Love is the Fulfilling of the Law

ON LOVE; PART CXXXVI

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GoodWill IS Love in Action

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“And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life” (Genesis 3:22-24).

We spent the last post on the ideas that we see in our use of the world glamour and its effects upon the man in the world. We ended with our most favorite verses from the Apostle Paul, favorite because they say so much to us in so few words regarding the nature of Life here in the Earth and our method of deliverance. So then, let us begin here again with these most favorite words as we get into the second part of our discussion on the dual forces that beset mankind and that at the same time prevent him from seeing that he is beleaguered by them. Paul tells us that:

“For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:20-23).

This vanity that leads to the delusion and deception that afflicts us ALL may seem like it is an outside force from our discussion and from Paul’s words but the reality of it is that we subjected to this by the simple nature of our being here in the Earth in form. We have taken form as Souls as a part of the Great and Awesome Plan of God which we do not and can not in our current state KNOW nor understand. We are however given hints and we are given the personality equipment through which we can discern these hints; equipment by which we can render these divine ideas comprehensible. And this is our journey in time and space; to go from our immersion in the world of things and our subjection to vanity to our immersion in the things of God, our baptism if you will, and our deliverance “from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God“. There is a hint above in the last verse and we have spoken some on this idea of redemption but we must understand that this idea is intentionally cloaked in mystery, a mystery of which the apostle tells us “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:26-27). We should of course understand that this word gentiles is not used to reference so called heathens but rather to reference all men.

In this idea of being made subject to these forces which the apostle calls vanity but which we see as illusion and glamour we should try to see and to understand that we are powerless from the perspective of our being here in the Earth under their power. Their power is of the Earth but this should be understood as the nature of man in the Earth, the nature of Life in form, the result of making the human form that the Soul expresses himself through a self conscious entity among self conscious entities who from the beginning have lost that KNOWLEDGE that they ARE Souls. So these forces are not in the Earth per se but rather they are forces of  the Earth from a more psychic perspective which includes the working out of the very instincts and appetites of the form nature itself. Over the many thousands of years that man has been the conscious user of the human form in the world, he has gone through a long series of changes the result of which has brought him to today and the effect of glamour and illusion upon him has changed accordingly. In the beginning when the man was more savage and more superstitious he was governed more by the instincts of the animal nature and its appetites and little, if at all, by the mind; this is where we see the beginnings of Life in form from Genesis and this is where we see the internal battleground for the Soul. This man had to overcome these instincts and appetites and to master the body nature and in doing so he becomes a more emotionally driven man for whom the body’s cravings are transferred to desire.

We should understand that these changes take place over a long period of time and do not effect ALL men uniformly as can be seen in the world today where we can see races and cultures in whom the physical instincts and appetites still linger more that can be seen in other races and cultures and there are likely relatively few men who have overcome these totally. These same changes can be seen in their effect on individual incarnations where, as the child grows, he goes through similar stages as we cite above and as we shall see as we continue. This period where the physical form’s cravings and instincts reign slowly gives way to a period where the man’s emotional response to the world takes control; here the desire nature slowly overwhelms the physical nature and the man tends to do more as he wants to do that what he is driven to do by the appetites of the body. This is of course a long and a slow process in the world and again, if we look around the world and at history, we can find races and cultures where the people are overly emotional in their response to the world as compared to others and we can see as well a range of combinations of instinct and emotion yet prevailing in much of the world. We should try to understand that it is emotion that brings the self conscious man to his deep involvement with the things of the Earth in his desires and lusts for them and, at the same time it is emotion that brings the man to his devotion to God; in emotion we have a force that can be directed.

In the rest of the animal kingdom there is no emotion, and no self consciousness although we can likely see some inkling of each of these in the higher animals but not near what can be seen in the human form. Animals are driven by instinct and appetites for those things that comfort them; their relationship to the world is, from our perspective, purely physical. Hence, there are not animal gangs that terrorize other animals nor are there animal groupings that go to war with other groups. There are no animals that plot and scheme to swindle another and there are none whose ego lifts them above their peers; the lives of animals are governed by instincts and appetites. In this we should see the role of emotion and in this seeing we can understand what happens to Adam and Eve as we have been discussing over the last few weeks; as Souls taking to themselves forms of flesh they are overtaken by the instincts and the appetites of the human animal that they now use for expression. Their true troubles begin however when the emotions of the  personality that this union creates overtake them as well and they are then given to desires and wants in addition to the instincts and the appetites. It is the emotion, the desire, the lusts, and the egotistical approach to Life that causes them to succumb to what we have called the ways of the world. In emotion can be found the highs and the lows of humanity and this admixture of the purely physical and the totally emotional works out differently in men, in cultures and in races around the world.

We should try to understand here at this juncture that this emotional nature of the man in form is in its essence as part of his mental nature and these two can not be separated. We could say that emotion grows into mind but that would not be a clear assessment of the issue as these both coexist and can be used by the man in most any combination and in an alternating fashion. Perhaps this is becasue the man has, as part of his created personality, an emotional nature that works through his physical nature and which working is not always dictated by thought. Much of the endocrine system, the various glands of the physical body, work in harmony with feelings and emotional urges that turn them on and off or tune them lower and higher based upon the emotional situation: anger, fear and stress to name a few. We should also note that this is a sort of two way street as physical issues can also create a corresponding emotional response. Our point here is twofold, first is that emotional and mental response are inseparable though we speak of and treat them separately and second that it is the emotional response to the world that can bring about the best and the worst of man and both sides of this can be tempered and can be excited by the mind.

In is in this understanding of emotions and thoughts that we go back to yesterday’s ideas on glamour’s affiliation with the emotions more that the mind and this is found in the desire nature of glamour. It is not that thought does not go into one’s ideas of superiority in any human endeavor but rather that the emotional response to the challenge is to build up one’s own beliefs creating a rather impenetrable shield to cover them. The examples that we cited from the words of the Master should give us these ideas rather clearly as we look at the Pharisee who without thought believes that the the Master must be wrong because he himself is a man of God; the Pharisee who believes that it is more important to keep the sabbath day than to do good on that day because this is what he KNOWS as Truth and the Pharisee who does not see the hypocrisy in his own traditions that change of the commandment to suit the convenience of the man. These are things of glamour and  to be sure, there is some modicum of illusion present in these as well.

Coming now to our presentation of the idea of illusion as it exists as a force in the nature of the Life of men in the world, we start with some of the words of the Master and His apostles regarding deception which IS the effect of and the result of illusion. While we have likely discussed these saying in previous posts, we will today do so in reference to our topic of illusion.

• “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22). This is said by the Master to His disciples as part of His explanation of the Parable of the Sower. Here we should understand that riches in their own right have no power and cannot of themselves be deceitful but we should see that it is the illusion that these riches are what a man wants and needs for success that is deceitful. The delusion is in the man’s thinking and believing that it is the riches that will make him whole and happy and while he KNOWS that “As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand” (Ecclesiastes 5:15), this does not deter his desire to accumulate whatsoever riches that he can. Even the religious man is subjected to the lure of riches, this lust for possessions; this man KNOWS too well the Master’s teachings but he finds clever ways to distort and to change those teachings so as to allow for himself the right to possess the things of the world and perhaps in this thought is the greater reality of the Master’s words above. Illusion takes a religious man further yet into this abyss as he believes that this saying does not pertain to him and this because of his deluded understanding regarding keeping the Master’s words.
• “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying , I am Christ; and shall deceive many…….And many false prophets shall rise , and shall deceive many…….For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:4-5, 11, 24). We have covered these ideas before and the important part here in in the misunderstanding of what is being said which is based upon the glamour that we suffer under as men in form. We should see ALL of these in the context of the first verse which tells us to let “no man deceive you” and this includes those who come in His name who, while not pretending to be Him, speak as though their words are from Him. This same “no man” includes “ false prophets” and could be any man who purports to do the works of the Lord yet does not live by nor teach His principals and precepts. In these sayings so many believe that they are among the “very elect” based upon the sayings of other men and their interpretation of doctrine. Can we see the illusion here? the illusion and glamour of building oneself up to be of the “very elect” and then the illusion that others of our same persuasion are not that “no man” who can lead him astray?
• “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:7-8). Here, again from Paul’s words, is a saying that has much meaning that cannot be understood because the very foundation of his words are mired in illusion. How many are there that believe that they “soweth to the Spirit” because of their rudimentary adherence or even semi-adherence to doctrine and not to the words of the Master in Love and brotherhood. How many are there that live comfortably in the world and attend to the things of the world for the vast majority of their time but who at the same time do not see that he “soweth to his flesh“. This is illusion and this in the vanity of which the apostle speaks when he says: “the creature was made subject to vanity“. And we KNOW that the creature IS each and every one of us.

We will continue with our thoughts in the next post and finish our discussion on these ALL important concepts of illusion and glamour….our world of vanity.

• “This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.  And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth: And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters: And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died” (Genesis 5:1-5) .

Note on the Quote of the Day

This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment:

This Quote of the Day is the antithesis of glamour and illusion. In this mantram are the thoughts about ourselves and our brothers in the world that can diffuse these forces that hold a man in the world of things and prevent his spiritual progress.

Mantram of Unification

The sons of men are one and I am one with them.
I seek to love, not hate;
I seek to serve and not exact due service;
I seek to heal, not hurt.

Let pain bring due reward of light and love.
Let the Soul control the outer form, and life and all events,
And bring to light the love that underlies the happenings of the time.

Let vision come and insight.
Let the future stand revealed.
Let inner union demonstrate and outer cleavages be gone.
Let love prevail.
Let all men love.

The Mantram of Unification is a meditation and a prayer that at first affirms the unity of all men and the Brotherhood of Man based on the Fatherhood of God. The first stanza sets forth several truly Christian ideals in Unity, Love, Service and Healing. The second stanza is a invocation to the Lord and to our own Souls asking that from the pain (if there can truly be any) incurred in focusing on the Spirit and not the world will come Light and Love into our lives and that we begin to function as Souls through our conscious personalities. We ask that the spiritual control of our lives will bring to light for us the Love that underlies world events; a Love that the world oriented man will not see working out behind the scenes and also that the Love that we bring forth, individually and as a world group, can be seen by all and ultimately in all. Finally, in the last stanza we ask for those things that are needed for Love to abound. Vision and insight so that we can direct our attention properly; revelation of the future in the sense that all can see the Power of Love in the world; inner union so that we do not fall back into the world’s ways, that we faint not; and that a sense of separation, the antithesis of brotherhood, ends as we know it today. Let Love Prevail, Let All Men Love.spiritual control of our lives will bring to light for us the Love that underlies world events; a Love that the world oriented man will not see working out behind the scenes.