11/29/99
Points of Truth
The Question:
How about problem foundation beliefs on the other side of the fence in the New Age community? Can you name a couple?
Susan gives some good answers. I’m glad you’re pitching in here Susan.
(1) Traditional religions and scriptures have absolutely nothing to offer me.
(2) There is no evil.
(3) Learning to do (astral traveling, telekinetics, past life regression) is the focus rather than being (kind, loving helpful)
(4) There are no rules worth following
There are all excellent observations of New Age traps.
(1) Traditional religions and scriptures have absolutely nothing to offer me.
This is an interesting one because the left and right take two extremes on this. The religious right takes everything too seriously, and literally, and many on the left throw the whole Bible out the window thinking it is like kindergarten and needs to be left behind.
The truth is that great wisdom is distilled in this as well as other world scriptures and are very useful when passed by the soul. In my opinion the highest writings are those of Isaiah, the words of Jesus and the writings of the Apostle John. I think we can find here words of spiritual power that are equal or surpass that of anything available in book form.
(2) There is no evil.
I’ve had a lot of discussion with various people in the group with this one. Either them or me have some foundation resifting to do in the future.
It is interesting that the Great Invocation, which is accepted by many of those who teach there is no evil, has this in one of its stanzas:
“Let the Plan of Love and Light work out
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.”
These very words we are told are spoken by the Christ, the greatest of us all, every single day in present time.
They are not far removed from the Lord’s prayer given 2000 years ago in which He asked to “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
My question to those who do not believe that we have to be concerned with evil is this. If Christ, the greatest of us all, is yet involved in the world of dualities to the extent that He puts daily attention on sealing the door of evil, then is it not apparent that our foundation beliefs need reexamined if we see ourselves beyond this need?
Suppose your teacher is a mile ahead of you on the path and a mile beyond the teacher is refreshing water that you thirst for. Just imagining to yourself that you are drinking the water does not produce reality. Instead, it may deceive you into not following your teacher who does knows the way and may find yourself wandering off into strange dark paths and missing the destination completely.
(3) Learning to do (astral traveling, telekinetics, past life regression) is the focus rather than being (kind, loving helpful)
Phenomenon does often distract from the needed path of service.
(4) There are no rules worth following
This was another good one Susan. For the right the rules are everything and for the left there are few, no rules, that apply to them. Those in the middle realize that some rules are necessary for order but not suffocation.
Here is my rule for rules:
Minimum rules – maximum free will. A little like we try and do in this group.
Here are some other shaky new age foundation beliefs put forward:
(1) Self development is all there is. Service will come later, as a by-product.
Many on both sides of the fence put too much emphasis on self. The truth is that when we serve with purity of heart the self is taken care of, making self-first an unnecessary step.
(2) Going with the flow. This is a good one that we have covered in the past.
(3) Thinking is creating, is doing.
Thinking is a step but only part of the process.
(4) If you’re in the light you will have only joy and peace with no suffering or struggle.
(5) If it feels true, then it is true.
(6) Everything is perfect and can be just accepted the way it is.”
I have heard many people on the left and right make a statement something like this as they are struggling to achieve:
“If God wants it (or if its meant to be) then it will happen. If it does not happen then it is not supposed to be.”
Time and time again I have seen this attitude cause the person to cease making that little extra bit of effort necessary for success.
The truth is that you have power to create what you decide to create and as a reflection of God your creations are God’s will. If we want something all we must do is make a decision to get it and pursue the dream until it is real. If we leave everything up to an outside God we become like a sandcastle exposed to the wind and waves of the ocean. Disintegration can only occur.
Two Goods or One?
A reader makes the comment that there are different kinds of good and evil and the day will come where evil will no longer exist.
You have to look at what DK does say here, not what he does not say. Nowhere in the 30 books of AAB is it stated that there is a different kind of good which is divorced from good and evil and I do not recall two types of good being mentioned in this or any other work of the brotherhood. There are degrees of good perhaps, or good from different sources, such as the personality or the soul. Then too we have different definitions of good and evil.
In the quote I mentioned he used the phrase “dominating good” as opposed to the “law of evil sharing,” which you admit is in the realm of good and evil.
The dominating good is brought into activity by the spiritual will of the higher Triad, but it is still in opposition to the law of evil sharing as DK indicates. No where does he say that evil will be no more. Instead, he tells us that which is evil will be lifted to h higher note. In other words, when good dominates and moves us forward that which is then evil is not as bad as it was in the past.
For instance, a hundred years ago it was mildly evil to kill someone of an unpopular race. Now evil has been raised to a higher level so killing someone of a different race (especially because of race) is considered so evil to be unthinkable for the average person. Now needlessly killing an animal is seen to be as evil as killing of such a human was in the past, yet in ages past no one was prosecuted for such a thing.
DK is very consistent in his definition of good and evil. Evil is that which pulls us backward in evolution and good is that which pushes us forward. It may seem at times that we are moving backwards, but, because good dominates, this means that spiritual evolution always goes forward. We may go 9 steps backward while taking 10 forward thus creating one dominating step toward the good.
Copyright by J J Dewey
Index for Older Archives in the Process of Updating
Easy Access to All the Writings
For Free Book go HERE and other books HERE
JJ’s Amazon page HERE
Gather with JJ on Facebook HERE