October 5, 1979
God blesses you as you gather together in God’s name. We rejoice that you are together once again and are nearly bursting with energy to get on with our work for you. Your lives are full, full of activities and thoughts, and our lives are accompanied by the same fullness.
There are many activities for us, but our main form of communication is through thought. When you listen to a radio, you do not see the face or recognize the form of the individual speaking, but after a while, the voice you hear has a personality. It has a unique identity. You have all experienced such an identity with a voice which seems perfectly natural despite your inability to see the complete physical form. When you hear this voice, you perhaps conjure up in your imagination a vision of the individual who is speaking. What a surprise it is when the occasion arises to meet for the first time the individual whose voice has become so familiar to you! It is always a surprise and frequently a disappointment. What is important is that you had a way of relating to another through the mere property of a voice.
Our experience with other souls resembles yours with a radio personality. It is not important to us what the body looked like in which the soul was living—whether it was male or female, young or old, rich or poor. We recognize other souls by their light as you recognize one by its voice. We relate to that light. We relate to that goodness, that spark of love. It is this recognition which enables us to develop the capacity for speaking to you. Indeed it is something we do develop. It neither comes naturally nor easily.
We respond to the yearnings of your soul. We see your soul as we see the souls of others who have crossed over the threshold. The specific characteristics of your physical appearance are so unimportant to us that it is as if you existed as souls without bodies.
Our capacity to communicate with you is closely related to our sensitivity to the teachings of God. We become more sensitive as we grow in our spiritual strength. It is exciting for us to witness increases in that strength, for we feel ever closer to the presence of God. We do not see God, but we feel God’s presence as you feel God’s presence, with one difference: for us there is no doubt of God’s presence. It never enters our consciousness. For you, it is normal to have periods of doubt. That is part of your human life.
To a degree, we can control the direction of our spiritual progress through prayers of supplication and through activities which bring us closer to the souls which surround us. Our period of existence or stage of development is centered on learning. We are not all-knowing, but our souls are on fire with a faith in God, creating a tremendous light.
The spheres of spiritual development do not in all cases involve a shifting of physical placement as you conceive it. It is simply one of deepened awareness of the eternal truths embodied in God. As you have been blessed with the capacity to hear us with your inner ear, we have in turn been blessed to hear God through our inner ear.
Such a sensitivity is a function of the soul and to a degree is shared by all. Sensitivities to the teachings of God have been recorded for thousands of years. The form with which you are most familiar is the Bible. Those countless people who wrote down what was in their hearts, what was in their souls, were acting on the same basis that you proceed with as you transcribe what you receive through us from God. All souls are in different stages of development. No two souls have reached the same level of sensitivity to God’s desire to communicate via messengers or guides.
In the same way, we who serve as your guides are at different stages of receptivity. God has presented us with both the capacity and the responsibility to pass on God’s teachings to you. As we transmit God’s wisdom, we absorb it. It is as important for us to absorb the teachings as it is for you to do so. We gain a keener insight into the ultimate nature of God, but we do not have it yet. What we pass on to you is done through our own understanding.
As was instructed earlier, we serve as a lens. Lenses have varying colors and characteristics which control what is transmitted through them. The guidance you receive is ordained by God, generated by God, blessed by God and sent on its way through us. A lens is necessary to focus a beam of light into a clear picture or pattern. Without lenses the pattern would be unclear and confusing.
You do not have the capacity in your souls to fully understand God. It is our responsibility to translate God’s knowledge into a form you can comprehend. We can transmit knowledge which is identical in its nature to different souls on earth and each will partake of this in a different manner. Despite the differences, what is perceived is a valid and true element or segment of the total reality of God.
The books of the Bible are extensions of this fact. There may be detailed accounts which appear to differ or outrightly conflict with one another. Such conflicts or discrepancies are unimportant, and yet many a scholar wastes energy trying to determine which is correct. In so doing the one who searches frequently loses touch with the basic teachings and philosophy which are essential for living a balanced life directed toward a closeness with God.
The writers whose ideas and impressions or visions comprise the Bible are equally different in their capacity to receive as you are. Those souls maintain their different perspectives in their spiritual lives now, but all are progressing in their own way toward God. It is a true statement that the Bible is divinely inspired, as it is true that our messages to you are divinely inspired, but those who receive messages do so according to their own capacities. It is these individual differences which, when compiled, appear as discrepancies.
Two blind persons describing a tree will do so in different manners, but both will give an accurate description as they perceive it. If others were to listen to these two descriptions, they would most likely react as scholars through the centuries react attempting to answer the question, “Which is right?” You can see that it is not important to know which description is correct, but there is meaning in understanding how both described their perception of the tree. Neither individual could climb to the top, but both in their ways sensed that the tree was large and strong and tall.
It is for all of you to view the Bible attempting to perceive the common grounds of perception and the common implications of truth, for in their ways all of the Bible books are true, but for each section the vision is limited. For that reason, the Bible must be taken in its completeness rather than approached from the viewpoint of which area is correct and which area is in error. By searching for the truth, you will be made free, but the freedom comes from the search because the search provides strength and is fed by reasoning and prayer. It is impossible for any of you to fully understand the truths that are contained in the Bible, for it is greater than the comprehension of anyone. But you can grow through your searching for common ideas, for common truths, gradually placing the pieces of the puzzle together so that in a small way you perceive the picture of God.
The pieces of the puzzle continue as you cross over to this life, and they continue for us slowly but surely as we progress from one plane of spiritual awareness to another. It is a continuous process. It is the most important endeavor of your lives and ours. As you search for God’s truth, keep your lives in balance by recognizing those aspects of your life which represent your mortal self. This recognition of your mortal needs is then balanced with those needs that are a part of your immortal soul. The sequence of lenses seems infinite but as each lens is coupled with another, the image becomes stronger and more firmly fixed in its clarity and brilliance.
Our function for you is as a lens. Your function for others is also as a lens. Do not neglect the importance of each of these.
God blesses each of you and surrounds you all with love and care and guidance, protection and comfort.
Amen.