IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 341

Love is the Fulfilling of the Law

ON GOD; Part CXXIV

For us today is the beginning of the Christ’s Festival; the central point of this is at the time of the Full Moon on the morning of the 4th of June, 2012 at 6:13 AM EST (7:13 AM EDT); and 11:13 AM GMT for those who can calculate this into local time. The significance of the Full Moon is an idea and a concept that goes back to antiquity though it is viewed differently by different cultures. For us, it can be seen as a time of greater availability of spiritual energies and a closer rapport between the human kingdom and the Kingdom of God. How this all works is not important and just a glance at the night sky will tell us that there is much that we do not and can not understand nor appreciate about the energies of each of these heavenly bodies and how they may affect us here on Earth. We speak here however of what we can see and not necessarily what actually IS and in this all is the depth of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God which we must consider as being within us and not without for this is what the Master told us so many years ago. We should recognize that there is little that we can do to control the ebb and flow of the energies of the cosmos but there is much that we can do to control the flow of energies within our own little system, our own little Trinity of Spirit, Soul and the expression of these on the Earth. The masses of men are uncontrollably at the mercy of the forces of the cosmos and the energies of the planets and the stars and constellations to which each may be susceptible; as disciples we can move above this plight and take control of our own destinies not being any longer swept along in the rush of energies and forces that effect the human family and which come as the ideas and feelings and tendencies that grip men and groups of men, culturally or religiously, and which move the race ever so steadily toward its goal which is the same as our goal and this is, simply put, the understanding of and the unity of the Soul and its expression on Earth.

As aspirants we are in a unique way within and without this steady flow of the Power and the forces of the cosmos which we can see as the Power and the Love of God executing His Plan which proceeds through the evolution of form and thought and the motivating desires of the race of men. As aspirants we are touching both poles of this experience we call Life, we are aware of and feeling the pull of the spiritual forces as we move toward discipleship and more; and we experience the pull of the forces of the Earth and the cosmos, the physical forces, which treat all bodies and personalities in the same way as they are swept into action by the motivations which cause the mass changes that effect us environmentally and psychically as our bodies, minds and emotions move along in the progression of Life on Earth and in those Earthly realms that we ignorantly see as heaven. Nothing escapes the forces that evoke these changes for the masses and, as aspirants, we struggle against the tides of duality, ever focused on deflecting the physical and the psychical changes in favor of our own Soul’s control which emanates from the Christ Within. As disciples however, and we know not at which point of discipleship this may begin, we can and do stand above all of the turmoil of change; we stand above the lower forces; we stand as Souls expressing through form and in full control of his expression and we can say with the Master that “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

The Full Moon plays a part in all of this through the greater availability of the spiritual energies that foster positive change and it is through the misinterpretation of these energies in a worldly sense that we have the conflict of ideas resulting in the higher and the lower manifestations of change as it affects man. As disciples, and to a lessor degree as aspirants, we can stand above this conflict and the ensuing struggles and help to direct these energies and forces into right and proper channels and this is done by many in group meditation at this time of the Full Moon where the greater availability of the spiritual energies can carry the mass invocation of disciples and aspirants to greater success. Can we see in this the ideas that are incorporated in the affirmation that we have been studying? Not only at the time of the Full Moon but at all times of spiritual thought and invocation of the Power and the Love of God we, as aspirants and disciples, can have a great effect upon the ways of man by our prayer, our actions and our thoughts, our works if you will, which we do consciously and openly as the shining of our Light before men.

My Soul has Purpose, Power and Will; these three are needed on the Way of Liberation.

My Soul must foster Love among the sons of men; this is its major purpose.

I, therefore, will to love and tread the Way of Love. All that hinders and obstructs the showing of the Light must disappear before the purposes of the Soul.

My will is one with the great Will of God;. that Holy Will requires that all men serve. And unto the purposes of the Plan I lend my little will.

Can we see that the ideas that are enclosed within the words of this affirmation are ideas that help to bring a man out of the doldrums of Life in the world and into contact with the Life of the Soul; this is of course the same Life and the only real change is one of focus, right focus through right realization. Realizing first that one is the Soul in form and not the form, a man progresses to an evolving understanding of the Purpose, Power and Will as it flows through and awakens his consciousness to the higher energies and forces. Paramount in these energies is Love as it streams forth from the Heart of God which is as much within the man as is any part of the Kingdom of God and the now focused conscious man uses this energy as it is intended and taught by the Christ as he sets out to foster Love among the sons of men. The focused man Wills to Love which is his expression of the Will to Good and GoodWill and he sets about to correct all that may be wrong in his personality Life allowing the Light of the Soul to clear out all that hinders and obstructs the showing of the Light. He realizes that he is ONE with his God and that HIS Holy Will requires that all men serve and then, in this realization, he sets about to really and Truly follow the Master and to keep His words as His disciple and as His friend. This is the story of the disciple and this can be his affirmation by which he sees and he knows his accomplished place at any given time and this by his recognition of what, from it’s precepts, he is able to affirm that he can do.

There is another affirmation that is called the Affirmation of the Disciple and which we have posted previously, on another of man’s specifically recognized Christ’s Days….Christmas, the celebrated birth of Jesus. This affirmation goes thus:

I am a point of light within a greater Light.
I am a strand of loving energy within the stream of Love divine.
I am a point of sacrificial Fire, focussed within the fiery Will of God.

And thus I stand

I am a way by which men may achieve.
I am a source of strength, enabling them to stand.
I am a beam of light, shining upon their way.

And thus I stand.

And standing thus, revolve
And tread this way the ways of men,
And know the ways of God.

And thus I stand.

This is, as we have said previously, spoken from the perspective of the Soul which for the True disciple is the same and only perspective through which he lives in form. The words below are from the Tibetan and they explain the nature of the man of GoodWill, the aspirant and the disciple each of which is of the same ‘calling’ differing only in degree, and then leads us into his teaching on this affirmation that he calls also an Esoteric Mantram. The Tibetan tells us:

It is essential that servers, men and women of good will, get a grasp, of the work to be done and that they become “relaying channels and not delaying points of selfish interest” in the divine flow. This takes vision and courage. It takes courage to adjust their lives—daily and in all relations—to the need of the hour and to the service of mankind; it takes courage to attack life problems on behalf of others and to obliterate one’s own personal wishes in the emergency and need, and to do so consistently and persistently. However, there is much to encourage the server. Humanity has now reached a point in development where there is a definite grasp of brotherhood, sharing, internationalism, and unity. All of this is a challenge to the disciple. What is it that he must do?

The disciple has to take himself as he is, at any time, with any given equipment, and under any given circumstances; he then proceeds to subordinate himself, his affairs and his time to the need of the hour. When he does this within his own consciousness and is, therefore, thinking along lines of the true values, he will discover that his own private affairs are taken care of, his capacities are increased and his limitations are forgotten. He takes his place with those who perceive the needs of the coming cycle, wherein the wider plans for the good of the whole must be understood, endorsed and preached, the new and clearer vision for human living must be grasped and finally brought into being.

There is a certain esoteric Mantram which embodies this attitude—the attitude of the disciple who is striving, in cooperative endeavour with others, to link hierarchical intent with human aspiration and thus bring humanity nearer to its goal. The intent of the Hierarchy is to increase men’s capacity for freedom in order to function effectively with that “life more abundantly” which the Christ will bring and which demands that the spirit of man be free—free to approach divinity and free also to choose the Way of that approach. The Mantram bears the name, “The Affirmation of the Disciple.” It involves certain inner recognitions and acceptances which are readily perceived by those whose intuition is sufficiently awake; but its meaning should not be beyond the ability of any sincere student and thinker to penetrate if it appeals to them as significant and warranting their effort***.

We should note that there is little difference in the intent of both of the above affirmations and this is necessary because there is bu tone True Goal. We should note too that both of these give us a glimpse of the duality of Life in form; in the one we are affirming our need to overcome the hindrances and the obstacles to the Fullness of the Light of the Soul and in the other we are acknowledging our place, that we KNOW the happenings in the World of men and have some basic understanding as we walk in them as men in form who, at the same time, KNOW the ever Holy Will of God. Can we see here also that we stand which can remind us of the teaching of the Apostle Paul regarding the allure of the things of the Earth from the perspective of the disciple of the Christ. Paul tells us that:

“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesian 6:13-17).

In Christianity this saying is the epitome of one’s ability and his necessity to stand. In the clutches of duality, as the conscious man in form, the entirety of the gospels are to teach him to stand in the spiritual Light and to deflect the pull of desire from the world of things. These tools, this armor, of which the apostle speaks are what we must use to be able to stand in the Light of the Soul and it is in the Light of the Soul that this armor is found. Truth and righteousness and the way of peace and in the knowledge of these things is the faith, the KNOWING, that one can stand. In this Light is also man’s salvation and the way of salvation is in keeping His words, the word of God, which is what will bring one into the Light. Seems like a great circular reference but there is a logic to it all which begins in keeping His words and in this it matters not if one has ever even known His name; keeping His words is based upon one’s sense of Truth and righteousness and that Love that brings peace and in these all is the confidence, the faith to stand. These same virtues that bring a man into the Light of the Soul then become the armor that will keep him there and allow Him to stand.

In yesterday’s post we put forth the idea of the Will to Good and said that we would cover this idea in better detail here today. What is the Will to Good? It is the spiritual correspondence of GoodWill. Much like we have said that the Holy Spirit is the expression of the Christ Within in the world and this both individually and corporately, GoodWill is the expression of the Will to Good. The Will to Good is inherent in the Will of God, it is the expression of the Christ in Manifestation and thereby also of the Christ Within and in this idea we should see that GoodWill is the expression of the Holy Spirit as the activity of Love in the world. Let us try to better explain. The Holy Spirit is the expression of the Christ Within in the world of men; He is the expression of the Good, the Beautiful and the True and this expression IS GoodWill, the activity of Love or, as we say Love in Action. From this we can say that the Will to Good is the Potency of Love of the Christ and the Christ Within and this Potency is expressed in form by the Holy Spirit as the Love that a man expresses and which we call GoodWill. Simply, the Will to Good is the source of GoodWill in the Earth just as the Christ and the Christ Within are the source of the expression of the Love of God, the Holy Spirit, in the Earth. The Will to Good, the Christ and the Christ Within are inseparable as are His expression of Love and GoodWill as the Potency of the Holy Spirit.

The points in both of the above paragraphs are rather circular and, while this may be confusing at first, we should try to glimpse these realities as testimony of the ONENESS of ALL. We will revisit these points in greater detail in future posts. We close this section today by repeating the Affirmation of Goodwill that we first posted yesterday and this is of course in celebration of World GoodWill Day and the Christ’s Festival. The tenets of this affirmation are intended to make us look within ourselves for the practical understanding and practice of them.

An Affirmation of Goodwill

WE, THE PEOPLE OF GOODWILL, CONVINCED:

• that there is potential for good in every human being
• that the human family can live together in right relations and at peace
• that right relationship between peoples and nations and between humanity and the earth is the key to world peace and progress
• that practical goodwill is the key to the right relationships

RECOGNISING THAT:

• the only way to guarantee a future of peace and progress for the whole human race is for enough men and women of goodwill to accept responsibility for the establishing of right relations, and to work actively with the principles of unity and goodwill.

AFFIRM OUR INTENTION:

• to practice goodwill in all our relationships, in all daily affairs and in our attitudes and actions towards those of other nations, ethnic groups, religions and social backgrounds, and towards the earth
• to support and cooperate with those in positions of influence and responsibility who use goodwill and reason, instead of force and coercion
• to encourage, publicise and work for an attitude of practical goodwill in local, national and international groups and institutions.†

We can no longer worry about others and what it is that they do. Be they governments, religions, churches, or any organized body, they are but the totality of the people that comprise them and this composition includes each and every one of us. Therefore, it is up to us individually to do our part to promote the tenets of GoodWill and there is no better time to begin or to renew one’s effort than this World GoodWill Day and this Festival of the Christ who came among us over 2000 years ago to bring this very same message.

Note on the Quote of the Day

This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.

As we move into this celebration of the Christ Festival and World Invocation Day, we again post The Great Invocation which is the second Great World Prayer given to us by the Christ.

From the point of Light within the Mind of God

Let light stream forth into the minds of men.
Let Light descend on Earth.

From the point of Love within the Heart of God
Let love stream forth into the hearts of men.
May Christ return to Earth.

From the centre where the Will of God is known
Let purpose guide the little wills of men–
The purpose which the Masters know and serve.

From the centre which we call the race of men
Let the Plan of Love and Light work out
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.

Let Light and Love and Power restore the Plan on Earth. 

“The above Invocation or Prayer does not belong to any person or group but to all Humanity. The beauty and the strength of this Invocation lies in its simplicity, and in its expression of certain central truths which all men, innately and normally, accept—the truth of the existence of a basic Intelligence to Whom we vaguely give the name of God; the truth that behind all outer seeming, the motivating power of the universe is Love; the truth that a great Individuality came to earth, called by Christians, the Christ, and embodied that love so that we could understand; the truth that both love and intelligence are effects of what is called the Will of God; and finally the self-evident truth that only through humanity itself can the Divine Plan work out.“

• *** Telepathy and the Etheric Vehicle by Alice A. Baily; © 1950 by Lucis Trust
• †   From World GoodWill, an activity of Lucis Trust, a non-profit, educational organization. For free copies of An Affirmation of Goodwill call or write World Goodwill