On Companionship

There are two roads to God and He is to be found at their convergence.

With true spiritual companionship we are taught of the freeing of limitations. By freedom it is meant that the constrictions of prejudice have fallen away, that in mutual respect there are no considerations held to be more important than the friendship itself. The inner being has been recognized and outward appearances are no longer reconciled or weighed. Race, age or gender are unremarkable to the soul and without consequence to those who hold a genuine commune in spirit.

From this the World at large can take example. They may come to understand that the faces of men shift and change and are not reliable to the complete characteristic of the man within. As they enter into the many differing streams of incarnation they change; as they come to age and then to resemble their fathers and then to youth again they change; but the love which is spiritual cares not for the appearance for it knows only the higher nature, and the true face of that man that is forever.

If our rapports are independent of likeness, at odds rather than at evens, then we shall find that the higher nature overrules the objections which proceed from a prejudice and exoteric distinction. Great and lasting fellowships have been born from men of differing faiths and varying contradictory circumstances, and regardless of 'sensibilities' have proven the soul's greatest friend and true deliverer.

On Death

The spirit is supple. As the breath departs our bodies, it is there upon that exhalation that fly the colored aspirations of a translucent being, which then goes on to reform and rebuild, in concentration and in expansion.

Spirit sight, the eyes of soul, are awash with wonder, and such bright eyes they are! Here in the worlds of spirit which are sought to be revealed and made known, it is the eyes themselves which cast a light distinct from the shadow. The eager gaze calls in the spiritual Sun particles of soul intent. May I see? Oh yes! And our marvels are graced by that internal light. True enough it is most surely, that it is the eyes of love that best may see this beauty that is all about us!

How gently the arms of death enfold as we are brought into now our greater life. Pray well for those who have gone on, moving from this World, for each message sent is known to them with more substantiality that we ourselves do realize or experience.

To our consciousness the prayers we issue present vaguely. However in imparting a thoughtful prayer, they are then taken up and worked upon, made much of, being then decorated by angels who gladden in making them all the more beautiful with 'gift-wrappings' of scent, memory, or sweet-soul impressionings drawn in from the surrounding accompanying substance/nature of they who do pray. Happy recollections, sympathetic and joyous laughter, moments of indefinable bliss ... and to these they add flowers, flowers which hold all the essences of their passionate natures, adorning the thought-sent prayers, betokening great happiness to the receiver.
Be sure of this: that it is not the minutes but the hours which shall remain after death - all that was noted by the soul as important to our spiritual being shall continue on and all that was not will fade from existence.

On our Future Self: that Part which Resides & is Kept Safe ahead of Time

Remiss we are, and yet in time our future's self has a portion fulfilled already. Beyond the 'city-limits' and passages out from, on roads which stream to and fro from Father God, divinely there is an allotment of future and provision for Spirit, in a place where no more a truer self than any that we own can be found.

This underpins the Holies’ confidence in Man, for they have seen this selfhood, both quiescent and realized. Be assured that in the silent stillness of firm attitude you may encounter this aspect and own it in the present.
For to meet the present with this future, to welcome our designated glory, is fresh and new in the very combining. When a man brings all of his experience to meet with his God-self, his experience enables him to perceive his own blessedness, whilst his inherited self is enhanced by his learning along the way from here to then.

Some Healing Thoughts & Meditations…14th August 1996

On Revelation

Revelation is when we catch sight of God looking at us and our gaze meets momentarily, when we know He knows that we know He is looking. And it all happened because we found Him in that mystery which drew our original attention and wonder.

All natures and beings adore to have attention poured upon them, to be taken notice of and appreciated. It is true that even the most exquisite landscape needs appreciation given to it, that it may thrive all the more - yes you may say that, and take that thought just a little bit further. 

For what is appreciation - considered and thankful, rejoicing and then wondering - if it is not in substance also, a gift of furtherance to that which we come to? We substantiate and transubstantiate that which we lovingly appreciate. We take on the eyes of our Creator and make a wish to further the life and being of that which we in humility adorn with love.

To appreciate is to bring life, and in revelation we experience our own selves being appreciated from beings much higher. As they give to us we may be mindful of this and of their love.

Question on Alcohol- continued- 4th August 1996

THAT it is not that which goes into the mouth but rather that which comes out of it, may well be used as a good measuring stick in relation to the breath and words emitted from the inebriated man. However the nature of poison is that it defiles and ceases life, encroaching where it may not, invasive on many planes once taken in.

The commonplace man learns best by good example, this is true. There are many ways in which one can temper their appearance of goodness if the goodness itself is contemptible to the sinner. By and large we meet infrequently with most, and it is that every meeting with every individual holds significance, wonderful significance and opportunity also…………….

But if a man cannot come to love or to meaning without the illusion of such then it is better to know what is what and what is not.

Granted, the cunning is there ... that a man believes the doorways are then opened, that in sharing the common drink the magic has awakened one unto another. The happiness from this mistake is embittered by the shrinking within; for shrinking it is…………… we find that the vitality of the etheric case has dulled and sagged within his aura. The subtle form takes on a cower, as the thinking becomes depressed and the feelings become heavy. 

It is understood that the subscription to moderation is an appeasement for all concerned. In the strictest of terms however, it should be explained that the forces which interact with a man in conjunction with any amount of alcoholic beverage are depressive to the ego and depressive to the overall condition of Man as well…………….

It has been said that we as teachers are aloof from the karmic recourse inspired by our students. With a romantic idealism our same students believe that they can bear all responsibility for us and protect us from outcome lest things ever go awry. But this is not so - neither is it of our ability or choosing.

Having said that, the consideration therefore remains: that we may only be attached and involved with our beloved providing that they do not misrepresent us or cause harm to other brothers in our name. For in relation to our work and representation all becomes our responsibility first and foremostly, and in being so we are answerable for what is passed from one unto another. Even though our co-workers strive to ease their brother's condition and being, we must warn against what we know to be perilous, and withdraw from those who encourage other men to partake in this way.

For a teacher, be it here or there, the actual sharing out of any amount of alcohol denotes a karma which is responsible for the blight upon that man's ego. It is therefore the very worst encouragement a teacher could offer - in or out of 'hours', the karma remains the same. And all of this does not take into account the actual upset it causes within the weaker constitution and how sadly the ego of a lesser man is injured yet once more.

So you can see that it is for the safety of our future work with other men that we cannot afford to keep associations intact where in truth we have already been departed from. Why this to such importance? Why not gluttony, greed or ill-temper? When Man stands on the side of death and willingly invites those repulsive forces into himself then he defies our Father and Christ into the bargain. The laws are exactly the same as with the man who chooses suicide - to poison oneself and yet 'live' is still remarkable to that which would turn back upon itself; it is unholy.

Gluttony is an abundance of life so desired beyond the capacity to make profitable that consumption. It is excessive by nature, but in virtue may be transmuted into great effort and further striving. The same forces which plague that temperament also imply that same person shall take on upon themselves more work, more prayer, and ever more promise, ever stretching themselves beyond their immediate reach; and when managed well they do bring the recipe also for an extended man when the sin of gluttony makes its way for the greater virtue of deliberate striving.

Pride in its shortcomings inhibits the true perspective of a man, that he may not measure himself in accordance with the reality of Grace being his greatest benefactor. When put to remedy, pride transforms back into the heavenly dignity which asserts its righteous self fixed firmly in Christ. To be lukewarm in identity and in ego does not necessarily imply that one is without pride. Often as not it is pride which queries the 'right' to a firm standing in righteousness. Its virtue leads us to know of the upright power within the man which identifies his Christly demeanor.

In sins of passion it is the man who travails the expression and experience himself……….
The consequence of heroin or marijuana usage is that the bodies of the man lose their cohesiveness, slipping out from each other; the ego may become divorced and detached, but is left nonetheless, intact.

The consequence of alcohol is that the etheric body is shot with premature expiration; the lower astral body is imbued with 'life' force and so stimulated; the higher astral body is cut off from the consciousness as the gateway through the heart is then closed……………

In this we have a direct strike to Christ who in truth resides in our egos equally to that of our hearts, for it is in the developing Man that He has invested unique qualities which have given him the opportunities to self-realize, God-realize, correspond and co-create with a consciousness that will one day define the very constellations.

You ask why it is that all this has not been put to you as clearly and dramatically as is now. Occult knowledge has always the propensity to be used for evil ways. Whatever the esoteric learning concerns there is, unfortunately, an element that could be misused and turn powerfully dangerous…………….

Whether or not the goodhearted student may fathom the complexity, we can only add to this by saying that there does exist in the world such forces which would bring all men down, would that they could. Not all evil is naive, but rather is maliciously designed in aggressive onslaught. To these concerns which we do not always openly give our attention to, or acknowledge, we still hold a quiet vigilance against, as do our supporting team of the practicing 'good guys'. It is a marvelous inspiration to all (for teachers included) that the pious should desire to be examples to and of our future Man.

In the sacrament of Holy Communion, where wine is in use, we are witnessing an exorcism (when achieved) when Christ may reclaim once again his men. "This is my blood" we are told by Christ - that our blood is of His Ego……………And for this there is a mighty consequence, further to the Incarnation when we restore Christ into our beings and into those spaces to which He belongs.

But in practice one could not safely [do this] every time they were to take the recreational sip!
Our Lord is the True Vine, and for that which, before His coming we may have sought Him in, let it be now sung in praise that He may come to us directly - not even in extraction, or in substance, but before us whole and presently as known by our heart. The greater mystery of ego is that we can know Him; to knowingly know Him.

As the individual ego is reclaimed after a period of time, the revelations shall be all the more marvelous, the experiences of soul more gracious and vivid. Time periods differ from one man to the next, and the astral clouds which enshroud the consciousness may hover for many months after the very last gulp. However, in contrast to this the strengthening begins almost immediately in that the etheric renewal can work a constant at last, and the inspiration incoming does excite the imaginative forces (rather than the lower astral centers involved). The rewards of study and of prayer are in time quite intensified, whilst a new sense of egohood begins. The naturalness in aspect and in worship is once again brought in to the being of the adult within.

For some unfortunate folk who may labor with even the thought of abstinence, we may understand that their wills have been weakened in the experience, and this weakening itself is endorsed every time in the combining. Of course whether it be in this lifetime or the next, there is only one action, one statement, one pathway to cease the spiral downwards.

Every man, as with heroin also, has his own limit of strength, and it is impossible to forecast that one last time the decision is to be had before there becomes no turning back. For some it could be that they remain to be seemingly unchanged in self, but in esoteric observation we cannot recommend a moderate approach offers any more safety than otherwise, for it is that the powers invoked are present in any quantity of the substance and the man is immediately affected whatever the potency.

Also in summation, we may understand something of the 'commonplace man' and the conditions he may be caught in. We can view all mistakes compassionately, knowing that most men move about the world quite oblivious to its underside or brighter side. 'Normal' life confounds them whilst the actual day-to-day marvels elude them. Thinking becomes habitual, rather than experiential and the humblest of desires prevail. Yet all the while each man lives in preparation, and also in a reliance that there will be those somewhere that they can depend upon, that they may look to, to find their true soul's glory. If we are so fortunate as to be removed from a tangle of problems, then we are in the very best position to live that example so mentioned. Homeopathically we can be then either very very good for the world, or sadly we can also impact to great detriment; but a man who has kept his clarity saved but for Christ is always reliably 'on call'.

And on call he is, for there are moments all around the Globe whereupon souls are necessary to be at worship, and be with insight in their region. While some sleep and some are occupied it is required for the very sake of the spiritual life of all, that there are a number of men who can meet the spiritual worlds with this, so that Christ may continue His Living Link. Every man who can add to this with his being is exceptionally important - particularly at this time, when the incarnating souls are still so few. Even with some who have had lifetimes of readiness, we have watched them simply 'disappear' (as it is to us) out from the realms of their spiritual linkages. Some come in and go out. Some remain. It is far more alarming to us to have such go, and know that it could and should have been otherwise.

We love you too.

God keep you safe always.


Rudolf Steiner on Alcohol

Question on Alcohol- 3rd August 1996

Question:
Dear Elder Brothers,
The issue of alcoholic beverages has a chequered past ranging from it being the 'draught of death' through your castigation of inebriation (implying perhaps the acceptance of moderation as compared to excess?), to Christ's teaching that 'nothing that goes into a man defiles him, only that which proceeds from a man'.

Some of us your co-workers, motivated by a desire to help the commonplace man feel more at home with us, have held that partaking up to the second glass was acceptable during the celebratory meals which sometimes follow our outreach studies, communions and pageants.These same co-workers are unwilling to dictate to others how they should behave on this issue.

We are absolutely clear that we cannot touch a drop of alcohol when committed to study or worship, in particular with respect to your sacred teachings. Up until now the imbibers as above, have taken any folly of more than two glasses as a normal sin along with say greed, gluttony, lying etc. etc. - by 'normal' meaning forgivable through the mercy of Christ.

However, we have come to depend upon your teachings to find our pathways into the future, along with our powers of discernment of the good and Christ's teachings in the Scriptures.

___ is aware that you have withdrawn from us and saw that this happened at the moment alcohol was introduced at the dinner which followed our pageant. The stopping of supply in a democratic government is known as the last drastic measure to be used only after everything else has failed to bring about a change for the good. We are therefore keenly aware that something deadly serious is at stake here - something more than Sin itself.

We desire to be the example to Mankind of the lifestyle that you, above all, advocate, and if abstinence for the sake of ensuring optimum clarity of consciousness at all times is required then we seek your comments on the above points for our consideration and final decision.

By the way, we love you, miss you and are fretful of a future without you.
Love, J.

Dearest Friend,
It is with an arcane travesty - the same story told in Man repeatedly - that God is mistaken in forgery and paths are split. Through willowed ways and myriads of error, when the careless submit their differentiation and desire for discrimination, forlorn are our young, abandoned are our elders... to a facetious account of life, self-styled and purportedly chosen without care.

Yet how can any choice be made if the qualification to choose is relinquished? How strong are the coherent forces in Man when he is breaking asunder with complicity? Can the mind turn back upon itself and suffer repeatedly the nonsense to which it has been given to? What is to be asked-for by each man, for what is asked-for to be then given? How can one be given and another weaken - do we test the strength until that strength is exhausted, or shall we hearken to the gift ere then we value it well? We are glad of your asking, for this is no small matter as you have guessed.

All substance speaks of its own origin. It has inherent within it, and in expression of itself, a spiritual, quintessential modality and imprint, which not only relates unto its properties given, but to its family of properties long past. We too, in addition to the those lesser corporate beings, hold our heritage in essence, with all of that to which is implied.

Many beings are convened in Man. Shared signatures imply a cohesive evolution; however, apart from the immediate and more obvious relationships Man shares with the material world around him, there are also those signature beings who associate upon an unseen level.

Christ was as the mother who must contest and make claim for her children now stolen. Christ is as the father, who must leave the family to fight, in order that the battle lines do not draw in any closer. And Christ is as the shepherd sitting at a fire-lit campsite, staring back into the glowing eyes which surround him: these wolves of the night.

There can be multifarious explanations given as to the deleterious effect ferments bring upon the constitution, the organization, mind-soul and relations of Man. And we can do this: we may address each and every point of question, so that the understanding of the consequences, both immediate and of those compounding, are to be considered plainly and without confusion. Whether it be wines, cordials, beers, liqueurs, ciders or even 'tonics' consumed, whether it be one pint or one ounce, the effect upon the heart and soul are same; for which we shall begin to describe.

When, through the great gates of Chaldea, burst tens of thousands of visitors, when the Roman world relished its bounties and the grape was given to be the god's own produce, the sunshine infilled the grape so powerfully that the etheric properties therein prolonged life and visibly radiated out from it.

It was not merely token to prosperity, it was prosperity. The vine was wrought into metal work and trailed through garden, farm and cottage. The bulbous drops were pregnant with god-quality, for the Sun had then a differing configuration alongside our etheric life amongst the world - the two then, before Christ, were not one and the same as is now.

Perhaps this is the reason why the grape should be the first to deny Him as it did - perhaps it had long thought itself to be the first ambassador of Christ, and resented His Presence now permeating all life green and grown ... whatever the consternation, the grape departed its place of importance to Man and was given to shame, shortly after Christ's crucifixion.

When the Sun had left the sky, and exhumed itself within our very Earth, the etheric world was endorsed by our Lord as He melded with it and also therefore combined with our very futures. The Sun of the grape was no longer an immigrative transport - it had become inherent within its life, whilst also to be found in commensurate abundance everywhere.

The process of fermentation is the action of parasitic vampirism. It is when life from one nature is quickened by the death of another nature and expands with an astral attitude, from which a sub-life may then manifest. This process is anti-life even though in the technical sense it is also manfestive of abundant life-energy. It is anti-life because the natures involved are without cooperation - either in evolution or in force - and it is the very repelling feature and reactiveness to which the great fires respond with further 'life'.

An inversion then occurs, and if the effect of the same is then conspired to within a man, it is in this case, as though the Sun has departed from his sky - the light from his own consciousness now gone - and he is living as in the blackened day. Those who have been even ever so slightly intoxicated will know of this malady and of the fright that may grip at the heart when their internal bearings are lost into a darkness which stifles the sense and the soul…………………………………………………….

There are guardian hosts which encompass the evolution of plant families and animal families. These beings all differ as to their roles requested and roles attributed in actuality. Some plants and animals have futures to fulfill, some shall adapt and re-embody with great development, whilst others may well become extinct for the time being, until such a time when the cycles recommence in similar conditions to that which they have known. If a species cannot make the jump into the future, then it may await the next round of associate manifestation and renew itself then………………..

Before Christ the forces incurred [alcohol] were mysteriously faithful to the Sun, and therefore to Him. Wakefulness, in respect to self, was the outcome. A man may be drunken with a joy or with the melancholy, but whichever overtook his emotion, it was nonetheless all material to him; there was a concentration of self and of impending incarnation. The actual process which encroached upon the 'sub-life' did not effect the grape or grain at that point in that same way, for it was by the forces of the Sun that such was enhanced and made stronger…………………………………

The pleasure experienced comes from the blood itself. The experience is not unlike that which occurs when we are given to experience a true love for something or somebody outside of ourselves.

Our wills are manifest most prominently in the blood, and the ego's activity can be felt in the quickening when our subtle bodies are expansive and our soul-expression is open and enlivened………………………

There can be two individuals who as drinking partners feel quite wonderful in each other's company, but it can be witnessed within the interaction (or lack thereof) that they are not exchanging between each other, they are in fact appearing to talk to themselves. It is quite like a man who is tickling himself and laughing along…….

Some of Rudolf Steiner's indications.

Being Partial to Christ- 7th July 1996

Question:
Dear Teachers,
I have a question related to the synonymity of sin and sickness. It seems that, by and large, both traditional scientific medicine, and the more recent natural and homeopathic remedies, ignore sin. Involved in both of these streams, physical substances, together with etheric and astral forces, are used.

However, we have been asked to always bless the remedy before use. This act is of enormous importance, particularly in respect to the said remedy being the forgiveness of Sin as well as the healing of sickness.
Can you please teach us more about this ritual act of the blessing of remedial substance and also the subsequent workings in the recipient on the levels of both sickness and sin?
Love,
John

TO be made apparent, to become revealed, for want of acknowledgment, in need of defining - to be, but not yet found - in plan, in seed, in a dormant pre-existence, Goodness sits and waits Man's finding.

The science of health has followed the science of social politics, i.e. one of understanding illness in terms of attack and eradication, saying that defense ennobles death caused by insult, and finally that murder is good if it is justified (assuming that it is justified). It is not unusual to hear it said that there is a 'war' going on within a man's body who suffers a sickness, and it is with this approach of slaying the said enemy that we understand, as best we can, the concept of a subsequent conquering. However the health of a man does not need such aggressiveness in its defense. In kindness to self and to the conditions in which we harbor, we may learn a peaceable road to tolerance and to radiant health, one which is exceptionally good, rather than exceptionally evasive to the ailment.

Redemption of sin is just that. It is the forgiveness and redeeming of sin, of Sin itself! It is not as an assault, neither is it a slaying; and though we may well be advised to cast off an affliction, it may only be done so with love rather than despisal.

The keys of Man both physically and spiritually, are entwined with Sin, and it is through the existence of Sin that men have been tested, tried and delivered into much greater experience than would have been without. Its two faces, the one of the gorgon, the other of great beauty, did herald an appraisal of life hitherto unknown.

They are as the chocks of the soul. Just as 'black' contains the as yet unseen colors, so too does sin contain the space for greater virtue to become realized in Man.

Our question today begins with the surmise that physical remedies for sickness ignore sin in their application. We may come to this discussion two ways. Firstly we can ask if there is a respondent to Sin within the physical aspect, an element or quality of virtue which has a wisdom within it which may address a given sin within a man.

The action of prayer in the aspect of willing is a driven, (not a given) empowered and empowering directly from the longitude of the Holy Spirit. All things are quickened by the Holy Spirit, including the powers of any given virtue. As the heat exorcises the flower from bud and furthers the perfume, our powers brought in and brought forth from the governing wisdom of the 'engine', of the holy spiritual powers, impel remedies to mature within the physical representation.

Without the consultation of heavenly endorsement we find that the physical properties are present but immature, incomplete as it were. To say that there are useful properties nonetheless there, even though they are far less than what they could be, is also true.

Secondly, we may view this point with a further question, namely, to what extent may a physical remedy identify any particular or given sin? Is it possible for virtue to know what it is not? And can we afford to ignore the causal factors in our prescription?

When the blind man was healed [John 9:1-25] he maintained that he did not know of the sin, but that he did know that he was once blind and now could see. From this we find an indication in the nature of Man that his perception of self quite often comes to him in a secondary sense. The immediate and presenting problems are more readily comprehended in an abstract manifestation.

I will open my mouth in parables I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the World.
-Matthew 13:35

Our parabolic understanding began with the picture images which live retained within our souls. Pictures of events long past represent many inspirations to us, even though we have not the eyes or the glass to view them as they are, whilst we are within the earthly senses. Yet this World is as a living parable to Spirit, and Creation's beginnings are carried within the memory of Christ, who may recall them for us.

Our mortal selves, that which breathes and suffers the need for renewal, the transient qualities which comprise a man's lesser bodies, they too are in parable to the Higher Self which is causal to the least. In Christian law we are asked repeatedly to give consideration to the very least in all things, and no less to that of ourselves, just as to that of our brother. That in the small we find great, that by youth we may come understand eternity, that our Father God does not measure as we do, for He is particular when we are vague, and He is broad visioned, all visioned, when we are but small-minded.

Amongst all of this we often live in analogy or parody to our true selves, living secondary responses, which come close to the reality of being - alongside it - but are not directly responsive to it.

In this we may acknowledge the certain efficacy of various remedies (providing that they have come from a virtuous stock in the first place). However, observation of the ignorance of their action of atonement may be viewed thus:

If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.
-John 10:37 38

If the action of a remedy works upon a man so that his health has improved and his disposition also, it can be said then a man shall come to know his Christ moreso by this happening. If the sin has not itself been redeemed then it shall surely manifest in other problems along the way, but in this also shall the man come to know his Christ self, through that peril and through the saving from.

If a child goes to the edge of a steep decline and is brought back by the arms of a protecting elder he shall not know of the fall that lay ahead, and it may be that he shall return back to the same place, to be yet retrieved again. He will not know of the danger, but he will come to know of the arms that draw him back. By this he will know that he is not to pursue a harm.

We may sense a sin but do we ever really come to know it as it is? Were a man to see his accompanying sin about him and of the world as well, then he should be witless as a result of the shock; he would excarnate with such a rapidity ne'er to return! Such is the hideous and horrific reality of sin! Seemingly is this the Dweller on the Threshold, yet still we say only in part! How protected we are, how safe as babes we are, from this horrid realization of the grotesque and obscure forms, untamed and uncouth, that we suffer.

Yet to this we may add that Man has hidden also from him his remarkable beauty, such is as his spiritual wealth, his divine and glorious countenance, when unclothed and bare to the spirit within. Men know of this handsomeness in love, from one to another, in glimpse and adoration, being then parabolic to God.

It is true to suggest that the remedy to sickness is inherent in substance, given its relation to the many bodies of Christ as are Him. These belong to His qualities as so do we, "particularly in the light of", yes particularly in the Light of. However, there is this difference, that in the calling to Him we call directly to He who shall respond not just in substance, but in consciousness. If I call across a room to nothing, nothing in particular shall respond. If I call out across a room to a vegetable it shall not perceive much of my message to it and shall not respond. If I call out to a sound activated electric light it may accordingly flash on. If I call out to Christ He will know that I have called, He will consciously perceive my presence and my need; and although not seen, He will be there.

So you see that when we talk about the effectiveness of substance and the calling in of Christ in this regard, it is not as much as to say that the tonic or the cure is more potent along lines of its own simply; or even that its enhancement is the whole story - for that alone, divorced of the consideration as to Christ's being, with individual regard for Him, is just magic.

To conspire spiritually is to perform a magic. When we call Christ, we do not have the power ourselves to summon Him. That is not our place. It is He that has the power and we who ask His mercy at all times.

For this reason my Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from my Father.
-John 10:17 18

That He lays down His very Life in consideration for us and for our needs, this is something we could never command to be so, no matter how professionally a ritual was conducted. There is not enough magic within the world to actually convince or coerce our Christ's presence where He would not have it be. It behooves us to have the correct attitude when coming to consider His Healing and how we should call to Him. (Unfortunately the sin of arrogance can thwart the original intention in the process, and it is arrogant for any man to assume authority over Christ. However, although this thought may seem of little concern, we can say that it is prevalent amongst so very many who believe that they can petition or commission Christ to be as they will. As a result of this sadly, the prayers are blocked and useless in the exercise.)

We can return for a moment to the beginning of this work where it was suggested that the mentality of most is to assume health and illness to be something of a saga of war. If this were the case then our assumption would be that indeed it is Christ who is the most powerful in terms of might against such. Simply put, we counter this by saying that we would not choose to kill ourselves in order to save ourselves from sickness, and that Man and his sin are so linked that the answer must be that both sin and its polarizing virtue be harvested together. Just as the weed and the wheat must be let to grow alongside, sin and its corresponding remedy must come together in Man.

As to the ritual act of blessing the remedy concerned:

For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes have closed, lest they perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears and understand with their heart, and turn for me to heal them.
Matthew 13:15

It is paramount to our calling that this is known in the heart afore all else. As we have discussed, much of our impressionings and perceptions are secondary, they are not direct or pure to the immediate truth of that which lies within us or without us.

Love, as experienced in Man, brings forth a greater clarity than any other expression. When we love truly it becomes as Christ's Love bringing His vision and His endearment. When we are moved to pity for another and call to Him on their behalf, the remedy is immediate, even though the apparent symptoms of the sickness, sin or both may still remain. In time, and overall, we can be assured that these symptoms will dissipate. This is promised to us by Christ of God. Each man may be saved, if only the compassionate love of another, one that is selfless and moved with a compunction of mercy, has called to our Christ from need. There is no doubt as to the power of Man which lies in his spiritual love.

The Synonymity of Sin & Sickness- 2nd July 1996

Question:
Dear Teachers,
Regarding healing, what comes to mind is our knowledge of the initiates trained in the mystery schools to heal; also the witch doctors in primitive tribes and the medicine men in early civilizations. These people 'called down' the spiritual forces to enable the healings.
What was so different with Christ Jesus and His healings? He seemed to heal from within Himself and went on to say that all men have this 'individual ability'. He seemed surprised at His own power or energy when the woman touched His garment and He felt drained.
I have the impression that it was all new to Him also. It also appears that all the healings Jesus did were asked for: a one-to-one experience from the heart rather than the calling down of spiritual forces. What is the difference (as in end result) of their healings - if healed, why is one better than the other? When is a healing not good?
Thanks again,
Jocey

THE words sin and sickness are synonymous. Such synonymity, although heralding a confusion, brings also much to answer Christ's healing as opposed to that healing without Him.

"Blessed is he who is not offended by me" [Luke 7:23] - it is the sins that indignantly protest our Christ within and are offended by His Being and His Presence, not a man, who by mercy may be released from his sin and his sickness were he to relinquish them to Christ.

When is a healing not effective? Precisely when the wineskins are old, for should it be that a man is outwardly cured of his sickness, yet his sin lingers on within his soul then he shall continue in illness, whether it is seen or unseen.

Neither is new wine put into old wine-skins; if it is, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.
Matthew 9:17

There is a power which is greater than an energy, a power which belongs alongside the essence of all Creation, rather than moves as an isolated element in amongst it. This power of powers, if you will, is our Christ. There is nothing which is not at His disposal, nor nothing above His command. He does not tire, nor does Man ever surprise Him. The very image of Christ being so, usurps our confidence most radically, and we should be cautioned as to regarding Him in such an ordinary fashion alike to the responses within an ordinary man.

However, and having said that, there were and still are, moments of long and drawn out suffering which He goes on to endure. That He is beyond this suffering, yet endures it, also brings us to the similar question as to why He must tolerate those who hold no faith in Him and keep their faith safe until such time as they shall turn to Him.

His Power, so named, is polarized. His dimension is this dimension, so that rather than by 'calling down', we may draw in; and by our faith, by our trust, this is effected. The energies of life and of deathly life assume rank one upon another. The laws entitle them to find their domains and rent their issue with mutual consideration. Christ holds the ribbons of energy as though they were streamers flying from a stick, but He has no use for them when it comes to the being of Man to rid him of his illness.

So we can ask why is it that a man is not so instantly good? Why can't we win perfection in just the moment of that desire? Yet to do this we must perfect that desire also. We must come to know what it is that we truly wish to be, and then how it is to be.

Christ answers the immediate, this is so. The affirmations of His Love must be maintained forever on and into the future - our proclamation of love for Him is not just a once-of utterance. We learn to revitalize our faith and diminish our sins in daily conquest. We learn also our differentiation in such matters that afford the heart and its determining, so that we become keen to respond to the need in the world, and not only to that of our own self's salvation.

In Memoriam- July 1996

Before you go I have to ask, did the motion move complete?
Were the Autumn's gold,
And the Season's mask too warm, too cold,
Too brief?
In one tallying breath or thought, now gone,
Of a mood barely felt of a faraway song,
Can we know what was meant?
Or make good the intent,
And simply be done?

As a man we begin self styled humors all told,
By the Spirit's grace,
Yet with aged face,
All soon takes its place,
In tribute to self.

We exchange a provision for creating the compound,
Skip skies and cluster clouds,
Heave waves and then we firm the ground,
Tow the rope that pulls this world around,
Coal the furnace to stoke our beloved Sun.

Come to me now my company,
Come to me, my dear soul friends,
That we may all give thanks together,
For moments known and moments shared,
For scenes and dreams and in betweens,
And even all those could have beens.

Behind the milk glass pane awaits great friendships to renew,
Of lovers and children, angels anticipate,
Of parent and sibling there too.

And here in best robes, the soul's drapery,
We move about in the light and warmth of our God in our finery;
Magnetic our love, to this and that one,
Magnetic our drive to His Grace and His Love.
Snow is naught but snowflake,
Our world comprised of people.

Life is causal deep engrossed in voluminous divinity;
Death's mildew dissolves in this new day soon won,When together we wake to same morning, same Sun.