Just The Facts

2001-7-19 00:08:00

White Magic -- Lesson Two, Part 18

Larry writes:

"Over the period of time I have been associated with the list (about 2 years now, I think) it has become apparent that you considered the writings of Djwahl Khul via AAB to be very central to your teachings.

"Let me state my particular concern with this. In the past you have stated emphatically that one can verify principles via the soul, but not necessarily facts. Hopefully I am not mistaken what I have taken to be a cornerstone principle of 'soul contact.'

"When Alice A. Bailey (AAB) -- or Djwhal Khul (DK) via AAB -- states principles then I presume a person with soul contact would be able to some extent verify the truth of that. However when AAB states facts to the effect that the Master Jesus was a Syrian in 1922, then I would wonder to what extent soul contact would help one verify that fact? It would seem that one would have to take that to a certain extent "on faith" in that the source of the fact had been reliable in principles before. Similarly if one believed that Pope John Paul I was in fact the Master Jesus, again that would be a fact, and not a principle and therefore one's confirmation of that as fact would rely more on faith in one's source rather than verified by soul contact.

"Similarly the chart of Masters given by AAB would seem to be a collection of 'facts.' I have to wonder to what extent knowing that (or believing that I know that) contributes to anyone's progress on the path, or in gaining soul contact? That is part of my concern with the focus lately on 'facts.'

"In the archives there is a discussion of various sources including channelers who give a plethora of 'facts' but few, if any principles. When I have looked into some of those sources mentioned in the archives I have not felt much 'resonation' with those sources. I do not feel much resonation with the facts given by AAB. Perhaps, and this probably reflects my opinion at this point, those 'facts' are simply not necessary for me to know, if indeed they are true (a claim which I am not necessarily convinced of yet).

"So in a nutshell that is my concern with the recent direction you have taken into facts revealed by AAB. I am still intrigued by, and resonate with many principles you have taught. It is usually when you give facts that I find I need to simply put them on a 'back burner' to see what turns up later."

JJ:

Good points Larry; and others may have similar thoughts.

Yes, verifying principles through the soul is core to my teachings on soul contact. Most true teachers will reveal new principles or new light on revealed principles.

But many teachers in that past that we revere today may have only revealed or brought light on one or two principles and all else they dealt with was data of some kind.

The point is that the revelation of a new principle is a rare occurrence for humanity and we have been fortunate on this list to examine a significant number of new ones and shed more light on previous ones.

But even in examining principles, facts and data must be presented. One cannot see a new principle clearly without putting together some established facts.

One cannot teach without using facts of some kind.

In many of my teachings concerning principles I use facts and data that are generally accepted. This lowers resistance to the seeing of the principle.

But then I may present information on a principle, (for instance the principle that hierarchy extends above and below the human kingdom) and some of the data around this comes from a source that the general populace does not readily support.

This lack of acceptance can create a resistance to the seeing of the principle.

Now, is it possible that the facts that are readily supported are much more suspect than the facts from an unorthodox source, such as DK?

Yes, indeed.

Does this then mean that we should blindly accept the Bailey writings because they claim to come from a Master?

No.

But neither should we accept facts from an orthodox source without testing them as much as possible.

While it is true, that for an intuitive person true principles are much easier to discern than true facts, this does not mean that the truth behind facts is beyond our grasp

We receive facts from basically four sources:

  1. Unearned authorities;
  2. Earned authorities;
  3. Personal experience and discovery, and;
  4. A few receive them by direct revelation confirmed by soul contact.

This last one would be a higher octave of the physical earned authority.

All of us use a certain amount of facts on a daily basis from number one above -- authorities that we have not tested. This is just part of doing business as a human and we often do not test data unless a problem occurs that makes this necessary.

Many people actually have no earned authority for they have not taken the time to test any data. If the authority is declared valid by other authorities, then no questioning usually occurs.

I have taught the principle of earned authority and it has registered as correct with many of your souls. If we can establish a source as a reliable earned authority then we can have a source of true facts, but of course not infallible in all instances.

One who reveals true principles that register with soul should score many points toward becoming an earned authority because true principles and true facts are intertwined.

As far as Djwahl Khul goes, the group is divided. For some he is an earned authority, for others he has not proven himself and is unearned. This is as it should be.

When I bought my first Alice A. Bailey book and sat down and read a chapter or two, I totally rejected many of the facts therein, for the source was far from being an earned authority with me. I did recognize high intelligence, but gave no authority to the data therein.

I put the book on my shelf unread for five years.

But during those five years there was something about the material that stuck in my mind and that was the intelligence behind the words. I kept thinking -- how could the facts presented be so wrong when the intelligence seemed so high?

Then, after five years I discovered that a couple points of his data were indeed true and the power of my soul created a magnetic force that drew me back to the Bailey writings.

I finally said: "Okay soul, I will force myself to read one of the books all the way through and test the truth thereof."

I then set to reading "A Treatise on White Magic," and was amazed at how, time after time, principles as well as many facts registered with my soul and I was disappointed with myself for waiting five years on getting started.

Actually, on hindsight Djwahl Khul became an earned authority to a small degree from my first reading. That earned authority was high intelligence. This was a strong enough of an authority, not to convince me, but to make me consider that true knowledge may be there.

I have since studied all the writings available from Djwahl Khul and have proven many of the principles and facts through personal experience, previous earned authorities and by revelation.

Does this mean that I accept all he says without questioning?

No.

But when I come across something that seems questionable, I give it a lot of weight because so much material he had taught in the past that I either rejected or questioned, I later discovered that to be correct.

From all that I have absorbed from his writings there are perhaps three or four facts that he has presented that I still have on "the shelf." Even so, I give them a lot of weight because he has proven himself time and time again so I am forced by shear logic to give weight to his words.

For those of you who do not see the Bailey writings as an earned authority, I would suggest that you put the writings to the test as I did. I hope though that you do not have to wait five years before you make the quest as I did.

Having a reliable source of facts of higher knowledge is indeed extremely valuable and this leads to a higher understanding of principles.

We cannot have a full understanding of principles without a foundation of true facts and we cannot discover true facts around higher knowledge without the understanding of true principles.

  

"The books that I have written are sent out with no claim for their acceptance. They may, or may not, be correct, true and useful. It is for you to ascertain their truth by right practice and by the exercise of the intuition."
  -- Djwhal Khul

  

-- End Of Lesson Two, Part 18 --

  

Go to:

Next Lesson

Previous Lesson

White Magic Lesson Index