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Beloved Ones in Pursuit of the Knowledge of the Higher Self -
Familiarity, with all of its comfort, does not produce spiritual expansion in the heart of Being.
We do not wish to discourage our students' appreciation for the benign aspects of their environment nor to retard their expression of gratitude for material comforts received from the heart of God.
It is our wish to convey to those desiring to progress into the true nature of Being the method and means whereby they may, at will, shatter their own complacency with their surroundings and expand their consciousness into those far-reaching aspects of Being which are verily more a part of Reality than immediate concerns and circumstances.
The contemplation of the Fatherhood of God is an invaluable safeguard when journeying in consciousness from the familiar world of day-to-day routine into the vast and infinite reaches of God's immortal love and loveliness.
When contemplating a landscape, you will note that there is usually a foreground and a background in the painting. The foreground conveys the idea of immediacy and the feeling that one can be a part of the scene. The background, while sometimes within reach, engages the imagination to explore the unknown, and the sky beyond opens the mind to the far reaches of infinity. Through the metaphor of art we shall, by and by, relate the nature of man's being to spiritual Reality.
Beloved hearts, nowhere in the universe is there a lack of beauty, for God is everywhere. Let none, therefore, fear to expand his consciousness. The exploration of earth, the solar systems, and all of cosmos through the expanding soul consciousness offers far more safety and satisfaction in probing the unknown than mankind are presently realizing through scientific exploration by satellite, rocketry, or spacecraft.
Today, when education is held up before the youth as a means to greater economic security, it is not difficult to convince people of its value. Throughout the world many aspire to knowledge - some for career, financial gain, status, and community service, some to self-knowledge through psychology, while others reach for the mysticism of the saints. These represent the near and distant goals approachable in succeeding stages of life, which become legitimate (viable) according to the needs of the soul, the demands of karma, and the impelling of the divine plan.
Yet there are many more who prefer to remain in ignorance rather than exert the effort to rise out of it. This is the lethargy of the sleepfulness of the ages. Left to itself, it becomes a chronic disease of human creation. Hypnotic and loathsome, this malady leaves its victims unable to summon the energy to pursue virtue and honor through lawful occupation (right livelihood).
All admonishments spoken herewith concerning the nature of man's being are given not to condemn but to spur our readers onward and upward into Life and real living by transporting you from the mundane to those immediate areas of Self, just beyond the fringe of present attainment, and thence safely forward on a journey into Being which will expand not only your intellectual capacities but also your awareness of that other self, the inner self, or soul.
While in a very real sense man's true identity is sealed with the Father in heaven (his eternal Shepherd being his Holy Christ Self), often neither his I AM Presence nor his Higher Self is recognized by him. Sometimes this occurs by reason of the very proximity of the Father and the Son, so contrasting man's temporal transfixion with his immediate environment and its manifold problems that heaven seems unreal and beyond reach - as far away as the most distant background and so far into the future as to be totally irrelevant to the now.
In resistance to spiritual prodding from on high, many have desired to express themselves in an entirely physical way, denying the authenticity of spiritual experiences and faculties. Leaning upon the testimony of the senses, they hold to an empirical ideal which must ultimately crumble with the dissolution of the material self upon their own demise.
Quite to the contrary, some souls in their desire to escape from their human creation have espoused the path of sainthood and through asceticism or mysticism have lived differently than their more materialistic counterparts in the world of form.
By striking a balance in the nature of his being, man can experience the spiritual world yet remain tethered to the schoolrooms of earth, mastering the required lessons, enjoying life to the fullest from the inner vantage, not neglecting his duty to family and friends, and ultimately achieve his victory over his outer self and its outer conditionings.
Just as it would be unwise to neglect the care of the physical body, so it is unwise to neglect the care of the spiritual nature. Taking the part of greater wisdom, I admonish you to give compassionate yet unselfish attention to both. When the shell of materiality is outgrown by the victorious spirit, man rises to a dominion of crowning glory greater than that of the angels.
The proper use of free will makes man Godlike by choice. His restoration to the God-estate releases his Adamic nature from the fetters of earth and enables him to righteously regain entrée into that paradise of consciousness from which, through inversion of Principle, he fell.
Energy is impersonal. It flows through man's consciousness to do his bidding either by conscious direction or in a haphazard manner. Consecration and concentration on Ascended Master laws must ultimately yield a higher expression of the nature of Being. Meeting the challenges of life as Christ did in his Palestinian mission, the ministering servant cannot help but be the victor.
Human criteria must not be used in assessing the progress of the soul, yet in the words of the early apostle, "Let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters."1 Greater Godliness ought to be an expression carried forth with an holy zeal into the whole realm of man's being.
It is not enough merely to rise by the power of prayer to a state where one is able scientifically to wrest the advantage from universal Law. The scriptures have recorded that "the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."2 But the kingdom of God, the kingdom of His image and His consciousness called forth through His qualities, is the one true expression that shall win man's permanent victory for him.
Blessed hearts, there are so many aspects to the Law, and yet in practice the Law is quite plain. As it is written: "Love is the fulfilling of the Law" - the whole Law of man's Being.3 Therefore, we would not complicate man's pathway toward salvation; neither would we oversimplify spiritual matters. This would only mislead our earnest students into byways and pitfalls, wasting precious time and energy and perhaps compromising the possibility of victory.
Men cannot change what they are at a given moment. Indeed, "Can a leopard change his spots?"4 Well, not on the instant. The cycles necessary for the alchemical precipitation of Christhood must be fulfilled, by law.
Whether a man's status be at the position of zero achievement or a zero plus x, it ought to be acknowledged that the infinite possibilities attainable in the now are won by men and women who, having the power of faith to believe in the justice of universal Christ-love and in the accuracy of divine Law, are willing to implement their belief by right action.
This, coupled with the determination to progress on the path of discipleship and to acquire the necessary spiritual understanding, will push back the shadows of ignorance and light their way to the great throne room - the secret chamber of the heart where the Great Three-in-One is unveiled as the threefold flame of living Life.
Here in the laboratory of Being, the Master Alchemist, the beloved Christ Self, teaches the soul step by step how to wield the sacred sword of the Word to take victorious dominion over every untoward condition in the four planes of Matter and his corresponding four lower bodies. This necessitates the vanquishing by the all-consuming violet flame of his negative astrology and the ominous forecasts of his descending karma. Both of these he can discern by learning how to chart his personal cycles on the Cosmic Clock.5
There are none upon earth bereft of spiritual guidance - except by their own rejection of the Spirit of guidance. The Divine Presence of every man's being is pouring out a Niagara of energy daily for and on behalf of the individual lifestream. The Holy Christ Self is releasing streams of highly qualified God-direction; and the Ascended Masters are adding the momentum of their specialized assistance to all Life upon earth.
It remains for those sensitive, faith-filled individuals to pan for the gold flowing in the stream of their own consciousness and to catch its golden nuggets. Each one must draw wisdom's flame and garment closely about him, bearing in mind the teaching of Jesus that unto the one who ingeniously multiplies his talents more is given, but from the unrighteous steward who has nothing to show for his spiritual/ financial endowments shall be taken away even that which he hath.6
Be ye therefore unafraid to share in holy wisdom, being careful to select from those nuggets of spiritual Truth, stored for safekeeping in your immortal being, special gifts to bless your brothers and sisters with the illumination that banishes ignorance forever from their spiritual quest.
There is a special act of grace given to all who seek to teach men of lesser comprehension concerning the glories of God's kingdom. Spiritual teachers on earth guided wholly by sincerity are, by reason of their stand, angel ministrants in human form. These are not removed in a corner7 of obscure or fruitless identity, but stand forth to hold the chaliced Word of God.
"Fear not, little children, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom"8 is their message. These recognize and should teach that spiritual knowledge is not acquired through merely reading and hearing metaphysical truths but by putting into practice the Presence of Life, of God, and of Charity in all of one's affairs. Only then does knowledge become attainment.
The greatest expansion of Being occurs through sharing. For God is the greatest sharer of all. As Christ brake the loaves on the shores of the sea of Galilee, so the Father breaks the bread of Being and communicates his own Identity - the whole loaf - to every son of God who resolves to return to his Father's house.
I lift my torch before the golden door of your Being.
[Taken from the book version Corona Class Lessons]