October 24, 1982
God, your giver of life, sustains your life and your love and your recognition daily but especially at this time when you seek God.
We recognize the perplexity of your response to our last message. It is very difficult for us to reflect God’s constancy in a way which is understandable for all, for words or impulses translated to words are really inadequate for dealing with such a complex matter. In the end it is not essential that each understands the deepest implications of every example that was offered, for the basic truth is readily apparent for all—that being the continuity of God’s love in your lives and the complete unity of all that has been created. It is a simple truth but difficult to fully grasp in its application.
You might say that one of the goals or purposes of these messages is the establishment of a base of understanding which fully encompasses all that was covered in the last communion. Perhaps you could think of that message as a statement of objectives, of ultimate levels of spiritual awareness within your physical lives, rather than merely some difficult concepts to be digested immediately. We suggest very strongly that much effort be given to contemplating that which was given to you.
Your group is somewhat diminished in size, but it is interesting that in a smaller assembly you often feel a greater closeness to one another. It is easier to achieve a kind of peace. A larger group exerts much energy, and occasionally that increased potential makes it difficult for each to fully center on God. There is good value, therefore, in taking hold of opportunities for being in small groups. God’s presence is in no way altered by the size of the group, but your perception of that presence is often affected by those around you.
The time of year that you are experiencing is really a period of reflection. One can reflect on the summer past and question the experiences which lie ahead. It is a period of change and preparation in seasons. Your lives are also arranged in a similar manner to the seasons, for you must be in harmony with the life that surrounds you. How often it is that you experience much optimism in the spring and pessimism in the winter. It is not by accident, for just as there is a balance to the cycles of nature, there is a balance to the cycles of your human life experience. You all experience joy, but such elation is only fully recognizable when seen in contrast to periods of questioning or concern or worry. Life must have the same contrasts in its character as you find in the changes of the seasons. Each season brings with it an important reason for being. No season is wasted. Every season is necessary.
No aspect of your lives is wasted. All that you experience or endure is necessary for your life and for the nurturing of your soul. Often one asks, “Why me?” when faced with a dilemma, but how often do you ask yourselves, “Why me?” when something of positive significance occurs? The answers are always the same, “Because it is necessary for your life.” Such an answer is appropriate for all phases in your life. One should avoid feelings of antagonism, although they are natural, but they should not dominate life. Anxieties are natural. They belong to life, but they should not dominate. All that takes place in each of your lives is essential. Avoid the temptation to try to alter that balance. It is always best to accept it with grace and with a recognition that whatever happens is important, is vital, to your travel through life.
We listened with you to your discussions about conscience and social responsibility. It was God who led you to that discussion, for you are very much a part of human existence. You cannot escape it, for you were given of this life to live. You were given life to be experienced. All that life is is to be a part of your experience. It is therefore fitting that there is concern for the physical aspect of life, but such concern should not completely dominate your existence any more than concerns of the future or past lives must dominate.
There are many who profess an understanding of their prior life in some other form. While part of that perception may be valid, it is very incomplete, and therefore must not be given great importance. It is not essential that you know of prior physical life—whether or not it is true for you, and if so, its nature—for the life that you are given at this time is to be perceived in the present with a perspective of the potential for growth.
You do not grow backward; you grow forward. You grow outward. The movement of life, the direction of spiritual growth is always outward. It is always moving beyond the current condition. It is moving ahead, if you wish. It is not one of looking back. There is of course value in a recognition of life continuity, implying earlier existence as well as present and future life, but the value is solely in the sense of continuity, not in the details of the past.
Your question concerning the nature of spiritual existence in the past is different from wondering what kind of physical life you had at an earlier time, for its purpose is fully met through the understanding of spiritual continuity. Each of your souls has traveled a different route to reach this point in your lives that you share in common. For some, there is a past physical life but not for all. Your souls have existed always within a context of your always having been a part of God. God did not have a beginning and therefore your souls have no beginning. All of your souls are fully united, as you know.
For each of you there has been a time in your soul’s existence which has not been characterized by a human form of life. What is that existence like? What is the purpose of such life? The purpose is complex, but the purpose nevertheless is one of growth. Your souls existed in the form of a spiritual energy. They carried with them, prior to human life, an impetus, a direction—a direction of growth—but the nature of the soul prior to experience of human life is one of an undifferentiated personality.
Your souls at this time in your earthly lives have an identity which is their own, a strength in the seeking of God, the acquisition of some human traits. The nature of the soul’s personality becomes more sharply defined. It is like light passing through a lens. The light source is unchanged, but the lens has with it the capacity for bringing that light into focus. Your human lives are much like that lens. The lives contain within them the potential for bringing the nature of your souls into sharper focus, into greater refinement. Your lives provide an opportunity for your souls to grow in a manner which is not normally possible without it.
Life is essential for most souls. There are spiritual beings who seem to evolve without the need for a human life as you experience it, but there must nevertheless be some contact with human life. It may be through teaching. It may be through the inspiration of scientists in their ultimate discovery of new principles. It may be in the guidance toward the creative output of a human. There are many sources for contacting and being close to human life. The actual experience of life as you live it is only one such means of focusing the soul, giving it greater definition and a clearer character.
It is interesting that in the process of evolving into an individual spiritual entity, there is a greater awareness of the self. It does not mean that there is selfishness as you would interpret the term, but there is a sense of one’s individuality. That is part of the cycle—the evolution of a sense of individuality, and then the ultimate dissolution of that individuality. The presence of the individual awareness is vital as the soul develops its strength, but it is only in the loss of that individuality that the soul achieves its ultimate potential—the complete union with all other souls.
So growth takes place through a series of cycles or changes, and for many, such growth necessitates human life. But whether or not such life is experienced, the growth continues. The awareness of God’s light continues. The experience of love and loving continues. Contact in some form or another with those in their human phase continues.
The cycle is an involved one, and it is not so important that you know the details, but rather that you are aware that there is life before human life which is equally rich and important, as well as life after human life. The continuum is unbroken. The permanence is reassured. The constancy of spiritual life is maintained. You are all part of the constancy. You are all part of the cycle, important to it. Your lives, although short, are essential for your individual souls.
Your souls may be somewhat different, but in a greater sense they really are the same. Again, we urge you to come to a close awareness of the unity of all that is. Seek it out, and recognize that although there may be ups and downs in the nature of your lives, your lives are still continuous, they are still illuminated by the divine light of God, by God’s love and continuous presence in all that happens. We on our side are a part of that continuum just as you are. There is really no difference between us and you.
Be assured of God’s love and our love, and of our presence and our desire for your growth. You are all indeed so blessed beyond measure. Take time from your daily lives to acknowledge those blessings. Accept them, even blessings that you are not aware of. Know that God is at work in your lives and that is indeed a blessing.
And now we rejoice with you as we join with you in that magnificent growth toward God’s light and peace.
Amen.