Category: Archives Revised

A Few Good Initiates

A reader asks if there will only be a small number of fourth degree initiates or higher on the earth at a time. Will only a very limited number ever get the chance at this achievement.

The evolution of initiates progresses in geometrical progression just as does a nuclear explosion. One neutron produces two, which produces four and so on.

As far as higher initiates go, we are still at the beginning of the explosion. When DK was working through Alice A. Bailey, he said that there were about 300 disciples on the earth. This means that 300 had passed the third initiation. He never said how many fourth degrees there were but the number would have been much smaller — like a dozen or less.

So, what happens when we have hundreds of fourth degree initiates? How can we have hundreds initiating revelations with worldwide repercussions?

The answer is simple. When the number gets substantial enough the initiates will receive similar revelations and participate together in group endeavors.

Imagine a dozen Abraham Lincolns working together rather than just one. Imagine how potent that would be.

Many humans will not attain higher initiation in this cycle on planet earth, but such achievement may be millions of years away on another globe.

Through the justice of God all will eventually have the chance to achieve that which Christ has prepared for us.

 The idea of a dozen or so fourth degree initiates was just a guess. There could have been less and not likely more. Revelation is the fifth initiation and how successful a fourth initiate is in bringing down and presenting revelation depends on his progress. Some fourth-degree initiates help those farther upon the path of revelation.

A reader wants to know the time period for the geometric progression mentioned.

The time period for the geometric doubling is not given, but it could be an entire age of 2260 years. Therefore, in a period of 100 years we may not presently see a great increase of high initiates.

Also, cataclysms where a large percentage of the population is lost could interfere with that progression.

DK tells us that at the end of our evolution on earth 60% of humanity will achieve a degree of enlightenment necessary to move on and 40% will have to return to another earth like this for more schooling.

I would guess the third degree of initiation will be the goal for that 60%, but that will be millions of years hence.

Reader comment: From reading the Bible it sounds like the separation will happen at the coming of Christ instead of millions of years in the future.

There is a gathering of some kind at the beginning of each new age, but the end of our evolution on earth will not happen at the beginning or the end of the Aquarian Age. Human life and evolution on the earth has millions of years left before it becomes impractical for man to remain here.

The Gospel of Matthew gives a good picture of the end of the Piscean Age and the beginning of the Aquarian and the separation of the wheat from the tares which happens periodically.

However, the end of our evolution here will happen only once, and when it does there will be a final division. The majority will go on to higher evolution and the rest will have to repeat “the earth class” on another earth-like planet.

After the new age is entered those of a lower vibration will just not be able to incarnate for the symbolic 1000 years of peace, but when “the devil” is released again (which is symbolic of mankind embracing destructive ideas) then they will incarnate again. Almost all the souls presently connected with the earth will stay linked to it until the end of our evolution, though both the good and the bad will go through cycles where they do not incarnate depending on what is happening and opportunities available.

A reader criticizes us for placing so much credibility on the writings of Djwahl Khul through Alice A. Bailey. The problem is that he quotes the Bible as if it were infallible so the same criticism could be made right back.

Either DK is a Master or he is not. If he is perceived as a Master then it is logical to assume he sees from a higher angle of vision from ourselves just as the reader acknowledges that Jesus knows more than he does.

At the end of our evolution perhaps sources even outside of our solar system will assist in the final separation.

The reader seems to think that the spiritual laggards will not be permitted to incarnate again. This makes no sense. Why, after a long cycle when we are yet far from learning all our lessons, would such a drastic shift occur? Why would God or anyone else want to make this unnatural thing happen before needed lessons are learned?

The future will be like the past but on a higher turn. In the past the good and the bad incarnated together but there have always been variations.

In the days of Moses those who were closer to Spirit were together with and then separated from the Egyptians and many Egyptians were destroyed. The Israelites were far from perfect, but they were a step up from their enemies, and souls on the other side who belonged to this group incarnated with them.

After the days of Jesus higher minded souls incarnated into the Christian groups and the lower into those of the Roman Empire. There was a natural separation.

There is even a separation of types of souls from one generation to the next. For instance, the “Baby Boomers” were a very different group than was “Generation X.” From the other side souls gravitated to their appropriate generation. This natural gravitation and separation occur with races, nations, associations, families, tribes, etc.

There will not be a permanent separation when Christ comes. After future cataclysms and plagues, it is quite probable that a large portion of those of lower vibration will be swept off the earth and a government of light will be the norm. In that situation karma will dictate that only the deserving will be able to incarnate to take advantage of such good times.

But no matter how hard the people of light try there is always the temptation to return to tyranny and sooner or later the door opens for illusion to return.

Ages hence that door will be permanently closed but we have many lessons to learn yet that will be far from being accomplished when Christ returns.

“Whatever you think, be sure it is what you think; whatever you want, be sure that is what you want; whatever you feel, be sure that is what you feel.” — T. S. Eliot (1888 – 1965)

July 3, 2008

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Seeking Purpose and The Dweller

A reader asks for advice on how to find his calling.

If you just wait around to be called you will become pretty frustrated. The key is to find a service that you enjoy and will be helpful to others and plunge into it. If you are then headed the right direction your soul will increase your energy and peace and you will know it is right. If for some reason the choice is not good your soul will send you feelings that something is not right.

Notice in your dream you were told to find a girlfriend — not a love interest. It is quite possible that you need female friendship more than love for the moment.

You say you felt a burning in your forehead during meditation. This is probably because your third eye center is being stimulated. Do not meditate with this burning if it becomes uncomfortable. A tingling is much better and safer to work with.

You say you spoke to the higher self  ants and they obeyed and wonder if they have Solar Angels.

They do have a group life which is attached to an even higher spiritual life but this is a different life essence than a Solar Angel. It makes perfect sense to speak to the higher life of any living thing. Even if you talk to the wind, as you did, a spiritual essence can pick up your “sound” and respond.

You ask:

“Why would a higher force fulfill my request since there was no purpose in it? Or maybe it wasn’t a higher force?”

You asked for help from this group (the Keys) and several responded even though the purpose is no more noble than desiring to get rid of ants. The principle is this:

When the seeker invokes an answer from another living essence and keeps attention on that request, an answer of some kind will come.

A member who read about my Youthful Recollections recently posted thought I should have gone into more detail on my spiritual experience at that age, but went into extra  detail about the non spiritual ones.

I wouldn’t say that anything in my account was not spiritual. Often it is those struggles we have in just maturing, moving forward and in relationships that are of significant importance in preparing us for initiation or spiritual experiences.

Here are some of the things I wrote of that I consider important spiritual preparation as a youth:

[1] I naturally believed in reincarnation.

[2] I didn’t see the value of church when it seemed to teach nothing useful.

[3] I didn’t accept an authority unless he made sense.

[4] I weighed the impact of an eternity compared to a lifetime.

[5] I initiated some interesting endeavors.

Even though from an adult perspective the efforts of youth may seem inconsequential, in reality many of them lay a foundation for a whole life.

When you were young, did you believe everything you were told, or did you question? Seemingly minor efforts in youth can create branches that lead to great accomplishments.

Why do I not give you the full account right now? Well, the experience was quite personal.

If I had a full knowledge of The Beast, the mark of unearned authority, the ‘inner God,’ etc., then the decision to call on God to heal would have been a no-brainer. But because I did not know these things the decision to move ahead was difficult and weighing what to do created a point of tension.

Knowledge will often change a circumstance and prevent a point of tension in a certain area from being created. On the other hand, partial knowledge will often lead the seeker to a point of tension to obtain greater knowledge.

Question: You mention inner and outer authorities. Did you think this way as a teenager?

I didn’t think in terms of outer or inner authorities at the time but I did learn to trust my own best judgement above religious authorities and did not see the church leaders as infallible, though I figured they must be the best that God could come up with.

I also did not use the term ‘spiritual science’ when young but I was a student of science and approached religion with a scientific approach and thought that true religion and science should agree.

Question: Does the discipled just have one major confrontation with the Dweller or several?

I’ve covered this previously. Here is the quote:

“Yes, the seeker will have many mini encounters until he is eventually forced to confront him head on — or shall we say the Dweller realizes it must fight for its life and confronts the disciple head-on in an attempt to discourage him.

“Eventually the disciple must overcome The Dweller without the help of his Master.

“The confrontation with the Dweller will be a major event in each life of the disciple until he [The Dweller] is completely neutralized.

“The first major confrontation with the Dweller could happen at an older age but subsequent ones will usually happen before the age of 21.”

Joseph Smith, for instance, confronted his Dweller but received help from one higher than himself to free himself. Eventually the disciple must wrestle with his Dweller and dominate him. After this happens its power in each life will be diminished. Even so, the experience will be difficult.

Any new initiation is worked on after the age of 21. Before the age of 21 the disciple retraces his steps.

A reader asks me if my experience of being excommunicated and losing my wife and kids would qualify for the Great Renunciation of the Fourth Initiation

It was a difficult experience, but it wasn’t a Great Renunciation. When I faced excommunication, I figured it would cost me my wife and kids. It did not happen as quickly as I supposed but later when another path was revealed to me I knew for sure that if I followed my soul that I would suffer this loss. A greater problem than merely being separated from them was that my ex-wife saw me as being in league with the devil and instilled her thinking in their minds.

There’s not a day goes by that I wish I could have been with my kids during their tender years and guided them, not only toward greater light but just normal life like social skills, playing ball and building their confidence. Instead, I had a continual fight with my ex-wife who did everything in her power to prevent me from seeing them or having any meaningful dialog with them. After I did see them she interrogated them to see if I had poisoned their minds with my teachings. This made these fragile souls terrified of having any meaningful dialog with me. I could write so much more but this will have to suffice for now.

As harrowing as it was to sacrifice my family this was not my great renunciation for the Fourth Initiation.

As difficult as this was, I could see that certain decisions had to be made for the greater good and had faith that in the end the justice and fairness of God would prevail.

In the Great Renunciation the disciple can see little or no hope that this will be the case.

Take Abraham for example. God promised him that he would have a great posterity through his only son, yet commanded him to slay Isaac. The slaying of his son was bad enough but an even more difficult problem was that it appeared God’s very promise would be broken and if you cannot have faith in God then what do you have?

Utter despair.

The Christ saw the greater plan, but the disciple Jesus wanted more than anything else to build the kingdom of God. He was told no — that he would have to sacrifice his life instead. He had to give up his greatest dream to serve God to pass the Fourth Initiation.

My guess is that he even received a promise that he would be an instrument in building the kingdom and it appeared that God was breaking his promise through leading him to the crucifixion.

Was this one reason why he said to God: “Why have you forsaken me?”

Before reaching the Great Renunciation the disciple will think he has sacrificed everything several times but when the Fourth [Initiation] occurs he will discover that his attachments reach deeper than he ever imagined. He never saw himself having to give up such attachments for they seemed so benevolent in nature.

When the disciple passes the third he can be trusted by the brotherhood to see through illusions as they present themselves. When he passes the Fourth Initiation the can be trusted to not get sidetracked by the pull of an attachment, however good, and thus moves on to work on the Fifth Initiation of where he brings down a revelation from higher planes to initiate a work that will benefit mankind for a times to come.

“And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.” Doctrine & Covenants 122:7

June 26, 2008

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War, Karma and Questions

Question: How could it be that the Hierarchy could support act war? Wouldn’t that lead to negative karma?

First let me state this. It is illusion to believe that Christ and his Hierarchy will never support war. Of Christ it is written:

“In righteousness he doth judge and make war.” (Rev 19:11)

This scripture dispels two illusions.

First that it is wrong to judge. But on the contrary Christ judges in righteousness. This tells us that good judgement is a positive thing.

Secondly the illusion that war is always wrong. On the contrary we are told here that Christ will actually “make war” in righteousness.

DK gives several examples of this. In a past life, he says that Christ was Krishna and he made war in righteousness.

Then during World War II he says that Christ and the Masters supported the war against Hitler and communicated telepathically with allied leaders in an attempt to assist.

The interesting thing about karma and War is that DK tells us that the nations that will suffer the results of the karma of war more than the Allies who fought evil are those who remained neutral. He said that the neutral nations did incur a debt for not assisting the forces of freedom when they could and will have to correct their errors of judgement in the future.

In any choice the whole effect must be considered. War is indeed terrible, but a loss of freedom that extinguishes the human spirit is much worse. We must always do what is necessary to ensure that freedom reigns or we will suffer a karmic effect worse than a war can produce.

People who are against war in any circumstance must realize that there are worse things than physical injury and death. If you die you merely go to the next sphere and prepare for your next life.

BUT if you lose freedom and yield to tyranny you can suffer an effect that can have a negative effect for many lifetimes.

Question: Aren’t the two sides in a war (called good and evil) working toward the same thing end up in a vicious circle which will repeat itself over and over.

Good and evil are not working toward the same goal any more that Churchill and Hitler were. The Good (Churchill) was working to ensure freedom of the human spirit and Hitler (the evil) was working in subjugate human freedom in the hands of selfish authority.

These are two very different directions of the light and the dark.

During the age of peace, the pure in heart will incarnate and have a rest but those who support tyranny will not be able to incarnate until tyrants arise again.

If you do not support a war to prevent tyranny then you support tyranny. To have your loved ones suffer under a tyrant is worse than being killed.

Question: Does the person who supports killing through war have no soul-infusion?”

Churchill and FDR had millions killed to preserve freedom but they were in contact with Christ and his Hierarchy according to DK. Killing in a war to preserve freedom is a much different thing than killing your spouse to get insurance money.

Question: Why would anyone choose to incarnate here and leave the peaceful land of Spirit?

We are here because we are attracted to form and the experience is gives us. That attraction cannot be just ended in a moment. It takes many lifetimes to free ourselves from it.

Think about it. Are there goals and desires that you still want fulfilled? If the answer is yes, then you will come back.

Question: Isn’t truth in the eye of the beholder?

I don’t think so. If you think 2+2=5 then it is false for all beholders.

Question: How can you see Jesus as benefitting humanity when you see all the wars fought I his name?

You’re looking at the glass half empty when there is a part that is half full.

If you read history about how people treated each other 2000 years ago and how they are today you will see a great improvement and much of that improvement is due to the teachings of Christ. There are always bad apples if you want to look that direction.

Your problem as I see it is you are an idealist who thinks that there should be no pain, hate or discomfort in the world, yet such things abound.

How could there be an all-powerful God if such things exist around us?

The truth is that God is not what the religious world sees but his body is composed of evolving lives such as ourselves and as we progress the life of God progresses.

Question: Your teachings on the Sign of the Son of Man are a lot different from that of Joseph Smith. Why would one with a Mormon background believe you?

One must keep in mind that most scriptures of any depth have at least three valid interpretations.

The scripture reads:

“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven:” (Matt 24:30)

As noted elsewhere in my writings on this, “heaven” comes from the Greek OURANOS. When we consider that uranium comes from this word, the scripture points toward the atomic bomb as the sign of the son of man.

But another interesting word comes from OURANOS and that is the planet Uranus.

Why is this significant? It is significant because Uranus rules the sign of Aquarius and of course this is the sign of the zodiac that we enter when the coming of Christ occurs.

Where is this mysterious approaching planet of which Joseph Smith spoke? It could be a symbol of Uranus, for Uranus is a sign that many righteous people from the past will be reborn here on earth and assist in creating the coming age — one of peace and enlightenment.

Thus one of the interpretations of a planet representing “The Sign Of The Son Of Man” is fulfilled by the approaching Age of Aquarius represented by the planet Uranus.

Is it possible that a literal planet will show up containing the city of Enoch and the ten tribes?

It is possible, but I am not betting on it in the near future though I do believe that planets move in and out of orbit over cycles of time.

Question: Would you expand on the  777 lives mentioned by DK?

DK gave out the 777 in relation to lives but I believe it was meant to be a symbolic number rather than an exact one as he has specifically said there are more lives than that. I have said I believe the 777 lives represent lives of experience which is based on my intuitive judgment.

Some think that the 777 lives leads up to the first initiation. It is possible but I would say that these lives represent lives of experience leading to the point where the person becomes an aspirant and seeks the reason for his existence. The first initiation shortly follows this.

Question: At what initiation does the labors of Hercules begin? That is if the labors are connected to an initiation and if they are, do the labors always begin in the same sign and then I mean the beginning and end?

I believe the labors begin after the third initiation and end with the fifth. Clockwise through the zodiac is Pisces-Aquarius-Sagittarius, etc. Counterclockwise is Aries-Taurus-Gemini. The labors always begin in Aries. Sometimes it will take more than one life to complete a labor and all lives that work to complete a labor may not take place in the sign of the labor though the first attempt usually will be.

“An enlightened physician, named Paracelsus, during the fifteen century had the same problem with doctors that healers do today.

“In explaining why he had become a medical reformer he said: ‘Since I saw that the (present) doctrine accomplished nothing but the making of corpses, deaths, murder, deformity, cripples, and decay, and had no foundation, I was compelled to pursue the truth in another way, to seek another basis, which I have attained after hard labor.’

“According to Kenneth Walker’s Story of Medicine, Paracelsus said: ‘The best of our popular physicians are the ones who do the least harm. But unfortunately, some poison their patients with mercury, and others purge or bleed them to death. There are some who have learned so much that their learning has driven out all common sense, and there are others who care a great deal more for their own profit than for the health of their patients. […] A physician should be the servant of nature, not her enemy; he should be able to guide and direct her in her struggle for life, and not throw, by his unreasonable influence, fresh obstacles in the way of recovery.’“

(From “In Search for Healing Energy” by Mary Coddington)

“The saying ‘Getting there is half the fun’ became obsolete with the advent of commercial airlines.” — Henry J. Tillman

June 24, 2008

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Youthful Recollections — Part Four
Finding the Inner Voice

The age of sixteen was a turning point in my life in many ways. It was at this age that I acquired an interest in spiritual studies, spiritual experiences, writing stories, songs, expanding social skills and checking out various out-of-the-ordinary books that Mormons normally do not read.

It was also this age that I began seriously collecting comics. At that time, I was the only one I knew of in Idaho who collected them and actually paid a premium price for old issues. Unfortunately, the main ones I collected, the ACG Group, never became premium collectors’ items and my friends raided all my old “Superman,” “Green Lantern,” “Flash,” etc., when I was away from home on an LDS mission.

As an interesting side note I bought two of the first issue of “The Fantastic Four.” I didn’t particularly like that comic, but I thought it may turn out to be a collector’s item and I was right. They now (2008) sell for $40,000 each in good condition. (It is up as high as $250,000 in 2024) If I still had my old Marvel and DC comics I would be rich. When I left home I secured the ACG comics in a locked box, but they turned out to not be worth much money today. All the others were raided by my friends or thrown out by my mom who thought comics poisoned the mind.

Even though the ACG comics didn’t turn into being major collector items they were very valuable to me in that I found the stories very stimulating and they largely inspired my interest in writing.

The ACG Comics were “Adventures into the Unknown,” “Forbidden Worlds,” “Unknown Worlds,” “Midnight Mystery” and “Herbie.” I recently gave my collection to my oldest boy, Joseph, who has shown an interest in collecting comics as well as possibly creating one.

For a long time, I had an interest in astronomy and around this age I got a telescope that magnified 240 times and spent many an evening looking at the moon, planets, stars and even the   sun through a protective filter. Again, this was before many had telescopes and they were much more expensive than now. I didn’t know another soul in Idaho that had any interest in astronomy. I dreamed of having enough money to build a really big telescope, but was lucky to have one as good as I had.

Yes, around this magical age I developed many interests, but from my early childhood I had a sense that I was supposed to do something important, but didn’t know what it was. When I was about six, I was wondering what I was supposed to do with my life and when at a movie I heard a man say he was a scientist. The words struck me deeply even though I didn’t have a clue what a scientist was. After arriving home I asked my Mom was a scientist was. After she told me I said, “That is what I want to be, a scientist.”

My Mom then told me there were many different kinds of scientists, and that I needed to pick one branch. Then after reviewing the various types I decided I wanted to be an astronomer.

Then at the age of 13 when I had my accident and started reading books on rockets, I decided I wanted to become an Astronautical Engineer and eventually replace Warner von Braun and send people to the planets. This seemed more exciting than anything I could do as an astronomer.

Between the ages of 13-16 I studied everything I could find on rocket science and then branched out to other sciences. Then at age 16 I moved beyond physical science and became interested in social science and spiritual science.

My oldest sister, who was the only religious one in the family at the time, was thrilled when she learned I was going to church, and when visiting she gave me a nicely bound set of the scriptures.

She wisely appealed to my interests and said something like this.

“I understand you are interested in astronomy. The Book of Abraham has the story of an ancient astronomer who discovered the secrets of the universe and was shown a vision of creation. I think you would find this interesting.”

She did catch my interest and I read the Book of Abraham. It wasn’t what I expected, but I did find it interesting and then went on to read other scriptures. It was during this original search that I first contacted my Dweller as well as the Angel of the Presence — an experience I may write of someday — but not now. This experience completely changed me around spiritually and started my true spiritual quest for higher knowledge.

When I read the scriptures, I was amazed how interesting some of them were, yet how boring church was. It seemed like an amazing contrast to me and I felt like shaking those sleeping souls to get them to awake to what they had in their possession.

Unfortunately, the average church goer is just interested in superficial stuff and making sure he gets a foot into the door of heaven.

From that point on I began to consider that I may be of greatest use to the world as a writer. As a scientist there are a lot of limits on what one can accomplish, but a writer can influence many people, even generations to come. My problem from that time on was find the time study and write as I desired. The second problem was finding the most important things I could write about?

Earlier I talked about the service station owner I that I aggravated with my fast and furious driving? Maybe I paid some of the karmic debt I owed the guy because in the following experience

Around the age of 16 I started reading the scriptures for the first time and as I read I began to wonder why there are not miracles today, as there seemed to be in abundance in ancient times. The church I attended rambled on about miracles a lot, but I hadn’t ever actually seen one or met anyone who had faith to perform one.

Then one day I was walking home from school and passed by Mr Ashley’s home and noticed his daughter in the yard. She was a fellow student that had been stricken with an incurable disease, Multiple Sclerosis. I stopped a second and looked in her direction. I was saddened as I watched her hobble around in her yard on crutches, barely able to move from one location to another, and in my mind, I reflected back to how she was just a short period hence — healthy and vibrant with a whole life in front of her. Then a thought occurred to me.

“What is preventing me, even at this moment, from stretching forth my hand and commanding in the name of Jesus Christ for her to be healed, even as did the prophets of old?”

This was an exciting thought for me to have at that young age, but as it ran through my mind a great cloud of negativity descended upon me and another thought came:

“Don’t you know that no one of your age has this type of authority? The leaders in the church have told you that you have to have authority from the church to heal, and you do not have it. God would be displeased with you or maybe even curse you if you should attempt to use power that doesn’t belong to you.”

This thought brought me great disappointment and overwhelmed me with discouragement for a moment, but before I moved on, I looked again in the direction of my friend as she hobbled along to another location in the yard. Then another thought came to my mind from the still small voice. It said: “Whatsoever you ask in the name of Christ shall be done for you.”

This statement seemed to reflect the essence of what I had been reading in the scriptures and again I took courage and reconsidered that I could be an instrument of healing. But as soon as I reflected upon this, the voice of the negativity again spoke:

“Who do you think you are? You’re just a kid! Even the adults who are faithful in the church and are authorized by church leaders can’t do a miracle such as you are thinking. God will probably strike you dead for even trying to go against established rules. And besides, this girl is not even a member of the church and is not to be included in church blessings.”

This decree of darkness caused me to fear. Would I truly offend God by using this power that may not belong to me? No one in my family, church or angel from heaven had ever given me authority to do miracles. Perhaps I would anger God by going out of my bounds and put my very soul at risk.

As I thus reflected and stood in silence for a moment my attention went back again to the still small voice:

“Whatsoever you ask in the name of Christ shall be done for you.”

I considered this statement and asked myself:

“Do these words have any limitations to them? I am not being told that I can ask for a miracle only if I am an adult, or only if I have a position in the church, or even if I am perfect? The words of the soul that I had received merely told me that I could ask and it would be done.”

Then for a period of about a minute (which seemed like an hour) my mind went back and forth between the two polarities:

“Play it safe and do not attempt to heal. If God really wants her healed, He’ll do it without me. Put my soul at great risk and trust the words of the inner voice which may just be my imagination.”

Unknown to me at the time the real risk was trusting the outer voice rather than the Inner, but of this I had no knowledge and thus the point of tension in my mind was great.

After this long moment of reflection where my mind seemed to go back and forth between the two decisions about a hundred times I finally settled on the inner voice. I thought to myself that I did not have a good logical reason to doubt these inclusive words and if I need to put myself at risk to help a friend then so be it.

Upon making the decision to proceed I gazed upon my friend in the distance again who had her back turned to me. Fortunately, she had not noticed me staring at her. As I looked in her direction, I raised my right hand whispered these words: “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to be healed.”

Instantly, upon completing this sentence I felt a surge of divine energy going through the warp and woof of my being to the extent I almost collapsed on the ground. This was very unexpected, for I had never associated any energy transference with miracles, and my immediate thought was that perhaps God was in the midst of punishing me by dissolving my body and soul back to the nothingness from whence it came.

I used what little energy I had left to head toward home as fast as I could and did not notice whether the decree had any effect on my friend. For a while I was more concerned about my own well-being than anyone else’s, but after a while my state of being seemed to return to normal and I thought that perhaps God was just sending me a warning not to mess around where I do not belong.

I put the experience out of my mind until about two days later. I saw my friend at school walking with no crutches. I was curious about this and walked up to her and asked about her recovery.

She smiled and said that the doctor had told her that her disease went into remission — that it may not last, but she was feeling fine for now.

When she said this the truth then dawned on me. God was not trying to punish me. I had made the right decision after all. A true miracle had happened and the power which I had felt was some type of spiritual energy going through me into her. Evidently, I thought, this was just part of some natural process. I was just an instrument in the hands of one greater than me.

I left her presence realizing that perhaps the greatest miracle of all was the knowledge that I now possessed and that from that point on I should trust the highest I receive from within more than all the voices without.

The interesting thing is that at the time I had a beloved uncle who was dying of MS, but when I contemplated doing the same thing for him I felt restrained from doing so.

I later found out the reason for this. That is each illness is sent to us to teach us something and that the problem can be permanently removed when the lesson is learned. My Uncle had lessons to learn from his struggle that I was not supposed to remove from him.

I believe I was allowed to heal my friend more as a teaching lesson to me than anything else and it was the right thing to do because of the inward message to go ahead. Of all the sick people I have met I have only been impressed one other time to silently heal without the cooperation of the patient.

An interesting ending note here is that about 36 years after the healing of my high school friend my wife and I were dining in a restaurant and we were accosted by a middle-aged lady who said to me: “You’re Joe Dewey aren’t you?”

I looked up and the person looked a little familiar, but wasn’t positive who she was.”

She saw the puzzled look in my eyes and then identified herself. It was the same girl who had MS and was healed. I hadn’t seen her for over thirty years.

I asked her about her illness and if it had ever returned.

She responded that her husband had died but she has been in good health ever since her “remission.”

We visited a while and she returned to her table. Then I said to my wife, “Do you remember me telling you about that miraculous healing of my friend back in high school?”

She said she remembered.

“The lady we just talked to is her.”

“Haven’t you ever told her what happened?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve just never been impressed to do so.”

This and other experiences changed my focus as a teenager. However, the change was mostly in my inner self as my friends didn’t see much difference in my outer self. From that time on I sought for truth wherever I could find it whether it be in or out of the church. Within the next few years, I pretty much absorbed all available truth in the church, but found many sources elsewhere, but during my spiritual journey I always went back to receiving spiritual verification from within, just as I did with the healing of my friend.

“You can have it all. You just can’t have it all at once.” — Oprah Winfrey

June 27, 2008

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Youthful Recollections — Part Three
Rides and Hypnosis

I got my first car when I was around 15. It was a 1951 Chevy Powerglide. It wasn’t the hottest most desirable car, but I made the most of it. I decided that maybe I could add a little excitement to church attendance by inviting some friends along for what I called “a ride around the block” after the meetings.

I started experimenting with the car to see what it could do. I lived in Letha, Idaho at the time. I bragged that I made up 2% of the town’s population because it had about 50 people living there. The local church, however, drew from the farm community and a couple hundred attended each Sunday. Fortunately for me, we had no law enforcement in Letha as the nearest town of any size was Emmett, about 10 miles away.

In preparing for the ride around the block I greatly exceeded speed limits and normal safety procedures. One guy in particular, named Ashby, was greatly angered whenever I drove by his house rousing up a cloud of dust as I whizzed by. He owned the local gas station and whenever I got gas he told me the same thing.

“I called the Sheriff over in Emmett and told him to come out here and arrest you for speeding. He said he’s too busy to come this far for one speeder, but I’ll get him here sooner or later.”

For some reason this irritated me and made sure that from that point on I would drive even faster as I passed his house.

Then, whenever I got gas, he always made a point to let me know he was pestering the sheriff to come arrest me.

Anyway, after I got my ride around the block perfected, I decided to invite a few friends to participate after the next church meeting.

The next Sunday after church I asked some of the guys, “Would you like to go on a ride around the block?”

“What’s a ride around the block?” they asked.

“Hop in and I’ll show you.”

About six or seven crammed in the car and we took off in the direction of the school. Just before the school there was a wetlands area to the right of us with high vegetation we called “the toolies” and at a speed of about 70 miles an hour I suddenly drove off the road right into the toolies and who knows what.

The bunch screamed so loud they almost woke the dead.

What they did not know is that I had previously scoped out this spot where I drove off the road. It looked to them that we were headed toward certain death but I had pre-tested everything and knew I could maneuver our way to safety.

After getting back on the road I headed toward a dirt corner near Mr Ashby’s place. Unknown to the group I had practiced on this corner and hit the gravel just right so we went into a spin and it looked like we were going to wreck for sure. I pulled us out of it and we proceeded in one piece to the great relief of my friends. I then did the same thing with a couple other corners as I prepared for the final event – the Beet Dump.

The Beet Dump had some scales at the top of a ramp. On both sides of the scales were steel walls. Between the walls was just enough room for my car to pass with about two inches to spare. Now the funny part is this. As you drive up toward the scales at a speed of more than five miles an hour it looks like there will not be enough room for the car to pass through and even at a slow speed one would have to be careful. It looks like the metal walls will scrape both sides of the car.

Now if the speed is increased the illusion is created that the space to clear is less than the width of the car and it looks for sure like certain disaster awaits.

Out of the blue I took the kids toward the scales at 30-40 miles an hour and it even made me a little nervous as we approached. If I hadn’t practiced this, I would have sworn that there was not enough room to pass.

I thought I had scared then when I went through the toolies but this time they screamed like I has never heard guys scream before.

We cleared the scales and literally flew after clearing the scales like the general did in Dukes of Hazard.

After everyone calmed down I started driving back to the church. I remember thinking to myself that I had gone too far. These guys will never want to go with me again and will warn everyone to stay away from me.

After we got back to church everyone fell out of the car and somewhat dazed walked toward the church. They encountered another group of guys near the entrance. One of them asked where they had been.

The answer surprised me. One spoke up and said. “We’ve been on a ride around the block with Joe.”

“What’s a ride around the block?” they asked.

“It’s the most fantastic experience we’ve ever had,” they said.

“But what is it?”

“We can’t tell you,” was the reply. “There’s no words for it. You have to experience it for yourself. All we can say is there is nothing else like it.”

This second group of guys then started pestering me to give them a ride around the block. I was relieved that in the end the guys enjoyed the ride despite being scared to death but did not anticipate more demand for ride.

I gave the second group a similar ride around the block and when returning they agreed that it had to be experienced rather than explained.

Amazingly I never got called in by the Bishop for giving the rides as I guess no one wanted to spoil the fun by telling adults about it. Even so, the next little hobby of mine did attract some attention from authorities.

Around the age of sixteen I became interested in two subjects that was met with skepticism by religious and other authorities.

One day my sister brought home a book covering an assortment of subjects and I noticed that it had a section on handwriting analysis. I read it over and found it interesting. The next time I attended church I analyzed a couple friends. I’m sure I wasn’t very good as my knowledge was elementary but it did set off a chain reaction. From that point on I had all kinds of people coming to me wanting to be analyzed. I then decided that I should learn more on the subject and started buying all the books available on the subject. Then later on I took a course from the International Graphoanalysis Society.

Most people in and out of the church enjoyed getting analyzed and didn’t give me much grief. The only problem I had was a church publication had an article about handwriting analysis and pronounced it fraudulent. I had a number of people in the church give me a bad time over that, but most had not read the article.

Then about that same time period I became interested in hypnosis. I was always curious about it but there were not any books about the subject that I could find at the time.

Then one day my brother-in-law came to visit and he accidentally left a book on the subject. I studied it carefully and decided to give it a try. It wasn’t long before I was hypnotizing kids at church and school and had them do some silly and crazy, but harmless stuff. My interest was roused and I managed to find some more books on the subject and became pretty knowledgeable about it.

I soon ran amiss of the authorities at school and the church.

When school authorities demanded that I cease from hypnotizing kids I asked them if there was any law that I was breaking.

They had to admit that there was not.

I also asked if there was any school policy prohibiting it, and to this they admitted that there was not.

I then told them that since I was not breaking any rules, I would continue to practice the art.

The authorities were frustrated at this answer and somewhat angered, but there was nothing they could do.

Some church authorities were also upset and I believe it was the Bishop who called me in again. He told me that hypnosis was evil and I should cease doing it.

I asked him if there was anything in the scriptures that spoke of it and he admitted there was not. I then asked him if the Prophet had said anything about it being evil or something we should not do.

He couldn’t find anything from the Prophet on the subject.

I then replied that since I was not breaking any commandment of any kind that I would continue to do it.

The bishop was flabbergasted but he had no response.

There was about a year that I did a lot of hypnosis. Sometimes during the lunch break at school I had quite a crowd watching with interest as I put someone under and had them do something amazing or entertaining.

One time a student challenged me telling me that there was no way I could hypnotized him, so I invited him to give it a try. He went under quite easy to my delight. I can’t remember what I had him do but the audience was convinced I had him under. But after I woke him up, he said, “See I told you that you can’t hypnotize me!”

I was a little incredulous, but had an idea and said, “Let me try again.”

I put him under again and had him do a couple things but told him that he would not remember after I woke him up. Then I said I would give a signal such as snapping my fingers and he would instantly recall it all and he would then realize that he had been hypnotized.

It worked like a charm. When I woke him up he again insisted he had not been hypnotized, but when I snapped my fingers the memory came back and he admitted that he must have been.

On another occasion a student in the crowd told me that he heard that under hypnosis an onion can taste like a peach. I told him that was correct as I had recently had several subjects  eat a piece of bread thinking it was a steak. He then said that he wanted me to try that out on him and I agreed.

I started putting him under when I learned a lesson in hypnosis that I hadn’t read in any book, and that is humor destroys the trance state.

Anyway, he seemed like a good subject and was going under well when someone in the audience cracked a joke. It made everyone laugh including the subject.

I continued putting him under and thought I had him deep enough despite the distraction of the joke.

We were just a couple blocks from a corner grocery store where we could purchase an onion, so about a dozen of us headed off in that direction. We all entered the store following the subject. The subject approached the clerk, who looked a little bewildered at such a group all coming in at once.

The subject looked at the clerk and said, “I’ll have one onion please.”

The clerk looked even more puzzled, but pointed to a barrel full of onions right next to our guy. He picked an onion off the top, lifted it to eye level and just stared at it for a minute. Then he forced himself to take a giant bite and chomped on it a couple times until he realized it surely did not taste like a peach, but 100% onion. He then spit it out on the floor in disgust.

The look on the clerk’s face was priceless as you could tell that he was indeed wondering what this crazy bunch of kids was up to.

This was a temporary setback for my credibility, but most understood the situation, and all but the subject with the taste of onion in his mouth had a good laugh.

On another occasion where things didn’t go as planned the laugh was on me.

As I was hypnotizing kids on the lawn during the lunch hour a good friend of mine approached and wanted me to put him under. This just happened to be Wayne, one of the characters in my Immortal books.

He seemed to be going under as normal when suddenly he fell back and his body started shaking and his eyes turned to the back of his head so you could only see the whites. He looked like he was possessed or something and I was quite terrified, thinking that perhaps I had destroyed my good friend’s brain.

I immediately went to his side to see if there was anything I could do when suddenly Wayne burst out laughing. As good friends sometimes do to each other, Wayne was playing a joke on me.

However, I was greatly received to find out it was a joke.

I had another friend who was a good subject and I hypnotized him regularly and noticed that he went under more deeply and quicker each time. Now all the books say that one cannot be hypnotized against his will but my friend was so sensitive that I decided to try it on him. To my surprise he went under even when I told him to try not to.

From this I concluded that repeated hypnosis interferes with the subject’s will and immediately stopped doing it except for some past life regression that I later got into. Later I bypassed regular hypnosis entirely and used harmless guided meditation techniques where the subject maintains full self-awareness.

June 22, 2008 

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Youthful Recollections — Part Two

Making Adjustments

I kept my agreement with myself and attended all the church meetings for the six-week time period. The first couple weeks I forced myself to go and I just endured the boring lectures, classes, meetings, hymns, etc.

Then I started studying the other boys. I found most of them found church every bit as boring as myself and unlike me, who was going of my own free will, they went because their parents dragged them there. Once at church instead of just sitting quietly, as I had been doing, they seemed to make the best of entertaining themselves.

In Sunday School class they did all they could to aggravate the teacher. They threw spit wads and erasers at each other and made jokes about the teacher when his back was turned.

That said I just have to relate one memorable event. Around that time Sunday School class was taught by my friend Wayne’s grandfather whose name was True. Nobody liked him very much and the kids did everything in their power to aggravate him. When he was aggravated, he would just scream at the class but we soon discovered that his bark was worse than his bite, and the more the kids could get him to scream the more entertained they were.

I was often late to class, and everything else, and sometimes when I was strolling down the hall to Sunday School class I would hear True yelling at the top of his lungs: “This is the house of the Lord and you’re supposed to be quiet!”

“Not much quiet coming from him,” I thought to myself.

Then one Sunday, True was sick and the class was taken over by his daughter, Gladys. Immediately the kids had a nickname for her and started calling her Glad Ass. I’m not sure if she caught the nickname or not.

Anyway, we made the mistake of thinking that Gladys would be a pushover just like her dad and everyone started horsing around. Then when Gladys turned her back and started writing on the blackboard the kid next to me, named Mark, picked up an eraser and threw it at another kid. Gladys must have had eyes in the back of her head because she immediately stopped writing, turned around and walked toward Mark with a very serious look on her face.

Suddenly the class went deathly quiet. Gladys forced her head about three inches away from Mark’s head and said: “If you do that again you will regret it.”

Then she turned around and resumed writing on the blackboard.

Suddenly Mark sported a giant grin and the whole class lightened up. As a leader of the rebels, we knew Mark was not going to let a slightly built female intimidate him.

A few minutes later Mark got hold of another eraser. He held it in his hand and looked over the room still wearing that big grin. When Gladys’ back was turned, he threw it at another kid.

Instantly Gladys quit writing on the blackboard, turned around and walked toward Mark. She moved toward him and stopped again a few inches from his head. The class was quiet as a tomb wondering what she was going to do. Mark didn’t seem concerned as he was still grinning, but not so much as before.

Then after about three seconds of ungodly silence Gladys grabbed Mark by his two ears and with great force banged his head on the wall behind him about six times.

Then she stopped, turned around and resumed writing on the blackboard.

We were all absolutely stunned. I checked with Mark to see if he was okay. He said it hurt his ears more than it did his head.

For the rest of the class all the boys were perfect angels. The same went for the next Sunday, but when her father True returned things went back to normal.

Anyway, a study of the other boys revealed that they made the best of their time in church as to relieving themselves of the boredom. I wasn’t really into aggravating the teachers even though my constant lateness to everything did manage to do that somewhat. I was not only late to church meetings, but also my school classes.

I remember one day I was so late to Sunday School class that I figured I better sneak in. I went outside the building and found a window to the class and motioned to a friend to open it. When the teacher’s back was turned I climbed through the window and sat in the chair.

The teacher turned around and looked at me and said, “Oh, hi, Joe, I didn’t see you there before. Would you please give the prayer?”

I looked around and then said, “Which do I give? The opening or closing?”

All the kids laughed because I didn’t know if the class was beginning or ending and I was put on the spot.

Anyway, I decided that overall I didn’t want to irritate the teachers and authorities any more than necessary and sought for other ways to do my part in relieving the boredom.

One thing I did was to start a contest to see who could bring the most outrageous thing to eat or drink during the Sacrament meeting without getting caught. I took the cake on the eating part when I brought pork chops and ate them without getting caught, but my friend John Cannon (Cannonball in the story I posted) won the prize on the drink. He brought a large Coke, sat in the midst of the congregation, and drank the whole thing with no straw without getting caught.

My friend Brent tried to match his record and came to church with a large Coke in his inside jacket pocket. To his surprise the Bishop called him to go up front and give the opening prayer. We all watched him as he walked up the isle. The weight of the Coke made his jacket sway back and forth and we thought the Coke was going to fall out and roll down the isle. We thought that would have been the funniest thing possible, but Brent managed to give the prayer and return to his seat without incident.

Anyway, after the six weeks I assessed the situation and decided that with a little improvisation that I could handle attending church and I decided to keep going. I just hoped that the things I would have to do to entertain myself wouldn’t keep me out of heaven.

I discovered that blending in with the other guys who were as bored of church as I was took the edge off dealing with the problem. I made a number of friends who went to church, usually dragged there by their parents, and enjoyed mingling with them after the service was over.

As we were talking before going home, we often had our own theological discussions much more interesting than church services. Some of the questions for speculation were:

[1] Do we still eat after we die?

This was probably the number one mystery to us as all of us enjoyed good food and didn’t want to go without it in the next world.

[2] Then we wondered if we would still maintain our sexual identity and the part it would play in the upper and lower kingdoms.

[3] A lot of people thought Jesus was going to come again before 1970. The elderly Mrs. Jones was always teaching that He would come in 1966. We hoped this was wrong as we all had a lot of fun stuff we wanted to do that it seemed the coming of Jesus would spoil.

[4] We talked about the mystery of how some friends as they got older turned into religious babblers, especially after they went on a mission. Whenever someone came back from a mission the question we wanted answered was whether or not “they” got to him.

I remember my friend Brent visiting me after a rebel friend came back from a mission. He entered the door with a somber look on his face.

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

He looked at me and said, “They got him!”

“They got who?”

“Nels,” he said. “I never thought Nels would go religious on us but they got him.”

“That’s too bad,” I said. “Maybe he’ll shake out of it after a while.”

“I don’t know,” said Brent. “He’s even got that missionary twang when he speaks.

Nels did partially recover but he and others scared us as to what we could become of us if we were not careful.

[5] Older people in general concerned us. It was a mystery to us that they liked the big band music and couldn’t relate to rock and roll. It was a mystery as to why devout church goers were about 30 years behind on fashion and always drove so slowly. We all hoped that was not going to be our fate as we grew up.

During these discussions I must have told someone I believed in reincarnation as one day the Bishop again called me into his office and said, “I hear you believe in reincarnation.”

“Yes” I said. “It makes sense to me.”

“That’s a false doctrine,” he said. “In fact, it is the doctrine of the devil.”

“Is that so?” I asked incredulously. “Is there anything in the scriptures about it?”

“Yes there is,” he said and fetched a Bible and turned to Hebrews 9:27 and read: “It is given to man once to die and after this the judgement.” He put the Bible down and said, “See. This tells us we only die once. That means there is only one life.”

“It does seem to say that,” I said.

The Bishop looked at me again and added, “Furthermore, the Prophet has said there is only one life and we know he is correct because he speaks for God. Now will you accept there is only one life and stop telling people you believe in reincarnation?”

The prophet speaking for God didn’t impress me that much but I did believe the Bible was true and the scripture did seem to indicate one life. Based on that I told the Bishop I would accept the idea of one physical life, though at the time one life did not seem a fair system.

While still in my thirteenth year I developed an interest in making homemade rockets. I was a little like the guy in the movie October Sky except my first rockets were completely homemade including the engines.

On the day after Christmas Dec 26, 1958 my friend Larry Larson and I were completing a rocket engine made of a CO2 cartridge fueled match heads from book matches. I was just finishing tamping the last match heads of the 25th book when it exploded in my left hand in the kitchen.

After the smoke cleared I looked at my hand and saw that it was a mangled mess. I thought I was going to lose my whole hand. Then I wondered about my right and was afraid to look at it. I could live with the loss of one hand, but what if both were damaged? Finally, I drummed up the courage and pulled my right hand up before my eyes. I was greatly relieved to see that it was OK. My mom wrapped my hand in a towel and got a neighbor to drive Larry and I to the hospital. Larry had a couple pieces of metal strike his hand but he was not hurt badly.

After we got to the hospital, they did surgery on me for eight hours. A lot of the work consisted of digging out match heads that were blown up into my wrist and arm. They finally sewed me up with over a hundred stitches.

As I was recovering, I received a lot of visitors. There was one thing everyone said and that was how lucky I was. I didn’t feel very lucky, but everyone said I was lucky I wasn’t dead.

Another thing that just about all visiting adults, especially church authorities, said was:

“I bet this taught you a lesson to never make rockets again.”

I enjoyed tweaking them by replying:

“Well, I won’t be making them until I get out of the hospital. I will be more careful next time though.”

This statement always sent a jolt through their consciousness.

Actually, this was a truthful statement. I did plan on making more rockets after I got out of the hospital. In fact someone brought me a book to read on rockets and my interest was much greater than ever.

Reading this book changed my life in two different ways. First it increased my desire to learn scientific principles and secondly it was the first book I had ever read in my life. I read what I had to in school, but had never read a book through on my own. It took the boredom of a hospital room to force me to start reading so there was a silver lining in the accident.

As it turned out I lost three fingers and badly damaged the rest of the hand. Altogether I had six surgeries over a three-year time period to make a useable hand.

After I got out of the hospital, I built more rockets than ever, but safer ones. Instead of making my own engines I ordered them pre-made from the Estes Company in Colorado. After church I often invited a crowd over to my place to watch the launching of a new rocket.

This kind of concerned church authorities as some thought was leading other kids in a dangerous direction. I had difficulty in convincing some adults that the new rocket engines that were pre-made were safe.

As I now look back, I am surprised I didn’t get thrown out of the Mormon church earlier than I did.

Life is trying things to see if they work. -Ray Bradbury

June 18, 2008

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Youthful Recollections – Part One

Note: These are recollections of my spiritual journey from my childhood to about age 16. Hope you enjoy the read.

I must have ended my last life desiring a Sabbatical from religion as in my early life I did everything I could to stay away from church as I found it unbearably boring. I felt fortunate that my parents were not religious at the time and did not drag me to church with them.

My Dad was not religious at all and there was no chance of him attending but perhaps it was partly my fault my mom didn’t attend for there was one time she took me to an LDS sacrament meeting when I was about four. During this meeting they serve small amounts of bread and water to the congregation in remembrance of the body and blood of Christ. Priests break up the bread into very small pieces and then Deacons pass them along on a tray with maybe 40 small pieces on each tray.

I remember that when I saw they were passing out the bread I thought to myself that was great because I was starving at the time. When the tray was passed to my mother, she took a piece and was about to pass it by me to the next guy on the right. Well, I wasn’t going to put up with being passed over and demanded my share.  That alone caused a lot of heads to turn in our direction, which I am sure on hindsight was a major embarrassment to my dear mother.

My mother then handed me the tray  and I immediately saw that one piece would do nothing to satisfy my appetite so I grabbed everything left on the tray and started shoveling  the bounty in my mouth.

This eclipsed my mom’s previous embarrassment as more disapproving heads turned our direction.

As it turned out, that was the one and only time my mother took me to church as a child.

Then when I was about twelve, we moved from Boise to a farming area and lived not far from my sweet but overly religious grandmother. She took it upon herself to get me active in the church. Every Sunday morning, she would just show up at the house to pick me up. Unfortunately, she was such a nice person that I couldn’t say no to her. I don’t think anyone could say no to her.

She would wait for me to get dressed and take me to church.

I was so bored all I did was suffer in silence. The authorities interpreted this as reverence and always complimented me on what a good kid I was and stated that they wished the other rowdy boys were more like me.

After a few weeks of this I smartened up and kept an eye out for my grandmother driving up. As soon as I saw her car approaching, I climbed out the back window and ran into the prune orchard and hid until she was gone.

Then a short time later we moved into a house that was just a few yards away from a Mormon church. My grandmother didn’t pick me up as I didn’t need a ride, but I did feel a little guilty about not going and went once in a while. Once when I was there, the bishop grabbed me and took me in his office.

He sat me down and suggested that since I was now so close to the church that I should attend regularly.

I told him that I did not plan on it as I found church extremely boring.

When I said this he just about choked and incredulously gasped back, “Boring? How can you say that? What is boring?”

“The speeches for one thing,” I said. “They are so boring they put me to sleep.”

“How can you say that?” asked the bishop. “We have wonderful speakers here who give uplifting talks. They are very inspiring to listen to.”

“Not for me,” I said.

“Is there anything else that bores you?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said. “The Hymns are boring beyond belief. They are almost painful, to listen to.”

The bishop really gasped at this statement. It was as if he had never heard a comment like this before in his life. “I don’t understand you saying this. Our hymns are wonderful. I love to listen to them.”

“Well, I enjoy listening to some good rock and roll,” I said, “and by comparison the hymns just don’t cut it.”

The poor Bishop seemed devastated with my attitude and I think he saw me as a lost cause.

After my talk with the bishop, I pretty much was determined to stay away from church as much as possible. There was one thing that nagged at me, however, and that was the idea that if you went to church and were good then you would reap a heavenly abode. If not then you would go to the lower regions where who knows what awaits you. I decided that maybe if I went to church once in a while, I would be able to keep my foot in the door just in case.

One time when I attended the bishop grabbed me again and took me in his office.

He said: “I hear you drink and smoke. Is that right?” He seemed a little incredulous since I was only 12 at the time.

I looked back curiously wondering where he had heard this. My parents drank and smoked so I thought that was all right to do. My friends and I would take advantage of cigarettes and beer whenever the opportunity permitted.

“Well, yes, I do sometimes,” I said.

“Well God doesn’t want you to do that,” he said.

“I wasn’t aware of that,” I replied.

Then he explained to me about the Word of Wisdom revelation through Joseph Smith and the harmfulness of the products and implored me to give up those vices.

I thought about it for a few seconds and decided it would be a good idea to give them up and told him I would do so.

(I do not smoke to this day and did not drink again until the church threw me out at age 33.)

He must have been pleased with himself as I’m sure he saw progress was being made.

Then a few weeks later he called me again into his office. He looked at me and said:

“You know that when you are twelve you can be ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood and become a Deacon. You are almost thirteen and you have not been ordained yet. Don’t you think it is about time you took the step?”

I answered back, “If I am ordained and decide I do not like being a deacon can I quit?”

“Oh, no,” the bishop replied, shaking his head. “The priesthood is eternal and you have it forever when you get it.”

“Then I do not want it,” I replied. “I’m not prepared to be a priesthood holder forever at this time.”

The poor Bishop. During the last meeting he saw progress and this one he saw none.

I went to church maybe once every six weeks until I was into my thirteenth year. One Sunday morning I was on my way to my token church visit and I started thinking to myself something like this.

I have to figure out what I am going to do with this going-to-church business. This halfhearted attendance isn’t accomplishing anything. I either need to be like my dad and not go to church and live life entirely by my own will and pleasure or take this church going seriously.

So, what are the plusses and minuses here?

If I don’t go to church I could go to hell, but I could have a good time here and have lots of fun in my life.

If I do go to church, I will be much more restricted by the religious teachings and bored to death in all the meetings I will have to attend. As I thought about it the boredom with the meetings would be the most difficult to handle.

Then I decided to put the whole thing in a wider perspective. If I go to church for a lifetime and behave myself, I will then be entitled to an eternity of heavenly bliss and joy.

If I do not go to church and just pursue a life a pleasure then I risk and eternity of misery.

Logically it comes down to this. Compared to eternity a lifetime is less than an hour or even a minute. Now suppose someone came to me and told me that if I endured boredom for one hour that I could have anything I wanted for the rest of my life. Would I do it? Of course. It would be a no brainer.

Should I then attend church for a short lifetime to have an eternity of heavenly joy? Life is less than a minute by comparison to eternity. Logically, this also seemed like a no brainer. There’s only one problem I told myself. I was just not sure if I was psychologically constituted to handle the boredom of attending all the meetings and of all the churches on the planet, I think the Mormons have more meetings than them all.

I then made a deal with myself. I decided that I would commit myself to full church attendance for six weeks. During this time I would attend every meeting there is to be had no matter how bored I was.

Then after six weeks I would assess the situation as to whether I could handle attending meetings for the rest of my life. If I could handle it then I would become a regular church-goer and assimilate the whole program. If I felt I could not handle it then I would take the same course as my dad did and live a happy-go-lucky life without the burden of church.

I was facing a life altering decision.

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. -Oscar Wilde

June 14, 2008

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Truth about Hierarchy

Question: Isn’t it more important to work in the NOW rather than focus on cosmological hierarchies?

Nothing in any of my teachings lead students to not work in “the Now” to make a difference. The fact that hierarchies exist does not undermine this effort in any way, but enhances it.

If one is a student of DK then he should accept the fact of the existence of ubiquitous hierarchies for the hierarchy is one of the main themes of his writings and if the principle behind hierarchy is not accepted one should move to other teachers. There are many fuzzy new age gurus who do not like the idea of hierarchy — except for them being in charge of course.

Here are some quotes from DK on Hierarchy:

“The chain of Hierarchy is great and immutable and the sequences unalterable.” (Discipleship in the New Age, Vol 1, Pg 758 by Alice. A. Bailey)

“You need to learn the art of reverence, my chela. The chain of Hierarchy is a fit subject for reflection.” (Discipleship in the New Age, Vol 2, Pg 738)

“The ‘chain of Hierarchy’ is a good subject for your constant reflection, and I want you to pay close attention to my recommendation that this concept form the background of your daily thinking.” (Discipleship in the New Age, Vol 2, Pg 739)

“In this way, if you will note carefully, there is established a direct linked chain from humanity, via the Hierarchy, to Shamballa. The Hierarchy is working at the establishing of this chain, aided by Their disciples. The demand for the cooperation of all aspirants is now going forth, because the times are urgent. If this relationship can be established (and it will be a sad day for humanity if it cannot), then the third method of avataric expression becomes possible.” (Externalization of the Hierarchy, Pg 308)

“The Hierarchy is a great energy centre and, through the Christ, its energy reaches humanity; this is the significance of His words ‘I am come that they might have life.’ Life and energy are synonymous terms.” (Reappearance of the Christ, Pg 90)

“There are other types of consciousness of deep and real importance in the great chain of Hierarchy stretching from below to far above the human kingdom. This is a point apt to be forgotten.” (Discipleship in the New Age, Vol , Pg 609)

“The chain of Hierarchy reaches from heaven to earth and in that chain I am a part. Above me stand the Ones I seek to serve; below me stand brothers demanding help.” (Discipleship in the New Age, Vol 2, Pg 717)

This last quote perhaps says it best. A recognition and understanding of the Hierarchy does not cause one to drift off into some useless dreamland, but it fixes him on the path of service and true usefulness. He who severs himself from hierarchy severs himself from life that links us from earth to heaven and is as a severed branch that lives for a short time then withers and disintegrates.

The chain of Hierarchy is a chain of life linking the highest cooperating life in the universe to the lowest.

It is also important to realize that there are two types of hierarchies. On the negative side are those hierarchies which give the idea a bad name in that the leaders tend to want to be  served rather than serve. They also dictate with strong authority reducing free will of the subjects.

On the other hand a hierarchy of light will seek to serve rather than be served and will set an example and guide rather than command. They bring freedom rather than chains.

Question: “What difference does it make if I BELIEVE in your cosmology?”

First, let me say this. Everything we think, everything we believe and everything we do makes a difference. Any expenditure of energy or thought makes a difference that ripples forward in the world of causes.

If you believe any teaching of mine just because I say it, then the effect will mainly be to enhance illusion within yourself, even if what I teach is correct.

If you believe what I teach, and that teaching is based on illusion, then illusion is building upon illusion in yourself and will spread to others.

If you believe what I teach because you see a truth through the eyes of your understanding then the effects will be many, for truth is a sharp two-edged sword that cuts asunder the veil of spirit and matter and stands forever on eternal principles.

The true disciple seeks to see through the eyes of any teacher and understand principles as he and the highest parts of consciousness available can comprehend.

The key is to always “follow the highest you know.” If the highest you know harmonizes with my teachings, fine. If not, that is fine also. If you and I both follow the highest we know then eventually we will both meet at the point of truth and be united through the Oneness Principle. Eventually all will see the same cosmology, the way things really are, have been and will be. Until that time, one must follow the highest that can be perceived, and when error is discovered corrections must be made or the seeker will fall deeper into Illusion.

When a reader asked for advice on his next step I said this:

It’s not my position to assign you any task. I would simply advise you to ask forgiveness for any grievances created and move ahead on the path in a positive way following the highest you know and giving any assistance possible on the way.

When you follow the highest you know the knowledge of how you can best serve will come to you. It may not come immediately, but it will come — line upon line and precept upon precept.

Question: What do we look for in a false or misled teacher?

There are a number of things that can raise the red flag when we meet someone who claims to want to help us spiritually, or some other way.

[1] He has a very friendly and exuberant personality so the individual draws more attention than his message.

[2] In other words, he may come across like a Tony Robbins, but without the useful message that Robbins has.

[3] He keeps telling you how he is going to help you rather than just helping you.

[4] As time passes, he asks for more favors, takes more advantage and uses more authority over supporters.

“Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit.” — Peter Ustinov (1921 – 2004)

June 9, 2008

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Understanding the Overshadowing

Comment: your teachings on the overshadowing are  hard to believe.

When I first read DK’s teachings of the overshadowing principle, I had difficulty in accepting them but then as I contemplated the teaching I saw the principle behind it and that it fit in with the Law of Correspondences. Finally, I had some experiences that verified it beyond doubt.

DK explains that the Master can save decades of time by using the overshadowing principle. He can interact with the world without having to be born and growing into an adult. Makes sense to me.

Question: Does the disciple lose his freedom when overshadowed?

There is no loss of freedom for the disciple when he is overshadowed. He is still the one in charge of the body and the one who makes final decisions. He is willing to cooperate with the Master because of an intimate knowing and harmony.

Question: Is overshadowing and being one with your inner Christ the same thing?

An overshadowing has nothing to do with being one with your Christ nature. This will have already happened before the overshadowing. A Master and your Christ nature are two different things.

Why did Jesus need to be overshadowed? He explains:

“If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me Philip? HE THAT HATH SEEN ME HATH SEEN THE FATHER; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: But THE FATHER THAT DWELLETH IN ME, HE DOTH THE WORKS.” (John 14:7-10)

“I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me IS WITH ME: THE FATHER HATH NOT LEFT ME ALONE…. I speak that which I have seen with my Father….” (John 8:25, 28-29 & 38)

He needed to be overshadowed by one higher than himself because he did not have the knowledge and the ability to complete the mission on his own.

Question: Does this mean that the Christ cannot manifest in us, if we are not overshadowed?

You are confusing the Christ consciousness with the Christ. It is as DK explains that Christ is an office that is held by one entity at a time. The person holding it now will continue for about 1000 years. Then it will be held by the Master KH.

In the meantime, all of us are expected to manifest the inner Christ in our own hearts and consciousness, but that does not elevate any of us to an office.

Question: Do you have to be overshadowed to be enlightened?

There are many degrees of enlightenment. The seeker can receive much enlightenment through his own soul. The purpose of the overshadowing is not enlightenment, but enhanced ability to serve. All will be overshadowed to some degree when they are ready and are usable in the hands of a master.

Question: Does the overshadowed individual lose the sense of self?

There is no sacrifice of individuality with an overshadowing. Such an event only happens when the will of the two entities is one to begin with. For instance, if two people want to build a house and work together on it there is no sacrifice of will, for they both desire the same end. There would only be a sacrifice when the laborer is forced to build a house he does not want to build or work contrary to his will.

An overshadowing is a much different step than separating the physical from the divine in us. The latter happens through personal effort. An overshadowing happens through invitation. You can’t just make an effort and have one happen. It will only happen if you are useful for a divine purpose.

There are many degrees of spiritual contact with higher beings and overshadowing and divine possession are the most intense among humanity. To say that higher contact is not needed because we are divine is folly for without stimulation from teachers and higher lives we will stagnate. This is illustrated by the fact that when a child is denied human contact that his learning and growth just stops. We need each other to move forward. “No man is an island….”

Comment: I think you are taking DK writings and the Bible on overshadowing too literally.

If you are a student of DK then you have to know that he taught a literal overshadowing and not a figurative one.

I do not teach by literally quoting DK or any other person in all things. I teach from the vantage point of seeing the principle through the soul. Even so I do not see any contradiction between my writings and that of DK.

Yes, there is much symbolism in the Bible, but there are also many events which literally happened and words that were literally spoken and written down.

In the book “The Light of the Soul” DK and Alice A. Bailey commented and analyzed the mysteries and writings of Patanjali. Are you OK with that? If so then you should be OK with doing the same thing with the Bible and the words of Jesus.

That which is a mystery to the seeker is only hidden knowledge waiting to be discovered.

Some knowledge is discovered through trial and error, some through teachers, some through the emotions, some through the heart, some through the mind, and still others through intuitive levels and higher. However, when knowledge comes accept it and rejoice — believing you will receive more.

Question: You have written a lot about the Molecular Order as used by the Brotherhood of Light. Aren’t you giving away important knowledge that can be used by the dark  brotherhood?

The Molecular Order is no secret among the Dark Brotherhood. Most of their members have been on the path at one time or another and have learned teachings passed down from various masters.

Disciples of the Dark Brothers may not understand it and to them it may be exciting knowledge, but the actual Dark Brothers have molecules of their own.

When the Dark Brothers use violence against disciples of light they do so more for the purpose of stopping them and discouraging their work rather than stealing their secrets. When they do interrogate them for knowledge it is often to find out what they know so they can assess any danger to themselves.

There is one more thing. All the principles known by the Dark Brothers came to them from the Brotherhood of Light and this brotherhood is always becoming and discovering and revealing new knowledge. The Dark Brothers always want to acquire this new knowledge as it is given out. Rarely is there a time that a spiritual teacher is not betrayed and his inner teachings revealed to dark circles.

The Molecular Order of the Brotherhood of Light taps into high spiritual energy and feeds it to disciples. The Order of the Dark Brotherhood taps into the energy of matter and feeds this to their group. We thus have the forces of matter and materialism arrayed against the forces of Spirit which encompasses both spirit and matter and represents wholeness, or holiness.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. – Martin Luther King Jr.

June 8, 2008

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The Sabbath Life

Seeing a reader’s post on his struggle with his illness touched my heart. I’m glad my advice was of some assistance and wish I could do more. I would like to reach out and touch his beautiful soul and make him whole.

This earth is a tough school we are in, especially at certain stages of our journey. There are certain lessons that are painful to learn but that which has been learned through painful experience, when following the highest one knows, will be indelibly impressed upon the soul so the pilgrim will be a master of that lesson for his lifetimes of struggle to come.

I’m familiar with struggles of a number of people in this group and my heart also goes out to them. One odd thing that seems to help somehow is that none of us struggle or suffers alone. Each of us has six lives where we have all the struggle and problems we can handle which is generally followed by a seventh life that is fairly easy. For some the struggle is illness, others depression and still others just face a mountain of problems demanding a solution. Sometimes we look at carefree successful people and wish our lives were like there’s, but often we do not realize the inner struggles they face. Take one of my favorite actors, Owen Wilson. You can’t find a happier go lucky person who is also very successful, but seemingly, out of the blue, he tried to kill himself. I never did find out what his problem was but obviously he had a big one.

Six out of seven of us have all the problems we can handle. Some just handle the problems a little better than others. Then one life out of seven we have a Sabbath of rest where we live a life that is relatively free from trouble. Even here we sometimes are so programmed to have trouble that we may sabotage this life of rest. If therefore you sense that you are on your Sabbath life take advantage of it. Have fun and rest and get ready for the lives to come.

Question: Could you give us more information on the Sabbath life or direct us to a source with more information?

As far as I know there is no other teachings on this subject as I did not draw it from any outside source.

When you think of it this doctrine certainly follows the Law of Correspondences and this explains why it registers with the soul, or at least seems to be right. When you look around you it does seem that around six out of seven have all on their plate they can handle. It even seems more so when you reflect on all the people you have come close to throughout your life. Many who seem carefree have many more problems than is obvious when you get to know them. Owen Wilson, that I mentioned, earlier is a great example. He appeared to be one of the most carefree people in the universe, but then tried to commit suicide.

The people on their Sabbath life usually don’t speak up much about their lack of struggle. Everyone around them is grumbling about how difficult life is and they do not like to make others feel bad that life is going good for them. They tend to sympathize with their friends’ problems without saying anything positive or negative about their own. They do not want to rub their good fortune in the face of others. This is the reason that those taking a Sabbath may be hard to spot until you get to know them.

Now even though a person may be working under the heat of the day in one of his lives of labor — this does not mean he will not have good times, or rest or play. Look at our six days of general life. Some of us relax on Saturday or may do other labors around the house. Maybe Friday night you decide to kick back and party or relax. Even on regular nights most have a few hours to kick back and relax.

Even so, during a life of labor there will still be time to relax and play. Disciples must search their souls and sense their needs for relaxation and take what is needed.

Question: Does karma or soul progression take a break during a Sabbath life?

The soul will not only delay difficult karma during the Sabbath lives, but also during some other lives. Sometimes the debt we have to pay is beyond our psychological ability to handle. In this case the soul will often delay the debt, or lesson, until we develop the inner strength necessary to deal with it. Thus you are not always working on the negative karma you created from the previous life, but you may be working on a problem from several lives back as a main focus.

Some karma is handled during the Sabbath life, but it will not be of the nature that will create great pain or stress for the pilgrim. He may find himself having more abundance than his neighbors and use his good fortune to help others in need.

As far as the unfolding of the energy pedals goes, this moves ahead in normal progression during the Sabbath though a major surge is unlikely as this would disturb his rest.

Question: How can one recognize whether or not he is on a Sabbath life?

The Sabbath life is not problem free as no matter what advantage we may have human ingenuity always manages to complicate things and can sabotage a good situation. Even so, the person experiencing the life of rest will sense that life is easier for him than most of his friends. He will usually have fewer financial problems and when they come others will assist him. He will not get the marriage partner from hell that many laborers experience and his/her kids will provide a more positive than a negative experience.

Each of us needs circumstances a little different to have an enjoyable rest. If two people are told to take the day off and enjoy yourselves one may kick back and do nothing, but the other may go boating and water skiing. Even so, our Higher Self plans on a life of rest geared to helping us rejuvenate and ready ourselves for the six labors to come.

If you set your goals ridiculously high and it’s a failure, you will fail above everyone else’s success. -James Cameron

May 28, 2008  

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