Spirituality

Question: Does personal ministry effect a balance of psychology and spirituality? Isn't it impossible to avoid the psychology in personal ministry?

Answer: I am not clear on how you mean “psychology.”

Question: Meaning that it's difficult to minister to someone that's ailing or seeking answers spiritually if you are not conscious or attuned to their psychological context? It seems that Jesus was incredibly perceptive in terms of the people that He came in contact with - where they were at, emotionally, psychologically, at that moment. And that affected what He could reveal or how much he could affect them spiritually.

Answer: That is correct. Jesus was adept at seeing into a person's soul, and assessing what they really needed in spite of what they may say they wanted or needed. For example, the boy who was afraid, who declared that he did not want to interact or need anything, and as Jesus engaged him, saw that, immediately knew, he was dealing with fear unsuccessfully, and then engaged him in a way which bolstered his confidence as he was in actuality helping him.

Question: This was when he asked for directions?

Answer: Yes. However you must keep in mind that often what a person verbalizes is not what they really crave. The spiritual is always the bread of life. So psychology can be used in two ways: one is your ability to assess where the other human is at and what their real needs might be, and two, the other person's own psychology of using mindal mechanisms to deny spiritual needs, or disguise spiritual needs. And these are two different usage of psychology in that situation. Your own ability to see others clearly will depend in part on your spiritual sight to see beyond the external to the soul within.

Question: So then that feeling that is capable of, and that I have experienced, sometimes it's really like spiritual sight, and sometimes it feels to humans like X-ray vision. (Yes.) And do you counsel that?
(Absolutely.) Because X-ray vision is not necessarily a manifestation of ego, then. Sometimes it's
looking through spiritual eyes.

Answer: Correct. 

Today we are continuing our journey into the spiritual life,  and its ramifications into our own feelings, lives, and spiritual transformations. Many aspects of spirit begin to influence us, and begin to cause us to stop and think and to focus in our daily lives as to what is actually happening to us, and how are many of the things we are experiencing beginning to interplay onto our decision making process, as to how you see yourself in a more perfect, and in a larger spiritual sense, and how you begin to incorporate this into your identity. God is love, God is many many things, but the love aspect of God is that which is most assessable to you at this time, in your evolution. 

At one time on this planet God was feared, God was a mighty and all-powerful being that demanded loyalty and fidelity, he demanded ritual practices, and He demanded sacrifice. Religion slowly evolved, and with the coming of Michael to this world he forever displaced and dispelled the idea of an angry vengeful father, an almighty figure, into that of the loving compassionate father who wisely cares for his children, and wisely sees to their enjoyment in life. When you begin to become in tune with the essence and reality of God in your life, your are in a sense coming into the essence of, and the reality of love, and until you come into this reality of love there are many other avenues that you will express as God. But the most important one is to
express God as love, and to be able to become this love yourself.

Love is a dimensional phenomena, in that love is a potent and dynamic force, and that all of a sudden, almost instantly, begins to create tremendous opportunities in your life, and in other lives as well. It begins to stimulate, it begins to nurture, it brings realities into play. What is spiritual life, if not to bring the higher and more perfect realities of spirit down into this level of human life, on this world. It will begin to
understand a more complete, a more perfect reality of spiritual existence, from your perspective of conflict and struggle.      

Let us take the aspect of Truth, and let us understand Truth as an eternal reality that comes down to this level of being. How does one perceive Truth, and when one does perceive Truth what is it that one is actually perceiving? All situations contain Truth, they contain elements of Truth, and it is from the eye of wisdom that you are given the Truth of the situation. In most cases the given Truth of a situation is that which sheds light on how conflict is resolved, how the situation can best be changed and transformed for the welfare and well being of all those involved. Occasionally Truth descends in a very traumatic way, but all too often Truth is a subtle and usually personal awareness. Something like a little bubble of clarity that erupts within the mind of confusion, and settles the mind for a second, and for that moment you can see clearly and it all makes sense. You can see the solution and you can see why the situation was even brought for you here in the first place. You can see your part in a situation.

The bringing of these eternal realities into a time and space situation always involves, a down stepping of their tremendous impact. In this respect it is very much like the presence of God, were God to appear to you in His form of energy, the dynamics of His presence would be too overpowering a presence. Many people would loose their breath. So these eternal realities, like God, are brought to you in very subtle, distant form, almost an echo form, so that you can resonate through your own spirit of Wisdom, and the Spirit of Truth,
both of which  work  with you. You begin to see through the haze of material conflict in  daily life, to begin to perceive the eternal ribbon, and the eternal harmonies which the spiritual life brings. 

Beauty is also an eternal aspect of God. It is one of the first manifestations of love, and in a much larger sense beauty is a spiritual pattern, it is a pattern of harmony, harmony of all the senses, harmony of all thought, harmony of purpose, harmony of worship, harmony of all life forms. Man begins to perceive beauty as man begins to eternalize his understanding of God, his understanding of spiritual life, and man begins to identify with a greater, other than self, awareness of purpose and meaning.

The relationship between truth beauty and goodness are as a relationship of a dimensional cornerstones in which man can find identity, purpose, and action. This  gives mean and integrity to life, and creates value in terms of the soul. So this idea of love, of expressing love, is a primary spiritual act, and in its act and action it begins to transform you into the person giving love, into a being of action.   

Other aspects of love are, man's compassion for his fellows, man's tenderness for his family, the special feelings you have towards one another, these are all aspects of family, of bringing the Universe concept of family into being. So, if Earth is a family, and God is the father then love becomes the religion, love becomes the purpose of this family, it becomes the interaction. In this way you can gage how spiritual, or how spiritually off base, this family is. When worlds attain to levels of near perfectedness, the  situation arises where people interact continually, and constantly in various levels of love. So, how important is this love?

On one level it is understandable that it is important, and to begin to experience it, to bring this love into reality, one begins to experience the need to have a constant source of love, like a fountain of pure water, so
when you are thirsty you can go and drink. So to begin to access this fountain of love and joy within your own being, it becomes a challenge, a personal challenge of growth, and of understanding. To comprehend this potential, is the potential for love, for transformation. To face the daily challenge, to seek this love within, to desire this love to the point where you would sacrifice your whole life for this love, sacrifice your time, all of your responsibilities, all of your duties, and all of your causes to find this love, and to become one with this love. That does not mean, of course, that one is to completely abandon one's life, but what it means, is to create a time and space each day when you do abandon everything, in search of this love, in search of the presence and the giver of this love. This is wise living. This is the essence of spiritual living.

All other ramifications and aspects of living are either being drawn towards this or being expressed from this, somewhere in the middle, it is always the beginning and always the end, something like God. As mortals, as impact creatures you are in the middle, seeking to love and be loved, seeking truth and to be truthful yourselves, seeking and creating beauty and becoming beautiful, seeking goodness, and becoming good.

These are simple words with profound meaning and experience in your own lives. This is always true of spiritual teaching, that the experience becomes very profound, and the actual awareness of these truths in ones life is evidence that one is on the right path.

Nel: I find that when I am at that place of worship it is a wonderful 'high'. I realize that it is an experience that all of us have, I'm sure. Are there any guide lines? Do you have any suggestions?

JarEl: The most important thing that I will suggest is, that worship is man's personal relationship with God.
That attending to this relationship is worshipful to God. There are also times when people come together to experience and share their belief and their oneness with God, this is worship also. Worship is a very creative act, God can be worshiped at any time, in any way, and however the individual chooses to worship. There are no guidelines, there are no restrictions, there is no format, and no rules. Worship is man's response to God's call to becoming identified with the reality of God, and God's presence. The overwhelming joy that this begins to instill in one, the satisfaction, the knowing. All of this becomes evidence of worship.   

I will say that Worship is encouraged, but not worship in the conventional and traditional senses, taught by the churches, the kneeling and the praying, and the rituals. But the opening of the heart, the opening of the mind to the attitude of God, to the presence of God, to the breath of God's life in your own body, then one begins to experience God through worship. The drawing upon God's love by loving another, is one of the most viable forms of worship, for God is pleased.  

Nel: I had an experience of this love at the beach. When I came back to a place where we were staying and my son and his wife took off for as little stroll, and as I watched them arm in arm I just knew that love was just surrounding them, as I watched them walk away to the beach.

JarEl: When society, groups of individuals, begins to feel this presence amongst themselves this presence gives utterance to joy and satisfaction. This is a natural way of expressing this feeling and this feeling is very
real, and many time worship will be experienced this way, in which profound and overwhelming feelings of joy and happiness and satisfaction take on an almost physical sensation. This is where it is referred to in your Urantia Book where on the Mansion Worlds and places near Paradise, the experience of worship become so profound, so harmonized, so intense that it literally, has to be stopped. Think on this.

Nel: In your lesson you referred to Love as a fountain. Funny I had been reading some kind of an analogy sitting there thinking about it, and I had some kind of vision that came in, and actually what I saw was a flower with seven petals, and in the center was the Light, and then the light started moving and became a fountain and the petals kind of went underneath. I realized what I was seeing was the Fathers joy and love covering and uplifting the whole creation. It kind of struck me as you referred to love as a fountain.

JarEl: That is a beautiful picture you have portrayed.

Joe: Speaking of a Fountain, the Urantia Book describes the desire to do good to others is like a fountain.   Sometimes it is a tough love but it comes out of the same source.

JarEl: The use of water as a spiritual image does not stop here on this world, for on the worlds on high  water is very much a spiritual symbol, an image. The cleansing, the pure nature and quality of this life essence.

Hal: You started your lesson out on searching for God, as what we are all striving for. We all seem to have our own definition of God, is there anything you give us to help us know what we are searching for, when we are searching for God? Is it a mental image of perfection? Is it a completeness of love? Or is there anything else to help us know what we are searching for?

JarEl: This is a very good thought. When man searches for God what is it that man really is searching for? The first thing I would say is that you are really searching for each other. Aside from the fact of finding God
within yourself, the greater ramification of this is to find God within others, to see through the thin veil of  their life, the one that they project with their physical presence, and to see the potential and the beauty, to see the beam of light in that body, of this potential survivor of your mortal confusion, and to journey with them to the worlds of perfection.

This is one aspect of what you are seeing when you are looking for God. For like love, God is not isolated. In the beginning God came out of his own self and that cannot be reversed. Love cannot be hidden within your heart. You cannot hold your breath and still live, like you must share the air, love does not exist until one begins to open up one's heart, and begin to share it with another. What you ask is very interesting, because it is not an image that one is searching for, it is not a face, it is not a mind. It is as though it is a presence, a presence of beingness, whose presence and beingness you begin to recognize through recognizing your own presence, the reality of your own beingness, to begin to sense the feeling of eternity
within the limitations of your mortal framework. To begin to interpret your purpose as something much larger than just maintaining sustenance. To begin to see the fabric of human personality played out on this stage of a world, and to begin to discern the presence of the eternal at work through the agency of spirit.

Life on this planet is like a very old tree that is yet to bear fruit, substantial fruit. Yes, there are many branches, and quite a few leaves. So, what you have asked is a very wise question.

Hal: Yes, you have given a greater concept of who we are. Then do I interpret this as a subjective accomplishment, a subjective visualization of a belief in a God? Something that each individual creates for themselves ?

JarEl: One aspect of that is true. However you need to have God, God will appear in that form. When you begin to experience and begin to give the love of God you begin to see who God really is and this is consistent with everyone. So yes, it is true that your relationship to God is subjective, it is personal, it is something that only you can see and experience for yourself. But it is the sharing of this experience through this wonderful gift you receive, the gift of knowing that love, that the giving of this love is greater than anything, then you begin to see the network of God. This is why when discerning the Paradise Trinity one attains love as Paradise Perfection.

The first deity which is obtained, is the Third Person. The Third Person is like a network. The Third Person is the service aspect of spirit, it is the most obvious, to see the outworking, to see the plurality the omipresenceness and the interconnectedness of spirit. This will eventually bring you closer, to discern the Truth of the spirit, the personalization of the spirit, and this brings it even closer to discovering and personalizes the personality and your prime essence as spirit, which is God, and this oneness with this God
is your gift for having attained to this level of perfection. But until that time and that day, when one begins to search, one begins to build a mental construct. Sort of like playing a little game, "Let me see if this is God,
and I will test it" Many people do this, many people perform these little mental tasks of challenging God, 'Are you real? Show me this'. Many times man has to go beyond this challening God, because what man asks for, God cannot give man, man must attain that for himself.

It is easy for us to sit here and say "God is Love'. But much more difficult to experience a whole life of living in this flesh, only to finally discover that God is Love, and giving.

Hal: Then to summarize can we say that in the material realm where we are, we experience God by showing and experiencing love for our fellow man, and that at this level this is as much as we can understand of
God?

JarEl: Once that level has been saturated another aspect of God begins to manifest itself. It is like a foundation has been built, and once the foundation has been built the structure of the temple can be built.   Yes, unfortunately you are in the struggle of building the foundation, which is building the network of loving relationships. That is why it is important within the so-called Urantia movement, which is a movement of individuals who really look at the truths of the Universe at large, and particularly about their own world. And about the religion of Nebadon which is the religion of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of man. To begin to show respect for each other through love and respect for each other, that this organization can grow into something that everyone on this planet will want to join into. This is the challenge, this is the purpose, the beauty and the responsibility as a daughter or son of God on this planet, or on any planet in this Universe, as our purpose here and now.

So yes, building this network of loving relationships is to put forth, as it is, the face of God, where when others gaze upon this face and see this network, and feel this connectedness and are drawn to it as isolated drops of water are drawn to larger puddles, which are drawn to streams and rivers, which are drawn to the oceans, only to be evaporated and dispersed again.   

So yes, you are in the midst of building this foundation for the temple of God for this planet, and it is hope that one day this temple will be built, the Temple of Human Brotherhood. 

Nel: I think we should feel a great excitement about building this foundation for the temple.

JarEl: It is easier to become excited when you begin to connect with people, and experience the process of building and connecting the spiritually minded brothers and sisters, It begins to build a momentum. But, this momentum needs to be viewed through the eyes of wisdom, and not through the eyes of defeat. All to often many movements on trip over themselves, in the excitement that renders people almost blind, and they trip over where they are going. So begin to see through the eye of wisdom and you will begin to discern Truth, and this Truth will guide you, as all Truth guides.

Roger: I think I have something important, JarEl. I thought intellectually, or I knew intellectually, that our individual relationships with God should come first, but I guess in the excitement it was easy for me to get sidetracked to thinking I need to take care of other people, first. To me it was sort of self deception, as at first I thought I was doing something good, I think I am doing something good as it was well intended, but
I think in the long run it was the worst thing I could ever do. I am having a hard time, my ego is taking a beating, hence I feel a little insecure, because as much as I wanted to do things right often times we are not doing it right, and we don't even know we are not doing it right until it is too late. But in retrospect it couldn't have been done any other way without a total collapse.

JarEl: That is truly a wise lesson. You learned to do right by thinking you were doing right and inevitably it will show you the right way. It is important to also allow yourself to understand that having a relationship with God is also having a relationship with others. This aspect and concept of God is much larger. It has many more ramifications than we can see at any one moment. There is a saying on your world, "physician heal thyself". What that means might possibly shed some light on what you are experiencing. It is very difficult to help show God to others until you have found God yourself, and then you are not showing God to others, actually you are giving God to others. Giving is much better than showing. 

Roger: It is very tough life personally. I think arrogance has been my problem. I am amazed at how tricky, how deceptive the ego is. I know that the relationship with God should come first, but I think that problem was with me, it was that it seemed easier to have relationships with those we can see.

Hal: A relationship with each other is a relationship with God.

Roger: I can't put too much expectation on that relationship, then I have blown it. You should only be dependent on God. Is that true?

JarEl: One should always place the expectation on oneself. Of course it is much easier to place it on something else. We don't want to be responsible for our deception of our own judgment. But in striving, and in pace, man can do everything, this is why we keep reinforcing the idea of a little each day. Setting aside a time and space, to identify with your purpose, to attempt to identify the presence of God in your life.
Most of what you will experience about God will be mostly unconsciously, while it is happening, because you have not yet arrived at the stage when you can live consciously in God 24hrs a day. But God is living consciously within you non-stop, and when you begin to understand that God is always there, and every time you think of God He is right there and you begin to feel that he is right there. A much larger aspect is to realize that He is there all the time, whether you are thinking about him or not. Your own Light and Life is
when you come into rapport with God 100%, when you are in 100% communion and communication with God, constantly doing His will, having done the work He has prescribed for you. How many of you are experiencing God telling you what to do? I hope there are quite a few of you experiencing this.

Hal: I hope so, as I often feel an urgency and hope that it is God working with me to do something.

JarEl: It is. It is God working within you, that is how God works within each and every one of you.  Sometimes it is through an urgency, it is what ever is needed in your life. It is like a panel board in your mind and when God wants you to deal with something he puts a red light on it, to call your attention to it. No matter what you are doing, what you are looking at, or what you are thinking you can't help but notice this red light on, urging you, telling you things. If you are having these experiences, yes, God is communicating with you.

Hal: The more we read about, and hear about God, the more complex He is, we begin to realize soon that our capabilities to understand Him is very limited, we are just at the beginning point.

JarEl: This is the challenge, to portray this relationship in almost child-like terms, to distill the essence of this relationship into simple context, and something tangible, because it is immense. Confusing, intricate, almost overwhelming. Knowing this fact, through your many lives of survival, you will experience all of the affects and ramifications of His intricacies, His intertwinedness, His interconnectedness to each and every being in His Universe. You will experience all of these aspects.

Donna: However can I just add something. I think it is not too helpful to think of God as being confusing, God is immense and awesome, much more awesome than we can understand, especially here on this planet with our minds the way they are now. But if we can think of it more simply it will be more helpful. We have an eternity to discover the rest. But I think that if things can be brought down more simply, to the idea of love, that God is love and he loves all of us, and He works with us to improve our ability to give love to others, to be a little brighter light or beacons. If you think of it that way it is more simple. For myself I have to think of it more simply. I can be more at ease with it.

Lucille: To try to analyze and bisect, and dissect things makes it more confusing. It is a feeling we have within us individually.

Nel: We always try to do God's work, but we don't have the guidance like Adam and Eve could have given us.  

A great personal experience was discussed having to do with communication with someone close and being led in what to say. That it became effective, after years of poor communications on things spiritual. Of discovering when a person is ready to listen. It was closed by JarEl, as follows:

JarEl: It is important to experience the narrowness of the ego. The ego cannot solve all of the problems. In a symbolic gesture, like the ego of a small child. The ego is a developmental aspect of the personality, and of
your being. In discerning who you are, you have to begin to process what you are identifying with, if you are identifying with your ego that is who you will be. If you begin to evolve spiritually you become aware that you are actually,  a manifestation of God. You are actually something much greater and much different from the ego. The ego is important to establish a somewhat real identity for your mind and for others to identify you physically. Where at a certain point the ego is useless in helping you solve problems, for your
ego is there to help you serve your needs and no one else's. As you learn spiritually, as a son or daughter of God you are here to serve others needs. God will take care of your own needs. 

One more comment in response to Hal's discussion about the confusion of God, and Donna's very perceptive response to that. We would be a lot better off to sit and comprehend one's own personal confusion, trying to discern the presence of God, that once you get through your own confusion and begin to discern the presence of God, God will seem a lot more simple, and a lot more personal.     

Many personality traits show forth in competition to comply with a material world. Father does see each of his children as a pure innocent and divine being — as His child.

The apostles at first, though some were acquaintances, still did not fully understand one another. They were even suspicious of one another's genuineness. They, over time, had connected on soul levels so as to be able to view the divinity in one another. Each apostle grew to view some attributes of the Master within their fellow apostles.

That innocent spirit dwells within each individual, even though some may appear to be hidden with the business of everyday living. Even the most unethical individual contain within them an extension of God. Many know not how to allow this pure and innocent spirit within — freedom. The spirit within appears to them to be meek an exposed to things harmful. The pure and innocent spirit within is actually an extension of an all-knowing, all powerful, all loving God — the Father.

The spirit that is mainly "the real you" exercises humor and lightheartedness. It can see light in the darkness. It can utter volumes of wisdom in one sentence, and be an element of healing to an ailing society. When you recognize one another's pure and innocent spirit within, you can embrace each one's faults
with divine love.

In your everyday living in the material world it is difficult to allow this realness of spirit to be known. It would do you well to ponder over the attributes of your divine spirit within, to adjust your understanding in
allowing it freedom. In exposing your real selves, individuals you meet feel at ease to allow that genuine child of God to have freedom to live and work and love, to nurture.

As the apostles sat at the Master's feet for their lessons, are you also granted the same benefit in understanding the Master's meanings. Allow Him to help you to show your divine side daily and be aware of the confidence that yields. The pure and innocent spirit which will prove to be a source of strength, power and wisdom. Watch those around you begin to allow their spirit within freedom to be known. 

In today's world of temporary, false stimulation many incorporate things into their lives that can be a generator of negativity. Children take in an unloving reality and adults wonder why this is manifested in such a harmful way. Are you what you focus on? One who would be recovering from chemical addiction does not even entertain the idea of being near that chemical. They know very well the course they will take again should they slip.

What are you taking in your spiritual diet? What do you manifest as a result of your diet? Do you engage in gossip or the generation of negative feelings? If yes, then why do you wonder when you feel negative generated around you? Do you not become suspicious that others are gossiping about you? Negative energy brings negative energy.

What is added to your recipe for spiritual living? Is it perhaps good deeds done for others? Does this not manifest in your life as good deeds done to you? Can one read books and be entertained by fear to produce spiritual fruits? No. Can one read uplifting books and become weighed down by hopelessness? No. What are the ingredients to your recipe in spiritual living?

Once I had learned of the divine nature I had to create a change of life. I fed myself with things spiritual. I studied. I meditated. I gave freely of my time to Godly causes. All this promoted a great closeness with Father. It was an avenue to the utilization of the spiritual fruits.

Can one indulge in negative activity and then wonder where their divine connection has gone? Can we be slothful in our studies and ask why we have become imbalanced? It is clear, you must utilize your human resources. You are the producer of things positive or negative. I know as well as anyone days spent among the negativity of the world can have a harsh effect on you. You see why you need a daily regimen of spiritual intake?

What do you embrace into your life? Is your focus on money or fame? Are you always with that feeling of lack — that no matter how hard you try you are never filled? What a cycle of imbalance! My friends, we cannot go day to day without spiritual intake and then wonder where is God? Why am I so alone? Why is my pain unbearable?

You each have your own spiritual recipe for daily living. What keeps you connected? What keeps you from spiritual loneliness? Does beautiful music belong in your recipe? Does that help you to feel connected? Does this manifest anything good in your life and the lives of those you know? Does artistic abilities connect you to that spiritual world where you know without a doubt that all is well. From such feelings of balance how can you not be divinely connected? How can you not produce spiritual fruits?

The mind is an empty domain in which you can seek to decorate it with things that promote spiritual light or things that bring about darkness. Would a moment of stillness calm the chaotic domain? Would the calmness bring balance? Of course. Is balance the minds' goal? Of course. What would you like to change about your behavior patterns? Begin by searching what is in your mindal abode. What can you be free from that brings clutter and confusion? What can you do to promote a beautifully light atmosphere?

You are the architect and what you build matters. Mortals all too often forget that they, figuratively speaking, house the Father Fragment. Is His place in which He lives and works from balanced, organized and positive? You do have a responsibility to your personal Father Fragments. What lives in the minds' domain with your Father? Does He struggle to reach you or is He teaching lessons through peace and joy?

I am happy to have realized in my mortal life that I had some control in how my divine career proceeded. Father proved to be a wonderful helpmate to me, and laid out plainly for me to see what I was lacking in my spiritual diet. I know that the mind is the beginning of many things. It is where you live, work and play. It is where you comprehend God. Mental stability is so important in your spiritual education.

This week ponder upon what is in your mindal domain. How are these things manifested? What is the recipe for your own personal spiritual life? What are the levels of closeness you wish to know your Father on?

The Law of Spiritual Freedom deals with aspects of integrity, grace and returning to simplicity. It is also helpful to examine the Law of Abundance. In really learning to simplify our lives we are uncovering our true selves from all the mortal debris.

We have come to the realization that, yes, life is difficult and that is not really such a bad thing because meanings and values come along with it. It is easy to forget one of the Master's promises — said He, "I have come so that you may have life and have it more abundantly." We learn that through the grace of God, His tender ministries, make all our striving well worth it.

In the busyness of the world we forget to take notice of Father's abundance. Some see Him as a harsh Father to send down upon them hard lessons so that they may become strengthened and grow toward Him. That is not so much true as things naturally occur in mortal life, and Father will draw out the values and meanings therefrom.

Truly though He wishes for us to have supreme joy and spiritual abundance. He wants us to perceive the good in life and create an energy out of it. Joy and peace should always outweigh pain and sorrow. Faith that rests on an unstable foundation finds it hard to believe the universe works for our good.

There are past experiences that would tell us we are of little or no value; so some do not really believe they are deserving of the better things in life. Love, friendship, material well-being and good health are out of reach for them. When one is believing they are undeserving of this abundance they tend to subconsciously sabotage their own well-being. A wonderful and positive thing could be staring them in the face and they are suspicious of it. They can hardly believe that these good things are their birthright, are the promises from our Master.

A man who has grown up in poverty may be suspicious of any so-called material luck that chances to come his way. In the feeling of being undeserving he might subconsciously take this new found wealth and waste it. That seems normal to him. A woman who meets a man that she falls in love might be suspicious of this seeming good luck because of her male influences in the past were a poor example. She may constantly test the man for his loyalty, which will eventually backfire because he will become weary and give up trying to win her over.

Are there past experiences that block you from life's abundance? Is there ways in which you may sabotage your happiness? Even those who have beliefs they are spiritually on target can delay their progress by these feelings of unworthiness. Father is no respecter of persons and He sees to each child's happiness — if the child lets Him.

I mention the value of integrity in abundance, because certainly you cannot request Father to pay your bills if you are not willing to work. You cannot request Father to keep you from getting disease if you abuse your
body. Father works with us in our efforts to create our own abundance. Where your treasures are — there will your heart be also. If you are putting value in selfish gain then I doubt the universe would be of assistance.

You can find a great deal of abundance in service to others, but should you only serve to receive abundance, then certainly this alters the outcome. Should you find yourself exceeding joyful in just serving, then will your connection with Father strengthen and you will naturally see spiritual abundance.

Contemplate your understanding of self-worth — perhaps it is too little, perhaps it is too much. Think about what you would give back to your own planet and its peoples. In service you are more likely to lose self and
abundance is naturally noticed, and in the sense of gratitude you are creating an energy of positivity.

Remember the apostles of old and their fight for a place of preferment in the Kingdom. Remember how the Master washed each ones feet as if it were all the same foot. Allow the Master to show you His abundance, His tender mercy, His generous ministry and unshakable divine love for you.

Abraham: There are some individuals who see spiritual liberty as chaos, possibly dangerous, as if anything goes, but with the lessons on integrity we find spiritual liberty to be a natural outworking of evolution. Liberty taken to extremes of course verges on possible default, but the law of spiritual liberty tells us the more we understand about it the more we receive. Spiritual liberty is not license to self-assertion or the doing of self-will, but the open communion with God that broadens your view and encourages you Paradiseward.

On the other hand, those bound by traditional religious values see spiritual liberty as an excuse to carry forth self-willed notions. Many believe the universe to be harsh and only out to limit who they really are. Many find that they are imprisoned by their understanding, their cultural upbringing, their bad luck, and really this is true for them. They are always in fear of lacking one thing or another. They can always find some worry to dwell on. They awake each morning with a feeling of dread and unwanted obligation. How
you feel upon meeting the new day is a good measure of your level of spiritual liberty.

Of course, you each have obligations, but those who self-imprison have nothing else but obligations. There is not peace or joy. There is not the enthusiasm or intrigue of daily adventure. They look to God as a jailer who will see to their just deserts. Those imprisoned in their narrow cell do not realize the door is unlocked. The more integrity you have the more spiritual liberty you will receive. The less ego you exert the more spiritual gifts you will receive. This is not a heavenly bribe, but just a natural outworking of the universe.

There is great joy to be had in spiritual liberty. Father having given us the power to make our own decisions holds so much value. You understand what it is like to be without choices or liberty to see, grow and act as you see fit. Father bestows upon us personal power that we might eventually grow to know and find Him. He does not limit our choices or imprison us with rules, but trusts us to evolve as we will.

To have no choices or liberty is confining and stagnating to the soul. To constantly be imprisoned by worry after worry is slowing spiritual progress. To feel the freedom of making your own decisions is giving the soul permission to search, learn and grow as it will. When you are using spiritual liberty you feel not your mistakes to be so crushing, so embarrassing and you need not be so hard on your growing soul.

Spiritual liberty is extending that mortal vision to capturing a broadened divine view. The joy from this, my friends, is not to be described adequately. Only by experience can you know the real joy of this freedom and
in the joy you look forward to the day's adventures. You seek not out every negative thing. You look for Father's daily works, Father's fingerprints. Life is not so much a test of endurance but a challenge to be savored.

We often think of the sons of self-love and pity them for their narrowness of vision. They had liberty beyond their own understanding, but they chose the way of self. Their downfall was their limited patience and their need to always be first and to never be caught short or looking foolish. They could not release the self so that they could become more. The tighter they grasped onto themselves the more they really decreased in all ways.

There will be times of confusion for the planet as a whole concerning spiritual freedom, and you will each have opportunity to temper the confusion with wisdom, common sense. You will have the option of seeing your duties as a burden or a challenge. You can crawl through the lowly trenches of the mortal life or you can rise above and walk tall where the view is clear and the horizon is broadened, yes.

How do you feel? Are you immediately focused on the days obligations? Do you wake and greet Father with anticipation of the day's adventures? Are you filled with dread of the new day or excited to participate in it? Ponder your own self-imprisonment. How would you otherwise feel if you had no worries? What would it feel like to have no daily goals but just spend the day being in each moment and acting from a standpoint of spiritual liberty? Journal about what self-assertion means to you and how you can learn to relax and receive more peace from learning patience.