2011-11-03 Spiritual Pressure, Social Movements
Lightline #330
Contents
1Heading
1Topic: Spiritual Pressure
2Group: Lightline TeaM
2Facilitators
1Teacher: Midwayer Jack, Athena
2TR: Gerdean
3Session
1Opening
2Lesson
2.1Social Movements
2.2Spiritual Pressure
2.3Stillness
2.4Process
3Dialogue
3.1Expression
4Closing
Heading
Topic: Spiritual Pressure
Group: Lightline TeaM
Facilitators
Teacher: Midwayer Jack, Athena
TR: Gerdean
Session
Opening
Prayer: Father God, thank you for this moment in time when we can come together in unison, in spirit, and, in confidence of your overcare, conjoin with one another in trust and faith of our sonship, our fraternity, our friendship. Help us get as much out of this moment as we can so that we can take what we get and give it out to those we meet as we pass by, to Your glory. Amen.
Lesson
Social Movements
0802-AB-JACK. Jack here. I have been eagerly awaiting this renewed opportunity to join with you. It is a smiling face that greets you, rather like the Cheshire cat, having a countenance that might indicate I have secrets to convey, as if to say “I know something you don’t know.” And that is probably true but it doesn’t really matter because each of us can only handle what we can handle and deal with what is given to us and so we can all walk around like a Cheshire Cat because indeed we do all have a secret but as time goes by it is less and less a secret because a relationship with Deity is becoming more and more a popular thing and known by more and more believers. It’s not like it once was when I first started conversing with you humans. The times have truly changed. You have, in fact, come a long way. It may not be apparent to you but it certainly is to me.
For example, have you given any consideration to the contribution you have made to the world wide movement now underway in which the soul of humanity has risen up to claim its rights and assert its dignity before those of authority which would keep them oppressed or play unkind games on them and otherwise succeeding at their expense. It is hardly fair, this unequal distribution of wealth that has tilted the scales from one of passive acquiescence to one of revolution. No, the teachers have not taught revolution. They have not suggested you go up in arms over the things that bother you individually or collectively, but your souls are beginning to act as if with a mind of its own, as you have been promised, and as you act in concert with the divine will you can be assured of many changes, all for the better.
Once more I will remind you of Teacher Ham’s initial message to you February 1, 1992, when he said “Welcome to Change.” The undertaking was to — and continues to be — in addition to personal correcting, correcting also of the many dysfunctions entrenched in your global societies, remnants of errors made long ago and carried forward into today’s economic system, educational system, and in many, many other ways, all of which are earmarked for recovery and we might as well be about the Father’s business.
Spiritual Pressure
This is what you call “spiritual pressure.” This spiritual pressure business is in the Father’s mystery, for if you were to attempt to apply spiritual pressure to someone it would backfire, surely. You cannot force someone to make spiritual decisions. You cannot make someone read the Urantia Book. You cannot make someone want to know God. You cannot force someone to live a righteous life. But if you do, if you represent the values you would have others reach for and live by, the [your actions] speak louder than words. Not only that, your good energy, conjoined with the good energy of others, and a groundswell commences to enter into the consciousness — collective consciousness of Urantia such that change is coming literally as well as figuratively.
There are many things you can do to contribute further because the work has hardly begun. This is only an indication that change must be made. Assuredly, the protests will be squelched, they will be dispersed, the crowds will be dispersed. Cold weather will come and the protesters will seek shelter, but never again will the consciousness of what they have experienced be diminished nor will the memory of their synchronistic activity be forgotten, and so a step forward has been made, a new plateau has been reached. Continue to seek the source, to embrace the power of peace, to look for correction of worldly ways to reveal the divine character.
Stillness
The simple fact of Stillness has provided the key here and continues to provide the key for it opens the door for your perception of a better world. It lifts you from the darkness from which you come. The master came and promised to lead you forth from that darkness into the light and you have been reminded of this in your life personally by spending time with the Master in Stillness, allowing Him to come close to you, touch your heart, amend your thinking, modify your feelings such that you have begun to appreciate the qualities of divinity such as mercy, love, compassion and the like.
This is not to say that you have become ineffective, no, it has merely changed the way you can be effective. Naturally there are many who have not attained this degree of awareness and there are many who continue to bounce off the wall of their own mind in vain efforts to force their way through violence or through attempting to put new wine into old wineskins. There will be much chaos in the days ahead as the new dispensation—correction, the new epoch casts about for firm footing into which we will march.
When you are sitting around in Stillness, or puttering around at your craft, your task, your work bench, contemplate those values that you would like to see manifested in a world to come. It’s not possible for you to have a full-blown picture of what light and life for Urantia might look like, but you can get glimpses of what values and situations you would find to be an improvement. Begin to put energy into the visualization of those realities. Apply more spiritual pressure simply by holding them in your consciousness, for as you have such visions, as you maintain those potentials and give energy to them, this gives rise, this encourages the same process in others. It’s about that mutual stimulation of the imagination that Rodan speaks about.
Process
And don’t be afraid to announce your goals for the future with your friends and your peers. Naturally there will be those who will scoff. Let them scoff. Eventually and gradually they will come around. And don’t be cynical or bitter if when they come around they come around as if it were their idea, denying completely that it was you that planted the seed. It does not matter. What matters is that these seeds of light and life are planted and begin to grow. It is a process. It’s not like someone is going to wave their magic wand and stardust will settle over everything creating an idyllic state, no. Evolutionary life is acquired painfully, laboriously, patiently, little bit by little bit.
When you come together with people of like mind, or when you experience a breakthrough, or when you see someone whose lights are coming on in their consciousness, such that you are able to see, literally see revelation occurring in them, rejoice and be exceedingly glad, but do not think that the work is over simply because you have attained a wee bit of success. Rather, use this wee bit of success to encourage you to go on with the process so that day by day you see incremental growth, some here today, some there tomorrow. I can tell you this because this is what we have done, we midwayers. We have worked quite diligently for the past 2,000 years, knowing that one must wait upon time for all things to come to pass.
And so our end goal is a long way away but we have had little victories, little successes that have given us tremendous joy, great satisfaction. These moments of recognition of the truth of the evolutionary process, the ascension scheme, whereby you are raised from a cellular creature to a dignified son of God, is indeed a long process but if you take note of the changes and the progress along the way, you can see it! And this is a great confirmation for you on those days when you feel you are not getting anywhere and that evolution has surely taken a backward step. Encourage one another.
It gives me great pleasure to have these moments in time to be able to come here and encourage you. You provide us with encouragement. Your enthusiasm some days is delightfully unsinkable, even in the face of your Agondonter status. To have no finite proof of God’s existence and still continue to have faith humbles us. I know there are many who might think that you were simply being Pollyanna-ish, living in a fool’s paradise, pulling the wool over your own eyes so as not to see the dire straits of the human condition, or looking at life through rose-colored glasses, and I suppose there are days when you might wonder about that yourself. But I want you to consider now and forevermore that there is a spark of life within you that does know – knows beyond question, knows beyond all doubt, knows with every aspect of its existence – that you are going to make it, that the planet is going to make it, also.
Not only is it going to survive, it is going to become a shrine to the creator of this local universe! And we are going to proceed into our future as citizens who have come from this future shrine. Hold your head up! It is not your fault the world is temporarily so confused and its citizenry so dysfunctional. Find that clarity that rises within you, that spark of light and truth, and project that divine illumination out over the world and everyone in it, for that is truly their legacy. That is their legacy and nothing less.
All right then, I have given you my little pep talk. I know you experienced the emotional quality that I intended to convey, the mental assurance that comes with those kinds of affirmations and consecrations, and furthermore I know that the Adjuster within you has utilized these works and this moment to contribute to the conspiracy to lift you up. And so I feel pretty good about myself but I am rather concerned now about you that have challenges on your plate, as it were: personal challenges, mental challenges, social challenges, questions, concerns, situations, and I urge you to take advantage of the moment that has been given to us in this format to utilize the available format and forum to express your concerns and cares, as well as your victories and accomplishments.
It’s your time. Come. Let’s share in the work. Star six is the key to open the door here. Come on down. Come on in. Come on out. (Pause) Well, I don’t know if you are just being shy or if you have nothing to say. Perhaps you have a desire to talk to someone else in the TeaM hierarchy. I’m in the happy position of being a liaison for the teachers and other heavenly helpers. If you have a special request to talk to someone or ask someone else a question, I would be happy to comply with your wishes.
Dialogue
Expression
Mark: Well, yes. I will ask a question, if I may. It’s a personal thing, so I hesitate, but perhaps you, Jack, or someone else who is authorized, will have some ideas that might help. I find myself frustrated in a career. I am musician, song-writer, performer with a vast body of work now. I’m 62 years old and I’ve been doing this for five decades, I guess, but I find myself having a loss for venues, for places to play. What I do is specialized work; it’s very theatrical, and … but of course it’s all about the gospel, really, and I do work with the churches. Perhaps I’m in the process of answering my own question here, but I do find it – it’s like there was a time when there were plenty of places to perform but now it’s a much narrower thing, but then I find myself … I just don’t know whether to hold back and wait patiently for something to open up or to throw myself out on the boulevard, as it were, and see what happens. I’ve gotten advice from both directions, so that is my plight and I come to you for direction or guidance. Thank you.
0802-AB-JACK. Thank you, Mark, and I would love to talk to you about it, but Athena has been tugging on my elbow to come in so I will let Athena speak.
ATHENA: Ah, my dear, I am glad to be able to consult with you about your plight, and I would say let’s jump into the boulevard. A few venues are there for you that you have not taken full advantage of. Perhaps you have refined your act so well to a spiritual audience, you have curtailed your own potential. Spiritual messages, as you know, are not limited to spirit-talk, religious talk, and there are a great many people who are eager to have something new to entertain them and to laugh about.
Have you tried the supper clubs? Have you tried the comedy clubs? Have you tried the lounges, the jazz venues, or blues venues? I think perhaps you need a new marketing agent. We observe the dynamism of Pato Banton and the Now Generation and have to smile at the industry with which this now 50-year-old man approaches his work, sometimes on a grueling schedule, endlessly touting The Urantia Book and becoming quite focused on his mission. It’s not that his audience is limited to those who would hear about The Urantia Book, no, because people are able to embrace the energy that he brings, the energy that is inherent in the message he espouses.
I know there is, in human terms, a difference between being 50 and 60 – and it can be a significant difference. Also your work is really much more sophisticated than Pato’s, which is very universal. The Reggae beat is so elemental; it’s not difficult to get everyone to tap their toe in synch with him, thus bringing about a sense of unity and harmony which he capitalizes on very well. I just would hate to think that you have sold out your very versatile talents by an over-focus on religious messages when those values could be spread around to much broader venues, to audiences who have become much more eager to hear intelligent and skilled artistry such as yours.
Your mastery of words and your style of delivery are lost in the churches, in my opinion – although I would certainly not close the door on that venue. There are just so many other areas available if you need to begin at this late date by opening your own club or buying into an existing establishment with someone wherein you can garner a following, similar to the ones set up by Las Vegas performers. Wayne Newton never had to go anywhere else except that one club. You could do the same. Or you could do more like Pato, but again, your work is sophisticated and your audience will be a bit more refined, and so you do need to cultivate the audience that you seek but it is not just to be found in the churches, my friend. Churches may be safe but they do not begin to utilize your potential as an entertainer. I don’t know if this has been helpful but it is my input.
Mark: Well, my goodness! It’s very helpful. It’s very thorough! My goodness. Thank you very much. I’ll get right to work.
ATHENA: Be encouraged.
Mark: Thank you, I am.
0802-AB-JACK. Jack’s back. What else have we got to deal with this evening? How’s your health? How about that rambunctious teenager you have to deal with? What about the car that keeps breaking down, the boss that you can’t seem to get along with? There are challenges everywhere that become object lessons for us all, if you let them be. Life is not lived in a vacuum. Ah yes, here’s one. This is Gerdean. Gerdean has been worrying that she has become too complacent, that there are– Well, you tell them, Gerdean. You can speak for yourself.
Gerdean: All right, Jack, I will. Thank you, I think. I was concerned and do get concerned that I am finding less and less opportunities to be of service, proselytize, transmit, be actively engaged. I feel like I am being limited and curtailed simply by my own perception of how much longer I have to live and so I am cutting off possibilities and saying, “Well, I’m not going to live long enough to do that. I don’t have the energy to do that. I’ve done that already, forget it. And I’m so happy. I’m extremely grateful. I’ll be quiet now.” And yet there’s a part of me that feels that I am copping out and I’ve become complacent and I’m just not really at ease about that. I wonder if I could get some guidance there. Thank you.
0802-AB-JACK. I will talk to that, (– this is Jack) — although there are half a dozen entities in our midst here, not excluding your personal teachers, who would be happy to spend time with you, Gerdean, if you were to cultivate the practices that you once held so religiously but that you have let slide. It is no wonder you feel as if you are not doing what you could be doing: you’re not! It’s not necessarily that you’ve become complacent. The very fact that you feel you are not doing enough indicates that you are not complacent. You have a right to have a certain amount of contentment. No one is going to begrudge you the acquirement of serenity, but there is still a great deal that you could be doing, one of which is erasing that false ceiling on the end of your existence here.
It doesn’t matter if you have finished all your projects and cleared off your desk and left everything clean and orderly for a nice, timely departure. Go ahead, make a mess, start things, start several things, and leave a mess when you leave happy and fulfilled. Maybe someone will pick up on one of your projects and you can thus keep the ball rolling for those who would follow after you. You do a great deal, and you continue to astound people with your accomplishments, your insights and your humor. There is, probably fortunately, an odd block in your mind that doesn’t want to hear about how wonderful you are or how wonderful people think you are. And I am not encouraging you to become egotistical here; I am encouraging you to keep things in perspective.
I have noticed you are telling your friends you are going over your Bucket List, you want to finish this and you want to do that before you leave. That’s all very nice but it’s also so very final. Why don’t you try resuming some of your old practices such as extensive stillness? You haven’t got anything else to do except play Free Cell. Pick up some of those projects you have set aside as not having enough time to do them; do them anyway. And if you have lost the motivation, if you are not what they call a self-starter now that you don’t have to deal with the competitive edge of the work force, call me up! I’ll get you started! Or any one of a number of invisible friends – or your finite friends! – who would probably scold you for having such an absurd concern when there are really genuine concerns all around you.
You are so safe, my dear. That’s your problem. You are so very safe. You have not yet learned how to value that. Perhaps you are still afraid that the other shoe is going to drop or that there is a disaster right around the corner. Do let that go. You are not complacent; you’re just a bit spoiled. We need you.
Gerdean: Thank you, Jack.
0802-AB-JACK. And (Jack here) I am sure I could give the same or similar counsel to each of you, as this is an aspect of the human condition. We have seen it before and are seeing it more and more as more and more people learn to live in the light and yearn to be all they can be and more. Be who you are. What else could you be anyway? We have seconds to go. Well, minutes. Is there anything else? Anyone else?
Jean: Yes, Jack. This is Jean.
0802-AB-JACK. Yes, Jean.
Jean: I would like you to forward to Gerdean that I understand exactly what she is talking about. So glad she raised the question. And I want to thank you for everything you have talked about this evening, and for the encouragement.
Closing
0802-AB-JACK. Thank you, Jean. You provide a great deal of encouragement, too, simply by showing your lovely face and expressing yourself here among us. We are a fraternal society of believers. We need each other. Good for you — and all of you – for stepping up. And with that, I will bid you adieu until next time. Thank you for coming. Thank you, Father God, and all your agents for the marvelous adventure we enjoy. Later!
