Family

2000-1-27 11:26:00

My Friends,

We have had disagreements on this list from the beginning, but we have always been like family and have been relatively free of harsh emotionalism and hurt feelings. There have been exchanges of late that this list has not experienced before, where emotions have been enflamed and some have felt hurt, justifiably so.

As a consequence of this in the last few weeks we have gone from 220 members to 200 even though quite a few new people have joined. Thus instead of losing 20 we could have lost up to 40. There are many people on this list, who are not that vocal, who do not like inflammatory exchange and do not wish to share in negative feelings, so they drop off and seek for light in more peaceful places.

Consider this. Some of these people, who have dropped off, may have been earnest seekers who just got the wrong impression here and thought this was some type of crossfire exchange type of list. Perhaps in reality this group and these teachings are just what they have been searching for all their life, but they are now missing an opportunity to discover because we have given them the wrong impression of who we are and what we are about.

Here are my suggestions. Remember the Prime Directive of this course is a class set up to learn, discuss and contemplate information and principles that I give out to the group. From your point of view that may be good or bad. If you joined this list thinking it was a free-for-all, you may think this is a negative thing and that we should have a competitive teaching situation where the loudest, most emotional, gets the floor. If this is what you want then this list is not for you.

If you are here to prove me wrong, fraudulent, deceptive etc, in order to save the rest of the group from error, you will just get frustrated over time and this list is also not for you. Those on the list are some of the most intelligent independent people on the planet and they can make up their own minds about me by using their own hearts and minds and souls.

And remember a person can agree with me and do so because he has thought it through, not because he just goes with the flow. In the coming age there will be many groups of people who will see as one, and do so with an accurate perception of the truth, because they see through the eyes of the soul. The Oneness principle is for people of vision, not numbed acolytes on one hand, or the unbelieving on the other.

Who is this list for?

First and foremost it is for those who sense within their inner selves that there is something here for them to learn from the teachings given out. While it is true that we can all learn things from each other, and we do that here often, it is nevertheless strongly suggested that you go to a less structured list if you feel you have nothing to learn from me.

Would you attend a beginning Spanish class if you already believe yourself to be more fluent in Spanish than the teacher? If you do it is not to learn additional Spanish. It is either to show how intelligent you are or, if you are the helpful sort, you could seek to help in any way you can to aid with the curriculum of the teacher. Then, too, you would only help the teacher if you agree that he is generally headed the right direction; otherwise you are likely to rise up in class and voice objections that interfere with learning.

Note: In this class sincere question related to learning and clarification are always welcome. They will be answered as time permits.

Secondly, Rick has often referred to this list as "family." I like this reference and have also felt this way about the group from the beginning. A secondary purpose of the list is to cultivate this family feeling, and we seek to make each member feel loved and accepted, even if their views are much different from our own. We have only asked one thing of all members and that is to treat others with love and respect. This feeling of love, respect and camaraderie has declined significantly the past couple months.

Each of us needs to examine our hearts and motives and ask if we, as individuals, are in any way responsible for this decline and commit ourselves to rise to a higher level of Christ consciousness.

In the end, what good is any teaching, doctrine, group or destiny if in the present the general feeling lacks joy, love and spiritual flow?

There are two concrete things we can do to increase love and oneness in the group. First we can avoid name calling, any hint of insult and emotional attack. But the second thing we can do is even more important. We can apply a prime teaching of the Christ to "turn the other cheek." By this I do not mean that we avoid answering questions or meeting challenges but, instead, when we feel that we are attacked, that we do not attack back.

Each one of us will be much happier when we realize that criticism, insults (real and imagined) and barbs will come whenever we have a relationship with one or more people. There is no way we can avoid words that have potential to inflame. If we are waiting for others to improve before we cease being offended, we will be waiting forever.

We have no control over other people's words, but we do have control over our own. If someone calls you a "pompous ass" you do not have to give back the knee jerk reaction and flame him back. We have full power over our own words, and we can decide to turn the other cheek and return good for evil. These are part of the basic lessons of the Christ.

If we cannot learn them, my friends, why should He come to us to teach us higher things? Would an advanced Spanish teacher want to take a student who never learned anything from Spanish 101? Let us remember the basic lessons of the Master, to love one another, turn the other cheek, return good for evil, forgive our enemies (and our friends), and go the extra mile in helping those who do not seem to deserve it. What good does it do to know great mysteries of life and being and kingdoms if we cannot demonstrate the basic principles of love and forgiveness?

Paul's words are still very applicable today:

"If I had the gift of being able to speak in other languages without learning them and could speak in every language there is in all of heaven and earth, but didn't love others, I would only be making noise. If I had the gift of prophecy and knew all about what is going to happen in the future, knew everything about everything, but didn't love others, what good would it do?

"Even if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and make it move, I would still be worth nothing at all without love. If I gave everything I have to poor people, and if I were burned alive for preaching the Gospel but didn't love others, it would be of no value whatever.

"Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way.

"It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong. It is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out. If you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him." (I Cor 13:1-7 Living Bible)

I love you all as friends and workers in the light. Many of you have returned the love I send out with interest, and we happily discover the truth of the Oneness Principle together. You know who you are and may our numbers increase.

Let us return with commitment and the application of directed thought and love to the singing of the Song of the 144,000. Let us put particular attention at this time on "protection from all destructive thoughts and feelings," and lifting up the consciousness of Christ within ourselves - seeing it as lifting up our consciousness to be one with the consciousness of the Master.

Tomorrow I plan to cover our last question. Very few of you responded so let me repeat the most important question:

"What are the barriers that prevent two people from entering soul contact together and experiencing the Oneness Principle? How do we overcome these barriers?"

Several hints are in this post.