Tuesday, 6/8/99 11:58PM - Divine Nature

In the start of time expressed in earthly fashion it was difficult to determine night from day. Evolution proceeded in an orderly fashion but slowly. From man's present perspective it is difficult for him to imagine the immensity of time past. Man regards human life and recent history, certainly recorded history, as a reasonable measure of time. What preceded written words, what man calls "pre-history", is largely speculation and largely dismissed as irrelevant to man's understanding of his place in the universal scheme of things.

In this assumption man is only partly in error. If he defines the scope of history as the history of life on planet earth, then he approaches truth. In this definition he excludes the consideration of life on planes other than the earthly plane. His conclusion is reasonable, for to this point in time he has no cause to believe in the existence of planes beyond his own.

This limitation is entirely reasonable, and yet in the evolutionary process man is bound to advance to awareness of further horizons and to realize that the civilization he knows is one of many and that in time he will become aware of these worlds of wonder. He will become cognizant of his relationship with these beings and he will find himself enriched. He will know the kinship that spans worlds and centuries and he will find in this kinship richness and understanding.

Man needs to extend his horizons, to recognize the compelling fact that what he knows of existence is narrow, that worlds of wonder lie just beyond his reach. He should be fully confident that this will soon become reality and that he will know sublimity in new discovery of worlds heretofore unknown.

This is promise.

THE DIVINE NATURE OF MAN
Divine Nature

There is little that God needs to tell now about the origins of the earth. Science has provided man with the essential facts about the evolution of the earth and the evolution of man. What science has not considered is the origin of the energy involved in this evolutionary process. God is energy. He is more than energy, but all energy proceeds from Him. His angels and spirits are energy. They too are more than energy, but energy is the basis of their powers.

Science has by and large been accurate in tracing the process of evolution and has been reasonably accurate in estimating the number of earth years this process involved, so there is no need to add further details here on that aspect of creation. What science has not considered is the source of the divine spark that separates man from other forms of earthly life. That divine spark is the work of God. Man is God's creation and fashioned in his image of perfection. God designed man to be a creature of love and creativity. He willed him to evolve into the master of his universe, to use his creativity to fashion a living environment to afford man the creature comforts needed by him to live a life of love and sharing. He gave man the gift of creativity to be used in the furtherance of human welfare. Man has not always used this gift wisely.

In many ages through the history of this planet there has been peace and progress. Such an age was the Golden Age of Enlightenment in the ancient world of Greece when men sought to understand the nature of God's love and to apply this learning to daily life. The Greek city state came close to governmental perfection. The people of the Age of Enlightenment rarely knew the cruelty of war and deprivation. They existed in relative harmony with each other and with the universe. They sought to understand the nature of the Supreme Being and to do His work. They created structures of great beauty and they founded institutions designed to further love of self, love of fellow men and love of God. At no time did arrogance and pride interfere with their efforts to understand and to serve their God. This is not to say that their theology was totally accurate, but God is not concerned with accuracy in theology. He is concerned with its effectiveness in leading man into a life of love and holiness. Holiness is defined at all times as a seeking after God.

MAN AND SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENT
Revelations

There is in life much misunderstanding of its nature. Man is inclined to feel that he is indeed the center of the universe, that all of creation is and was from the beginning designed with his needs in mind, that he is master of all he surveys and in total control of his destiny. From the beginning of time, this attitude of man has served some purpose. It has led him to strive to control his environment, to use his God-given intellect in the pursuit of knowledge which will serve him well in making his earthly environment a pleasanter place. He has developed his scientific achievements to bring an end to the back breaking labor that marked early existence on the planet. He has developed the arts to educate himself in the beauties of this world, its history, its beliefs, and the intricacies of the human mind in its perception of the world about it. Man has achieved a high degree of proficiency in manipulating nature to meet his physical needs. He is currently in danger of going too far in this area.

God has watched man in his endeavors throughout the centuries, indeed has participated to some extent in these endeavors, and He has at all times been cognizant of the idealism that motivates man in his striving for a more perfect physical world, that is a world which more perfectly meets the physical needs of man, be these needs real or imagined. There seems now to be no limit to man's capacity to create a scientific utopia, a world in which nature is harnessed and obeys man's commands, a world in which machines of infinite precision perform tasks heretofore undreamed of, a world in which medical advances vie with nature's creative skills. In all of this God takes great pleasure. It is part of His plan for man that he use his talents in the service of the human race, in progress in all areas which will result in a life of ease and privilege, a life which so frees man from the physical demands that existence imposes that he has time for his spiritual development, for living his life in a way totally pleasing to his Creator.

In all of the world today, man has achieved a degree of scientific achievement which should indeed make a utopia of earth. Instead, the benefits of this scientific achievement are unevenly distributed, so that while some benefit greatly, others are totally deprived. The wealth created by this scientific achievement is equally ill distributed. Man in his haste has forgotten his origins, his duty to his fellow man, his absolute fealty to his Maker. Science has been perverted too in the pursuit of war. Weapons of destruction threaten the very existence of the planet and man's management of these weapons, always subject to human error, is an equal threat.There are those in the world today who cry out in protest against all these distortions of scientific achievement, who call for the equitable distribution and sharing of scientific achievement and its rewards, who see the need for strong and forceful leadership in all the nations of the world today to share both the responsibility and the rewards of all that man has discovered which promotes the welfare of the human race, and to abolish forever the weapons of war and aggression which threaten this welfare. There is no time to lose. Each nation must feel its singular responsibility in this matter and all nations must act in concert to effectuate solutions and programs for the benefit of all men. The need is there. The answer is there. All that is needed is man's effort to do the will of God to benefit his fellow man.

Friday, 4/7/00 10:30PM - Lessons

From the very beginning of time man has known his place in the divine plan. He has chosen in the power of his free will to participate fully in the perfecting of his soul in the full awareness that this perfection is the certainty of eternal and flawless bliss.

It is difficult for man in his earthly journey to imagine eternity. It is difficult for him to accept his human life span as a speck in eternity and to envision the enormous number of incarnations that he has known in some cases, and will continue to know in others. It is easier for him to envision unlimited space than unlimited time, for science has been assiduous in its search for material boundaries, and although their search is not yet completed, they have presented man with a map of the universe awesome in its extent. They have gone further in suggesting that this planet earth is but a speck in the total universe.

In the light of scientific discovery, man is dwarfed when considered in space and time already discovered in earthly scientific probing. Just imagine, if you will, that the science of discovery is in its infancy and that what is to come will indeed lead man to an understanding of his insignificance in time and space.

Yet it is precisely the error of science to judge man solely in these narrow terms and to ignore the soul and spirit of man which transcends mortal barriers and soars to heights science has barely begun to contemplate. Man is well served by this awareness of the enormity of the universe and the mystery of infinity and to accept his limitations in both these dimensions, but never should he forget that his soul transcends such barriers and holds mysteries he cannot hope to comprehend in his mortal lives.

There is no need for man to comprehend the mysteries of time and space. Indeed there is such limit to this striving that complete comprehension is a hopeless endeavor, but man needs to retain always the inner voice that speaks of what lies beyond human limitation and offers ultimate understanding.

Thursday, 5/4/00 11:44PM - Lessons

In the course of time even the most skeptical of men must come to admission that much beyond their understanding is of such a nature as to suggest divine power and total mastery over all that they know in the physical world. Indeed the world is so fashioned that it is comfortable to refer to the "laws of nature" without further defining the power behind these laws, behind nature itself. The wisest of those who see life through the prism of science freely admit that their knowledge has limits of fact certain, and some go further and freely admit that much that has been discovered in scientific research is strongly suggestive of power behind human, of communication beyond scientific understanding.

The door is now open for science to proceed beyond time honored limits that seemed to proclaim that all is provable if perceived by the five senses, and that beyond that perception lay frivolous speculation. There are still those, perhaps even today a majority, who choose to cling to outdated limitations and to demand physical proof in simple responsive terms, but a revolution is brewing in the scientific community in which those who lead the way to new discoveries are indeed visionaries in their open mindedness, and each step they take into uncharted scientific waters leads them inevitably to new discoveries which seem to offer more questions than answers. Yet with unflinching honesty these brave souls seek truth wherever it leads them, and one day soon they will know the joy of certainty in new discoveries that will alter all men's perception of their world and its place in the cosmos.

There is great joy in store for man when all he longs to believe receives confirmation from the source that once seemed the least likely.

Airborne Thursday, 5/11/00 7:40PM EDT - Lessons

When man contemplates eternity, he is hard pressed to comprehend. He knows in his heart that there is truth to the concept of timelessness, and yet he finds it impossible to imagine himself in such terms. Indeed it is impossible for any human to grasp this immense concept, and it is totally reasonable for him to abandon his efforts at understanding and to retreat to a steady faith that he will one day comprehend but that this full understanding awaits after his passage to the world that awaits him at the conclusion of his human journey.

Much the same can be said of man's efforts to comprehend his place in infinity. Man is aware of the enormity of the world in which he lives, of distant galaxies which hold both promise and mystery, but always he retreats to the simple concepts of time and space that are reality within his grasp.

It is a source of joy for all men to anticipate increased awareness, and at all times this promise, this distant vision, cheers and encourages the soul in progress. He remains content in his limitations in certainty that such limits are temporal and that great understanding and full awareness will one day be his. This is promise to all men.

Saturday, 7/1/00 11:28PM - Lessons

In the history of man's earthly experience there have been epochs of great significance. Man has come from primitive existence to the sophistication of the present time when machine threatens to rival man in capability and effectiveness. This new emergence is at the same time frightening and exciting.

All that has been accomplished in the wonder of the age of computerization has had its origin in the mind of man, and each new advance is equally attributable to man's industry and inventiveness. It is important to remember this truth in a time when man seems dwarfed by the machine, when the machine seems the master and man the servant.

Know always that in the age of mechanization and almost instant communication man retains his mastery in the universe. There is no machine to rival the human brain in its intricacy and its capability. No machine can replace man's soul, his most precious possession. No machine can love. No machine can know caring or responsibility. No machine can threaten man's place in his world.

I do not suggest that man resist or fail to appreciate the enormous advantages that science has made possible in the present world. Rather I suggest that man retain his sense of identity as a divine being, capable in all ways of living a life of love and retaining at all times a sense of his own worth as a child of God.

In an age of increasing mechanization and depersonalization it is sometimes difficult for man to assert himself as a divine being with powers beyond all human invention, but this is exactly what he must do. He must know infinite pride in himself and in all he is capable of achieving in his brief existence on earth. He must hold in his heart at all times the sure knowledge that he is a child of God, come from God and destined to return to God. He needs no more to feel secure in a threatening world.

Tuesday, 11/10/98 11:40PM - Divine Nature

At all times the soul in progress knows its heavenly origin.

The least aware of souls on their human journey is forced to admit his lack of power over his earthly incarnation. He is subject to ills beyond his control. He enjoys talents not of his creation. He encounters problems not of his making and he solves them with abilities that are not of his creating. In all, man on this earthly journey is forced to recognize that he is not master of his fate in all that befalls him. There is much that he would choose to control but cannot. His very body is subject to control beyond his understanding. He cannot predict in any way what will befall him in his life.

Most of the time man does not concern himself with this overriding truth. He is aware always of the mind which speaks to him of his capabilities, and indeed this is truth granted to him. He believes himself capable of decisions which guide his day to day existence, and this is to some extent true. He believes that he chooses freely those with whom he chooses to be emotionally involved and yet he forgets that his choices are limited beyond his control.

In all, man treads a somewhat narrow path. He does not determine the length of his life. He does not determine the physical, mental, or spiritual gifts with which he is endowed. Yet it is tempting for man to take pride in all that is good and to blame some exterior force for all that he regards as bad.

In the course of his voyage through life man generally becomes keenly aware of his lack of control over exterior forces. Yet he finds within himself confidence that he can control his own destiny to some extent, and indeed this is a blessed awareness, for it is the ultimate responsibility of man to control his destiny by responding to all that he does in life in a spirit of loving acceptance of all that he is given and all that he is denied. When man reaches this awareness he has reached awareness of his divine nature. When man realizes that his life is divinely controlled in many ways, ways which he freely agreed to before life began, he has taken a giant step toward ultimate understanding.

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

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.

Tuesday, 12/8/98 11:44PM - Divine Nature

It is at all times noteworthy that those who are most cynical about the divine nature of man are often persuaded by their life experiences of the error of their cynical assumptions about the nature of man and of human existence. There is a great tendency in human life to reject the spirit as inconsequential because it does not lend itself to proof positive. It cannot be defined in material terms. It is insubstantial in human experience.

As a result, some men seeking certainty in their earthly sojourn make the assumption that what does not yield to physical criteria cannot be said to exist. They prefer to think that all that man experiences emotionally can be explained physically. They look to chemistry to explain the brain and its functions. They dismiss the heart as serving a single purpose. They are unwilling to entertain any concept or belief that cannot be physically apprehended and proved.

Some men who hold this firm belief in the purely physical persist until death in their mistaken assumptions and beliefs, but the great majority of those self styled empiricists are moved by their life's experiences and perhaps by the promptings of the heart they so narrowly define to reconsider their dismissal of the spirit and life beyond the purely superficial and physical. Those with fine minds delve as deeply into the beliefs they originally rejected as they had into their original empirical judgments, and out of this reexamination often comes a deep and enriching change of heart. The former cynic turns believer and feels a sense of achievement open only to those who achieve from former denial.

Turned believer, most are open in their profession of faith and are thereby influential. Much good comes of their words, and within themselves those special souls know the excitement of discovery and the inner peace of absolute conviction, conviction born in doubt and nourished by faith. They serve well.

Tuesday, 3/9/99 11:32 PM - Divine Nature

Man has long wondered why he exists in this world. He has speculated infinitely. Science has sought answers based on fact sifted through the relics of history. Much that has been concluded deserves recognition as truth discovered, as facts carefully established as physical evidence. Yet in this scientific chain of truth and fact, much is omitted, much distorted.

It is not within man's capacity to grasp fully the divine plan and its evolution in this space called earth. Much that has occurred is not so much attributable to divine will as to the free will of man constantly exercised. The point at which man became a sensate being possessed of a soul answerable eternally is not within the scope at this time of scientific awareness. Theories have been advanced. Attempts at logical explanation have been made.

Man is admirable in these efforts, but he is misled in assuming that the whole truth of human experience lends itself to scientific analysis and empirical fact. The spirit of man is not to be denied. Neither is it to be fully understood by the human mind. Yet few men deny the reality, if it can be called that, of the soul of man, the being that exists within mortal flesh and which animates the corporal being. Chemistry is not all of man.

Let us consider then that man's earthly existence does not lend itself to easy explanation from a scientific point of view. Much that science can explain about man's physical nature is easily accepted as truth, but there are facts and factors that evade explanation, and to those unsolved mysteries man must look beyond science. He must accept the fact that his single earthly existence is not all. He must recognize that he has great power to govern in this earthly experience, but that this power is at all times subject to a higher power beyond scientific rationale.

Man should not fight against the unknowable. Rather he should accept all that practical experience and scientific method teaches him and yet go beyond this to an apprehension of the divine, the all enveloping wonder that is the soul come to life to learn and to teach.

In this acceptance he will find peace and wisdom and he will be grateful in all ways.

Wednesday, 3/24/99 11:59PM - Divine Nature

Each man come to this life is unique. He brings with him a personality that is ageless, and it serves to identify him completely in each life. Each soul is uniquely imprinted and knows no similarity to any other in this singular identity.

It is difficult for the human mind to encompass this diversity, this complexity of creation. Yet in this age man is given reason to accept this wonder more fully than in ages past. The world of science has made such strides in the analysis of the human body and mind that it suggests fully the complex nature of the human race. Science has created machines of power that rival the capacities of the human mind, indeed in some ways exceed human capacity, and yet they do not begin to rival the human mind in its creative complexity. Yet all these advances in scientific understanding make it easier to envision a human population stretching far back into history and increasing daily composed of souls come to earth each boasting an identity of its own, never duplicated exactly.

Yet, in all this diversity, man shares with all his brothers origins, needs, and talents that mark the human race and create in this race a sense of belonging, a common origin, a common goal, and an overwhelming need for love given and received. There is great grace in this sharing of needs and capacities, and in the journey through human life men of the most diverse cultures, men sharply different one from the other in many ways, share a common destination and a common road to that destination.

It is fortunate indeed that there is in most cases fuller awareness of their common goal than of their several differences. From this awareness comes the sense of brotherhood that marks man as child of God. From this sense of brotherhood comes the awareness of the importance of love shared without discrimination.

Monday, 4/5/99 11:00PM - Divine Nature

It is beyond man's immediate understanding to know fully the infinity of the universe and the eternal nature of time. It is always just beyond man's grasp to know these wonders, but with each passing year man in his unceasing quest grows closer to comprehension. He approaches the time when he will begin to appreciate the link between the earthly, the human, and the spiritual, the divine.

For generations man has divided science and religious belief as if they were disparate completely, two irreconcilable systems foreign to each other, incapable of reconciliation. This step in the development of human awareness marked the beginnings of scientific discovery and has until recently been held above all exception by those men of science who regard fact and proof as the end of all searching for truth. Each passing decade has seen great advances in scientific method and application. Similarly each passing decade has rendered untenable scientific beliefs and theories once held sacred.

Man's progress in scientific understanding, then, has been marked by increased awareness and perfection of technique and at the same time rejection or modification of earlier concepts and beliefs once regarded as infallible. This is not to say that science invalidates itself in rejecting earlier efforts, but rather to suggest that in each step of its discovery and development, science must be reminded that each limit reached will soon yield to further discovery and that further discovery may invalidate earlier efforts and practices.

Each advance in scientific discovery seems to point to the enormous complexity of the universe and of all its inhabitants. Scientists are increasingly becoming aware of the limitations of the human brain in all its miraculous inventiveness and seeking to look beyond human limitation. Each step taken in this exploration is commendable and each step takes the seeker after truth closer to his goal.

Thursday, 6/3/99 11:50PM - Divine Nature

From the very start of time measured in human terms, man has sought order in his life. He sought always and assiduously to so order his days as to create a pattern. In this he was aided by the order natural to the planet. Day followed night and ordained the daily schedule of early man. He rose with the sun and slept in its absence. He was governed by the seasonal changes in his environment in his rules for living. He took full advantage of earth's bounty and sought to increase it always.

Through the centuries man made steady progress in creating an environment responsive to his needs, and in this orderly environment he thrived and progressed in all creature comforts. In all of his striving man became aware of the need for sharing. Each endeavor was simplified by the labor of many. Man came to depend upon his fellow man and to establish a sense of orderly cooperation to the benefit of all. In the course of this material progress man discovered in the stirrings of his soul a sweet dependence upon his fellow man. He began to value life that was not his own and to express this feeling in acts and words of allegiance and support.

Thus was born fellow feeling. Thus was love nurtured among those who sought survival and beneficence in shared labor and dependence upon one another. Love quickly became a moving force in the life of early man and inevitably these feelings of mutual need developed into strong ties of kinship and mutual support and obligation. Man ceased to be a solitary individual. He found himself gratified in community and found every aspect of his daily life enriched by sharing.

We owe much to the lessons our forebears learned so long ago. Man is privileged to have his life bound in loving relationships, a fitting legacy of his forbears.

Tuesday, 6/8/99 11:58PM - Divine nature

In the start of time expressed in earthly fashion it was difficult to determine night from day. Evolution proceeded in an orderly fashion but slowly. From man's present perspective it is difficult for him to imagine the immensity of time past. Man regards human life and recent history, certainly recorded history, as a reasonable measure of time. What preceded written words, what man calls "pre-history", is largely speculation and largely dismissed as irrelevant to man's understanding of his place in the universal scheme of things.

In this assumption man is only partly in error. If he defines the scope of history as the history of life on planet earth, then he approaches truth. In this definition he excludes the consideration of life on planes other than the earthly plane. His conclusion is reasonable, for to this point in time he has no cause to believe in the existence of planes beyond his own.

This limitation is entirely reasonable, and yet in the evolutionary process man is bound to advance to awareness of further horizons and to realize that the civilization he knows is one of many and that in time he will become aware of these worlds of wonder. He will become cognizant of his relationship with these beings and he will find himself enriched. He will know the kinship that spans worlds and centuries and he will find in this kinship richness and understanding.

Man needs to extend his horizons, to recognize the compelling fact that what he knows of existence is narrow, that worlds of wonder lie just beyond his reach. He should be fully confident that this will soon become reality and that he will know sublimity in new discovery of worlds heretofore unknown.

This is promise.

Tuesday, 6/15/99 11:55PM - Divine nature

Before life began on earth there was in place a divine plan. There was infinite goodness in intent, infinite giving in execution. There was no haste in this creation. Indeed quite the opposite was true. The world as a dwelling place for man evolved slowly and perfectly, and all those creatures that preceded the appearance of man on planet earth served a purpose divine. There is little aberration in the evolution of the human race. Little aberration remains in the evolutionary process.

There has been much speculation about the nature of evolution of both earth and man. There has been much foolish dispute about the nature of this process. It is enough to concede that there was and is still a divine will controlling the earth in all of its orderliness and equally in all its aberrations. Never is pure chance involved in all earthly phenomena. Never is there malice.

The earth serves man well when man serves the earth well. There is balance always in the bounty that earth offers to man in sustenance and survival. There are times when this balance is temporarily disturbed, but often this imbalance can be ascribed to the interference of man in the perfect balance of nature. At all times earth offers man a nurturing environment in direct ratio to his chosen needs, and in those cases when man knows disruption in the natural peace of his existence he knows lessons learned.

The world has been from the start of human life a testing place, and man's adventures and misadventures with his environment are at all times a source of learning, an avenue to the spiritual progress that is at all times the first concern of all souls on earth. There is no waste, no frivolity in the human experience. There is no wasted effort in coping with all that his earthly experience offers to him. He learns to deal with physical crises and unexpected challenges and in this learning he finds grace. All else is insignificant.

Saturday, 6/19/99 10:20PM - Divine Nature

In the fullness of time no soul shall fail to be fulfilled.

Much has been speculated, many theories advanced as to the time that earth will have served its purpose and will, in one way or another, cease to exist. It has been assumed that this will mark the end of the human race.

No one has speculated further. Does this mean that man is ended, that human existence will cease to be and that therefore the history of mankind will be no more than a memory, indeed a memory without appreciation, for if man disap pears then indeed his memory disappears with him. We are left then with a void, and centuries and eons of experience are deemed without import. There are those who say that this was indeed the inevitable result of aberrant nature, thus a fitting end to a mistake.

Certainly not all men subscribe to this pessimistic creed. Yet all too many do, and all too many are prepared to believe that life exists in only two dimensions. Indeed others insist on one. Yet there is such a lack of reason in these concepts. The truth of infinite being and infinite complexity does not lend itself to simple concepts, and man in his strides toward knowledge of things beyond the simple and material has increasingly expressed skepticism about the concept that because earth may be finite, all of existence is. Indeed there are those in the scientific community who suggest that earth does not face destruction in the foreseeable future, that certainly there is no date certain.

We are left, then, with uncertainty and a need to know more. This is the pattern of human existence. There is a constant search among all men for reassurance of the reasonable nature of human life. Often without full awareness, he fulfills in his daily behavior all that is demanded of him in seeking to live in love and to share this love fully and unconditionally. To some this awareness dominates his life from the very start. To some it comes later. To all it brings a full appreciation of the wonder of life and total satisfaction of a life well spent.

Thursday, 6/24/99 11:54PM - Divine Nature

Before time began, man knew existence in the mind of God and His angels. This heritage enriches man to the present day and will continue to do so eternally.

Eternity is a concept beyond human comprehension. Yet it is reality. Infinity is equally difficult for the human mind to comprehend. Yet it too has significance. Man strives to grasp these concepts, and in his eagerness to understand all things, persuades himself that he is capable of encompassing these concepts. He speaks of the unfathomable realities as though they were commonplace and easily grasped.

It is a tribute to man's capacity for faith in the unknown that he accepts so readily so much that he does not and can not completely understand. This faith is commendable and serves him well. In the midst of earthly turmoil and travail he knows in his heart that the life he experiences is not all of existence. He knows that the past, present, and future of earthly time is but a minuscule part of the whole. He feels in his heart that no matter how boundless the earth's lands and oceans may seem they fade into insignificance when he considers infinity.

Man thus armed is well equipped to deal with the concept of planes beyond his human awareness, of lives of seeking after truth repeated willingly and joyfully. He finds it within himself to realize that the yearning he knows for more complete awareness is the yearning all souls know on the road to perfection. He becomes one with all seekers, and he knows the wonder of this brotherhood.

Life then is infinite in its promise, eternal in its nature, and each soul in progress is part of a magnificent whole, destined to know full belonging, total awareness, and perfection in spirit.

Thursday, 7/15/99 1:45AM - Divine nature

It is in the best interests of all men that they retain awareness of their enduring spirit and that they act at all times in full awareness of this eternal nature.

Man has no real proof of his link to the divine, no absolute certainty that he is an eternal spirit, destined to become part of the Godhead and achieve in this way the perfection of spirit that is the goal of all souls. As a child he absorbs the beliefs of those who teach him, whether they be within or without the family, but most often family values and beliefs and religious affiliation, or lack of affiliation, are embraced and accepted by the young. In time they choose whether to continue in this faith or to question and choose alternative beliefs and affiliations.

In all of this shaping of the mind of man there is inherent a seeking, a desire to know more about the nature of the human experience and its ultimate meaning. There is in all men this hunger to know the unknowable, and during their earthly journeys most men find a set of beliefs which are comfortable and which guide him in his time on earth. From time to time man may find that he needs more than he has been taught and more than he has found acceptable in alternative beliefs, and when this occurs man finds himself looking within and seeking that inner voice that all men entertain.

Introspection in search of truth is a noble endeavor. Most men find that they are moved to seek enlightenment in the experience of other soul seekers. This is an enriching experience for all who are so moved, and the very depths of the soul respond to the need to know. Though man must in the end depend upon the faith that his search for truth inspires, he is satisfied. He knows peace and assurance. He seeks to share his richness and to inspire in others the faith he has found in himself.

Saturday, 7/17/99 11:33PM - Divine Nature

In the very beginning of human existence man depended entirely on his sensory awareness. He found himself in an alien environment, one in which his survival was tenuous, and he sought within himself the strengths and the talent to create an environment less hostile, more conducive to survival. He succeeded randomly, but over a long period of time he honed his skills and found within himself the capacity to depend not only upon himself but upon those with whom he shared his daily existence. He developed a sense of awareness of needs shared and of the advantages of mutual effort.

Early man, even under the most adverse of conditions, continued to grow in awareness of fellow feeling. He slowly became aware that at times his own survival was less important than the effort it took to help his brother to survive. He found pleasure in this self denial and inspired others by example. As civilization advanced and life became easier, man found in himself feelings of affection and allegiance that fostered close relationships with those whose welfare became his concern and who in turn responded to feelings of mutual need and response to need.

In time, love was recognized as an emotion and as a motivation, and man knew great satisfaction in this awareness. He prospered in all ways with this blessed awareness, and all of existence grew in meaning. His striving to live in full awareness of this overwhelming emotion grew stronger with each passing generation, and love flourished in the hearts of man. Life became its own reward.

Monday, 7/19/99 11:49PM - Divine nature

When man arrives at the point in his life that he knows despair, then indeed he needs the aid of all who seek to advise and encourage him. I speak here both of those who are privileged to share his earthly voyage and those who seek to aid and guide him in heavenly ways.

Man in despair is man who had been buffeted by life, sometimes abandoned by those he loved, robbed of faith in the future, and helpless in the face of such adversity. He seeks to find hope in all that he sees ahead of him, and he fails. He seeks to find solutions to the problems he faces, and he fails. He seeks within himself to find the strength to go on with a life he considers unbearable, and he fails.

It is not often that man finds himself totally without hope, totally without faith in himself or in others, totally incapable of enduring the life he knows. At such times he is incapable of hearing words of encouragement and optimism. They seem to him false and misleading. He is deaf to the inner voices that offer aid beyond his comprehension, that speak of glorious redemption. He is bleak.

What brings man to this point of no return? How can a God of goodness tolerate such inhumanity? What can possibly explain such suffering in one of God's creatures?

There is no easy answer to these questions, for the roads to despair are many and varied, and man in the exercise of free will chooses each road he takes. He is not always wise in his choices. He has sought to overcome trial and challenge as he promised before coming to this life, and he has in his mind failed. His understanding is limited, and so is his response. His needs are not always met in his earthly experience, and this is cause for regret for all who share his anguish. Yet this man in his despair may have served a purpose for many. Others may have learned from his error. Some may have learned compassion from observing his trials. Some may have learned caring from their efforts to help him. All may have learned love from their involvement.

No life is wasted. Even the briefest, even the most sorrowful, even the most anguished serves as a lesson, an example to all who seek to understand. It behooves man to look for the lesson each life teaches. The meanest life may offer the most learning.

Tuesday, 7/20/99 11:42PM - Divine Nature

When man considers his life past he does so in full awareness of all he sought to do in dreams fulfilled and goals achieved. He is at times reluctant to admit disappointment and failure when that exists, but by and large he brings to his self assessment the honesty that it requires.

Man is moved to this self assessment at various points in his life. He tends always to do so when faced with a critical decision that will affect the future nature of his experiences. He tends to reassess at any time when he senses failure in himself and looks in this reassessment to find new faith in the future. Sometimes man is forced to reassess all he has done in life when he is visited by death and deprivation of one dear to his heart and he is moved to consider how completely he has lived in love with those he holds dear.

There is value always in retrospection provided it is done in total honesty and a fervent desire to correct any past errors and to compensate for any newly discovered deficiencies. This self examination is for some a reaffirmation, a persuasive awareness of a life well lived. For some it is a cleansing, a new beginning with weakness discarded and strengths reaffirmed.

In the best of cases, man shares this reassessment with those he holds dear, and together they rejoice in all that has blessed their lives and together they determine to strengthen themselves wherever they have been lacking. There is great good in shared awareness of the degree to which life is well lived in love shared. There is great good in awareness of what must be done to come closer to perfection in love shared. In all cases the soul is enriched and enabled.

Thursday, 7/22/99 11:24PM - Divine Nature

Since the beginning of time man has known the wonder of passage into the perfection of love that assures him of eternal belonging. It is not a simple matter to comprehend the enormity of this statement. Indeed in large part it is beyond man's capacity to comprehend.

Man in his earthly existence is limited in his comprehension of time. What seems an eternity to him is but a second. He cannot comprehend the vastness of space and the complexity of life on planes other than earth. Science has provided him with facts and figures that are persuasive to his mind. Indeed such scientific evidence has recently become irrefutable even to the most skeptical of men. Yet when man tries to orient himself in this vastness of time and space he is overwhelmed by the impossibility of the task he sets himself.

We are, therefore, forced to consider the singular nature of human existence and the soul in progress in the larger context. It is right and good that the soul come to earth as man has a sense of importance which leads him to realize that the human journey is one of significance to all those sharing it. It is but a step further for him to sense and to embrace a kinship with forces greater than he, forces which he embraces without full understanding but with a faith that he finds within himself.

It is both important and significant that man has a sense of the importance of his earthly experience, and it is equally important for him to come to a realization that this single life, so important in and of itself, gains further significance as part of a larger whole.

Monday, 8/2/99 11:10PM - Divine Nature

In all of life there is order and reason.

It is hard at times for man to accept this simple truth. He is often perplexed by the unpredictability of the world he knows. Natural disasters seem to him transgressions in a universe that is at most times beneficent. Illness and catastrophic outbreaks of disease try his capacity to feel secure in an orderly world. Even within his own existence, he is upset by the unexpected, by sudden disturbance in the smooth passage of his life.

Let man know that there is reason in each disturbance in the natural rhythm of earthly existence. Each catastrophe claims victims, to be sure, but these souls do not die in vain. They teach much to the survivors, and by their misfortune they inspire in others a sense of unity and a desire to be helpful and consoling. Even if death does not occur, men are drawn together in sympathy for those who have suffered and are enriched by the generosity that inspires them to do all within their power to alleviate pain and need.

The most awful of tragedies, then, can be said to have effects that change lives. Each gesture of loving concern is a triumph of the human spirit. When man unites with his brothers in acts of caring, all profit. There is no end to the goodness of man facing adversity. The victims learn acceptance and patience and gratefully accept all that is offered to them in love. Those who seek to alleviate suffering and need are united in a common cause and find great healing in newfound awareness of all that binds brother to brother in time of need.

It is wisdom to acknowledge this aspect of human existence and to accept with equanimity all that befalls man in his journey through life as meaningful and beneficial.

Monday, 8/23/99 11:44PM - Divine Nature

It is easy to forget the magnitude of man's divine origin. It is easy to be complacent about the miracle of human individuality. The soul is in its essence unique, and each soul come to earth brings with it this quality. No two souls are identical. No two humans are identical. It is only lately that science has provided proof positive of this latter statement. Faith must accept the first.

It is persuasive when man considers the number of humans who have inhabited planet earth and do still and to recognize the total individuality of each one. Nature is impressive in many ways, but this supreme achievement, this singular marking of each man born to earthly existence must be acknowledged as divine in its nature. All men share certain traits. All men travel the same road from birth to death. All men seek the same satisfactions in human life. All men are brothers in the general sense of the word. Yet no two men are identical. Each bears an identity that is his alone.

On the surface this may not seem remarkable, but when one considers the complexity involved in this singular identity one must grant that it defies easy explanation, that it is far beyond the capacity of man to fully comprehend.

So consider, My children, that you are so special to your creator that you are sua generis, that no other can be confused with your singular identity. You are unique. You are one of a kind. You are divine in your individuality.

This is cause for rejoicing among all men.

Sunday, 9/12/99 11:59PM - Divine Nature

In all ways man is dependent upon his inner self, the soul that is his eternally and that he brings into each life as the central part of his being, his cause for existence.

It has always been difficult for man to distinguish between body and soul. The corporeal being lends itself easily to earthly analysis, to examinations minute in detail and analysis. The relationship between body and mind, though the latter is incorporated as part of the body, has been pursued assiduously and much of consequence has been determined of the dominance of the brain, of its essential nature in the governance of the physical existence each man born to life knows.

The soul though is another matter. The soul stubbornly resists human analysis. Its existence is indisputable. Its importance to each life exists always in human consciousness. It asserts itself in times of doubt. It speaks encouragement in times of trial. Who, then, can dare to say that man is body alone -- that he is animated from birth to death solely by the mechanics of his corporeal being. No man claims this untenable conviction. Yet few men are united in explanation of what lies beyond corporeal reality.

Let us conclude then that ready answers are not available in this earthly life, but that man nevertheless continues to seek in the absolute conviction that the body, even the mind, is not all, that there is a future reality not readily understandable or accessible but nevertheless significant and essential, and that lends itself to intuitive understanding, to perception beyond the ordinary, and that this extension of awareness holds infinite reward.

Wednesday, 10/21/98 10:55PM - Divine Nature

It is at all times incumbent upon man in his earthly journey to be aware of his limitations and his strengths. It is often tempting for man endowed, as some are, with unusual talents or insights to fail to recognize that earthly capacities are just that -- earthly. It is often beyond his inclination to see a limit to his talents and inventiveness. Even if he finds himself less that he would choose to be in his creativity and insight, he looks to his fellow men he regards as more complete in their capabilities. In all of his seeking he fails to consider the possibility of a force beyond the apparent, an intelligence beyond easy perception, a divine plan revealed only partially to him.

I speak here primarily of those who embrace scientific method to explain the mysteries of the universe, but they are not alone in their striving. There are and have been through history men of letters, humans extraordinarily gifted, who have confused their own capabilities with knowledge absolute, their understanding of the world they know with truth complete, certainty about the reason for man's existence.

In assuming total knowledge beyond proof positive, many err in neglecting the world of the human spirit. In the mind they find all they seek, and in neglecting to examine the importance of the spirit they fail in their quest for truth. Some fail utterly in their assumption of correctness. Others realize that though they may enjoy a measure of understanding and wisdom they fall short of absolute comprehension.

No man grasps truth complete. Closest come the mystics, those gifted souls who, aware of human limitation, seek heavenly guidance and embrace its wisdom. This is not to say that all men claiming divine insight have the right to do so. Charlatans abound in the earthly domain, but equally sensitive souls abound and are prepared always to share the perfection they know in awareness of all that life demands. Listen to these pure souls and be guided. Listen even more closely to the voice within and know peace. Know that there is right and reason in human limitation and glorious power in submission.

© 2010 Cornelia Silke dba New Light Publishing