nothing to grasp onto, no hollow for the foot to grip; just one large angular surface, with you at the top looking down and wondering.

This is not as unusual as one might think. We all have our moments when we sit a'crest of a problem without any notion of a safe way of departure. It is a little like the insurmountable problem, however in this instance one has made their way to the top and the actual descent is of paramount importance. One feels quite trapped and fixed; and until the problem has been overcome one cannot go any further.

Of course in actuality one does not sit upon a mountain of glass, or for that matter even a hillock. More than likely we gaze as from an inner perspective, where the glass does but magnify and exaggerate such problems made apparent. We are somewhat enclosed by the transparent stone made of that our own making. We feel that we may look out into the world but never touch it. We cannot even become close. It is as if our perspective encloses us: we are within that mountain.

Picture again that mountain of glass, upon which rests the highermost aspects who have no means of descent, but at which spot the panorama is greatest, sitting atop of that which is the worldly perspective. Now you find that your conscious self is so caught deep within the immovable glass. The soul has the greatest mobility and greatest overview in aspect, but not the means to leave the summit, whilst the lower consciousness has but a limited baseline view, and although 'on the ground' has not the means to depart that which encloses it.

The question was asked: “If I have a higher self, why do I not use it, and why can I not acknowledge it; it being me.”

It is true to say that usually folk feel that there are almost two differing identities when considering the soul of a man and the active consciousness of a man. The question for the main part being: "Why am I actively conscious within my lower aspects and not aware of my higher?" Generally speaking it is not difficult for one to grasp the notion that there is something of a contrast to begin with.

Firstly, one can never equate physical function with soul-consciousness. As a man ages, in time his faculties will be somewhat less than that which he was initially endowed with, concerns function, in his youth. And yet he is the same individual, or rather a seasoned and enhanced individual who has much experience behind him.

One can query as to the value of the man who has not the physical ability which he once enjoyed. But aside from the assumption that this is relevant to the evolution of his overall awareness, one might suggest that during the course of his life there were many points in which he was at his best, or respectively lowest, function. He may in his youth have been an astute tap-dancer, and now disabled by arthritis has no longer such capability. Earlier on than that, as a small child he had much energy and flex but not the coordination or knowhow to enable him to dance. Now in later years he is without the necessary agility, but however does drive the ankles and the foot with more concentrated effort of will to motivate the physical action of merely walking in a far greater way than he did during his formative or middle years. Remarkably, abilities do translate into other abilities whether appreciated or not. There is much that we acquire by way of abilities and disciplines which are not consciously appreciated.

Similarly so, that which we do express and experience within the term of a life is both distilled and translated into much higher, refined aspects. The process of assimilation does not only pertain to the workings of one's digestive tract. When one examines the foodstuffs consumed within a lifetime one has difficulty finding exactly what substance, what essences were derived to help perpetuate our physical function. Largely it is entirely a mystery. One knows that the vitalities and characteristics vary greatly depending on the nature and origin of those foodstuffs, and also the way in which they are taken.

Now in respect to the extractions which are nourishing and sustaining to the soul in assistance to experiences respective to the higher self, one might also query the 'foodstuffs' which are so ingested thereby within a single lifetime of worldly activity.

Our physical constitution is no less real just because we partake in its processes and are affected accordingly for a time. Equally so our consciousness which functions daily is no less real because of its dependence on those functions. However, it may also be said that divorce from either has a great and obvious effect. Also a man may well have his consciousness dictated by the stomach or other parts of the metabolism; or conversely hold rule over physical activity by stern and balanced consciousness.

If one feels the need to have an examination of their soul firsthand and does not feel qualified to specifically say as to whether or not a higher counterpart is truly existent, then here is the personal experiment:- take two teaspoons of sugar and two of salt and then add to a glass of soda. Now if you cannot bring yourself to drink this (and we are not suggesting that you try to) ask yourself why- the answer of course being too much salt. If one were to suggest a whole cup of sugar with a pinch of salt, in soda, would that be any more the desirable? Too much sugar. Our true alarm is the prospect of illness were that one to consume the concoction all at once.

Now take one cup of sugar and one cup of salt and place them on a bench to draw from when required, not to be consumed all together in a matter of minutes but rather to be sought after and spent as you will over the course of how many months it takes to use them completely. As one does this one may perceive the higher self in relation to our daily concerns.

Our perceptions day to day are fractional and relative mostly to the immediate moment. From this we arrived at the immediate assumption and conjecture that the salt and the sugar were to be consumed all at once, that we were suggesting that those two extremes put before you required immediate consumption. This is the lower consciousness doing what it does best: living in the moment and answering to the moment respective to the time it is in.

However one of the higher aspects of man can accommodate a much further view. Furthermore you can recall what you have set aside for future use and go to the cups of salt and sugar when you require them. Without this higher aspect you should not be able to do so.

I hear you ask, "Well so what if I can save a cup of sugar and a cup of salt and consume them both in time! Am I to believe that because of this I have a soul?" To this we answer "Yes".

One must learn to differentiate function from consciousness. The man who claims that he is conscious in daily living and therefore asks why it is not so in respect to his higher self, is rarely as conscious in daily living as he would presume to be. Men rarely have either in great measure. We must be content to start somewhere in perfecting this consciousness wherever it be located.

Our memory is not our consciousness, even though in memory we may consciously experience recall. Our habitual concepts and activities are not consciousness and little effort is required to be so motivated or stimulated through habit. Our antipathies and sympathies are not consciousness but rather habitual reflexes until adjusted consciously. Our thinking processes need not call for consciousness even though the consciousness may enliven the thinking. How often does one withdraw the consciousness to those higher regions and thus goes about the world only half-interred!

The problem with the notion of super-consciousness is that men expect it to be the same as the lower mind in function only greater. Therefore they cannot reconcile the two, but do live in the higher aspects daily. One may not translate to the other. That which is absorbed and impressed from the higher aspects may not necessarily be interpreted by the lower mind, but the one man circulates all of his aspects at times concurrently, and is aware of this in the commensurate regions of activity. One's physical constitution may not be aware of the mental intent but is permeated and affected by it. And the man is still a man regardless, with all parts sympathetically attuned.

The brain would suggest that the soul offers super-brain power. This is because this is what the brain knows best and would hope for. But this is an area which may or may not be developed in its own home, and does not mean to say that the soul should instantaneously reveal enhancement of its functions. From this one can see much confusion in differentiation as to what we expect from a consciousness alight within the higher mind. The wisdom is there, the soul experience is there and frequented often. The translation is missing and in time the lower aspects will develop, and translation of such will become more and more apparent.

So if the lower aspects ever suggest that the higher do no exist, purely on the basis that they do not acknowledge them, one may question this, the only conclusion they can make possible. The point being that one must continually make attempt to make link between all aspects which make up the constitution of man, rather than disassociation. Our focus, our desires and our dependencies will all play a part in our ability to do just this.

When we review our daily activities we begin to unravel that which we are so enmeshed in. We can call down our consciousness when required and must 'lift' all other activity up to meet with it. The lofty aspects need descend, but must be called and assisted to do so.

If a man is engaged in habitual work or habitual play, the consciousness is for the main part unabsorbed by such activity. It is communing on higher levels watching from above. Some crave work for this reason. Effort, discipline and duty are all wonderful 'muscle builders' for the strength of will and for the strength of character. But that does not necessarily work for the linking of an active consciousness.

However, one must not try to force the situation either. One must clearly decide the goal and try to be as informed as possible. Firstly to ask if the pressure cooker action of an expanding consciousness is in any way desirable, or rather are we to be content with a slow and gradual development according to our attributes and talents, which are to the soul most nourishing.

We fly in and out of the various conscious conditions from moment to moment. It is only our translation and interpretation of such which needs attunement. This is what we work for, this evolvement of awareness. For discernment and true learning is most difficult without the awareness of our complete condition. And through each day's trial and joy we work amongst a starry frame which radiates those qualities which we should best prefer incorporated. Incorporated in the incorporeal! The salt draws much and the sugar combusts and we with starry motivation circulate the all encompassing expanse of consciousness.

The condition of the 'glass mountain' is one which pertains to our worldly perspectives today. As was before it shall one day dissolve, but for now it does support as form, as conductor, the cosmic emanations which were we as naked to them we should become as one without individuality. We are firstly to receive and interpret, transfuse and incorporate in order that we might stand without our glasshouse protection. And certainly not cast stones!

More Didyouknow?- 1991

DID YOU KNOW that one sprig of grapes can be perceived as one fruit? The grape, with sphere, stalk and stem, was the symbol of life- thus all the talk about wine and wine-presses. (See Punch and Judy)

DID YOU KNOW that the body weight of a cow diminishes depending on the phases of Moon activity?

DID YOU KNOW that a cicada generates enough etheric activity to encourage the plant-growth in his locality, and measurably emits inaudible and audible calls which should, by physical reckoning, be so violent as to tear apart his own metabolism? Observe plants with and without cicadas.

DID YOU KNOW that the lacy, skeletal frame of a dead leaf, should not support itself according to the brittleness and structure per weight, once waterless and decayed?

DID YOU KNOW that birds are direct relations to the plant kingdom, rather than first relation to the animal kingdom and its hierarchy?

DID YOU KNOW that six of the seven fiery ethers may be found in crystal formations (depending on the nature of the crystal)? But a combination of the seven, however, would compromise the form to become spherical. When diamonds were manufactured instantaneously by those so developed, it was by calling into the relevant material that fiery ether required.

DID YOU KNOW that the difference between an egg that will not float and an egg that will, is the difference between a good and a bad egg? And why?

DID YOU KNOW that most of the hot-tempered, more notable individuals who were masters at war, were particularly short in stature? And if this is part and parcel of the choleric temperament, why is it so?

DID YOU KNOW that just as quickly as one man tires of something, another man shall find curiosity and great interest for that very thing discarded? Nothing is ever wasted.

Correction: One third to one half of the world's crops are wasted.

DID YOU KNOW that Black Mumbo's pancakes did not taste all that good, buttered with tiger ghee?

DID YOU KNOW that Tolstoy wrote War & Peace in an argumentative household, whilst the Bhagavad Gita was written by an extremely even tempered soul - curious isn't it?

DID YOU KNOW that the portrait of K.H. was considered way too dark in skin tone and ordered that it be immediately lightened?: The eyes flared too much.

DID YOU KNOW that half of the men of the world confuse love with want, and the other half want to?

DID YOU KNOW that fleas detest sunlight?

DID YOU KNOW that a camel with two humps is as bad tempered as a camel with one?

The Power of Forgiveness- 30th September 1991

AS with notes in a melody, each with their own unique and differing qualities, so too are the virtues and the graces alike to the pure notes of music, which in reality impart from their issue, substance unique; whilst perceptibly almost indefinable in their qualities within one complete theme.

Whilst this makes for good analogy it also holds for good truth to say that there are particular notes defined for each and every grace and virtue which stream from being to being, streaming throughout the cosmic ethers.

The grace of forgiveness is most sweet and holy to the ears. It does answer all notes sent forth with melancholy inclination, the sorrows and the unredemptive guilts, whilst accompanying in perfection the sacrifice chords and the graces of love, humility and of charity.

We often hear speak of one 'harmonizing oneself', and for this to become a reality one must acquire the ways and the means which do lead us out from our personal condition of current dis-chord.

We ask the Holy Father for forgiveness, we ask of our family and of our brothers and sisters, this also. We learn to 'make good' and freely give back that which we would most dearly wish for ourselves, and simply come to know with clarity the meanings of our first essential imperative.

Much gratitude may spring from the soul who comes to know forgiveness; much ability to realize openly our faults, our past error, our personal demons and of our ungracious attitude when we come to expect recess from these hindrances. 

All souls seek forgiveness most dearly. There are those who are dishonest to themselves and would protest and would disclaim and be uncomfortable with this meditation. They too require healing, especially when it is unsought for and unacknowledged. There can be much reluctance when called for review. Folk may hesitate to consider in small ways, in part a very slight calling for their own forgiveness as they do feel unworthy. They feel unclean when provoked to such thought. Putrid becomes the association of that very answer, that antidote to all that is their poison.

Would that the mental hospitals today could understand and instruct their sorry inmates in the first principles of essential law - of the power and the value of each and every grace and virtue! For this is our true link of expression with the Divine. Through such expression there is more than perfect healing, there is renewal.

Earlier works have always tried to 'hammer home' the importance of the fundamental principles of Cosmogony, issuing practices enabling reverent conduct, encouraging a moral outlook, with extremes in ascetic and ecstatic worship, all in good measure that one might learn firsthand of the cosmic linkages which connect with the expression of correct and proper strivings. In many respects it was perceptibly apparent immediately so, and men of the past did not require explanation of the powers that worked through the virtuous from the virtues and the graciously endowed, received from the highest graces.

Once the practice was set and so carried out, even in the smallest part, it was possible to be quite overcome with the heavenly inspiration which flowed from such conduct. Reiterative reminders were rarely required. In all fairness too, one must also complete the picture by saying that were a soul be plunged into the depths of devolutionary activity, the powerful experience was as large as the former was great, and that man was easily overcome with the inner consequences regardless of the nature of their activity. 

For this disturbing reason, we must be somewhat grateful that the perceptions are somewhat quietened for a time. For there is much balance required that we maintain a consciousness which holds strength over experience that it might not be so persuaded as to mistake experience, for it the consciousness.

However, as the ramifications are so undisclosed and withheld for the main part, we now suffer the difficulties of yet a further misinterpretation, one that speaks to us of vague unlikenesses. We are troubled by this our hidden forfeitures and disablements. 

Subtle is a particularly good word in this instance. The consequences which occur from the very lowest to the very highest points, from our actions, our deeds, our thoughts and our being, are now so ensheathed and veiled from view, that firsthand knowledge is difficult to discern and decipher. Largely we must depend on representations in our instructions, in order that the gateways to commensurate perception of these qualities become to be enlightened by the student.

Furthermore, the memory-impression is also comparatively vague and much insistence is required. This is by no way a reflection of the moral status of an individual currently today. It is no conjecture as to the soul-condition either. It is rather a statement on the 'climate' of the worldly perspective and the interpretations derived therefrom.

Certain conditions bring with them particular needs for adjustment to enable the man to regain his outer/inner balance, with concern to his relationship to both the higher and lower worlds. If we are to proceed with any studies that pertain to a spiritual enlightenment we must unlock and undo many prohibiting factors. That which is not conducive to right and proper living, is detrimental to all concerned.

A man may seriously wonder as to why he cannot break through his current understanding of the world and reach some higher summit, some larger ideas and ideals. Would that the groundwork towards this was completed, he might then begin the ascent well prepared. Without coming to realize the powers which characterize the virtues and the graces, he may not make the ascent at all. Rather he shall have at best experiences which lead to all realms which are remote from these impulses, and of course this is undesirable at best.

One must clearly define inwardly exactly what it is that we do seek out for ourselves. We may certainly come to know it inwardly, and yet this may not be artificially superimposed on an individual; for it to be received it must be called for and assimilated individually. All that is good and great and holy is not so much 'out there' to be found as it is within the man awaiting recognition.

The first objective of Christian charity is that of forgiveness. One can never perfect this enough. It is a blessing in which one may personally experience much release, and also as with the hand of God upon the shoulder, impart to each and every one. Forgiveness denies abject criticism. It denies also condemnation. This may well be reminded to those who speak defiantly to the sinners, cocking fingers and condemning them to an uncertain and horror-filled eternity. 

There is a basic mix which one may come to know to be sustaining and wholesome, according to our inner sensibilities. This is the mix which gives over to the correct conditions of soul-activity and is not perturbed by the deceitful calls from vice and sin. It is not to say that a man may be clean all at once and in an instant. But the transformation begins, and that which was evil shall come to completion in the spirit of forgiveness. 

Evil too must be released from us. We perpetuate it so easily and then condemn, and by condemnation we perpetuate more evil again - we incite the very demons we damn. Any focus of perspective in an arrogant, angry or fearful manner, will induce such evils into ourselves, into another. 

So through the power of the grace which is forgiveness, we may find consolation in its redemptive transformation. Forgiveness gives one the space to breathe in a chest that was afforded before no cavity to swell. That which formerly stifled ourselves and our brothers in the world, is given up in great release that we may become duty bound rather than bound by guilt and outrageous horror at our most horrible sins.

It takes so very little to impart some of the Godly graces. We know them well, even if for a time they are forgotten. They are as meetings with old friends when we come home and realize that which we left behind, and with much affection embrace again those holy attributes. Each virtue is essential, each grace imperative to existence and each expression of such is divinity revealed.

Present with the Past- 27th September 1991

WE DRAW lessons from the past and speak much of future hopes, but what of the present, today? All of the notable men of the past and those who went undocumented, unremembered, who were also noteworthy, still do carry further most of the same. All of those men whose mark shall be made in the world of tomorrow, they too are with us now in preparation and complex fashion, becoming that which they shall be.

Whether deceased or not, born of one hundred or one thousand years, those who we do especially admire have still moved on characteristically reclothed. Those individualities may have had 'curtain call', but all remain fellows within the society they love best. So often when one considers an eminent soul, upon reflection of the times that they moved in, of the trials they encountered and overcame, we tend to commit such stories of their history as being intangibly disconnected with present events. We begin to regard all history as mere fable, or at least respect the events of the past as of much significance to us today as that of a distant and intricate dream.

But that substance which was the past- and all who did make of it- certainly afforded with great responsibility and design, the conditions - those very conditions which are with us now. Every life of every man has brought us to this moment; and as such are still connected inextricably with events of future happening. There is much reality in history. Whilst furthermore those souls who did major adjustments within their particular field of application, are bound by the original love and involvement: to be attached to the consequences of hopes realized or hopes which were left unrealized.

It is comforting to know that this or that soul whom we admired and should wish to support, were we able to shake their hand today, may still be reached through our love and our efforts, and still be supported accordingly through personal strivings and objectives. Furthermore there are streams of endeavors whereby those who feel attracted to denoted specialities of study and concern for humanity, do so in fellowship, and thus self-appointed, belong.

As with magnets there are graduated strengths of attraction depending on the relationships from one to another - and always there will be one more powerful who does attract the lesser powerful to it. It is similar with individuals who by magnetism may attract a group of similarly inspired souls, who one of which may take the lead as they develop, thereby becoming the chief nucleus for that group, and so forth. There is a field of study and a certain inclination within that study, and a passion which drives the work to see further progress. So souls are united by a common love, but in a way in which the ordinary fellowships have been further intensified.

There are fellowships of scholars and then there are saintly fellowships. There are racially bound pools of individuals, and 'old girls clubs' and so forth. But in the case in which we speak of today, these fellowships which particularly follow the course to exactly assist those conditions pertinent to aspects of creation and the study and love thereof - we shall for today refer to them as the fellowships of the Saints. That in fact such families of individuals have been so linked, with some of those individuals being quite actively outstanding in their particular fields, whether by sacrifice, labor or intensity.

There are in such fellowships, those who do hold passion to see a perfect society. They are excited by treatise and philosophy which does so pertain. Their field of interest can absorb the chess-like maneuvers of the politics of the Grecian Gods to Marx, through to the Franciscan Order, through to Samuel Johnson. Their first love is society, whether it take them through to study and enlightenment concerning the kingdoms above and below Man, bringing them back to the puzzle of future interactions and implications.

Literacy, the word spoken and read, the qualities of creative bard and ballad, novelist and historian; pedant and logician, debater and composer, linguist and (oddly enough) mute; those with charitable passions in given expertise and sympathy; medicia, the affliction of poverties, theological codes, botanical sciences, astronomical sciences, martyrs of outstanding will, the Arts; the psychic, the seers, those of the Eternal children, the representatives of the elemental kingdom, the students of the Angelic host; the strategists, the moralists - and so forth- all with great pools of significant contribution, streaming in and flowing out, where the past becomes the present and into the changing, challenging tides of future yesterdays. All such folk are accessibly still motivated as before, and seldom drop interest and affection for that which has been realized in a living and full-color drama.

For example: Let us say that you were the discoverer of penicillin. A life's dedication did happen upon this discovery, and correctly or incorrectly, you resolved to leave this legacy of finding to your colleagues and the society with whom you did hope to benefit from such. Had this discovery been closeted for one year longer, those that took the penicillin within that year would have had completely different destinies from day one. Some would have survived yes, and some would have not. Some went on to have children whose generations are still carrying on.

Who was that person of famous implication, who did take that penicillin, and went on to change the world in his unmistakably individual way? What of the ramifications of this substance and its brothers in pharmacopoeia? What of the notions of physicians, up to and after this point of introduction? What of the monies exchanged and monies forfeited? What of the long-term physiological differences so markedly effected in the course of five hundred years or so?

You are committed to your desire and committed to your invention. Death is not going to extinguish those desires and commitments. And certainly, as there are many who are affected by said involvements, you would not, you could not, deny such bonds established by this work effected in the world. If a similar soul, impassioned with desire and love of similar labor, calls to you for consultation, you happily oblige, for there is certain loneliness in lofty responsibility and in becoming 'outstanding'.

They are all there. Anyone that you have ever respected, they are all there, somewhere within this vast society. The very best way to meet them or such influence, is through mutual aspirations. He who was Napoleon, he who was Byron, our Gautama, Tom Jefferson, Archimedes and Aristophanes…all good company and all still deeply involved. They do not dissolve interest and passion through death. Many become inflamed and impassioned all the more. The mathematicians go crazy!

When put to incarnation such individuals propel into life with a fervor and a leap. If you meet one on the street, whether dressed self-adoringly or heaped in a gutter, on street corner, in business attire or bound to a wheelchair, you can see in their eyes the spark of such desire that does require much further correspondence. Their personage does not alter, for all of history may lap at their feet.

We are all answerable to great effect and great changes wrought in the world, unwittingly or designed. That which we are and that which we become, does so alter the unfolding drama.

Be mindful of those who historically advanced in challenge and courage, who helped to fashion today. For it is nice to be remembered and nicer to be given support. Many need such support themselves, for no matter how great the individual his burdens are so too, proportionately greater also than yours.

And through all of this, we must not commit those figures of the past to eternal nullity. For they remain very much afflicted and inspired, with all the loving interest of one's grandmother.