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Wisdom focuses. Expansion of consciousness is benign when it is accompanied by an expansion of the nature of God from within. As the flower of reality unfolds in space, it is well that the divine nature should expand coequally with man's grasp of natural principles. Unless these keep pace with one another, there is always danger to the ego that it will wreak havoc not only with itself but also with others.
Man was not created to be a serf. Yet, to serve the needs of others and to feel that completely harmonious humility which is so much a part of the divine ideal is also to feel the great silent, throbbing flow of power that is given to every dedicated son of heaven in order that he may carry out the aims of the Father among mankind.
There is a wide gap between men's desires for achievement and the externalization of their desires in manifest action. One of the greatest deterrents to effective action is the desire for recognition. Therefore, wise is the man who will dampen his enthusiasm for self-acknowledgment, seeking rather to enhance his qualifications in service. Excellence is naturally admired, and when one concentrates upon the manifestation of excellence rather than upon getting attention from mankind one frees his receptor mechanisms in order that divine principles can be grasped and then put into action as the duty of the practical man of God.
There is something about the word duty that incites rebellion. Men and women should learn to govern such tendencies that so upset their little worlds. It is never wrong, when running in a race, to fall short of the mark; it is wrong to lose hope. For races are run every day, and what one fails to accomplish on one day may be won on another. Remember, one's wind is strengthened in striving for the victory even when he finishes at the tail of the lists.
The Brotherhood, in their magnificent outreach for world service, concur that if all of mankind's beautiful energies of aspiration together with their noble aims and good intentions were to be harnessed and put to use as cosmic investment, the Lords of Karma could no doubt be prevailed upon to secure from the great regents in the Central Sun a grant of cosmic energy to this planet which would literally heave the evolutions thereof into a new niche of achievement. This action would mean the temporary setting aside of a portion of mankind's karma whereas the immediate and long-term balancing of this debt will necessitate the burdens of travail and much painful growth.
Jesus' statement "Except the days [of tribulation] should be shortened, there should be no flesh saved"1 and his promise "But for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened"must be understood in the context of current world crisis, world karma, and world attitudes toward deliverance. Bear in mind that all of the negation in manifestation among men and upon the planetary body is the result of human creation, human propensities, and human inertia or misdirected momentums. At the same time it cannot be denied that the sinister forces and the dark ones - by reason of their very parasitic, vampire natures - will attempt to rob mankind of his heritage of good wherever they can and to divert for their own use the flow of God's precious energy released to man each moment. Both of these trends must be reversed ere mankind's salvation can draw nigh. And it is the responsibility of all who call this planet home to see that these conditions are reversed.
The play of negative radiation upon mankind directed from the astral belt gains entrance to his world through his untutored mind, his uneducated habits, and his carelessness in the allocation of his natural, heavenly resources. Without necessarily attempting to examine these forces, they can be scattered if not completely nullified.
Many times individuals feel it necessary to engage in a bout with negation whereby they draw forth a countermanifestation of spiritual strength to resist the forces of negativity which attempt to unseat them. There are times, it is true, when this is necessary and the only effective means of relief; but for the most part a great waste of effort and energy can be avoided by simply affirming the presence of God in one's life and refusing to entertain an imperfect concept, an aggressive suggestion, or even the sense of struggle.
In most cases it is true that the student can sense the play of negative forces that seek to disturb him. The warning of early detection can often avert the rending of one's spiritual garment of protection (the tube of light, which may be shattered through the introduction of discord into one's world). The act of expanding the God flame from within in the ultimate gesture of absolute rejection need take only a moment but it can accomplish great protection for one's lifestream.
Now, as we draw the curtain upon the night side of life, let us turn to the glorious aspects of cosmic adoration and gratitude. It is an absolute cosmic truth that when the students learn to fill their minds and beings with gratitude to God for just being and with adoration of the benign nature in spiritual octaves in natural manifestation and in the hearts of people, that a literal shower of blessings will descend upon those who thus adore and express God-gratitude.
The principle of exchange whereby man rises in his consciousness to say to the Father, "I will assume my place upon your throne [three-in-one] of manifestation and bestowal as you assume my place in flesh form," can produce an attitude of consciousness which will make him aware of what may be called the peculiar situation of the Divine. Truly, the unity of the Divine is unique, and it is a lofty position of giving rather than getting. Man - accustomed to receiving - unless he consciously enter into the heart of God, can seldom realize what it means actually to enjoy the great blessings of bestowing and giving to the universe the best that is in him.
As the year advances, it is the hope of the chohans that Wisdom will perfectly teach her children how to employ all of the wonders that nature and science have provided them in order that the tides of negation may be reversed in the world order by a more correct use of the artifacts of contemporary civilization. Television, visual aids, new techniques of sound and musical instrumentation can and should be employed for the highest good.
The gradual and steadfast application of cosmic principles in the social order as well as in individual lives can assure not only contemporary man but also his posterity the greatest blessings possible. The bane of Communism, of crime, and of horror in the world can be minimized and eventually put out of existence as men gradually fulfill the purposes of their Creator. Devotees of these principles must not only experience higher and transcendent good, but also they must practice it in faith, honor, and charity whether or not they actually sense its ever-present reality.
The chohans are making a very determined effort to assist mankind in these first seven weeks of direction. We submit that acquisition and use must be balanced insofar as knowledge goes. The students who for many years now have had great outpourings of knowledge from the ascended hosts must see to the building up of the Brotherhood's activities upon the planet, enabling our work to be put forth in magnificent art forms, visual aids, and cosmic light shows, seizing the torch from those despotic thieves who have sought to preempt the plans of the Brotherhood and assisting the light-bearers of the age to send forth rays of hope to those who sit in darkness everywhere.
All religion should be an attempt to push back the darkness of the night and to extend the bonds of brotherhood and humanity to a waiting world. Condemnation and struggle should cease. Goodwill and fellowship should increase. Yet, we cannot permit the entrenched solidity of dogmatism, in condemnation of our followers' supposed heresy, to deter them from accomplishing all Christ-good in the world community.
Forward we march in God's name.