Monday, 7/5/99 10:12PM - The Divine Nature of Man

It is at all times within man's province to turn to heaven for aid when all else fails him. It is good and natural that he be aware first of the loving relationships which sustain him in earthly life and gain strength from this awareness. It is good and natural that those who share love in earthly life should depend each upon the other in all ways when need is experienced.

Yet, when all earthly aid has been offered and accepted and further aid is needed, man is well advised to realize that at each step in his human journey, at each moment in time, he has at his command heavenly direction and constant response to his need. At times he need not even express his dependence upon those spirits whose sole concern is his welfare, but there is power in prayerful petition.

The power of prayer has long been recognized. It creates in the supplicant an awareness of his link with the divine, with the world governed by those holy beings who seek to guide and encourage always. Man becomes aware of their responsiveness to his words of prayer and his heart, however tried, swells with new hope. Not all prayers are answered in the exact way that man has asked for, but they are never ignored. Help may come in a way that the petitioner has not even considered a possibility, but the solution is always one of gratification and effectiveness.

Prayer fills the soul. Prayer offers peace. Prayer evokes response. Prayer links man with his eternal nature. Prayer works miracles.

Saturday, 2/26/00 11:32PM - The Divine Nature of Man

When man seeks understanding of all his life represents, he is often confused. When he is hard pressed to explain to himself his seeking, he retreats often into confession of failure to comprehend his life's mystery and he concludes that there are no answers to his questions, no end to his bewilderment.

Though man is not capable of full understanding of the complexities involved in life and its varied experiences, he needs to understand that just as each individual differs from all others, each life differs from all others both in its nature and in its effects both immediate and long range. What man would find helpful in his search for truth is that this life is a trial, a school if you will, in which he is given the opportunity to learn and to progress with this learning to a new plateau of spiritual advancement. What happens to each man in his journey through life is of little importance in this advancement. All important is his reaction to his earthly relationships and to all aspects of these relationships.

As has been said, man charts his own course before entering life, though he is granted no memory of what he has chosen to experience in any given existence. He comes to life equipped to do all he has promised in the name of loving promise, and he comes equipped with the free will which translates into individual responsibility. With faith in this concept of human existence, man will find peaceful reconciliation to all encountered difficulty, to all relationships whether loving or troubled, to all the challenges he is equipped to meet and capable of surviving.

The day will come for all men when the world will know the tranquility of absolute faith in the true gift that human existence represents. That day is not far off.

Saturday, 5/15/99 11:59PM - The Divine Nature of Man

In all of life there is form and substance, each significant, each compelling. When man is most confused by what befalls him in trial and tribulation, or even in good fortune unexpectedly his, he is challenged in his understanding.

Much of human existence follows expected patterns and each day follows the other in paths unsurprising to those who follow these paths. Their lives may know minor mishaps and occasional surprise, but by and large life follows a smooth transition from day to day and there is no concern about this peaceful continuity. Then into some lives, indeed into most, comes interruption.

This interruption may take many forms. Man may be challenged by disruption in the world he has taken for granted all of his life and he may be forced to create new realities for himself and those he loves. Man may find his life is interrupted and disturbed by bereavement. He may suffer the loss, often unexpected, of a soul he holds dear and he may find it both difficult and painful to contemplate survival without this living love.

In many ways then man may find the complexion of his peaceful existence challenged and altered. He may find it difficult to believe that a just God would require so much of him. It is at this point precisely that he must count his blessings. He must consider his deprivation, his personal tragedy, in a larger light. Not only must he become newly aware of all that he has to accept in blessing but he must also become newly aware of his capacity to endure deprivation in absolute faith as to its necessity.

There is much in human life that challenges understanding, but it should comfort all those in transit between two worlds to know that each and every experience, no matter how desolating, is meant to enrich, and that the key to this enrichment is acceptance in full faith of its worth.

Let man recognize this truth in the most trying of times, and let him see in his life's experience a wholeness that is divine in its concept and rewarding in its execution.

Saturday, 11/14/98 10:10PM - The Divine Nature of Man

All through man's earthly journey, no matter its nature, no matter its length or brevity, no matter its richness or poorness, he is equipped fully to proceed to the ultimate spiritual perfection which is the inevitable achievement of all souls come to earthly life.

Throughout history man has sought to find meaning in this earthly journey. Philosophers have disputed, each confident that his is the ultimate truth. Theologians have proclaimed their own particular insights, and each has seen but a part of the whole no matter how close they have come to ultimate truths. Religious leaders, intent on proving themselves without peer in the search for the answer to existence have vied with each other, sometimes wreaking havoc in their wake, and have proclaimed themselves without fault in their convictions, thereby casting doubt on the proclamations of their peers.

In all of this struggle to find approval of self proclaimed awareness there have been special souls, devoid of the desire for personal self aggrandizement, who have quietly grasped the essential lesson that life offers to man in his eternal quest. These special souls have sometimes been allied with and identified with great religious movement, but they have created a niche of their own in the history of religion. They serve as examples of the purity of love given and received that is at the heart of all divine dogma. These special souls have sometimes known rejection by those religious figures that called themselves their superiors. They have on occasion had to choose between continued fidelity to their inner voices and to earthly conformity. They have sometimes been called upon to pay dearly in the eyes of the world for the absolute honesty of their convictions.

Look in history and you will find these special souls, children of God who listened closely to His voice and heeded it above all others regardless of cost. Honor these blessed souls by knowing the truth of their example. Listen to your heart even when it is difficult to disagree with those who demand conformity and know that you are right in your faithfulness to all your heart speaks. No matter the cost, your triumph is clear.

Sunday, 11/15/98 11:00PM - The Divine Nature of Man

In all of life man knows the sweetness of victory as well as the sting of defeat. No life lacks these two extremes. Yet most lives are marked by highs and lows well within the extremes of victory and defeat. Each man bent on achieving all he desires to know and to have in earthly life is bound to encounter obstacles. The road to success free of obstacles does not exist, and each of these obstacles offers opportunities for learning.

The very young embark upon the road of life full of faith and hope and ultimate confidence in reaching the goals they have set for themselves. This is not to say that they do not experience moments of uncertainty and feelings of inadequacy, but their self confidence reigns and such moments and feelings are easily dismissed. Rarely do the young in search of their destiny fail in this self assurance.

The lessons of life sometimes prove difficult and the young person is called upon to recognize problems and inadequacies undreamed of. He is asked to modify his dreams and to come to grips with practicality. He often feels himself badly in need of comfort and sustenance. He cannot be sure that he has chosen wisely all he hoped to accomplish.

It is at such times that man needs to remind himself that he has capacities beyond the obvious. He needs to rely upon the faith in himself that is inborn. He needs to assure himself that temporary set backs are just that, and above all he needs to remind himself that material achievements are secondary. He needs to look within himself.

The road through life is often strewn with obstacles and disappointments. It is easy for those beginning this journey to become discouraged and disillusioned, to feel that they are unrealistic in their aims and ambitions and that they have therefore failed. They need to remember that all of life is learning, that no failure is without its reward in increased awareness and sensibility.

Man is possessed of infinite resilience. At all times he finds within himself the capacity for adapting to life's challenges. He finds it possible to respond to challenge with new faith and energy. He finds within himself hidden resources. In all of this striving and adaptation and renewed faith he needs to know the gifts he is given.

Tuesday, 12/1/98 11:34PM - The Divine Nature of Man

In man's innermost heart he knows the infiniteness of his being. Even when he is being most rational about the brevity of human life there springs forth a feeling of infinite being. His tongue speaks of an absolute end to existence, but his heart speaks otherwise.

Man has been taught many things about the nature of life and death. Some hold that this life is all, that after human death only memory remains. Others believe in a hereafter that is the end of human existence after a single life experience, and there are various versions of this hereafter held dear by believers. Some hold that this life is but one of a series of lives, each one designed to teach. Once again, the nature of this belief knows variety.

In all these varying concepts of the purpose of human existence there is only one absolute unifying disparate doctrines, and that concept is that man is meant to live in love and that all of his actions and all of his words should and must reflect this love, a love universal in its essence, denying no man, accepting all. This central doctrine is without fault and in and of itself totally commendable.

It is lamentable, however, that the varying dogmas celebrating the divinity have in so many cases lost sight of this central and quite perfect demand of man that he put love above all else in his life. All too often religious leaders lose sight of this supreme demand of God in their involvement with issues they feel significant in their teaching, but which tend to separate their followers from all those who hold opposing beliefs. Religion all too often becomes political. Positions are taken on controversial issues, and each religion holds itself infallible and holds all those who disagree both fallible and misled.

This is not pleasing to the Creator. No human, be he leader or follower, has the ultimate authority to determine the will of God beyond teaching the lessons of love. Through history blood has been spilled and innocents slaughtered in the name of religious righteousness. This continues to this day.

Know, all men, that the time has come to put to an end the divisiveness which finds its justification in the assumption of knowledge absolute of God's will. God asks but one thing of man. He asks that he love without discrimination. He asks that he act in love each day of his life. He asks that no man deny his brother in the guise of religious righteousness. He asks an end to religious tyranny. He asks that all men embrace their brothers in total acceptance and love without end.

Thursday, 12/10/98 11:34PM - The Divine Nature of Man

It is pleasing to man when he knows both the fullness of love in this life and the fullness of love he knows in his divine belonging.

It is sometimes difficult for the soul bound to earth to have full awareness of his divine origin and of his divine identity as man. There are institutions devoted to remind man of this divine connection, and in many ways they serve him well. They offer reassurance of all that his heart tells him is true. They assure him that he is a child of God, destined to know greatness and perfection in the light of the divine presence. To this extent, he is well served. This teaching serves man in persuading him of his own worth, of the infinite love that is his from a God whose sole concern is his welfare. It serves to remind him that no matter how difficult the journey through life, its end is a glorious justification.

Those who so guide and encourage man are indeed blessed. Among those blessed souls are some who exceed the limits of their mission. They go beyond assuring man of his worth, of his divine nature, of his inevitable progression to heavenly joy, and they add to this teaching, strictures which have no reasonable relationship to the purity of the basic lesson of love.

Each of these strictures has the predictable result of alienation -- man against man, group against group, leader against leader -- and of creating within the community of those who call themselves guardians and nourishers of man's soul divisiveness and conflict. God is not pleased with this divisiveness. He deplores the struggles for control over the souls of those struggling through life's challenges. He counts each man blessed who reaches the end of his mortal journey who has not only learned to live in love but who has spurned the seduction of sectarian divisiveness.

Not all those who purport to speak for God speak truly. Listen for the spokesman who asks only that you love without reserve, that you rejoice in giving, that you are grateful for receiving, that you hear always the divine voice praising you for embracing your brother in the perfection of love that finds constant expression in thought, word, and deed. No more is required.

Tuesday, 12/22/98 11:04PM - The Divine Nature of Man

In the course of human life man knows many crises. Some are crises of physical origin, crises which may mortally affect those he loves and test his faith in the face of sorrowing love. Some may test his material security and cause him to doubt the capacity he believed he had to provide for his loved ones. He may blame himself, often without basis, or he may blame society, sometime without basis, sometimes with, but in all cases his anxiety knows no bounds and is satisfied only by solution. At times this solution is readily at hand and provides quick relief. At other times man must struggle over varying periods of time to surmount obstacles seemingly insurmountable. He must, if he is to succeed both materially and spiritually, maintain a steady faith in himself, in those dependent upon him and in the God he trusts and relies upon.

Prayer is a powerful instrument of change, though not always in the way man perceives it. Prayer may, as has been said, move mountains. There are an infinite number of recorded cases where prayer has resulted in miracles, in lives restored to health, in love recovered, in despair turned into hope, in alienation turned into love, in cynicism turned into faith. Stories abound of divine intervention, of angelic succor, of miraculous response. Man needs to be aware of such wonders, but he needs to know as well that prayer is a powerful instrument regardless of result or response.

Prayer puts man into direct contact with the God of all, and this direct contact has been pleasing to God since the beginning of time. He responds always, though perhaps not in the exact terms of the petition, but His response is always one that fills the soul of the petitioner with awareness of infinite divine love, of the awareness of the wisdom of all he is granted, and this awareness inspires in him the acceptance that is the perfect response to all he seeks. Man, through prayer, finds hope and peace, and his oneness with the divine nature of God is thereby progressed.

So pray, My little ones. Pray for relief. Pray for comfort. Pray for reassurance. Pray to know the divine lesson of love. All will be granted. You are always heard.

Thursday, 12/24/98 11:50PM - The Divine Nature of Man

At all times, even in the darkest hour, man is blessed with promise. He is not always aware of this promise, but at all times it awaits him. He knows in his innermost soul that this life with its trials and tribulations is but a part of the whole. He feels instinctively in the worst of times that better times are coming. He is never disappointed in himself so long as he keeps this steady faith. He is never in error in believing that the direst of experiences will see an end and that relief follows.

This buoyancy of spirit in the face of burdens heavy to bear is a gift, and it rarely fails man as he progresses through life. He is encouraged in this optimism in many ways. Sometimes circumstance provides him with relief and solution of his problems and he senses a divine hand in control. Sometimes he is aided and encouraged by the words and efforts of those who love him. Sometimes he knows a stranger's kindness. Always his inner voice speaks to him of goodness and grace to come. Sometimes he hears and heeds this angelic counsel. Whatever the nature of the source, man becomes aware that he is not alone in his afflictions, that he need not feel abandoned either by his God or by his fellow man, and each day that passes brings him closer to the glory he will know when he departs this life.

Not all men either accept or benefit by help proffered in the depth of their despair, and they choose to abandon hope and to take full responsibility for ending their human existence and thereby escaping the trials they find unendurable. Even these souls are blessed with promise, for they discover that although they have rejected human existence they find new life. They are granted full awareness of the total love and forgiveness that awaits all men past the threshold of death, but they become aware equally of all that they have tried to escape and they agree readily that their escape from the problems of life was not an escape at all, that all that they failed to learn in life just past they must learn in another. This new wisdom is a source of comfort and the soul once again knows promise.

There is, therefore, no failure for the soul. There is no end to promise.

Tuesday, 1/12/99 9:30PM - The Divine Nature of Man

It is easy for man in his journey through life to lose faith. It is important that he not do so, for faith once tried and lost is more difficult to recapture than quicksilver cast on the ground.

[At this point my handwriting deteriorated to illegibility and what I could decipher made no sense, and so I crossed out the sentence and then turned to Martin,]
My love, never have I crossed out as I just did, but I so need to be once again your scribe, writing your words with accuracy. I ask this blessing.

[Martin resumed.]
Man clings to faith as though aware of its fragility when challenged. Man chooses at all times to defend all that his heart tells him he must believe, all he must cling to to reach his immortal goal. It goes without saying that man's individual beliefs differ widely from others equally held dear. It is therefore automatic that truth wears many disguises, that what one man perceives as truth another perceives as demonic influence.

How, then do we know the true nature of conflicting beliefs, opposite views of the Deity? How can we strip man of the tenets he has been taught to revere without conscious evaluation, often without conscious and mature acceptance? How can man persist in the face of all he holds dear in his innermost soul when all the beliefs he held dear from childhood appear to him faulty and in error?

Often man is called upon to reevaluate all he has been taught of God, of His infinite power, of His infinite desire to be one to all and in all. Through this searching man grows in stature and wisdom and finds inner strength he never dreamed he possessed. He finds it within himself to speak of what his heart tells him is truth, and in this truth he finds infinite release.

No longer is he bound by the strictures of logic [I am not sure of this word.], of the dictates that he has to this point found a necessary part of faith. He rejoices in the freedom granted to the soul and in the promise of guidance to come. He is a soul redeemed and enlightened and totally free. He knows the beauty of the single requirement in human life, and in his holiness he practices this dutiful awareness of the vital nature of love. All those he loves join him in love given and received and all are enriched.

Sunday, 2/7/99 9:00PM - The Divine Nature of Man

Before life begins, the soul seeks the path most suited to lead it to perfection. Having experienced failure, in whole or in part, the seeking soul wants above all else to proceed to the end of earthly existence and the total glory of heavenly peace. This process does not lend itself to human understanding, but it is enough for the human mind, aware as it is of its own limitations, to accept these very limitations and to be aware that there is much to accept without full understanding.

Man seeks always in his earthly life to know reason in his being, to perceive whence he has come and where he is going. No man exists unaware of his mortality, but there are differences in man's perception of this limited earthly sojourn. Many are satisfied to accept the ephemeral nature of human life as all that there is. Some take comfort in total belief that memory is all, that the soul departed survives in the loving thoughts of all he left behind. This is comforting indeed, but what of the solitary soul who dies alone and unmourned? What of the souls gone astray and ending this life unloved and forgotten? Is this a reasonable explanation of life? To those who think so, God must be uncaring, perhaps relentless, certainly not the creature of love that all must come to know.

It is difficult for man to know faith absolute. He comes to this world full of confidence in his inquiring mind and in his full ability to determine his life's course in every way. This is indeed the plan of God, and it is God's wish that this divine creation overcome all obstacles, learn all lessons, and return to his origins enriched and perfected. To His dismay and disappointment, God does not find this perfection in all souls come to life. In many He does. In others He finds hope. In some He wonders if He has failed. Yet He knows that the failure is not His, and He knows that there is no end to opportunity to redeem the soul lost in error and to rectify past failure and to find true happiness in this redemption.

No soul is allowed to know that it is lost. Each life becomes a fresh opportunity to achieve glory. There is no end to the road to perfection.

Tuesday, 2/16/99 11:56PM - The Divine Nature of Man

There are many theories as to the part faith plays in the life of souls come to earth in search of perfection.

Those who lack faith find it difficult to understand it in others, and yet faith takes many forms. It is the rare individual who lacks faith completely. How barren life would be if man did not know faith in the love of those bound to him in earthly ties. It is indeed difficult to imagine love truly felt without faith as a necessary part of this love. We would be bereft indeed if life were without faith of any sort.

Further extension of this faith causes some to hesitate, and yet the very nature of human life makes faith essential to sanity. Man must have faith in the institutions that guide and govern his life. He must believe in the system of laws, for example, which govern his daily existence. He must have faith in those who govern or he must seek new leaders. He must, if he is wise, have faith in the past and in the lessons of history. In all ways, then, man experiences faith whether he calls it by that name or not.

It is in the realm of religious faith that man experiences the greatest hesitation. Not all men hesitate. Indeed many fully and completely accept the faith into which they were born and instructed. Others apply what they regard as reason and find it difficult to follow in the footsteps they were first taught to respect. Many seek constantly to find affirmation in a religious belief or set of beliefs, and in this seeking they find satisfaction, and, if they are fortunate, a set of beliefs which offers them comfort and peace.

There are no hard and fast rules about faith. It is right and good that man search his heart each day of his life. If he finds himself secure in the strength of the faith that animates his being it is of little consequence what the nature of that fulfilling faith is so long as it is based firmly on the single absolute of love given and received. There is no room for deviation in this regard, for man's earthly experience must be one of love given freely and gratefully received, and all faith which recognizes this absolute requirement is pleasing in the sight of God.

Wednesday, 2/24/99 11:55PM - The Divine Nature of Man

There are times when it is very difficult for man in travail to see the rightness of all he experiences. He begins to doubt his own worthiness and to wonder what he has done to deserve the sorrow inflicted upon him. He is unsure of his ability to survive with love and faith intact. He is tempted to feel that his concept of a God of love and giving could be erroneous. He is sustained by the hope that his doubts are ill founded and that when the end to his difficulties comes he will find within himself both the wisdom of acceptance and the fullness of faith and trust he feared losing.

Man's trials often come at times when he feels ill equipped to deal with misfortune, and he feels himself incapable of adequate response. At such times he looks to those who share his life and considers himself blessed when they reach out to him in aid and consolation. He knows in his heart that the love that they share can survive all challenge, and he is heartened by the totality of their caring.

Rarely does man not find himself heartened by all that is offered to him in times of trouble, but in these instances man's faith is even more sorely tried, and he struggles to keep bitterness from entering his soul. He calls upon his God to relieve and strengthen him, and he is gratified when his prayers are answered and he finds in himself the renewed strength so badly needed.

The man without faith in himself and in his God is to be pitied, for he finds himself ill equipped to meet the challenges of misfortune. He struggles against all odds and fights off despair. When he reaches the end of trial he is often newly aware of the power that lies within him and he is newly confident in all he is called upon to do in his life.

In all, man's experiences with the trials intrinsic in the journey through life vary widely both in nature and in their solutions, but it is rare that man finds himself so totally defeated as to surrender completely to despair. Almost always the divine spark of hope and courage leads him to the light.

Sunday, 3/14/99 11:27PM

It is afforded all men to know the limits of their endurance. Each soul come to earth to live in full compliance of its commitments is fully aware of all obligations to perform and to pursue goals set.

There comes a point in each human journey when man is beset by trial and tribulation and totally unsure of his capacity to meet all that threatens his inner peace with strength and solution. It is at such times that the fortunate soul in progress is stirred to all strength within and to be aware of strength without.

The man in trial beyond human resources knows instinctively that he has power to summon resources to ease his difficulties, to offer solution. At the time, man does not question the source of this new found inner strength, this source of salvation. It is only in retrospect that man in realizing his dilemma and its subsequent resolution becomes aware of the extraordinary nature of all he has known in help and in intervention. He has been given aid beyond his fondest hopes and he has seen as a result total triumph over trial.

Even when man is not sorely tried he needs to be aware of help beyond immediate understanding. He needs to learn the necessity of appeal, the value of petition, and he needs to know that response is inevitable. He needs full faith.

Man is a creature of promise and joy. He is meant to succeed in all he endeavors and to know the fullness of love given and received at each step of his journey. There is no more blessed path.

Friday, 3/26/99 10:37PM - The Divine Nature of Man

So many things puzzle man on his journey through earthly life. In the beginning of life he is spared puzzlement. He knows the full security of total dependence. Generally this total dependence results in absolute nurturing, in needs met absolutely, in love without flaw.

It is only later in the progression of life that man in his formative years wonders what his life's path should be. He is puzzled by the variety of paths open to him regardless of his social or economic status, and he seeks to find the most rewarding of the alternatives offered to him. Ideally man chooses wisely among the alternatives he knows and he proceeds to live a life suited to his talents and his ambitions.

Ideally, once again, man find himself gratified in all ways by his chosen path and ideally he finds one to love who is willing to share this path. So he embarks upon a life of promise, a life which seems assuredly free of care. In some cases this assurance is well founded. In others man finds himself faced with unforeseen difficulty, and he wonders about the reasonableness of all he knows in interruption of his life's plan.

Sometimes man's difficulties arise from his most intimate personal relationships, and once again he is hard pressed to understand the origin of those problems. He fancied himself secure in all ways in his personal life and he cannot either account for or accept disruption when it comes.

Man seeking understanding of trial and challenge rarely finds that he has achieved this understanding, but he is blessed when he comes to an awareness of the universal nature of human suffering, when he realizes his ability to deal with his problems, and when he proceeds with his life in full faith that if he does not fully understand, if he fails in total explanation, he need not be concerned, that success lies in acceptance of all that eludes understanding and in coping as fully as he can in full faith and hope.

He seeks peace and he finds it.

Wednesday, 5/5/99 11:58PM

In all of man's years on earth he becomes increasingly conscious of the passage of time.

Time is perceived differently in the early years of earthly life. Each day seems endless, and in the same way the years are perceived to pass slowly. Even into early adulthood the passage of time is not swift. It is only in the later years that the passage of each day, week, and year seems to have accelerated to the extent that man feels that time is rushing by and there are not enough hours in the day.

When man reaches this point of awareness, he tends to spend time considering the inevitability of an end to his days on earth. His mind tries to envision the time that lies between him and the end of earthly existence. Some approach this consideration with ill-founded fear. Others are without trepidation, for they feel in their hearts that after death there is nothingness, that their existence is at an end. An increasing number of humans on their journey from mortal birth to mortal death await with quiet and pleasurable anticipation the time when they will exchange their mortal existence for a heavenly existence and all the wonders it promises.

Those who greet the swift passage of time in sure faith and hope are fortunate, and the waning years of mortal life afford them the pleasure of joyful anticipation. They will not be disappointed.

Saturday, 6/12/99 11:47PM - The Divine Nature of Man

In all of time man has not succeeded in piercing the veil of secrecy that separates him in human existence from the divinity of his origin and the divinity of his destiny.

Through centuries past much has been promulgated and much has been accepted as to the divine plan. In some cases and to some degree these caring souls have spoken truth, but their truth has all too often been adulterated. It has been tempting to use man's striving for truth and understanding as a source of temporal power over those seekers. This adulteration has manifested itself in all areas of the world, in all religious organizations. This continues to the present day.

Those who seek truly to know and to honor God are commendable in their efforts insofar as these efforts are not distorted by self interest or by a taste for power and profit. It is in the nature of worldly values that total unselfishness and absolute devotion to the common good is rare. It is not, however, fair to say that this selflessness and devotion do not exist at all. They survive in a small number of teachers and seekers after truth. They survive in those who hold it in faith absolute that the sole requirement of God is to live in love, to meet all adversity with loving acceptance, and to know gratification in love given and received under any and all circumstances.

It is not easy to keep this steady faith. It is for some essential that their faith be exhibited and bolstered by ceremony and ritual. Such manifestations are both pleasing and acceptable, but in all cases the simplicity of the lessons of love must be preserved and must be expressed in word and deed. This simple teaching is the mainstay of man on his journey from birth to death. He comes into this world full of love and he leaves this world for another which is full of love. He completes the cycle of life as it began. Love is the key always.

Friday, 6/18/99 11:05PM - The Divine Nature of Man

When man questions the meaning of life, he generally does so when he seems to be tried beyond endurance, when he has despaired of explaining to himself the causes or the reason for his distress. It is at these times when man finds little comfort in logic, little satisfaction in assigning responsibility, little optimism about what he can expect in time to come.

This soul in progress is a soul in need. It is his misfortune not to have a steady faith in divine governance, to know that in all ways his life has value and meaning beyond his immediate perception. He is at this point in his journey desperately in need of such faith. It is easy to say that if he seeks he will find. Most often this is the case, but regardless of conviction or promise, the soul in progress is expected and required to meet all the problems and challenges of life in loving awareness. He may not understand, he may not accept the rightness of all that his life requires of him, but in all cases his spiritual progress requires acceptance, and further requires that each act in his struggle to accept be marked by a love that he knows absolutely. He must at all times reject bitterness and surrender to despair.

At all times man must be aware of his own powerlessness in physical control, but he must as well strive to realize his absolute power in spiritual control. He cannot at times control his physical experiences, but he can at all times control his response. When his response speaks of love, he succeeds in the face of all difficulty. When his response lacks love, he must learn further lessons.

Thus man progresses to perfection.

Tuesday, 7/13/99 11:07PM - The Divine Nature of Man

It is the source of all joy for man to know the total power and persuasiveness of love shared completely. All men know love in their earthly journey, though some are more privileged than others in this regard.

Some men find it an intrinsic part of their nature to reach out in love to all they encounter in their daily lives. They are not sensitive to rebuff, not demanding in any way, and in all cases they are persistent in the full expression of the love they seek to share. Such men bring light into the lives of all they encounter. They inspire in others a feeling of self worth. They elicit response from the most reserved and private of personalities. They spread cheer and charge their very environment and all they encounter with the special energy that marks love given and received. They are the happiest of men. In giving, they receive. In seeking to create happiness in others, they find happiness in themselves. They are wholly blessed.

Not all men are capable of this overwhelming manifestation of love expressed in word and deed. Not all men aspire to such influence. Yet in the heart of each soul come to earthly existence the spark of love animates. In each life there are relationships based on love and trust, and each of these loving attachments lends richness to the lives of those both directly and indirectly concerned.

There are, unfortunately, rare souls who find love difficult to express and who despair of conveying to any extent their need to love and to be loved. Their hunger never abates and their search never lessens in persistence. It is a blessed time when such timid souls find the reciprocity of love that they feared might never be theirs. Their persistence and faith are rewarded, and they know a happiness they feared might always elude them.

When love lights the soul, the soul is complete.

Monday, 7/26/99 11:43PM - The Divine Nature of Man

It is at all times significant that man knows in the deepest part of his being that he is never alone in his earthly journey. It is important that all men be aware of this belonging, this eternal link with all that has been and all that will be.

It is not easy for man to define this recognition even when he feels it most strongly. It is even more difficult for man when his awareness is less emphatic. Yet in all cases no man exists in whom there is no awareness, obvious or latent or somewhere in between, of a kinship beyond his earthly relationships.

There are times when this awareness lends man strength in the midst of earthly challenge, when all that man knows in earthly strength and support is not enough and he cries out for help. His plea may come unprompted by conscious recognition of the vast reservoir of aid open to his plea. He may not recognize the wonder of the answer he receives. Yet in his soul he knows the wonder of all that has been granted to him in response to need.

There are countless recorded accounts of supernatural response to human petition. All men know this divine response during the course of their lives, though they may not be aware of its wonder. Not all responses are dramatic in their nature. Not all are an exact response to petition. Yet all come as direct response to need, and all serve to strengthen the bond between man in his earthly striving and all those heavenly forces who seek to both gratify and guide and whose joy is at all times man's progress to perfection.

No man need fear asking. No asking goes without response. No response is less than perfect in love given. No more is needed.

Wednesday, 8/11/99 10:57PM - The Divine Nature of Man

It is within the capability of all souls come to earth to lead lives of faith and holiness. Each soul come to earth comes with this capacity and with firm intention of maintaining the compact to live in love and to step closer to his goal of oneness, the eternal goal of all souls.

Some men despite serious trial and constant challenge are able to remember in their innermost beings the vital importance of meeting each difficulty with acceptance and love. Each victory over difficulties increases man's certainty of his own strengths, and in turn he is even better equipped to meet life's challenge. This man is blessed indeed, and his conscientious striving brings joy and satisfaction to himself and to all others whose lives he touches. He rejoices even in the midst of great pain in the sure knowledge that his path is straight and true and that he is doing all within his power to progress in all ways.

All too often man listens to the inner voices that tempt him from the path of loving acceptance of all of life's demands. At first he may fail only slightly, but the siren voices of the Others encourage him to further dismiss urging for good and to surrender to self indulgence and self aggrandizement. He may go as far as to consider himself all powerful in his life's journey and even to despise those who are willing to accept life's misfortunes with equanimity.

At times violence is regarded as a useful tool by the soul gone astray, and his use of violence to achieve his desires has a two fold result. First, it tends to increase his sense of power and to cause him to disregard completely the needs and feelings of others. Secondly, his behavior corrupts his environment. He seeks to involve others in his evil doing, and all too frequently succeeds, particularly with the impressionable young. What the soul gone astray fails to consider is the ephemeral nature of life and the absolute certainty that temporal power ends with death.

It is revelation indeed to all souls who look back upon their lives in the total honestly that is required past the transition of death. Those who lived in love and caring and perfect acceptance know joy beyond measure and find in their hearts pity for those who look back and regret squandering their opportunity to progress spiritually and to know absolutely that they must atone in another existence. The most errant of souls finds solace in this opportunity to compensate for past error and to aspire to perfection in living in love.

Monday, 8/16/99 2:05AM - The Divine Nature of Man

In ages past and in times to come man pursues truth. This truth is perceived differently by many, and each must know tolerant acceptance of its differences from others insofar as it conveys the message of the absolute necessity of love given and received.

From the very start of social coexistence, man has developed beliefs in the supernatural that satisfied his need for security. From the very beginning those beliefs relied upon appeasement of unseen forces, and from the very beginning man sought at the same time to achieve peaceful co-existence with all those who shared his mortal world.

Over the ages many forms of worship and kinship evolved, varying in nature, but one in intent. Man sought in many ways to do all he felt necessary to mollify those forces affecting his welfare and to establish relationships within his narrow world that offered security and peaceful belonging.

Man's progress from the beginning of awareness of forces greater than he, forces that were beyond his grasp, provides a long and complicated history. Man's seeking took many twists and turns and does to this day, but in all corners of the world in all ages man discovered his greatest security in the love and trust he found it possible to share without fear or hesitation. Man, enriched by this awareness, found himself free to progress both materially and spiritually and to embrace his brothers in understanding of their mutual needs.

Friday, 9/3/99 11:58PM - The Divine Nature of Man

It is at all times possible for man in his earthly journey to know fully the magnitude of his mission. It is difficult for him when his life is indistinguishable from all others he knows to feel that his existence has a quality special, unlike all others, and that his mission in life is unique. He has only to look into his soul to know this quality that sets him apart from all his brothers while they are united in a common seeking.

Each soul come to earth is indeed unique. Each soul come to earth has qualities and identity shared by no others. Each soul come to earth comes with individual needs and individual goals, his alone agreed with his Creator. It is at times difficult for man to comprehend this special caring, this enormous solicitude. It requires faith to accept such extraordinary power. Yet this awesome power is exactly what man must both recognize and accept. It should be his comfort at all times that he is all important in the heavenly design, that no matter how insignificant he may feel he is central in God's mind.

There is no way that the human mind can comprehend such complexity and such overwhelming capacity for love bestowed, but accept man must if he is to feel comfort in the beneficence of the demands of life. There is no end to this glorious caring, no end to the glory of promises made that speak of wonders to come.

Man is a creature magnificently conceived, brilliantly directed, infinitely loved. He errs at times. He forgets at times. He neglects at times. Always, however, he is an immutable part of a divine plan in which he is an integral part.

Monday, 9/13/99 11:12PM - The Divine Nature of Man

It is of the utmost importance that man realize at each juncture of his earthly existence that while he enjoys great powers, he is subject always to a higher will, an authority that is not to be denied. He knows this truth in moments of stress when he realizes his own impotence and inability to address all he seeks to correct. At such times he turns almost instinctively in petition to those forces he does not understand but which lurk in his subconscious mind. In his less stressful moments, the crisis having passed, he may berate himself for self-styled foolishness, for acting irrationally, for emotions he did not and does not understand.

Man would be well served if he gave some attention to what his mind dictates at such times. He may be wise to entertain the notion that when the mind finds itself incapable of finding answers, at times when the body fails, there is a spirit within man which we may call the soul which rises and responds to his needs. Not all answers are readily available, but time after time man finds in his inner voice, this undeniable prompting, answers and resources which serve him well in distress, which lead him to the solutions he seeks and which enrich his very being in new awareness.

Let man be glad of this divine gift and let him know that never is he denied sweet response to petition.

© 2010 Cornelia Silke dba New Light Publishing