Month: February 2024

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Seeing the Real World

February 7, 2024February 16, 2024 Joseph Dewey

Seeing the Real World

A Course in Miracles tells us this about forgiveness and vision:

“For forgiveness literally transforms vision, and lets you see the real world reaching quietly and gently across chaos, removing all illusions that had twisted your perception and fixed it on the past. The smallest leaf becomes a thing of wonder, and a blade of grass a sign of God’s perfection.” T-17.II.6

The question thus arises as to why students do not give accounts of seeing the real world if only forgiveness is required to “transform vision?”

After all, a number of students report that they have forgiven all those who have offended them and have let all known grievances go.

Is there more to forgiveness than merely forgiving our brothers and sisters?

Indeed, there is, as forgiveness of others, as generally understood, is only a first step.

The second step is more difficult and both steps are required to see the real world with clarity.

The first step is forgiving your brother, but the second, and the more difficult one, is forgiving the world.

Concerning this the Course says:

“The real world is attained simply by the complete forgiveness of the old, the world you see without forgiveness.” T-17.II.5.

So, to attain the real world we must go beyond forgiving our brother and forgive the world itself.

But what does it mean to forgive the world? I couldn’t make any sense of this teaching until I came across this passage from the Course:

“To forgive is to overlook. Look, then, beyond error.” T-9.IV.1

The key to understanding here is that the similarity to forgiving the world and our brother has nothing to do with handling offenses, but requires “overlooking” and seeing “beyond error.”

When we forgive our brother, we “overlook” his actions as if they never happened and we are to do the same thing with the world itself if we are to see the real world.

It is indeed a fact that we do seem to perceive this world through our physical eyes, even though it is not eternal, and therefore does not exist as the Course defines things. But it is a fact that we have used the powers of the Sonship to make this world real enough to be seen, in fact it is all that most of us do see. Therefore, a first step is to realize what we are seeing and attempt to see beyond normal vision by overlooking what we do see and putting ourselves in a state of mind so we look and see as if this world does not exist.

What then is the beginning of real vision as we seek to look beyond this world that is perceived by the senses and see the real world? We are given this clear answer:

“You will begin to understand it when you have seen little edges of light around the same familiar objects which you see now. That is the beginning of real vision. You can be certain that real vision will come quickly when this has occurred.” W-pI.15.2

If we then forgive the world, or overlook it, we should be able to see “little edges of light around the same familiar objects which you see now.”

I have found this to be one hundred percent true and can now easily see those edges of light around any object I choose and you can too by looking beyond the world of illusion. Here is how to do it.

Sit comfortably in your chair and pick out an object in your room. It is best if the background behind the object is a solid wall light in color. For me right now I am looking at a football on a shelf with an off-white wall as the background.

Now if you just stare at the object you will not see the edges of light because your attention will be on the object itself. Instead, you must look at the supposed empty space just beyond the object and let the object fade from view. The best way to do this is to focus on a point of empty space about a quarter inch from the object, and place yourself in a state of mind as if the object does not exist. Keep your focus steady and after a time the edges of light will appear.

When you first see them, you may be somewhat startled and place your attention back on the object. If you do this the light will instantly be gone. Go back and look at the empty space again and if you do this regularly your power of vision will increase. If you practice doing this you will then easily see the light around all objects as promised by the Course.

But that is merely a first, or “the beginning of real vision,” as the Course says. There is much more light to be seen:

“The Great Light always surrounds you and shines out from you.” T-11.III.4

You can also see these edges of light around any human being, but there is much more, for great light also surrounds us as the Course says. Part of this light is commonly called the human aura which is more difficult to see than the light at the edges.

The brightest part of the aura extends a foot or two from the body and is much more difficult to see clearly than the edges of light, but seeing the aura is worth the effort. People’s auras are all the colors of the rainbow and when seen clearly, they are very bright, neon-like, more real. than any color on earth.

When I first saw the aura, I found I had great difficulty keeping it in my vision, for as soon as I placed any attention on the body the aura disappeared. Too see it for an extended time I found I had to take all attention off the body and focus only on the space beyond. I discovered the Course was indeed correct when it says “It is impossible to see two worlds which have no overlap of any kind. Seek for the one; the other disappears. But one remains.” W-pI.130.5.

Correspondingly, I found that when I did manage to see the aura that I had to take my attention off the body to maintain the vision. The instant I focused on the body, all light around the body disappeared. Only one of the two worlds remain, just as the Course says.

After I went this far, I wondered what else there was to see and placed my attention on seeing beyond the aura and discovered that there is an energy field of light that circulates around the body. This field has a shape something like an egg and extends about an arm’s length from the body and rotates around us like an electron does its nucleus.

After seeing the energy field I decided to go further and found that seeing beyond it is difficult indeed but after many attempts I made a breakthrough and discovered that at the edge of the egg shaped field is a fine film corresponding to the film on the outer egg when the shell is removed. On this film is projected our thoughts in geometric forms which are in motion. These thoughts are not read as we read words but by the intuition. If you could see the outer aura of a person you could read their minds. I believe that this is what Jesus did when he read the woman’s thoughts at the well (See John 4:5-30)

As for me I haven’t been able to see these thought projections on any person except myself and I am only sensitive enough to see them on certain occasions, for this outer film is extremely difficult to see while still in the body.

In order of difficulty the edges of light are easiest to see and most can see them if they properly look. The aura is several times more difficult to see than the edges and the circulating field is harder still for us while in the dream.

The outer film where the thoughts are projected are several times harder still and requires a great focus on spirit. There are several times I have seen it though without effort when I have been in that state between being awake and asleep, but it disappears as soon as I fully wake up.

One more thing that is available to those who look are the lights in the night sky. When we see the stars we are only seeing a small part of the light that is there. From each star is extended living light that interplays with other stars. They communicate with each other by the sharing of light. These dancing lights in the sky are not that difficult to see and are seen through the same principle as seeing the aura.

That said, I realize that so far I have just seen a small part of the real world.

Jesus set the great example of seeing by not seeing when was able to fully take his attention off his body so it disappeared. Then he was able to make it reappear when he appeared to the apostles, according to Helen’s notes quoted by by Ken Wapnick in Absence From Felicity.

Helen wrote that “The body disappears, and no longer hides what lies beyond. It merely ceases to interfere with vision.”

I think we all look forward to removing this final barrier to all vision in the real world. I believe that if we realized all there was to see, hiding in plain sight, that we would be amazed indeed.

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Forgiving the World

February 7, 2024 Joseph Dewey

Forgiving the World

Forgiveness is one of the central themes of A Course in Miracles and most of the teachings on it are in harmony with the statements of Jesus from the New Testament.

It registers with most people that if we hold ill feelings toward another that love cannot manifest. This will cause great interference with communication with the Holy Spirit.

On the other hand, something I had difficulty in relating to was the advice of the Course for us to forgive inorganic and non-human things that have no conscious intent to do us harm. There are numerous occasions when the Course tells us to forgive the world itself, such as:

“Unto us the aim is given to forgive the world. It is the goal that God has given us.” W.fl.in.3

It is easy to understand why we need to forgive fellow humans for they are consciously aware of what they are doing. If someone calls you an idiot then there arises a need to forgive because of the offense that can be taken.

But the world and the inorganic things in it do not attack us, neither do they have the consciousness to do so.

So, the question I had for many years was how am I supposed to forgive a world which I have never seen attack me and to which I hold no grievance or ill feelings?

How to Forgive a Rock

Most seasoned students of A Course in Miracles understand the basic principle of forgiveness as explained in the text.

We are taught that the standard way of looking at it is in error, which is this:

When an offense or an attack is made the person overlooks the act from a standpoint of superiority, taking pity on the offender. But the Course says this:

“Forgiveness is not pity, which but seeks to pardon what it thinks to be the truth. Good cannot be returned for evil, for forgiveness does not first establish sin and then forgive it. Who can say and mean, ‘My brother, you have injured me, and yet, because I am the better of the two, I pardon you my hurt.’ His pardon and your hurt cannot exist together. One denies the other and must make it false.” T-27.II.2

Contrary to orthodox thinking the Course teaches that with true forgiveness we recognize there is nothing to forgive:

“He will teach you to remember that forgiveness is not loss, but your salvation. And that in complete forgiveness, in which you recognize that there is nothing to forgive, you are absolved completely.” T-15.VIII.1

Whether you see forgiveness in the orthodox way or the Course way, some acts certainly present a challenge. Suppose someone kicks your dog, hurts your child or even kills a loved one? Just telling yourself that nothing happened or there is nothing to forgive doesn’t always prevent grievances from occurring, yet this is the ideal to which a student will aspire.

We generally know when forgiveness is necessary because some type of grievance will surface. The great benefit of true forgiveness is that a grievance will disappear.

With people in general, forgiveness and grievances are associated with living people and relationships, but as it does with many concepts, the Course gives a twist of meaning that is different than anything we find in our dictionaries. Forgiveness is no exception for it expands its application beyond human relationships to the world at large and tells us to “forgive the world, that it may be healed along with me.” W-pI.82.1

It talks a number of times about forgiving the world which is essential to seeing the real world:

“The real world is attained simply by the complete forgiveness of the old, the world you see without forgiveness.” T-17.II.5

In discussing the world, the Course seems to use the same definition as is used by our dictionaries. The Oxford Dictionary defines the world as “the earth, with all its countries, peoples and natural features.”

The Course doesn’t give a specific definition of the world but seems to assume we know what it is. From my reading of the Course, it appears to mean, “all those things that can be perceived by the senses,” which is very close to that of the dictionary.

Correspondingly it speaks of “the world of dreams, where all perception is.” T-13.VII.9 Perception selects, and makes the world you see.” T-21.V.1

I’ve seen students apply the idea of forgiving the world to many situations that have nothing to do with human relationships. For example, if they stub their toe on a rock, they feel they must forgive the rock or if a storm comes up and interferes with a picnic, they think they must forgive the weather.

This type of thinking never made sense to me as I could find nothing to forgive in a rock, a storm or anything else that is not human.

Since the Course asks us to forgive the world, I figured that it must be defining forgiveness in a different way from the standard Oxford Dictionary which says it is when we “stop feeling angry or resentful toward someone for an offense, flaw, or mistake.”

Notice that the standard definition only includes humans, not things, but the world includes everything we can perceive with the senses.

I continued to wonder, in addition to fellow humans, how do I forgive a chair, a computer, a tree or a mountain according to the Course?

I thus searched through the Course looking for something that would make sense of the idea of forgiving the world at large.

After much searching, I finally came across a key passage that turned on the light – that could give meaning to the forgiving of both humans and the rest of the world. Here it is:

“To forgive is to overlook. Look, then, beyond error.” T-9.IV.1

I’m sure I have read this several times before, but the full meaning did not register.

The great part about this definition is that it applies to all things in the world of illusion, human and non-human.

What does the Course tell us to do when we forgive a brother? It tells us to overlook the offense as if nothing has happened.

And what does it tell us to do about all things in the world we see? Again, it tells is to do the same thing. We are to overlook this world of illusion and see the real world that lies just beyond normal vision. We are told this:

“The real world is attained simply by the complete forgiveness of the old, the world you see without forgiveness.” T-17.II.5.

“The real world was given you by God in loving exchange for the world you made and the world you see. Only take it from the hand of Christ and look upon it. Its reality will make everything else invisible, for beholding it is total perception. And as you look upon it you will remember that it was always so. Nothingness will become invisible, for you will at last have seen truly.” T-12.VIII.8

We then forgive this world the same way we forgive a brother by overlooking or looking beyond the illusion as if it did not exist. Just as sin is an illusion, so is the world we see which includes not only people in bodies, but trees, mountains, lakes and all that is upon the earth. When we forgive the world of illusion then our eyes are open to see another much greater world called the real world.

The beginning of real vision where the real world is seen is explained here:

Look around your room, pick an object and see it as not being there, or forgive it, and the light from the real world will appear.

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Little Rock Memories

February 6, 2024 Joseph Dewey

LITTLE ROCK MEMORIES, Part 1

My First Job

My niece wanted some Little Rock stories. I have some fond memories of the place as we lived there for a couple years when I was between three and six years of age. We moved to Emmett when I was six as I began school there in the fall of 1951.

We were pretty isolated at Little Rock and I didn’t have anyone to play with so I spent a lot of time with my dog just hiking around the area. I was thrilled when the fruit season arrived because it drew a lot of workers to the packing shed owned by my Uncle Ray which was stones throw away from our house.

I kind of made a nuisance of myself there but the people were too busy to pay me much attention as everyone had to keep busy packing the fruit for shipping. I saw that everyone had a job and they seemed to be having more fun than me so I asked for a job. Someone told me that I could separate the fruit baskets and hand them to the workers as needed and that would help.

So, I started doing that and the workers seemed to appreciate it. I enjoyed the work and it seemed fun compared to doing nothing. I continued doing this until the end of the season.

At this time my Uncle Ray called me into his office and sat me in front of his big desk.

He said, “Joe you have been working hard this season so you deserve a paycheck just like anyone else.”

He then wrote out a check and handed it to me. “Here’s a check for three dollars.”

I never in my wildest dreams expected to get paid for having fun but when I took that check for three dollars my imagination went wild. At that time the most expensive candy bars were five cents and I started thinking of how many I could buy and how many I could eat at one time. I was thrilled.

I then went home and showed the check to my Mom.

She looked at it and said, “You know what? You really need a new pair of pants and this is just enough to buy them for you. I’ll take you shopping tomorrow and we’ll get you a brand new pair.”

“No, no,” I protested. “I want to buy a bunch of candy bars.”

“Too much candy is not good for you,” she said, “but you really need a new pair of pants.”

The next day we went shopping and bought the pants and we left the store with me wearing them. My mom turned to me and said, “Now doesn’t that feel great to know that you bought those pants with your own money?”

“Not really,” I said. “I’d feel a lot better if I had all the candy bars I could eat.”

She then said something to the effect that I would understand more about what is valuable when I got older.

Indeed, she was right. If I had spent the whole thing on candy I would have probably made myself sick and they were short of money at the time so on hindsight I am glad that my three dollars helped out a bit.

LITTLE ROCK MEMORIES, Part 2

That Darned Goat

When we lived at Little Rock around the year 1950 (Between New Plymouth and Emmett, Idaho) when I was five my parents decided to get a goat. At first, I thought it would be like having an additional pet, but was I ever wrong. For some reason the goat decided it didn’t like me, and whenever it saw me it would come running at me and ram me with its head. I found this very annoying and complained regularly to my parents.

Then one day I was out playing and a car drove up. Out of it came my Dad and Uncle Del. Del came over to me and said, “I heard that you don’t like that goat.”

“I hate that goat,” I said.

“Would you like to shoot it?”

“Sure,” I said, figuring he was kidding around.

“All right then” he said, and pulled out a pistol and placed it in my hand. “Go shoot that goat.”

I had never shot a gun before but figured it was just a matter of pulling the trigger so I walked over to the goat who was behaving himself for once and aimed the gun at its head.

The trouble was that the pistol was kind of heavy and I was having a hard time holding it steady. I wasn’t sure if I was going to hit the target or not.

Del must not have been sure either so he stepped forward and held the barrel steady with his fingers and told me to shoot.

And shoot I did and the goat fell over dying on the spot.

Over the next few weeks, we ate that goat and I enjoyed it immensely as there was something very satisfying about consuming an enemy.

LITTLE ROCK MEMORIES, Part 3

My Friend Mike

When I was three, approaching four, my dad acquired a new friend named Mike. Mike took a liking to me and treated me as a person rather than a little kid. He not only told me good stories but he listened to what I had to say. One of the things we talked about was who was the greatest cowboy, We liked a lot of them like Roy Rogers, Audie Murphy, Lash LaRue, and Gene Autry, but between us it came down to Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. I thought Gene Autry was by far the better of the two and made my case.

Then one day when visiting he said to me: “Would you like to see the real Gene Autry?”

I gasped and enthusiastically said yes, but figured that seeing him in person was just a pipe dream.

I’ll tell you what,” said Mike, “he’s going to be at the Snake River Stampede in Nampa in a few days and if you want, I’ll take you to see him.”

Before this I had really liked Mike but this sent him up to almost a godlike status in my mind.

He took me to the Stampede and I did get to see the real Gene Autry and was thrilled.

During this period where Mike was a good family friend my Mom became pregnant and I was informed that I was soon going to have a new brother or sister. I was pretty excited about the news and, as it came time for delivery, I came up with a great idea. We should name the baby Mike, after my new best friend.

When I told my mom my desire, she told me that they would consider that name if it was a boy, but it just wouldn’t work if it was a girl. From that point on I figured that God was going to send us a boy because I felt it just had to be named Mike.

As fate would have it on Feb 23, 1949, just a couple weeks after my birthday, my mom delivered a beautiful baby girl.

When she brought her home and we gathered round to take a look I said, “Let’s name her Mike!”

None of the family thought that was a good idea, especially my mom, who was the main decider on this, who explained to me that Mike was a boy’s name and she needed to have a girl’s name.

I argued that a girl could be named Mike just like a boy can be. Why not? Who says we cannot name her Mike?

Normally I could talk my mom into letting me have my way, but on this she put her foot down and decided to name her Sandra Sue.

Sandra Sue did not sound anything like Mike and I was quite disappointed for a while, but it wasn’t long before she seemed to grow into that name until she did seem to be more of a Sandy than a Mike.

As an adult I am thankful that this was one time I didn’t get my way with my mom, as Sandy would have probably had a lifetime grudge against me had she been named Mike.

LITTLE ROCK MEMORIES, Part 4

Playing With Fire

We lived a rather peaceful, idyllic life at Little Rock for about three years between the ages of three through six for me.

Most of the time I spent alone. The only time I mingled with anyone other than family was when we had friends over or the packing shed was running. On most days I would go on long walks with my dog.

Sometimes I would find wild asparagus and pick it and give it to my Mom. I was a picky eater and didn’t eat many vegetables, but that asparagus seemed to taste great – I think mostly because I provided it.

We heated our house with a coal and wood range and when mamma ironed she heated the iron up on the stove and ironed for a few moments and then heated it again.

We had an old fashion washing machine with a wringer which had two rollers that you ran the clothes through to squeeze the water out of them.

When we took a bath we had to use a big metal tub in the middle of the kitchen that we filled with hot water heated on the stove. I think my parents must have bathed when us kids were out of the house, for I never saw them use it.

We had a number of accidents out there. Bill got ran over with a car but it didn’t do much damage. I just about electrocuted myself on one occasion and on another got my hand caught in a slamming car door, but I had a real close call one day when we all got together and built a big bonfire and cooked hot dogs and roasted marshmallows.

We spent the afternoon enjoying ourselves and as the evening approached the fire seemed to have gone out and there was nothing left but smoldering embers. Everyone had gone back into the house except me. I stood there looking at the ashes reflecting on a pleasant day and I grabbed a nearby stick we used for roasting and poked it in the ashes that showed no sign of life.

To my surprise this stimulated them and all of a sudden, a flame came right out of the ashes in my direction almost like it was alive and embraced my right pantleg and caught my pants on fire. I was wearing corduroy pants which were very flammable and instantly realized I was in real trouble and shouted out for help as loud as I could.

Thank God, my mother heard my cries, even though she was in the house. She came running and didn’t waste any time when she approached me. She grabbed me and rolled me around in the dirt which put out the blaze. She took me in the house and we assessed the damage. My right knee was badly burned but if she would have not responded immediately it would have been much worse.

It took a while to heal up and I still have a scar from it as a reminder.

A year or two later when we moved to Emmett, I had another close encounter with fire. We moved to a new place in Emmett and I can still remember the address – 619 North Commercial. In fact the house is still there.

It had a partial basement where we stored various supplies. I was down there one day and noticed a paint brush in a jar which I assumed to be water. Instead, it was a flammable paint thinner.

For some reason I had a book of matches with me and as I looked at the jar a crazy question came to my mind. I wondered if the water in the jar would burn if I put a match to it. I lit a match and applied it to satisfy my curiosity. To my surprise it instantly caught fire and the surprise caused me to hit the jar and knock it over. Suddenly the floor was ablaze with fire and I realized I was in real trouble. It looked like the whole house could burn down and me with it.

Again, I cried out for help and again my angel mother came to the rescue. She instantly assessed the situation and grabbed an old mattress that we had stored there and threw it on the fire and managed to smother it before the point of no return.

I did suffer some damage from this, as the fire burned my lips which developed blisters and then turned into scabs. It took about a month to heal up.

During that time I had a number of people approach me and ask, “What happened to your lips, kid?”

I found it very embarrassing to explain what happened and having to respond to that question was more painful than the physical burn. I was really glad when my lips healed and that question ceased to surface.

CLOSE CALL

The account of my sister’s wedding reminded me of something. It says they honeymooned in Canada but what it didn’t say is that we went with them. In the car was Bertie, Lorin, my Mom, Dad, Sandy and me.

It was late at night and Lorin was driving down a two-lane road at around 100 MPH. Fortunately, in the distance he noticed a cow right in the center of the road. He immediately applied the brakes and we came to a screeching halt that seemed to last for an eternity.

We stopped just before the point of no return and got out of the car to assess the situation., The bumper of the car was actually touching the cow who was completely undisturbed, as if nothing had happened.

Just think how different things would be if Lorin’s reflexes hadn’t been top notch and we had all been killed in a 100 MPH crash!

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Remembering My Dad

February 5, 2024February 5, 2024 Joseph Dewey

Remembering My Dad

A reader comments: “JJ, your Dad’s stories are so interesting. It’s exhausting just reading how much he had crammed into his life. The Dewey’s were always moving house! He was so clever and had come up with so many inventions, plus wrote poetry as well. I laughed at his poem called A Little Bit Mixed Up, and I loved his Old Age poem as well, they are priceless. He was a great character, very interesting and so much fun.

“Thank you for sharing his life with us.”

JJ: Thanks for your comments. I thought I’d just share a few additional memories of my Dad. Perhaps nothing sums up my Dad’s outlook on life more than an encounter he had with an old friend in his old age.

The friend was named Mel, and was my friend Wayne’s stepdad. He used to live the wild life with my Dad in his youth but later he changed his ways and lived a more stable life and started going to church.

He owned the Letha Store, and one day my Dad stopped by to pay a visit. After a few niceties the conversation went something like this:

Mel said, “Well, Ted, I think you ought to look at the difference between you and me. Look at me. I cleaned up my life and am going to church. I own the local grocery store and other property. I am in real estate and have made some good investments. I have a stable family and have established roots.

“Now look at you. You are single and the only possessions you have is that little trailer you pull around and your typewriter. What have you got to show for your life?”

My Dad looked him in the eye and gave a knowing smile. Then he replied, “Yes, I agree you have all those things but I have something no one can ever take away.

Then he paused and said: “I’ve had a good time!”

This left Mel a little speechless, and he had no reply as my Dad turned and walked away.

My Dad was always the life of the party and loved to buy other people drinks and tell them jokes and stories. The true ones were as difficult to believe as the made-up ones were.

Sometimes he would take me on mining trips when I was a kid, and whenever he entered a bar, even far from home, there was always someone who recognized him and welcomed him with open arms.

He was very concerned about me when I started going to church, about the age of thirteen, and told me that there was just a hair’s worth of difference between a religious fanatic and a full-fledged criminal. He said he hoped I wouldn’t go over the edge and become a fanatic.

This is kind of humorous on hindsight because all my friends’ parents wanted them to go to church, but my Dad wanted me to stay away.

Then at age 19 I told him I was going on a two-year mission to England for the Mormon church. This really alarmed him and he asked me to go to his favorite bar and have a drink with him before I took off.

I told him I would go to the bar with him, but I’d have to drink soda. We went in the early afternoon and there was just us two and the bartender. We had a good conversation and he showed me one of his favorite card tricks. Then as the bartender was filling up his glass he looked at him in exasperation and said something like this.

“You wouldn’t believe what my life is coming to. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve what is happening to me. My ex-wife has got religion and is going to church. Not only that but the church has got a hold on all three of my daughters. Then my boy here got religion and to top it all off he’s going on a damn mission!”

He took a drink and looked back at the bartender and exclaimed: “Now I’ve got to do all the lying, cheating, drinking and swearing for the whole family. I’ve got to go to hell for the whole bunch of them!”

The bartender and I both gave a hearty laugh. Somehow, I felt that my Dad was just too likeable for God to send to hell.

My older Brother Bill was the only family member who didn’t take a turn as an active church member. When he started getting interested in dating my Mom asked my Dad to have a private talk with him about the facts of life and give him a little guidance.

My Dad took him aside and said something like this.

“Bill, my boy, I do have some advice for you. Don’t get tied down to an old lady the way I did. Go out into the world and have a good time and sow your wild oats. Make the best of every moment and don’t let anything tie you down.”

My mom apparently heard this through the door and was aghast. As I grew up she never asked my Dad to give me advice on anything and tried to steer me away from him.

Most of my extended family are quite religious and were pretty sure he was going to hell, but I never bought into this even when I was active in the church. He had his faults, but it seemed that heaven would just have a little additional spice if it made room for him.

A reader who had read my Dad’s biography noted that my Dad seemed close to his brother Del, but not so much with brother Ray and wanted me to comment on Ray.

Yes, my Dad and his brother Del were very close. They were always planning to make a million or conquer the world together. Later in life Del had a mine cave in on him that lead to his death and that really took the wind out of my Dad’s sense of adventure. From that time on his adventures were in his stories instead of real life.

I spent a reasonable amount of time with both of them when I was young. Del always seemed to have more money than my Dad for some reason and always bought a new Oldsmobile every year. My Dad told me that Del sometimes used questionable methods to get money that he did not go along with — like some shady deals with gold my Dad did not explain.

Sometimes my Dad would be gone up to a year at a time and we would not hear a word from him and we had to fend for ourselves. One time when he was in Nicaragua, we received word that he had died. That’s all. We had no way of verifying this and we figured we would never find out what happened.

Then one day he showed up as if nothing had happened. I told him that we heard he was dead and asked him where that came from.

He said he came close to death several times one being that when he came out of a bar he was hit over the head and woke up with only his underwear on. He said he was robbed of everything. Losing his money and clothes did not bother him nearly as much as his false teeth. The robbers had even taken them and he could not get them replaced until he got back to the states.

My Dad had some bad blood with Ray because of the real estate double-crossing from their father in Ray’s favor when he was young. Ray was very active in the church and known far and wide as a great speaker with a huge selection of inspirational stories. He was a little pious and my Dad could not stand anyone who was pious.

Ray had his faults but I liked him. He died a year or two ago.

My Dad died about 18 years ago (written 2008).

“Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before.” — Mae West (1892 – 1980), “Klondike Annie” (1936 film)

Aug 8, 2008

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Us Versus Them

February 4, 2024 Joseph Dewey

Us Versus Them

Question: What are the main differences between the light and dark brothers? Is it separation, us vs. them or what?

Neither separation or unity (as generally understood) define light and dark. By themselves they are neutral and can be used for good or evil depending in direction and intention.

Moses was right in separating the Israelites from Egypt, which act freed them from slavery. Early American settlers were right in separating themselves from the old world to create a new. Jesus was right in separating his disciples from the masses so he could teach them in private.

On the other hand, it is wrong to separate in the mind and judgement in such a way that a feeling of superiority and elitism is produced.

It is wrong for dictators such as Kim Jong-il (from North Korea) to bring by force and fear great unity (by all outward appearances) to his people. The people cannot think or act in any way contrary to the common unity or they will be imprisoned, tortured or killed.

Compared to this, the lack of unity in the United States is a much better thing where people can protest the President or any other leader they want.

There are many differences between the light and dark brothers but three are most important to realize:

Truth:

The Brotherhood of Light seeks to discover and reveal truth and not illusion.

The Dark Brotherhood seeks power at the expense of truth and are willing to substitute illusion for truth to forward their purposes. They will rarely reveal their true motives or plans whereas the Brotherhood of Light seeks to reveal truth to dispel illusion rather than creating illusion to cover truth.

Love:

The Brotherhood of Light seeks to give a helping hand to all brothers upon the path. This they do in a spirit of true love and friendship.

The Dark Ones love not those who do not bow before them in acceptance and are not immediately useable to them.

Freedom:

This is perhaps the greatest dividing line between the two sides. The Brotherhood of Light seeks to provide and stimulate the maximum freedom possible and trusts in the goodness of each individual to eventually find the best course of action.

On the other hand, the Dark Ones only allow minimal freedom and to fill the gap produced by the lack of freedom they create the illusion of freedom.

For instance, many Nazis under Hitler were under the illusion they were fighting for the “freedom” of the German people.

“Believe it or not all of us, Dark and Light want to be seen as being on the ‘good’ side. I think the good side is not a side at all, but a compatibility and a stable coexistence with all life.”

The Dark Side is very careful to project the illusion that they are the good guys, but are generally more concerned about being right than good.

The Brotherhood of Light is more concerned about projecting truth and “what is” rather than an image of piousness and goodness. Hence their work is often distorted by the powers of darkness and are mistaken by the masses as mislead or evil — as was Jesus.

The “Us versus Them” idea seems to be getting a lot of coverage lately among new agers who identify this attitude as belonging to the mislead.

On the other hand, the highest religion of the Brotherhood of Light is truth, and if we have an “Us vs Them” situation they will identify it as such.

Why?

Because if it exists then it is the truth. To say there is no “Us vs Them” is often not true, and to sweep it under the rug can produce illusion giving ammunition to the powers of darkness.

If you disagree with someone, then you have an “Us vs Them” situation; and to deny this is to deny what is or the truth.

Freedom cannot compromise with slavery; truth cannot compromise with illusion; and, love cannot compromise with hate. Disciples must struggle with each of these aspects until they prevail — and prevail they will. The day of victory may not be tomorrow or the next day, but that which is the good, the beautiful and the truth will always dominate in the end. That domination will not be because of the light compromising with the dark, but by the light prevailing over the dark.

That’s not to say that there is not a time and place for compromise, as there is. Truth as an end goal cannot compromise with error, else it becomes error.

“It’s wonderful what we can do if we’re always doing.” — George Washington (1732 – 1799)

Aug 4, 2008

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The Dark Knight

February 2, 2024 Joseph Dewey

The Dark Knight

Over the weekend, my wife and I went to see the new Batman movie — “The Dark Knight.”

It is interesting that when we watch a movie with a hero like this that 99 percent or more of the people watching will cheer for him on, Yet, if a leader in real life uses the same tactics, then he will be demonized by the media, politicians, Hollywood, conspiracy buffs, and even little old ladies.

Batman, Spiderman and other superheroes all have a similar problem as they battle the terrorists of their time. They find out that no good deed goes unpunished — that much of the world sees them as the problem rather than the solution. Many people would rather live with evil rather than upset the bad guys for fear they will create even more havoc. Then when the good guy fights the evil and the evil guy kills more people, the deaths are blamed on the hero.

But when we watch this in the movie, we instinctively know that the hero must fight on no matter what. We know that the temporary turbulence will be worth the lasting peace after the terror is subdued.

But in real life where there is real danger, people “wimp-out,” and seek to appease the terrorists rather than make them mad by fighting against them.

I heard someone the other day compare George W. Bush to Batman and found this amusing, visualizing how the Bush haters would be gnashing their teeth over such a comparison.

But the comparison is not so far-fetched as most would think. Let us look at some:

Both are fighting terrorists that want to destroy us.

Both achieve a degree of success in this but the success does not seem to help their popularity numbers.

Both have a minority of the people who support them and cheer them on in the fight against evil.

Both are demonized by the majority who think the war is doing more harm than good.

Both roughed up their enemies to get information, though I may add that waterboarding is playing nice compared to Batman’s torture of The Joker. Our servicemen volunteer to be waterboarded to see what it is like, but I don’t think they would volunteer to be beaten up by Batman.

Both eavesdropped on their enemies to get information to save lives though there is a major difference in degree. Bush eavesdrops in a few international phone calls, and Batman listened in on thirty million phone calls simultaneously.

Both had setbacks that made them look bad. Bush didn’t find his WMDs, and The Joker killed many people and blamed the deaths on Batman. Many did blamed Batman even though The Joker did the killing.

Some normally good people, who were supporters in the beginning, turned bad and wound up being problematic.

After an extended fight against terror both suffered so much in reputation that even supporters joined in with the critics when danger surfaced. Instead of sending the Batman signal they decided to hunt him with the dogs. This would signal to him that he needed to take action.

Even so, Bush is also hunted with dogs as many seek to prosecute and impeach him for using Batman-like tactics in fighting evil.

It’s kind of sad how we reward those who diligently do their best to fight the evils of the world. Look at Churchill. After being the major player in winning World War Two he was voted out of office. Look at Lincoln. After winning the Civil War and freeing the slaves he was shot. Washington’s supporters during the Revolutionary War were about the same percentage as Bush’s today. Themistocles, the other hero of the battle against Xerxes, (of the movie “300” fame) saved Greece from destruction, yet shortly thereafter was driven out of the state for spending too much money on defense. Then we know what they did to Jesus, the greatest warrior of all against evil.

Isaiah said that in his day that the people could not discern between good and evil and this has ever been the case when evil is at the door.

May we one day herald the day when those who fight against true evil receive the support they deserve.

“Because he’s the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now…and so we’ll hunt him, because he can take it. Because he’s not a hero. He’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector…a dark knight.” — Lt. James Gordon in “The Dark Knight”

July 28, 2008

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Molecular Life

February 1, 2024 Joseph Dewey

Molecular Life

Question: What is the composite Molecular Life of which you speak?

It will be linked to the 24 below it and to Shamballa above It. It belongs to the kingdom above human called the Kingdom of God, and we enter the kingdom through the creation of a vehicle for a group life. This life is as different from an individual human as a human is from a dog.

Imagine your dog being given the opportunity to see through human eyes and use the human brain and you get the idea of the leap we will take when we enter the Kingdom of God in correct group formation.

This life is not coming to experience being human as It will not be human. Correspondingly humans are not born to experience the life of a cell. It will take a body of expression for the purpose of guiding us back to the realm of Spirit.

Christ and the Masters are of human origin just as you and me, but the molecular life is of a higher order from a different kingdom.

Christ and his group of masters already are members of a molecular order and have created a body through which a higher life manifests. As they attain oneness with this higher life they live as if they are that life and see through Its eyes and think through Its mind.

To create a molecule among humanity a link must be established from Christ to disciples here. This link will create a magnetic living energy for the group that will draw another higher life — an entity distinct from the one used by the Masters though of the same mind. Then as disciples identify with It, they attain Its powers.

Question: Is it feasible for a kingdom-of-the-gods entity to incarnate into a molecular order consisting of something other than twelve male-female units? Or, is that the only feasible format at this time?

To answer this, contemplate the Law of Correspondences.

There are many combinations of atoms that produce molecules with various combinations. On the other hand, there are also many more combinations that do not work and will not create a stable molecule.

The twelve units composed of twenty-four individuals will be the first molecule, but eventually many more will be created using numerous different combinations. The successful numbers and how they are merged will be discovered by spiritual scientists of the future.

Question: Is there any current link of any kind with the Molecular Life?

There is a link through the Oneness Principle where our higher selves are in contact with such lives but through normal consciousness there is no association with these higher lives until they take incarnation.

All of us, regardless of evolution are connected to various groups of souls. We incarnate with some of these and others of the group remain on the other side.

These groups of souls have group consciousness that is not realized by the seeker until he applies the Oneness Principle.

The people in a seeker’s molecule may or may not be a part of his group soul. Group consciousness through a molecule is of a higher order than the consciousness of natural group souls.

Question: Were the twelve apostles (and their female counterparts) in the days of Jesus a very advanced group?”

Since they were a part of a working molecule, yes they were part of an advanced group. That does not mean that they as individuals were all high initiates, however.

Question: Any tips of getting in touch with one’s soul group?

When you finish going through the dark night of the soul you will arrive at a consciousness that allows you to sense the consciousness of your group. You will go from feeling very alone to having a sense that you will never be alone again.

These is no need to find these members on the physical plane, but if you meet one you will feel a great kinship.

Question: Have you met members of your soul group in this life?

Probably, but I have no incentive to find them as they are with me at all times within, and as a group consciousness the experience is much different than dealing with an individual consciousness.

“Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so.” — Bertrand Russell (1872 – 1970)

July 16, 2008

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