PART IV; CHAPTER SIXTEEN

- PART IV -

TRUTH


- CHAPTER SIXTEEN -
“ FINALLY ”

UNDERSTANDING



Without the When, What and Why we would have no reason to know How! Or care. Unless there is an objective worthy of our effort we rest complaisantly and lack desire to grow. Too many are comfortable in this “rut”. Change is always an option but may go unconsidered until forced upon us. Incentive to voluntarily move forward must come from something we recognize as an improvement over and above the quality of our present circumstances. An improvement, by our standards, of our standards. All in all, HOW must begin with us thinking about, us! Obviously that isn’t much of a stretch for anyone, because living out the delusion of being in control of our lives, thinking about ourselves occupies most of our time anyhow. This has been the case since ego became aware of its individuality and began struggling for an identity separate from those peers or family members in close association. A uniqueness deemed ideal, accomplished by our effort to be set apart from those we might view as an embarrassment or beneath our consideration. So goes the birth of Self (a.k.a. egotism), whether at the very dawn of self awareness, or adolescence, the cause and effect are the same. Each of us experience changes in our personal perspective, relative to our relatives––or in general, any authority figure––as we grow toward the necessity of being independently resourceful, just as the human race shifted from a group or race spirit, to the soul centered Spirit, the essence of individuality so many millennia ago. We witness the obvious examples of the “group / species spirit” that make a horse have the same instincts and behavioral characteristics as every other horse and every dog or cat be what’s expected of them. These beatific entities are specifically led by Divine Guidance to meet the unique demands of the particular group they have an abiding affinity to. Regardless of the seemingly individual characteristics or talents of some of the more entertaining subgroups (i.e., animals who have been trained or bred throughout centuries of domestication to exhibit very specific tasks or attitudes) they are still bound by the rules that define their group. No single Being has emerged from them who demonstrates an awareness of Self in the same creative manner, in which the ego has for the human species. To be sure, there are examples among all vertebrates of recognition between related individuals as well as (in mammals especially) animated responses to, or “acts” of, compassion, remorse and “loss”. Much, if not all of this is instinct, original instinct, the survival mechanism manifested by Divine Guidance to galvanize the navigation of physical challenges typically faced prior to––and without the advantages gained through––self-awareness, when the advancement along our current personal path began. Our attempts to free ourselves of the burden original instinct now represents, in light of its restrictions on our further advancement, personifies the awareness we consider unique to Spirit. This is not to say; others are not growing spiritually, only that their growth is as a group that has not as yet been guided to a path of separation, according to our current capacity of discernment anyhow. All will in time, of course, just as we did when it was appropriate to do so. Our path since then, where it’s going and how to cooperate in our eventual dissemination to “oneness”, is the focus of the remaining address found herein.

Allowing that the newly discovered Self represented more of a priority than the clan identity we were distancing ourselves from, it’s not unreasonable to expect our attention to shift from one of accepting the stigmatized social ranking of the deep rooted pecking order, to asserting personal recognition and rights to possessions of our own. At first there was an implied value or worth placed on our claims to be different, but after spanning countless incarnations over a hundred millennia and enduring the persecution and resistance from all who would perceive our independent thinking to be a threat, that value of Self, became self evident as we were guided to put ourselves first so that the embryonic rules of interaction shaping early social behavior would evolve into laws with the most equitable interpretation of personal rights. Divine Guidance of course has proven flawless with providing insight into the shaping of “man made” laws. Their overall and far reaching original intent however, is often masked by the personal agendas of any who put themselves ahead of their peers, leaving a truly accurate manifestation to an enlightened future generation. Continuing revelations into universal Truths will, in time, raise the quality of our laws to the epitome of God’s unconditional Grace benefiting, without question or judgment, each and every person in precisely the manner befitting the cultivation of their own path.

The paradox; emphasizing the importance of Ego over all else, only for the purpose of surviving long enough to mature into the free thinking individual capable of making the choice to disregard Self in order that we may return to the unity of at-one-ment, is the conflict that defines the struggle we face in our continuing attempts to grasp some understanding of universal, eternal Truths! We’ve been exposed to the “look out for number one” belief system for so long, that when we reach the point in time where it’s taken us as far as it can and is no longer appropriate, our dependence on independence has become so ingrained that moving away from it, in order to advance further, would be among the last choices under consideration if a decision like that were ours to make. The “rut” we find comfort in, dulls our awareness and confuses us with contradictions that cloud any beginnings of insightfulness. Free will becomes more and more a stumbling block or obstacle, separating us from an abiding faith.

Advancing on our path, means voluntarily leaving the comfortable, known, behind in exchange for the unknown ahead, which in practice is the milieu of those independent explorer types who, though sure of their abilities to survive may not be ready to accept that their confidence is merely a reliance on primordial instinct, or that the dependence that reliance represents, is actually holding them back from the revelations in Truth that would, by comparison, relegate the personal gratification that motivates them, into insignificance.

Giving up independent thinking (free will) is the most difficult choice we face––but is exactly what it amounts to––when we surrender ourselves so completely to faith that we rely solely on God’s Grace for every provision. We don’t reach this most momentous leap of faith without first having exhausted every other avenue imagination could summon in our futile belief that; we’re in control of those events we set in motion and of the reaction we have to those we become a part of. Surrender goes against every grain of independence we so staunchly defend.

In the carnal frame of reference, many have died defending the freedoms that independence symbolizes. Many of those chose death over subjugation. Our history of striving for a more perfect or ever improving manifestation of freedom, imbues our vested interest with a great deal of pride in being a part of––or having a heritage to––its providence. It is, of course, original instinct motivating us in the name of “self” preservation, that keeps our focus so tight we fail to see or even consider the possibility; the perfect freedom we seek is not of our own making but is our Divine heritage, requiring nothing more than reclaiming it by our submission to God’s Will. The kind of faith required for total submission is, necessarily, the product of our entire worldly experiences, the distillation of uncountable acts of trust, realized hopes and dreams. Abiding faith, immutable and inviolate, represents the essence of every positive thing and thought, every selfless choice from all the encounters garnered throughout every incarnation contributing to the whole of our path.

Divine Guidance, in its perfect patronage, provides the specific obstacle, then delivers the ideal dose of encouragement and wisdom ably abetting the challenged in each confrontation. As said earlier, we are never faced with an obstacle we don’t already have the ability to overcome. The growth or advancement on our path is not dependent on miraculous outcomes against impossible odds. It’s dependent on our rejection of instincts, then acceptance of and finally reliance on the idea of something much greater than ourselves being in charge of every aspect of our lives. Therein lies the obvious reason why the path we find ourselves committed to, spans more than one incarnation. No one, none, has ever procured the faith needed to transcend physical life, in one lifetime. Those we recognize as master teachers and “way-showers”, manifestations of God Himself and His unconditional Love on earth, are experiencing the final incarnation on their path, as their return to at-one-ment is fully and gloriously realized. Their lives and behaviors, their every word is more than a reflection of God! They have each reached the culmination of their physical embodiments only after going through and overcoming all the same tribulations and temptations we find ourselves tested by daily. They are One with God and are among us for our seeking out as examples to emulate in our own lives!

Spiritual growth may be measured as only a few steps on our path throughout the span of an entire incarnation but, advancing by one step at a time the knowledge acquired is more permanently impressed into the store of experiences we take with us from one embodiment to the next. The time tested adage “practice makes perfect” appropriately applies to far more of our day to day routine than it has ever received credit for. It should also be considered, at least by any who are receptive to such Truths, to be a principle maxim best construed quite literally, not only in regard to our every thought and deed, but every positive experience that translates into advancement along our path, as well. The Master Teachers, who by their very existence confirm our place in the Creator’s Grand Plan, have achieved perfection practicing the lessons His Guidance has blessed us all with. Like Them, each of us in our own time, will reach our common goal of being At-One. As we move closer to living life as a font for His unconditional Love in the lives of all those we touch, that once seemingly elusive quality called “faith” , becomes our own personal wellspring on which we draw directly and willingly, from the one source of all. As the promises and assets of our inheritance, guaranteed us as His beloved children, begin manifesting in our lives, the likelihood of questioning His Will slips increasingly toward being an entirely moot point, until finally, the possibility of Self ever interfering again is a non issue. Granted, that’s a long way down the path for the vast majority of us, so any attempt to take license with an accurate description of our ultimate reward, only serves us humbly as an inadequate prelude to the perfection we will all be led to, “in time”.

The people benefiting from the incarnation that glorified each Master’s ascension to Their highest degree of perfection, had arrived at a juncture on their path, as a society or group, where the desperate acts of instinct were prevailing over free will. In every instance, their long held core belief system was contrived to lead them into desperate enough times by way of heinous and despicable acts upon each other, to consider possibilities where the interloping unction of Divine service could intercede and address, most effectively and acceptably, the long suffering, intricately gerrymandered, need at hand. At each such place and time, the Divinely orchestrated design warranted the intercession of a Teacher who would, by living among them, demonstrate a higher standard of behaviors and attitudes, as well as elucidate the “miraculous” results realized by following their example.

However, before revelations in Truth could sufficiently impress any would-be believers, it was necessary to distract them from a preoccupation with the very rituals and ceremonies of a belief system their deepest psyche had been so carefully imprinted with in the first place. Generations of discipline intended to represent nothing more than the foundation or basis of what was to come, because nothing was left to chance in preparation of those who were nearing the next leap forward on their path; accepting as Truth the messages provided through and by the arriving “way showing” Masters. Divine timing and purpose is eternally perfect. A shared epiphany is ripe for any who would choose to become followers, because the overcoming of tribulations during countless incarnations has opened a new door through which the light of insight assures a much brighter future.