May 15, 1982
God is with you so closely and intensely that we wish it were possible for you to see the light of God’s presence in all its brilliance. Indeed, if you were allowed to experience such a vision, you would no longer be asked to exercise your faith in God’s presence in each of your lives, for each would know with absolutely no doubt, in all assurance, that God is with you and that each of you is so much a part of God.
We your guides are indeed blessed. Our blessings are from God and from you. From God we receive the blessings of great joy in the vision of brilliance. From you we receive the blessing of your recognition of our presence in your lives. We are so joyful when you take time from your normal earthly endeavors to be open to God and God’s light, which is given to you through us in the form of these messages.
It is a blessing to us because it is a gift from you. You choose to be open to us and open to God, and it is therefore received by us as a gift. You receive God’s blessings as a gift. You pray for those blessings, but you receive them not because you deserve them but because God exercises love through those blessings. They are freely given by God and are a gift to you. So you see, we can truthfully say that you bless us by your gift of openness, your willingness to let us do what God has enabled us to do for you.
There are many guides on our side who share our general spiritual stage of development, who are still unable to reach those souls which have been assigned to them. We experience frustration just as you, but for us it is not an anger. It is more a kind of sadness when we cannot reach you. We pray to God ourselves that those of you who are unaware of your guides will indeed be open to them.
Each of you recognizes how much you gain through your understanding of what is transmitted to you. There is so much more to learn. There is so much more progress which you can partake in. It is indeed endless at your stage of development, bound to an earthly life, but so many others are not fortunate to be open to their guides and that is what causes a kind of sadness, for their guides have much to share, much information, a loving concern, and it is most difficult for them to find ways of reaching their earthly charges, being met with openness.
Despite the fact that many guides are not openly welcomed, there is much they can do nevertheless. We, your guides, are actively protecting you. We serve to warn you of danger or of pending problems. We are able to alert you to others’ needs. We do affect your lives in a very direct manner, for each of you has had guides since your birth. We do not wait for your recognition of our presence before acting. Our responsibilities for you are, therefore, many-fold, but the most direct responsibility is through your open acceptance, your loving welcome of our presence in your lives. Our work is easier and your life is richer.
You help us enormously by your acceptance of us. A telephone in your home may be ringing, but unless you pick up the receiver, one cannot hear what is offered. The caller may remain on the line, still present, but unable to really reach you. In a sense, that is akin to our ability to communicate with you through these messages, through your conscience, through your intuitive sense of direction. These all provide avenues for us. All human beings have a conscience. There is no one who acts alone, but each can choose to listen to that conscience, give it an ear, if you will, give it an opportunity to be influential. Some make such choices; others reject them. But the presence of that conscience is undeniable.
You may wonder how your guide can be more successful in directing you through faith. Such messages as you share within this group are only one avenue of contact, one line of communication, but there are many others. The conscience we have spoken of. Some are open through their dreams. Some are open in a visual sense in that they have a visual perception of what needs to be done. For some it is merely a hunch, a subtle feeling of rightness. No avenue of contact with us is more valid than another, for each method carries its sense of appropriateness for the individual. There are painters and there are scientists. Both create, but by different means. Each of you creates. Each of you creates a channel of openness to your guides. We merely hope that you will continue to nurture the opportunities for guidance, strengthening your perception of God’s presence in every aspect of your life.
There is little difficulty in recognizing God when things go well. The difficulties arise when the going gets tough. The difficulties are there when you are discouraged or worried or jealous or feel other negative emotions toward another. Then your awareness is more of self and not of God. When you are negative toward another, it is you who are the center of that emotion. You are aware of your feelings. You may feel wronged or slighted, but you are always aware of yourself.
When you feel great joy, how often it is you thank God for being present. Your orientation has gravitated toward God and away from self. This orientation must be present whether you are pleased or full of despair, for God’s greatest potential for help is when you are down, when you are discouraged or concerned. Be willing to exercise your faith when you are separated from your vision of God. Your vision may be clouded because of emotional difficulties, but that does not change God’s relationship to you. It remains steadfast. It remains strong and positive, but your recognition of that presence is more demanding on your exercise of faith.
Each of you, of course, has much for which to rejoice. God has blessed your lives so abundantly, but in your rejoicing, recognize also the countless others who do not share your joy. Recognize that their vision of God is dimmed just as yours may be. Your responsibility to another therefore is one of helping to remove the darkness, helping to bring a sense of God to others, for those other individuals may be unable to succeed on their own. You are, therefore, important to another in the sense that you carry with you the strength of clearing another’s eyes to have a greater vision of God during a time of great need. Your sense of God will be heightened. Your sense of self will be diminished by such service.
You may wonder how you can bring light to another. It may be merely by a few words or a glance. It may be by your presence, just being there—not trying to do anything but be a part of that person’s life. Too often you do not seek opportunities for such relationships with others. When you are joyful, your view of sorrow is dimmer than your view of joy when you are sorrowful. You may be down emotionally, but you are aware that others are happy. When you experience joy, your sense of another’s suffering is less clear.
When you rejoice in God’s presence, therefore, keep in mind constantly that there are others who also need to share a perception of God. Be willing to divert your pleasures in order to reach another. We have often said to you that it is in serving another that you serve God, that what is important is not your progress but the progress of all. Such guidance is not merely words. It must be put into action. It can only be done by a conscious effort, a choice on your part to respond to another. It is a responsibility you have, and you should exercise that responsibility with the same love and willingness that we experience as we offer help to you, for our help is evidence of God in your life, and in the same manner your help is also such evidence.
In our last message to you we referred to your interrelationship with God and the essential fact of the necessity of your interrelationships with others. All of that is true, but it is not merely theory. It really is a way of life. It is an altering of your biases. It is a changing of your priorities. It is a different way of living. Few people live in this manner, and for that reason there is so much discord and so much contrast in perspective. Much that you do to help bring peace in the world and spiritual progress to others depends upon your ability and your commitment to find ways of bringing God to another. Such action does not always imply speaking in the name of God, as you would say, but acting as you would believe God would act.
God responds to your needs, and therefore you respond to the needs of others. It is the response which is all-important, not the label you place upon it. Those who live caring for others, elevating others, though they never attended church, have grown spiritually more richly than one who performs acts always claiming that it is done in God’s name, for that brings attention to the individual and implies an ulterior motive. God’s response to life has no ulterior motive. It is a natural response. Your response to life therefore must be without motive. It must be a pure response offered with love, not for love.
Your interrelationships with all who form a part of your life, closely or at some distance, must be totally other-centered. There is no room for selfishness or pride. All is offered through love. It is an extremely difficult way to govern your life, for it runs counter to the norms of your society, but in the end it is the only way to live. You make choices. You grow through such activity, but those choices must provide for the advancement of another and not merely yourself.
We therefore suggest that each of you find ways immediately of helping another, find ways of getting outside yourselves. They do not have to be large, visible acts, but make a point of doing something for another merely out of love, even for a stranger, for you can love a stranger. You love another because you recognize the divinity in that person, and therefore your response is out of love for that divinity. That is the only purpose.
If you knew that someone close by was God, and that person was in difficulty, you would never hesitate to offer your help. You would immediately respond, for you are responding to God. The truth is everyone is God in that everyone has that spark of the divine. So you do respond to God when you respond to another. It is not just an idea. It is an absolute fact. The stranger on the street is as much God-like as you are. You are equal. You have similar needs, different interests and activities, but you are equal because each has a soul and that soul is an important part of God. So you are responding to God.
Each must make a strong effort in this regard. It is too easy to recognize the truth without acting upon it. All that we share with you is not just for knowledge but for action. There is no meaning to what we say if it does not lead you forward in your relationships with others through your recognition of God in them. These messages fall then upon empty hearts, and that is not their intent. God has provided you with a gift, but that gift must be used. We encourage you to pray that God may give you the vision to find ways of serving God, that God may give you the strength to put your understanding into action, and we pray that God will eliminate the sense of self from all that you do in your dealings with those around you. We pray for your spiritual strength, for your strength is given evidence by your activity.
We give thanks for God’s blessings, but we also thank God for the blessings of your openness and love. And now we bless you with God’s name and light and inspiration.
Amen.