June 21, 1999
The Qualities of the Disciple Continued
Discernment
Subject under discussion: The qualities of the disciple.
Here is what we have so far:
(1) Soul contact
(2) Holding the mind steady in the light
(3) Detachment when necessary.
(4) The ability to either send or receive
(5) Reflection – contemplation
(6) Talent.
(7) The power to initiate
(8) The ability to create and sense a point of tension.
(9) Willingness to sacrifice
(10) Discernment
We have covered sacrifice quite thoroughly. The only thing I might add at present is that when true sacrifice is understood it will be known by the disciple that sacrifice as understood by the masses is an illusion. Many see sacrifice as loss, but from the viewpoint of the disciple there is no such thing as loss when serving the greater good, even if you lose all you have in the material sense.
True sacrifice is a trade off. You are trading a lower good for a higher good, a lower enjoyment for one more exquisite and a temporary possession for one with more permanence.
Now we come to the tenth quality – discernment.
One of the main problems created through a lack of discernment is deception from false teachers, like Brother Philo in the Immortal.
One of the traps that happen to a well meaning seeker is that he will often be approached by one who is lesser evolved than himself and told that he must be humble and follow. Now to follow is a virtue if you are following someone who has something real to teach, but there are many mediocre minds with large egos who will do everything in their power to get greater minds to follow them. Often times through lack of discernment these greater minds, clouded with guilt and false humility, will follow the lesser causing an evolutionary delay and learning a hard lesson.
A good example of this was Malcome X. He was a much greater soul than his “beloved teacher” and if he would have realized this sooner he could have accomplished much more and developed a more beneficial philosophy for his brethren.
The greater problem is usually the reverse, however. A student with a qualified teacher will often think he has passed up his mentor in evolution and seeks to reverse roles that should stay in place.
Discerning the proper place upon the path and acting accordingly is invaluable part of discernment and a characteristic of true humility.
Another extremely important point is that without discernment there can be no reliable higher contacts. In this reality we are limited in the direction in which we can focus our attention. Attention, in its power, is like a magnifying glass concentrating the rays of the sun. The concentration of light is very powerful, but limited in the amount of space that can be ignited.
Unknown to many seekers there are many voices out there calling for your inner attention and those who draw our attention on the line of least resistance are never entities of the higher planes.
The higher lives speak the language of silence and silence does not clamor for attention; instead attention must find the silence. The disciple must discern and learn to ignore the lower noisy voices of glamour and, through the power of will, force his attention on the secret place of stillness and in that place enjoy the communion of the saints and the Brotherhood of Light. Only through the discernment and the ignoring of the lesser voices can this be obtained.
Soul contact and communion through the Oneness principle is essential for the working disciple, else he may wind up receiving illusionary teachings and leading others down a path from which retracing steps will be essential.
As we proceed here I can see that we will be naming more qualities than originally intended, but even with this longer list we will leave some items out that could be named.
(11) Perseverance – the ability to always bounce back and continue toward a goal even if things seem hopeless or bleak. It is partly obvious as to why this is needed by the disciple. Can you elaborate on either the obvious or the not-so-obvious?
(12) Inclusiveness. Discernment can lead to separations which are necessary, but how does the disciple use inclusiveness in harmony with discernment to avoid the negative aspect of discrimination? How inclusive should the disciple be?
To Persevere
He who has soul contact will have a sense that something is off (a disturbance in the force) when he is going the wrong direction but when going the right direction there will be a sense of fullness or completeness and a knowing that you are doing the right thing.
The growth of this list and group is a good example. When we hit 100 members we just seemed to hang there and some of us wondered if any more growth was going to happen. Then eventually we took off again. Now we have hit 175 and the hanging thing is happening again with a vengeance and we have even lost a few old timers. On a personality level Rick, me and others wonder if anything is happening out there.
But on a soul level here is what I know.
First: We are going the right direction
Two: The energy we put into the group is going to constructive purpose.
Three: A point of tension is mounting.
Four: Those who are suppose to be here are staying which is making the group more positive and is laying a correct foundation for things to come.
Therefore, it is just a matter of time before the next point of tension is reached and we grow again into something of even higher quality than we have had in the past.
I loved Rick’s visionary words:
“Two thousand years from now we may still be remembered for what we wrote here on this list. They will have a collective name for us and think of us as this name. The individuals in the group will not be as well known as the collective.”
I do not know if Rick realizes how prophetic he is here. I sense some soul contact here.
Indeed this is not just another group. This is a pioneering endeavor that is duplicated no where else that I know of. It is true that there are others teaching classes on the web, but as far as I know this is a first for the introduction of new teachings and principles through the intuitive principle which are virtually unrevealed to the world at large. We are also about to introduce the greatest revelation so far which is the Molecular Relationship. Everything I have written so far is to prepare your minds and hearts for this great principle.
When 144,000 membership is reached the group will possess a livingness that has hitherto been unrealized and will be a living duplicating organism that nothing can destroy. When that time comes you may rest assured that growth will continue for a thousand years and Rick’s statement will prove to be true. There will be many in the future age who will wish they could have been back here with us to help initiate a work with so great a cause and purpose.
We’ll talk more about inclusiveness soon, but in the meantime here is number thirteen in the qualities:
(13) Harmlessness
Questions: What does it mean to be harmless? Does it mean you will turn into a total wimp? What is the key to following the harmless path?
To Include or Not To Include
The Question:
Discernment can lead to separations which are necessary, but how does the disciple use inclusiveness in harmony with discernment to avoid the negative aspect of discrimination? How inclusive should the disciple be?
Those who have used discernment through illusionary eyes develop wrong discrimination and become harmfully exclusionary. This has been such a problem in the past that the word “discrimination” has become a terrible word in the eyes of most people.
While it is still a virtue to have a “discriminating palate” or to be a discriminating buyer one has to be very careful in the use of the word or he will be frowned upon as a politically incorrect bigot.
What has caused this problem in communication is that the politicians have popularized the wrong word. When one is accused of discrimination what is the accuser really saying? Is he saying that because you can see shades of meaning and color that you are evil?
Not really.
Instead he is saying: “You are judging what this person is inside because he looks different than you on the outside. You are therefore judging apples as they are related to oranges and you have no way of knowing if you are correct.”
What word correctly describes the above?
The problem is that no single word does. The shortest available would be something like “bad judgement,” but that is not simple enough. Therefore “discrimination” was pulled out of the hat and applied and such application has tainted the positive use of the word ever since.
The meaning of all words have a positive aspect. Exclusiveness normally has a bad meaning these days but this can also have a positive application:
For instance one might exclude a destructive belief system, a child molester or the taking of harmful drugs.
This positive exclusion harmonizes with the quality of discernment.
Nevertheless, all wise acts of discernment and exclusion must be balanced with an inclusive attitude that is essential in the attitude of the working disciple.
We will give some examples of negative exclusiveness balanced with the ideal inclusiveness:
Exclusive: The most obvious on the negative side is the excluding of some because of judgments based on the color of skin.
Inclusive: Include all races as if they were at an equal starting point and if judgment is necessary judge on performance and ability.
Exclusive: Excluding a person from the possibly that he may be as enlightened as you because he has a different belief system
Inclusive: The person may be farther along the path than you think. Some authoritarian thoughtforms are so powerful that it takes a much higher degree of soul contact to break away from them than it does for the New Ager to proclaim that: “All is love and oneness.” If you find common ground with a seemingly backward Bible thumper you may realize he seems pretty bright after all.
Exclusive: Seeing the other person as the bottom of the barrel because of differing political beliefs. For instance, both sides of the abortion issue see each other as pond scum that must be excluded at all costs.
Inclusive: Again, the disciple realizes that even a very intelligent person can be captivated by wrong thoughtforms and illusions and if we excluded all those in such a state there would be few if any to befriend.
A great example of political inclusiveness is the show on Fox called Hannity and Colmes. Hannity is on the far right and Colmes on the left. Many of their guests have a very exclusive attitude yet both Hannity and Colmes are very gracious and inclusive with some fairly obnoxious guests. They are also good friends with each other and often go to lunch together. They appear to be inclusive of each other and respect each other even though each believes the other to be very mislead.
Exclusive: Many people are exclusive because of the income, social standing, or the appearance of others.
Inclusive: Behind many people are many virtues that are not visible on the surface. We must start from point zero with all of them and include them within the realm of all possibilities.
An inclusive attitude was one reason that Jesus had such ability to heal. When He looked at a poor ragged cripple He did not allow himself to see a person excluded from the gifts of God. Instead He saw one who was equal to himself, deserving of all the fruits of the Spirit. When that vision in the mind of Jesus was glimpsed by the cripple, for an instant he became a Son of God himself and was healed.
If we expect the Brotherhood of Light to include us as co-workers we must learn to be inclusive with others who may be as far below us in evolution as we are to the Masters.
One of the best examples I can think of in inclusiveness (as well as discernment) is this discussion group.
When a person joins this list we do not have a clue of anything about him or her except for what he actually says. We do not know his race, background, financial status, political thought, dress code etc. Sometimes we do not even know the sex.
When a person joins this list he starts at point zero and is entirely judged by what comes forth from the inner self. When you think of it there has never been a time in history for such inclusive opportunities as the Internet offers.
I will give my comments on harmlessness next but in the meantime contemplate the next quality:
(14) Sensitivity.
Now we are not talking about the politically sensitive geek here that is ashamed of the Washington Redskins, but we are talking about one who is sensitive to many things that others are not.
Among them are:
(1) Ability to tune into the feelings and sometimes thoughts of others.
(2) Ability to sense higher contacts
(3) Ability to sense the direction of the Path.
If you can “sense” other areas of positive sensitivity name them and elaborate.
Why is sensitivity such an important quality for the disciple to possess?
Copyright by J J Dewey
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