The Spiritual Connection
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” Rev 2:7
The Spirit gives an important message to the seven churches, or seven groups of aspiring disciples.
The message is one of extreme importance:
“To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”
The first thing to note is that one must “overcome” to partake of the tree of life. So many spiritual teachers are promising shortcuts and an easy path if we just follow them, but there is no shortcut for anything worth having. Instead, the seeker must make a strenuous effort to achieve the goal.
It is interesting that Jesus compared himself to a vine connected to a tree, which gives life:
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.” John 15:4-8
The idea presented here by the Master is a branch needs to be connected to a vine to stay alive. If it is not connected it does not receive the life-giving fluid and becomes “withered” and dies. Even so, the comparison fits the aspiring disciple. He connects with soul energy and feels spiritually alive more than any other time in his history. The problem is that he will often abuse the feeling of freedom that comes with this new life and, for a period of time, he will sever himself from the vine. When this happens he will be led by the lower desire energies and his spiritual life will wither and die. He must awaken to his terrible situation and reconnect to the spiritual flow so he can continue his journey upon the path.
The tree of life is “in the midst of the paradise of God.”
True paradise is found in the center of our own being where the voice of God speaks to us. The seeker must center himself in the light at the core of his being so he can connect to the spiritual flow.
Yes, we can die and go to paradise, but first we must live and go there.
Just as there are many leaves, branches, limbs, and larger limbs in a tree, even so are there many states of consciousness to be attained after a permanent link is established.
The Ray of Ephesus
Ephesus represents stage one for the seeker after the birth of Christ occurs in the heart. He or she uses the power of Ray Three to discern the true from the false. This represents the aspect of light and is called The Ray of Active Intelligence.
In Ephesus the aspirant learns to use the light and active intelligence of Ray Three to discern the false teachers, break off from them and begin a journey on the great path of liberation.
An Interesting Year
It has been an interesting year, but I suspect that the coming year will have even more to offer.
I’ve lost two people very close to me, but then I have several new grandkids filled with the love and innocence of new life. I’ve only lost those through death to a temporary separation, while, at the same time, new life coming forth ends temporary separation of the past.
I have much to be thankful for and look not at a glass half full, but overflowing with bounteous gifts from God.
That for which I am most thankful are the distillations of truth and principles that come upon my soul from time to time. In the whole scheme of things, they are only small snapshots of a great picture that defies the imagination, but pieces of the truth nonetheless for which I feel honored beyond measure to give out to the group and the world. My prayer is that I can maintain the focus and humility necessary to continue to be a channel to send forth light to stimulate and inspire the minds of true seekers.
“We see a hearse; we think sorrow. We see a grave; we think despair. We hear of a death; we think of a loss. Not so in heaven. When heaven sees a breathless body, it sees the vacated cocoon & the liberated butterfly.” – Max Lucado
Jan 3, 2007
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