Good Morning,
Gravity impels us to incarnate. Levity implores us to reach up into the Heavens again. Gravity reminds us of earthly consequence, Levity has the humor and the joy that only the Immortals can unconcernedly (and informedly) share.
The desire to become a 'big team player', and to wear all of the endorsements, associate and be known amongst a particular organization, is a desire to be companioned, be championed, and be a part of something which can do more for you by the affiliation, than you can in isolation. There is the entire ethos of brotherly unity, working together with a purpose, and of creating specific society. It is a matter of identity and commitment therein. It is the ideal of community, second family and so forth. We may desire to be invested so deeply in any given group firstly for that very ideal of it - than perhaps at times the worth of it? It is a consideration to ask, it is a beginning.
All affiliations denote instant liability and consequence. When we walk into the arms of an expectant organization we become, in part, answerable for all of its doings. If we accept membership to any organized body of men we have bonded to its corporate karma, we take on attributes and aspects of its making. Even children instinctively experience this when inducted into the seemingly simplest of groups. Initiatory preliminaries (whatever they entail - courses or just forms), put before the individual that one choice - whether or not to become incorporated in that larger identity and so be known thereafter in the world.
It is indeed a serious matter, and certainly one of the World, rather than one of the Heavens. The working form of enlistment as it stands today, is not relevant or workable in spiritual teams, headed by Higher Hosts. You may well enrol with an interest in one sphere in preference to another, but you do not implicate yourself or that realm into you, just by association, pledged or otherwise.
Of course here the theme is one of making manifest, making visible, making substantial (for a time) that which would ordinarily not be fixed at all. Much of life in its expression is contractual to all else around it - one holds another in place, and so it goes. Whether it be because of our dear brothers, or the motivations of a group entity behind the move, we too are sewing and threading our way deeper into some current project, tying knots that may well take many hundreds of years to unravel, or embroider with!
Freedom is awkward. We get a freedom and we instantly try to find what to do with it. Spare moment? Quick! Do something! Free hour? Oh, now I can fill it! Freedom, as such, goes against the tide of manifestation. Manifestation begs permanency, whilst the indifference of freedom cries for mobility. It is the as yet unfinished chapter, the consequences we cannot know, the futures so loose they are yet to be made. And as with the person within? Can we do this? May we give him a freedom and not take it back straight away? Where is the space amongst the star-sign and the gender, the name, the age, the great address ... is there space in there to yet become, in freedom, unattached, uncompelled, uncommitted - except to self and to Christ in an instance?
All that is being said here, is that it is extremely difficult for our day-to-day natures to begin to find just a small reservoir of such space within our conscious selves. Yet, and most importantly, it is through freedom only that we may come to Christ, and with freedom only could we ever impart something of Christ, to teach, to be example of - to further His Spirit of Freedom.
If you give over your freedoms to lesser causes which you become answerable for, then you give over, in measure, the spiritual life within what you do. It may not be important to you to bring this spiritual life into most of your worldly activities (and this is a conscious prerogative), however it is an important decision to come to when that spirituality is hoped for - to give full meaning to the endeavor before you.
Some things can be managed being only pertinent to the world, and therefore addressed with all of the gravity it entails. But that which is of the new World, that of the Man to come, the one which is healed, the one who receives.... this is of Levity - free from the Gravity, free to be more than just fixed in the Earth.
GRAVITY: from Latin gravitas, weight; from gravis heavy.
LEVITY: from Latin levitas, lightness; from levis light.
From the outset of any endeavor it is important that you may come to outline your ideals concerning its spiritual content. As teachers, spiritual teachers, there are obligations which are much more difficult and demanding than that of those who commit to teach purely worldly concerns - although it is very true to say that the worldly teachings in any area, if taught well, will certainly invigorate the students into greater learning which could even go on to become esoteric in its understanding. The physical examples, held gravely about us, still resound their spiritual heritage enough to enlighten us of something of their origins if we are interested. If we are receptive, if we are curious, we may learn more. They can also become something of a 'voiceless echo' - perpetuated long after the true cause and life-force has moved on.
With spiritual concerns we can be quite explicit about this levity and gravity. It is not to say that the spiritual forces are in argument with those which are earthbound, but moreover that we cannot incorporate new spiritual life into the Earth unless it occurs with the freedom of the levity causing the gravity to swell. The gravity needs what it itself cannot be - yet for us to make further the impulse of Christ within the manifestative and living realm here, it needs be through His pathways unhindered, unfettered.
You see, with spiritual matters, monies received for services (and the obligations that incurs) have gravitatious and fettering consequences (to both student and teacher). If you give freely and a student receives in that spirit from you, he is all the freer for it. Firstly you have taught him something of Freedom itself and of Christ therefore, just in this charity you have shown him. He may then go on and do the same. This is in accordance with the spiritual realms. There is no barter for information. There is merit. There is need. Exchange does not enter into it either. For in the instance of teaching one expects that there will be an inferior and there will be a superior, and the superior shall have to go on and consult one who is further qualified and so forth. It is not a question of exchange. There is no suitable recompense for counseling, healing, enlightening or for the saving of a soul, is there?
Equally so, in spiritual concerns, it is not freeing by nature or freeing to the teacher, to be restricted to an affiliation of a body of individuals who do not comprehend the work you do. Apart from being a false representation it is also debilitating to the work ahead and to the results thereafter. To combine, for example, alongside a very pleasant but ill-informed society might feel safe because you are now bound to the Earth much more snugly than without their protective shelter, however by that very association, by that substantial weight of gravitas now upon you, the lightness of Christ has departed.
We are saying this because we know you will understand. This is not a public lecture because it pertains to specific people confronting specific crossroads. We appreciate that in the psyche it comes naturally right now to be of the Earth and to make of the Earth and to wish substantiality (as you perceive it) to that which you do. But if the decision is about a truly spiritual work and teaching which is to endure and which is also to touch hearts and not only affect the short-term thought or practices, then we urge you (as asked for) to resist the need for gravitatious practices.
To be unpredictable does not mean to be unreliable. Are we free to laugh, and to really have fun amongst all of this? Even in the darkest of moments amongst the sick, and for those who are most needful of the work - surely the very wretched are comforted foremostly by a teacher who himself is free within and knows not the censure that an organization could otherwise bring.
True healing is effected by such freedoms that are so come to. Mark this statement well. You can perceive it, you can experience it. As Christ comes to each and every one of us, it is only by His Blessed Action which frees us from the Sin and the Sloth that would contrive to bind us to be fixed in damnation.
Hope is freeing to the sad. Ideals are freeing to the depressed. Love is freeing to both the lover and the beloved - because it is Freedom made manifest.........
There is some great work ahead to be had. The involvements will strengthen and the mysteries will beckon. The vitalities will be sufficiently regulated so as not to cause any implosive/corrosive derisions.
Each individual who works within the spiritual effort does so according to how he sees fit, bringing to that work his qualities, his gifts and his relationships so shared with his teachers. By personal consideration and time, coupled with the actual imparting of certain wisdoms as well, we come to begin to experience any given truth to be that of our own. For a time it is with us, and if it is so enlivened with our interest, it becomes livingly so. Therefore, the work may be represented by a written text (which shall provide a connection between a student and a teacher) or also imparted by that student which, when knowing of his own readiness and qualification, divests from his own learnings, being firsthand and qualified in truth.
Ducking & Diving versus Quackery:
The crossover from esoteric students-in-common to that of the general public, for whom these ideas hold a different edge, introduces two concerns:
- To what extent does a teacher explain himself?
- Are the uniformed public to be treated any differently to that of the collect of students?
- As previously discussed [See Secret Knowledge] certain findings in esotericism are 'owned' as it were, being passed on down a chain from teacher to pupil, guarded and kept pure, until finally becoming released at large into the world itself. So with this simple fact, that even wisdoms may bear signatures to them and be fashioned secretly for but a certain few, we can accept firstly that not all knowledge is available, even if we should intend to make it so. The holding back of certain information is similar to that of a seed bank. There is a good basis to the reasoning, rather than a covetous and jealous concealment.
Most individuals in their present day consciousness are ill-prepared for the consequences which would occur within their inner worlds (as well as their outer) should a standard three ply occultism be made known to them. The doctrines of reincarnation and karma are 'oldies but goodies', they are palatable, serviceable and useful in what they have to offer - however, all thoughts about the supernature supporting the physical, bring about ideas which may become destructive within a man who is simply not ready. Whereas and by contrast, imaginative pursuits that are within the arts may gently awaken an individual into furthering his psyche.
The point is that it is paramount for a man or a woman to make the approach themselves, formulate the questions and open the doors, all by their own reckoning. Individually a good teacher can gauge this - when and how and what is appropriately explained, given each differing circumstance, in each situation.
So if one is introducing preliminary ideas which will assist in the overall health and wellbeing of the fellow before them, the caution is to determine that which is inspirative (healthy/spiritual) and that which is complex, occult and more fully advanced in esoteric law. One can bring forth many spiritual aspects without explaining the occult mechanics behind the inspiring principles at hand. And there is no obligation to be 'up front' about any information - just as we give freely, we are not to be demanded upon for anything at any time; and this we can freely refuse should it so happen.
Every trade has its secrets, and it is not because they are being cagey or misrepresentative but usually because the expertise could not be indicated through a series of introductory phrases or mere mission statements. The proof of a course offered shall be in the findings individually; and that being the truth of it. Whether the teacher is competent or not, provides what he promises, or misses the mark - irrespective of his initial promise - it shall be the pupil alone, who is capable after the term, which will display his teaching and its effectiveness.
On the other hand, actual lying is undesirable; if for no other reason that words often do become in meaning, and whatever we pretend to be, we make of ourselves in the very imaging. If you make a pretence of being quite 'normal' in your curriculum and not being marginally different, then that you will soon become for sure.
The wildest, quirkiest, face to the world is really that of the Christian! Sublimely bewildering, inextricably and inarguably eccentric - so much can be honestly put forth as His Truth, His Power and His Enlightenment, that you do seek to work with. It is a sad day if our students hesitate to proclaim Him as their course-leader or Him as their main fount of inspiration. What a wonderful and protected way to begin any new meeting with - alongside the public or with the students-in-common - to beseech His Presence and commit all learning to His Care and Direction.
All questions are answered in Him. For the individual who would know more, then he shall not be perturbed to ask further from you as a teacher; and for they who have not the wherewithal to pick up on the esoteric thinking at this phase, they are given to go to Him and be satisfied there. They are also offered His protection from the outset. It is bold to proclaim openly your dedication and gratitude to Christ, however, at the end of the day, it is the truth of it - isn't it?
2. There is a difference between divisiveness and discriminating. If we are to suggest that there are marked differences between the 'uninformed public' and the collect of students, it is not to barrage one from becoming the other, but only to cite that the one is not the other as yet, and to respect that.
When and if you decide fully that you wish to take on the responsibility of becoming a teacher - of making your offerings when required - it shall be a position which affects you at any given hour of the day.
- You may be given to search the infinities for the approach a certain fellow does need,
- you may be called upon by an unexpected dialogue to answer that which intuitively you know to be correct;
- you might deliver a lecture and then go on to learn of these souls one by one - briefly, yet individually,
- you may be pivotal within the lives of many - in their learnings, their leanings, their recollections, and their experiences of the spiritual because of you.
In any other field of teaching it might be that reasonably you can expect a position to be a forty or fifty hour call - but not in Spiritual Science. In any other therapy, with any paid-for occupation you could anticipate some time off, and perhaps be excused for expecting it. But the angels do not work like that; they do not comprehend that a man can be one thing at one period of the day or month, and contemplate thinking himself divorced from the task or the duty at another.
We know the promptings that are brought to us, the higher motivations urging us forward to respond to a need when we perceive it. If a man or woman is before us, who requires that the Holy Spirit move within our speech or guide our action, then we as teachers feel the presence of the truth pressing to be born.
A chapel which is available to the public is a wonderful joy to offer, in that there need not be the qualification of esoterica for those approaching, to experience the solace and the inspiration which this 'home' to the spiritual worlds can provide. A dedicated space given to beauty, allows each to be wrapped in the very spirituality which comes naturally to them - drawing in the vapors of the aspirant, the milk of the music, the comforts of the treasured counsel and prayer. Chapels and chaplets help the invisible loved ones as well (our other 'public'), and we cannot underestimate the good work given in this rarefied environment........