Chapter Seventeen     27 February 1992 Guide: Marcus

Four Spirit Teachers | Introduction | Forword | Next Chapter | Previous Chapter

I give you greetings.

My friends, again it is with pleasure that we come to speak with you. Tonight I will be brief and leave a greater time to answer those questions which may be puzzling your minds. The earth plane today is fraught with many dissensions, with much intolerance and misunderstanding. Very often, this friction leading to bloodshed, to warfare, is caused by misunderstanding, by lack of communication . When upon earth, always we tend to believe that we and we alone know what is right. That our beliefs are the only ones that matter; that our rights must be held to, giving little thought to the other persons ideas, beliefs or rights. Each person upon this earth is an individual, each one has a right to existence, a right to spiritual development, a right to be given understanding.

Within this movement of Spiritualism there are many ways of thought, just as there are throughout orthodox religions. Who is to say that one and one alone is the only road to God. This is not and cannot be, for each individual is a creation of the God Spirit, and therefore is set upon a pathway of understanding. With some it may be the very beginning, with some they may not yet have set their foot upon the correct path. But nevertheless, each one of you, each one of us, is set to learn the best way in which to follow the will of the God Spirit. To become closer, indeed at one with that Spirit of Light, the Spirit who created all things. As time goes onwards, man gradually is coming to understand more and more fully the importance of this inner peace, this need to be one, not only with each other, but with God Himself.

For too long now the material has become important, to the exclusion almost of faith and belief. I will not say religion. because that in itself is unimportant. What matters is your way of living, the faith in truth and in understanding which you hold within yourselves. The power of the God Spirit is limitless, and to all those who seek it, it gives an understanding and a knowledge beyond the normal, capacity of man. Those who came to this earth in order to give hope and light to mankind, to give teaching, to uplift them; they indeed had this closeness, that oneness with the source of life which is God. That knowledge, that understanding protected them, as it could each one of you from the adversities of daily life. Although physically life may be difficult, yet within yourselves there can be this inner warmth, this light which makes light of all that is dark around you.

Each of you, as many of you will know, will have heard us say before, has this great power of light, the power of love which is stronger and greater than any other power upon earth. It may not be apparent to you when you are suffering, when you feel the pains of physical illness, but yet, this power, this strength enriches the part of you which is immortal - the spirit, the undying man. Physical life is but brief, each one of us has known life and death and birth and rebirth. The passage into the world of spirit is a rebirth, it is a birth into the light, into the world of understanding,, into the part of this earth - the sphere surrounding earth - in which communication is certain and sure and safe, for it need not be disfigured as so often communication upon earth is by words. Communication with us is possible, mind to mind and thought to thought. When you are upon this earth, take great care that what you communicate is what you Intend your listeners to understand. Give thought to your words that they cannot be misinterpreted. Begin a campaign amongst yourselves for lucidity of thought and clarity of tongue. Speak only that which you know in your hearts to be true; that your words be words of importance. Never destroy another by hurtful vicious wording. If only man would learn to consider, not only what he says but what he does and the effect that it will have upon those around. As Spiritualists you have a great opportunity, a great advantage. What you believe, what you know is that the soul and the spirit survive the change of death, and that those upon the other side of life are able and willing to communicate with you.

The friends and relatives you. Not by evangelism, not by trying to compel them to see your point of view; your way of living. Let your words have meaning, have sincerity; do not try to compel, do not even try to persuade, but let others see by the faith, the belief, or rather I should say, the knowledge that you have and which is unshakeable. Let them see by this, that what you have is important, that it matters and will bear investigation.

Take care that your words never wound another, that always what you have to say is couched in terms of upliftment and light; encouragement to those who fall by the wayside. Always be willing to listen to the voice of others, letting their thoughts, their opinions come to you, that you may take from them that which is good and that which is true. Learn to sift the evidence of life which lies around you, never accepting that which appears foolish or second best. Try wherever you can, wherever you have influence, to bring to bear that influence, upon your churches, within your own circle, that the forms of communication you receive, may be given through worthy instruments; that the mediums upon your platforms may be capable of communication. Only that which is true, only that which is of the light, only that which is sincere may come from our world to your world. That it may not be influenced in any way by the mind of the instrument through whom it is given. Accept truth, but truth only and learn my friends, never to underestimate the power of words.

[Question: On passing from earth to spirit, do we go immediately into the work of spirit ].

Not immediately. There are various spheres upon this side, and you will move through them stage by stage. Do you understand? I think that what you have read, has perhaps not been explained as well as it could have been. You see, even on earth, you are as individuals in varying stages of spiritual development. There are some among you, who are - as it were - very new souls. There are others who have returned to earth many, many times and are perhaps what you would call old souls. Therefore, when they come back to this side of life, they will or should have a greater understanding than those who are almost newly born. The place to which you will come when you reach this side of life, is determined by your own way of life during your time upon earth. I know my brother that you have heard us say before that those who create light, will dwell in light. Those who have brought a depth of darkness to earth, will dwell in the darkness they have created upon this side until they come to the realization of why they are in darkness, and until they realize that there is light and desire light, then and only then can we lift them out of the darkness and help them onwards upon the road to light.

The spheres over here you will travel through as you develop; there is of course the astral plane you travel through in your sleep state, and where you WW whatever your stage of development - remain for a time when you come firstly, back to the world of spirit. Once you have rested, you will be given the opportunity to choose whatever you wish to do upon this side of life. To return, to communicate, to help those who are passing and to rescue those who are earthbound. To make music; to paint. Do you understand? There are many activities, many tasks to be fulfilled, but always they are of your own choosing, just as is where and when you return to earth, if at all and what you propose to learn or to do, when you do return to earth. There are discussion groups, there are schools and universities in order that you may learn, not only of the matters of spirit, but of the development of earth and its peoples. Life upon this side does not consist of wearing what I believe are termed, night clothes and haloes, and sitting upon a cloud singing and playing harps. Life is much more interesting; but never believe that at the point of death you sleep until awakened at the end of this earth plane. Sleep is unnecessary, work of one kind or another is always there. Life is enhanced and not diminished by death.

Gradually, as you learn, all that can be achieved through your incarnations upon earth and through the initial sphere of existence here; you WW move forward stage by stage throughout the spheres of light. And my brother before anyone asks, I must be truthful and honest and say to you, that what happens beyond the last known sphere is conjecture upon my part. Many have stated that such and such a thing happens. I tell you without any doubt, they do not know and should not state as fact. What we believe happens, is that the perfected soul first becomes part of the God Spirit, in other words merges back to its own source; but this is theory. I believe that this is the logical outcome of this spiritual journey. I do not believe, as some do, that we lose completely our identity, our individualism. I believe that that is retained, but it is a merging into a community, a community which is mind, which is creation. But to be certain, or merely to be able to say to you, I told you so, we will all have to wait to then.

Communication through Painting and Music

[Question: On painting, music and communication].

Oh yes, because here, in great painting, in great music there is not the need for words. It is language which creates difficulty of understanding. Painting and music are forms of communication which should not be misunderstood. When I say, should not; there are so many ways of looking, not only at paintings, but at the beauty which surrounds you, the beauty which God has created. Everyone being individual, sees with a different eye and hears with a different ear. But looking at a painting should give one a sense of joy, a sense of wonder; as also should great music. Therefore, although maybe the thoughts of the artist or the composer are not identical with the thought they awake within the individual; what is important is that a sense of upliftment and joy is communicated . The surge of healing power which can be given through music is very great. What pleases the ear and pleases the eye is a great and certain - shall I say - way of communicating. Music gives to you a stillness and a calm, other forms, a feeling of exhilaration, but whatever the kind of music, what is important is that you feel it. You feel it within, you feel the waves of harmony wash over you and lift you into the light. Thoughts are not always easy to express, for expression in words often destroys the essence of what you mean; but lift up your voice in song, even without words and the communication is there. I am happy, I sing. I am sad, I lament; but that is a heart to heart communication that cannot be misunderstood.

Islam

Question: At a previous lecture, we heard what Jesus the Nazarene thought of Christianity as it has developed today. Could you tell us what Mohamed thinks of the religion of Islam as it has developed today.

Again my brother there is a great disappointment. Mohamed taught the oneness of God. Do you understand? Just as did Jesus, just as did the people of Egypt. The oneness, the all enveloping power. Mohamed began the saying, which is still in use today, ‘There is no God but God.’ Unfortunately upon earth today there are many gods, or you do not call this god, they take precedence over God, over the thoughts of spirit, some material gains and material matters. Islam has fallen into the trap of believing that their way and their way alone is right. They have not outgrown the ‘eye for eye, tooth for tooth, life for life.’ Mohamed set them upon a pathway of spiritual enlightenment, but as with Jesus of Nazareth, his words have been twisted to suit those who followed, to suit their ideas rather than his.

War, the war between Arab and Israelite, has been fanned into flame by the die-hards of both religions. Why? Because both believe theirs is the only way; looking upon all others as enemies rather than brothers. This religion of exclusion is very wrong and certainly not what the founder Mohamed intended or indeed the origins - the originators - of the Jewish religion. They tried, it is true, to teach their followers that they were a chosen people, but chosen not merely to be the only people of the one God but to be His messengers. This is what has been so badly misunderstood with every religion upon earth. Men believe, their way and their way alone is right, that all others are condemned. If indeed one believes that another is mistaken, the way lies in trying to redeem them. Not to exclude, not to condemn, not to destroy. Modern-day Islam is reverting to a religion of fear; it is something, which it will if it continues in this way, eventually destroy itself.

For man, no matter how uneducated; how oppressed a nation may be, the spirit of freedom lies within. Within every human being, there is this desire, the desire to be free, to believe, to explore, to expand one's knowledge and one's personality. And even though one may not recognize it, the need to belong, to be of one family, to be recognized as a child of God, as a brother or sister to all mankind. Islam has come away from this, has become a repression, a fanaticism, which Mohamed did not teach. There is a possibility, that in this new age of enlightenment which is now dawning, that there will arise a messenger within Islam, who will lead men back to what Mohamed truly taught. The oneness of God, the oneness of man. and love each for the other.

Yes my brother, how often have we said, that it matters not what you call God, merely that you accept and believe this being that is the essence of love and of understanding. The messengers that have come to earth, have been manifest upon earth, such as Jesus, Mohamed, Buddha, Mithra, Ra, all these have taught love; have not confined that love to one people, to one place. It has been their followers who have turned simplicity into ritual and ritual into dogma. Christianity is no longer Christ, no longer Jesus. For some, that ritual and dogma are all they are capable at present of understanding. But as earth develops, man will come more and more to realize what I have been telling you, that God is not. the God of one nation, of one sect, of one religion, but is universal. For God, our Father/Mother created all and is within all, whatever their belief, whatever their colour, whatever indeed their non-belief. For without that spirit of life, man could not be, earth could not be.

In the time to come, mediums will not be necessary, for man will become so attuned to the world of spirit, so attuned to the voice of God within himself, that there will no longer be the need of intermediaries. Communication will be with the mind of God Itself. The God Spirit created no barriers within mankind, created no. borders, no countries, no nations; merely gave the impetus to the evolution of life. It is man who created nations, man who claimed territory as one land or another. You cannot own earth, you are loaned it for a while that you may dwell upon it, but the earth belongs to the God Spirit.

My brother Manyomin (Crazyhorse) spoke truly, when he said upon earth: ‘You cannot sell the land upon which the people walk, the land is sacred, sacred to the God Spirit. We walk upon it a while and we walk a sacred path, but when we leave it, it is as though we had not been'. Therefore earth continues, earth lives, earth like man has soul and spirit and goes on. We cannot therefore possess it, only move upon its face for a while.

In the time to come, these man-made barriers must crumble, we must be freed to walk the earth, not one small part of it, but every far corner. and in every far corner the name of God shall be uplifted and His kingdom made manifest here upon earth, not for a chosen few, not for merely the religious, but for all men for all time.

It is at conception my sister. At the moment of conception the soul will enter the body, or the beginnings of the body. It is therefore morally wrong to destroy that life, no matter how soon after its conception. You cannot take life which you are unable to give. That is one of the great laws of the God Spirit: 'Thou shalt not kill' and in destroying even an unborn child, you are taking life, you are preventing that soul from fulfilling its time upon earth.

Question: How does sexuality between men and women affect the spiritual way of life. [Difficult to hear, but this seems to be the gist. Ed].

My brother, man is the only animal who uses sex for pleasure and pleasure alone. In what you call the lower animals, it is used for its correct purpose, that of forming new life. Many of the problems which you have today, both physical and mental are due largely to this misuse of sex. It is over-emphasized, over-glamorized and brings much heartache to mankind. I sound I suppose like a Puritan, which I am not and surely was not when on earth, but I do know that the pendulum has once again swung too far. Do you understand?

When I was last upon earth the decadence of Rome had begun. It destroyed what was a great civilization. The same thing occurred in Greece and in Egypt. All the lands' civilizations or cultures, which when man became obsessed with his sexuality, became decadent and destroyed themselves. This today, we see coming again, this obsession with pleasure, not merely sex, but pleasure in all forms; all forms but the highest. All that we can say to you is that beneath this, there is pushing forth out of the darkness, the seed of understanding.

Among many of your young there is a desire to know, a desire to learn, a returning to spiritual thoughts. This does not mean that all should seek celibacy, that all joy should cease, but that you should return again to the ideals of love and understanding. That sex should not be merely a self satisfaction, a satisfying of lust, but that the act of sexual union, should be an act, an expression of love. The need to give love, to be loved. A loveless union is barren, lifeless. Where there is love, then this sexuality is lifted from the realms of lust into a thing of beauty, an act of worship, worship of the loved one; and in worshipping your loved one, worshipping the God Spirit also. But never let it degenerate merely, into lust.

Evolution and Development

[Question: On spiritual groups, evolution and development].

On this side of life there are groups - groups of souls - which work together. They are in various stages of development, but the group - members of the group - have experienced, or will have experienced every possible form of life, or existence. This does not mean that each soul goes through the many trillions of forms of life upon earth. You understand? But that throughout various incarnations a soul will have developed - will have evolved - throughout the forms of life. Will have been moved, through inanimate life to plant life and to insect life, to animal life and to the supposedly highest form of animal life, man. This sometimes appears debatable. For man does not impress, either with his intelligence or his compassion. But certainly man has experienced what you can the lower forms of life. What does not happen, is that a higher form of life win revert to a lower. Do you understand? Always there must be progress, never retrogression. That man dominates the earth, is merely a fluke of evolution. He was not formed in the image of God, for God has no image, God has no form, God is might.

The dominant creature upon earth, could have been any one of the other forms of life. It just so happened, that man leaped ahead in the evolutionary stakes and reached the goal post first. What man has learnt is that logical thought can dominate. What he has not yet learned, is that dominance brings with it responsibility, and that those who hold sway upon earth, must do so with care and with compassion. Not only for their fellow men, but all their fellow beings. For all life is one life, never forget that. All life is given by the God Spirit and therefore must be reverenced and respected. Only when we learn compassion for all and perhaps remember our own experiences, only then will the peace of God and the will of God be made manifest on this earth.

Epilogue

I will, if you will allow me , thank you all for your attention and for your questions, and I will close with a prayer to the Spirit of Life.

O God,, our Mother/Father, surround each one of us with Thy light and with Thy love. Let us seek truly to understand the love that Thou hast given to all Thy children. Let us hear the voice of reason, the voice of truth, the voice of understanding and of wisdom, which lies within our very selves. Open our ears to Thy voice, open our hearts to Thy will; and open our eyes that we may see Thy face in all things. Surround us with Thy light, with Thy warmth and with Thy love, and let us walk, as you would have us walk, upon the pathway of light., upon the way of spirit, upon the sacred path which leads to Thy kingdom. May all love and all glory and all power be Thine. Bless and protect, each and every one of these here present tonight, that they may accept Thee and walk with Thee all the days of their lives.

Good night my friends, and God bless you.

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