SECTION i

ASTROLOGY IN WAR AND PEACE

WAR AND PEACE BETWEEN NATIONS

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
FOREWORD
THE VALUE OF SELF-EXAMINATION
HOW GREAT THOU ART!
WHY THIS PART OF THE JOTTINGS?
WHERE DO I STAND SPIRITUALLY?
MY BACKGROUND
FEAR, THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL
CANCER HEALING PRAYER
FEAR OF LOSING OUR IDENTITY
MY SPIRITUAL ROOTS
THE POST-WAR YEARS
THE CURRENCY REFORM
THE GESTAPO AND THE NAZI RALLIES
NO JUDGEMENT DAY
THE AGE OF AQUARIUS
THE AGE OF PISCES
LISTENING TO THE BBC
THE AIR RAID SHELTER
GOD AND THE DEVIL
THE DUAL NATURE OF GOD
THE NUMBER 666
YOUNG GODS IN THE MAKING
HEALERS AND HEALING
WE ARE ALL NEEDY PEOPLE
UNBELIEF
REFLECTIONS ON FAITH
THE SOUL’S YEARNING
THE MASS GRAVE
DEATH COMES CLOSER IN WARTIMES
MY HEROES
MORE GHOSTS FROM THE PAST
THE LAW OF LIFE DEMANDS EVOLUTION
PUTTING OUR WORLD IN ORDER
THE INTERNET PRAYER
THE LAW OF KARMA
FORGIVENESS PRAYER
VENGEANCE IS MINE!
SOUL HEALING
ASTROLOGY – SCIENCE OR ART FORM?
THE GREAT YEAR AND THE AGES OF MAN
BLACK MAGIC AND WHITE MAGIC
RETROGRADING PLANETS
LIGHT OF THE WORLD
THE UNIVERSAL CHRIST, SUPREME RULER OF ALL LIFE
THE MAYAN CALENDAR
THE ANCIENT WISDOM
TO EVERYTHING, THERE IS A SEASON
LOVE YOUR ENEMIES
CREATING ABUNDANCE
ENTERING INTO THE MASTER’S JOY
DOING THE RIGHT THINGS
SOWING THE WIND
LEARNING TO CONTROL OUR MINDS
HELPING TO BUILD THE NEW JERUSALEM
THE CAUSE OF ALL SUFFERING IN OUR WORLD
ABOUT PAIN
ARMAGEDDON
OF GOOD AND EVIL
SHEDDING FALSE BELIEFS AND PREJUDICES
COLONISING OTHER PLANETS?
LOSING FAITH
PEACE PRAYER
THE ANCIENT PROPHECIES FULFILLED
THE GOOD SHEPHERD
THE THREE WISE MEN
A TIME FOR EVERYTHING
THE PRICE OF SPIRITUAL WISDOM
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
STEMMING THE TIDE
THE CHANGING VIBRATIONS OF THE EARTH

SECTION iI

WAR AND PEACE IN RELATIONSHIPS
ASTROLOGY AND RELATIONSHIP HEALING

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

WAR AND PEACE IN RELATIONSHIPS
FAMILY FEUDS –
MICROCOSMS OF THE MACROCOSM OF WORLD WARS
RECIPE FOR A HAPPY HOME
THIS TIME ROUND
HEALING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
CAN ASTROLOGY HELP HEAL RELATIONSHIPS?
GOOD RELATIONSHIPS DON’T GROW ON TREES
THE PLANET MARS
THE PLANET VENUS
COMPATIBILITY OF THE SIGNS

ASK THE BEASTS AND THEY SHALL TEACH YOU
UNIVERSAL GUIDANCE FROM THE ENVIRONMENT
ANIMAL TEACHERS
THE CHRISTMAS MOUSE
THE BEAR
THE FLIGHT OF THE GEESE
WHAT CATS CAN TEACH US
WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM DOGS
THE PORCUPINE FABLE
THE TALE OF THE TWO PEBBLES
THE TALE OF THE BUTTERFLY
NOT BY BREAD ALONE
A NEW COMMANDMENT
GETTING TO KNOW OURSELVES

HEALING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH MOTHER EARTH
HEALING THE RELATIONSHIP WITH OURSELVES
PEACE PRAYER
HEALING PARENT/CHILD RELATIONSHIPS
THE CHILDREN OF THE AQUARIAN AGE
NATURAL APTITUDE FOR SPIRITUALITY & MYSTICISM
JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES
LISTENING TO THE INNER TEACHER
BEAUTIFUL THINGS
ARE MARRIAGES MADE IN HEAVEN?
GOOD AND HAPPY MARRIAGES
THE PRICE OF PEACE AT ANY COST
LONG STANDING RELATIONSHIPS
RISKS
THE EDGE
TEACHING AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS
OF MARRIAGE
THE VALUE OF MAKING MISTAKES
THE NOTHING-PEOPLE
ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS
YOUNG GODS IN THE MAKING
TURNING THE OTHER CHEEK
THE END OF THE PATRIARCHY AND MALE DOMINANCE
RESPECTING EACH OTHER’S SPACE
HUMAN BEHAVIOUR IS CHOSEN
THE END OF ALL SUFFERING
DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES
MARS AND VENUS IN RELATIONSHIPS
KARMA IN FAMILIES
PSYCHIC PROTECTION
THE DYNAMICS OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS & THE LAW OF ATTRACTION
SOUND ADVICE
REASSESSING ALL RELATIONSHIPS
THE DIVINE SOUL MATE
WHAT IS HOPE?
FORGIVENESS GROWS FROM UNDERSTANDING
MOVING ON
OF FALSE PROPHETS AND MESSIAHS
A MESSAGE OF HOPE
FINDING PEACE OF MIND
AFFIRMATIONS
ALL OF LIFE IS FLOWINGNESS
LETTING GO

POSTSCRIPT

SECTION I

ASTROLOGY IN WAR AND PEACE

WAR AND PEACE BETWEEN NATIONS

Awake from your slumber,
Arise from your sleep,
A new day is dawning,
For all those who weep.

FOREWORD
‘Wisdom is not a flower to be plucked, but a mountain to be climbed.’
Anon.

Once upon a time, a wise one came to the conclusion that an unexamined life is not worth living. How true! But, who in their right senses would wish to wade through all their unpleasant and painful experiences again? At the threshold of the Aquarian Age – more about this later – everybody during their present lifetime is meant to find healing for all their soul wounds. That means taking our skeletons out of the cupboard and releasing the ghosts from the past. There are no hard and fast rules as to how go about this. We all have to develop our own unique approach, so that genuine feelings of forgiveness for all those who ever wounded us may grow in our hearts and souls. And that, to my mind, cannot be done without the realisation that the events of this lifetime and all others have always fulfilled a higher purpose, namely to aid our spiritual growth and to become a better person.

By writing about some of the worst traumas of my present lifetime in this work, I hope to lay some of my phantoms to rest; I freely admit that without my spiritual beliefs I would find that impossible. Yet, with their help I can lift myself and my experiences above the clouds of darkness that have surrounded our world for a very long time. I believe that there is Great plan of life, in which each has their allocated place. Setting anything into the framework of this plan dwarfs everything that is not only in our own lives but also in our whole world.

Without this perception, people and events may often appear as nothing but troublesome, whereas when viewed from a higher perspective and in the wider context of the Universal laws of love, evolution and Karma, they take on the right proportions. One steps back and rises above the events of one’s life and recognises that which appeared so huge and overpowering at the time as small and comparatively insignificant, something that now is merely waiting to be forgiven and released. The only reason why our ghosts are still hanging around is that they are meant to be used as instruments for finding healing and peace for our own soul and – through it – that of our world.

To return to my beliefs, I will attempt to explain them as briefly as possible here, because so much has been said about them in volume one of these jottings. The way I understand life in general and our earthly existence within it, is that all life is constantly evolving. Onwards and upwards we move in vast cycles that can be likened to spirals that take us onto ever higher levels of consciousness. Life on the Earth is a place of learning, more of a kindergarten than a school. Through ever changing circumstances life tries to teach us all the true, i.e. spiritual value of everything it contains. It takes a long time until the underlying higher purpose and meaning life reveal themselves to the limited vision of the earthly self. And even if some of us live to be a hundred, each earthly sojourn is nothing but a blinking of the eyes in God’s time. The word time I use merely as a metaphor; in truth there is no time in eternity and the life of the spirit is limitless; it has no beginning and no end.

We are much more than the bodies we presently live in; we are spirit and soul who time and again reincarnates into Earth life. The two belong together and act as one, they are one single unit; that is why throughout my writings I refer to spirit and soul as an ‘it’ rather than a ‘they’. Each lifetime on the Earth is a journey for which spirit and soul need a vehicle to carry it through, so it clothes itself temporarily with matter. Upon completion of each sojourn, it returns to the world of spirit to rest and recuperate from the stresses and strains of Earth life. Only when it has done so sufficiently does it voluntarily apply for another lifetime – and another – and yet another; no-one forces it. Every experience that comes its way has purpose and meaning, which is to teach it something. It is therefore in the soul’s own interest and always worth its while to pay attention and investigate what learning each event may hold.

This happens to all of us and each time before we enter into yet another lifetime, together with the wise ones under whose care we are, we ourselves choose our forthcoming lessons on the Earth plane. On the surface of things this may seem cruel when we are stuck in difficult and distressing circumstances; yet, it is a fact. But without the necessary awareness that this is so, how can we even begin to examine our lessons? Never mind consciously making an effort to draw the wisdom that is trying to come our way, so that it can be built into our character make-up and help us live our life with more ease, as indeed is the intention.

My own life has taught me that a human existence on this planet can only gain structure and direction when it finally dawns on us what this earthly existence truly is about and why we are here. Until such time it is unlikely that we shall ever be able to make a great deal of the spiritual progress that potentially is our birthright. However, each time we return to the world of spirit, once we have recovered sufficiently from the stresses and strains of Earth life, we are offered opportunities for reviewing our performances of all lifetimes, including the most recent one.

Something like a veil separates our earthly existence from our other world. And because of the scrutinising that comes later, during our time on this side of the veil it is necessary to regularly examine our lives for what is still of value to us and that which is in need of discarding. Unless we do so and willingly make the changes that this requires from us, upon our arrival in our true home, we may wake up to the truth that we have been wasting yet another precious lifetime.

While in physicality, we are bound to make mistakes; indeed, they are good for us and we are meant to make them. We should not become unduly upset over our errors, either past or present ones. For one thing, they teach our earthly self humility, a quality it is greatly in need of. And for another, as long as we glean something valuable from any experience, we are progressing and growing, giving our soul every reason to rejoice.

Recommended Reading: ‘What is Soul?’

THE VALUE OF SELF-EXAMINATION

Analysing the self and one’s life’s experiences is not as egotistical a pastime as it may seem to be on the surface. Assessing the value of everything is a vital part of the work of healing ourselves and our lives and that, after all, is the main reason for being on the Earth plane now. By writing about some of the most harrowing experiences of my early childhood I hope will contribute towards freeing my inner self from some of the worst shadows of my past. That is my main incentive for talking about some of my wartime experiences here. Besides, I feel that those who are interested in my writings have a right to know something about me and the events in my life which – as mentioned earlier – to a large extent explain the motivation behind my work.

It may interest you to hear that my Sun is in Libra and my Moon in Cancer. Now, if you have read my interpretations of these signs, you know that Libra is the sign of the peacemaker; and Cancer that of the nurturing and caring aspect of the Divine Mother; women are her representatives on the Earth plane. Knowing this, it will not come as a surprise to you that I am a family person who loves to care; this for me is the only way for me to be true to my real self. Caring for others satisfies and fulfils my own soul needs like nothing else can. If that is selfish, then so be it. My children are long grown up and the time for me has come to turn ever more towards caring for and nurturing you, my spiritual family.

I do care about each one of you; I care about all life; and I do so especially deeply about our planet. I know – not merely believe – that the beautiful jewel in the crown of God’s Creation, our Earth, is not destined to perish. In the course of the cosmic evolution of all life, the physical aspect, i.e. the matter of Earth will continue to change. It is likely that the way we now know and love our planet will eventually be gone for good, as Earth’s matter evolves into a lighter and finer substance. Simultaneous with the spiritual development of our world and everything in it, this is already happening, as all together we evolve and move onto progressively higher levels of consciousness. The way I see it, there is no need to get unduly alarmed about this because God and the Angels, as well as the Masters and guides who are in charge of us and our world will always be there to protect us and show us the way.

HOW GREAT THOU ART!

William Cullen Bryant, the American author and poet wrote: ‘My heart is awed within me, when I think of the great miracle that still goes on, in silence, around me – the perpetual work of Thy Creation, finished, yet renewed forever.’ Sharing his feelings, I see our world as one great a work of art. In spite of its size it is merely a tiny though integral part of an even more gigantic masterpiece and a labour of love, which is the whole of Creation and all worlds and beings contained within them. Everything that ever has been and ever will be is created by the loving thoughts of our Creator, the Great Father of all life. Through the Great Mother, with the help of the Angels, all things come into being.

Everything that is still unattractive and disharmonious in our world and in us is merely waiting to be made beautiful and harmonious, in its own sweet time. Therefore, let no-one despise these aspects because they too have meaning and serve the higher purpose of teaching us to distinguish between ugliness and that which is beautiful and harmonious. The words of Judge Oliver Wendell Holmes come closer to my own perception of this world than any other definition I have ever come across: ‘Life is painting a picture and not doing sums.’

And should you now ask me: ‘Why is there still so much ugliness in our world?’ I would say: ‘Try to imagine the frustration of the Great artist, our Creator, if His work was ever going to be finished because it had reached perfection. There would be nothing for Him/Her to do any more and that is unthinkable, as any creative artist is sure to confirm. The wonder and magic of all evolution, as well as its original purpose, is that everything will always continue to evolve and move forward, including we and our world.’

We are in this life to find a new understanding and re-interpretation of the age-old concept of Gaia. Once more humankind is becoming aware of the true nature of Mother Earth as one vast living, breathing and feeling organism in which we, for as long as our earthly education continues, have our existence. Like us, she has a spirit and soul as well as a physical body.

Our beautiful planet is but one of the many spiritual and physical manifestations of the Great Mother of all life, the feminine aspect of God, through whom all manifestations of life on all its levels, also this one, are given. The Great Father, God, is the masculine counterpart of the Goddess. Through and with Her He brings all things, including us, into being. Our Divine Father/Mother are the nurturers and protectors of all life in the whole of Creation, the parts that are visible to earthly eyes and also the invisible ones. All are beloved children of the Great Spirit and each one of is equally precious and unique.

Recommended Reading:
• ‘When Creation Was Began, According To the Legend of Uranus and Gaia – A Tale for the Aquarian Age’

I can never stop marvelling at the great wisdom and the loving care with which everything in the material world has been designed and is attended to. Until recently I had an Ivy Canariensis hedge in my garden. This is one of the slowest growing ivy varieties whose main attraction are its leaves. Standing in front of it some time ago, to my astonishment I noticed that each leaf is an individual work of art. Although there were masses of them by then, I tried in vain to find two identical ones, in size, shape and/or markings. To me, this is yet another reflection of the great love of our Creator and the uniqueness and preciousness of all that is in the created world, including you and me.

When I look around and see Thy great work of art and labour of love, ever evolving to greater glory and beauty – a physical manifestation and a reflection of Thy own great wisdom, beauty and love, then indeed sings my soul, my Saviour and God to Thee: ‘How great Thou art; how great Thou art!’

WHY THIS PART OF THE JOTTINGS?

The many dramatised programs about the wartime events in Germany that can be seen on TV are an important part of motivation for writing this part of the jottings. Having endured some of them first hand, I have no stomach for watching any of them. But, I am told that some of these broadcasts seem to be creating the general impression that it would have been possible for the German civilian population to put an end to the Nazi terror. May this article help you draw your own conclusions about whether such a view is justified.

For a time, I considered whether it would be a good idea to present my memories of those days as one block, but in view of the nature of my writings this did not feel right. They are of an intuitive nature and represent a flow of consciousness that is like a river and like any river this one must be allowed to find its own way. The same as my writings, my beliefs and understanding have their origin in my inner guidance, the only truly trustworthy teacher and guru in the whole of Creation. To anyone who does not like this presentation I offer my sincere apologies and hope that you may find it worth your while to bear with me nonetheless.

It may interest you to know that all my work is done intuitively by following the promptings of my inner teacher and guru. I have conducted my life that way for a very long time, as I believe we are meant to. This is also how all my writings come into being. As a true child of the Aquarian Age, I hope, I listen to the tune of my own inner drum and march to its beat, another expression for following one’s intuition. I have always been a Maverick who enjoys nothing better than doing things my own way. I take the basics of any subject and then work with them in my own unique way, listening within. Quite some time ago, I studied the basics of first astrology and then numerology. The rest is self-taught, namely intuitive knowledge. The way I see it, if not at least some of us had always been prepared to work in this manner no progress would ever have been made in any field of human endeavour, especially not esoterically.

The inspiration for starting this part of the jottings came to me during the time of the Sun’s traverse through Scorpio, and the British Festival of Remembrance on November 11 in particular. Sun in Scorpio is always a time when the inner worlds draw closer to the outer, and the veil of consciousness that separates our two worlds is thinner than it otherwise is. During this time, the highest levels of life celebrate some important spiritual festivals, which are reflected on the physical plane of life. Reading about the astrological sign Scorpio and its significance to humankind in the ‘Astrological Writings’ section on my website sheds more light on how the potent energies of this sign affect each one of us individually, our whole world and everything in it.

WHERE DO I STAND SPIRITUALLY?

In case you are by now wondering where I stand spiritually towards the religious organisations of our world, let me explain. Throughout this whole lifetime, I have been a free spirit. Occasionally, I visit churches and other places of worship, and am not averse to taking part in their services, as I find some of them most enjoyable. But, like any Aquarian, I refuse to be bound by anyone’s dogma or creed. I relish the freedom to follow my heart and the knowledge that this is the only place in the whole of Creation where truth is known. My truth is that which my inner teacher tells me to be true, and that alone I am prepared to share with you in all my writings. As pointed out before, the perception of truth varies from person to person; therefore yours may well be different from mine. Wherever the two digress from each other, you need to ask your inner teacher to show you what is right for you.

As I am as involved in the rebirth of humankind to the same degree as everybody else, I also have to attend to my own personal healing journey. By now, I have reached the point where I recognise my role in this life as that of an interested but neutral observer. As far as humanly possible, I intend that this position should remain unchanged for what is left of my present lifetime. Through new interpretations of old themes all my work is done in a spirit of enquiry and of seeking spiritual wisdom, not just for myself but for all of us. By adding some of my insights into our common spiritual heritage I hope to increase the understanding of some of the concepts that have been available to humankind for a very long time. And that is my very own small share of bringing a measure of healing and peace into our troubled world.

Although quotes from the Christian teachings appear in my writings more than those from other belief systems, let no-one run away with the notion that I am some kind of a Bible thumper. Lying at the feet of any well-known great earthly teachers has never been my style. Yet, I do not hesitate to humbly go down on my knees before the Great Spirit, Father/Mother Creator and the Universal Christ. In my view, the best teacher of all is life itself; it has always been mine. Life alone can teach us the value of the things, which – when the setting of the Sun for this lifetime has been reached – we recognise as having been truly worth living and striving for.

MY BACKGROUND

Martin Luther King Jr. once said: ‘One of the most persistent ambiguities we face is that everybody talks about peace as a goal, but among the wielders of power peace is practically nobody’s business. Many cry: ‘Peace! Peace!’, but they refuse to do the things that make for peace … One day, we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means. How much longer must we play at deadly war games before we heed the plaintive pleas of the unnumbered dead and maimed of past wars?’

This brings me back to my own life. I was born at the end of September 1937 and, therefore, was almost two when the Second World War broke out and seven and a half when it finished. Those who know me personally are familiar with the fact that my age is no secret and that I have no problems with getting older. The whole process is quite miraculous and I love this part of my life; it is by far the best one. My physical body is getting older, but it is doing so very well; inside it I feel younger than I have ever felt before. Take it from me, getting older is nothing to be afraid of – in many ways it is something to be looked forward to.

Anyway, for the first twenty-eight years of my life, I lived in a small provincial town in the Sauerland, one of the most beautiful parts of Western Germany. My home town lies near to the Rhine and Ruhr area, which was then and still is of great economic importance. In close proximity, there are whole chains of industrial centres, starting with Dortmund, Bochum, Essen, and Duisburg. As far as I recall, in Cologne and Leverkusen the pharmaceutical/chemical giants Bayer and Hoechst were dominant. In those days, among their many products was synthetic fuel. Within easy reach were Düsseldorf and Solingen. In Oberhausen, Bottrop, Gelsenkirchen, Recklinghausen, together with Bochum the main focus then was on coal mining, which at that time was essential for the survival of any industrial nation.

Then there was Essen with the Krupp combine, the iron and steel manufacturer. To give you an idea of its significance to the German war effort, here is some information about its activities. During the war it built submarines, trucks, locomotives, and warships, in addition to artillery and munitions. The owner was Alfred Krupp; after the war he was convicted of war crimes at the Nuremberg trials, specifically for employment of slave labour; but the company had also been guilty of plundering property and plants in all the occupied countries. Under the terms of an Allied decree of March 4, 1953, Krupp was ordered to sell about 75 percent of the value of the concern. There were ultimately no buyers, however, and by the early 1960s, Alfred had restored the prosperity of the firm and its value exceeded US$1,000,000,000.

In July 1965, I married an Englishman and moved to the United Kingdom. Soon after my arrival, on the 11th November to be precise, I was for the first time confronted with the British celebrations of Remembrance Day and the custom of buying and wearing poppies. On every street corner and in many shops, from early in November, red paper poppies are sold on behalf of the British Legion, an organisation that supports the survivors of both world wars. When this time came round again in the year 2006, I found myself wondering about the wisdom of writing a small article to explain how I came to terms with Remembrance Day and the poppies in Britain. I will attempt to do so, in the hope that it may help those living on the former opposition side towards a somewhat better understanding of what then went on within Germany.

By the time the Second World War was over, although so young, I vividly recall many of the hardships we endured. As I start writing, gradually more of them come to mind, for example the Allied Forces bombers flying their lethal missions to the above mentioned cities. As our town was situated immediately in their flight path, we could hear them roaring over our house to unload their deadly cargos somewhere. Anything that was left of their loads was – intentionally or otherwise – indiscriminately discharged later, somewhere on the return journey.

As the war efforts accelerated on both sides, the frequency of the bombing raids increased. There came a time when wave after wave of aircraft flew overhead every night, so that eventually our family had to spend each one crouched in the cellar of our house. This created the illusion of a measure of protection, but if a bomb had dropped on our roof, I do not believe there would have been any survivors. Because there was a great deal of light industry in our town, it was fully expected that the raids might be extended to our area. Only by the end of the war did it become clear that fortunately this was not the case.

I had two sisters older than myself and one younger brother. As the middle sister and I were born only eighteen months apart, we grew up like twins and were very close. During the time we spent every night in the cellar, this sister went down with a severe attack of jaundice; she almost died and our doctor diagnosed the cause as fear. No-one doubted that; all I can recall is how terrified I was of losing her. After a while, she also became ill with diphtheria and scarlet fever, which in those days frequently had fatal consequences. When it became known that she had to spend many weeks in the isolation ward of our hospital, I recall standing behind the door – we children were not allowed into the room to see her – and hoping that I would also catch the disease, so I could go with her. Had I already known how to pray, that undoubtedly is what I would have asked for.

Visiting her was heartbreaking; it was only possible at certain times and through a huge thick pane of glass. She would neither smile nor wave; maybe she did not even recognise us. Desperately ill as she was and at a time that tried the adults to the limits of their endurance, she could not even stay in her familiar surroundings. For the whole family and worst of all for my sister that truly was Hell on Earth. How much damage such things cause to the spiritual wellbeing of human souls does not bear thinking about. Not surprisingly, my sister’s constitution always remained very fragile; at age fifty-two she died of lung cancer.

FEAR, THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL

In my view, fear is the root of all evil and suffering in our world, and also the main cause of cancer. An increasing awareness is coming to humankind that mind, body and spirit are equally important for everybody’s overall wellbeing and that every part demands special care and attention from us. Many are aware by now that we, the small earthly self, are spirit and soul encased in matter, i.e. our physical body. As pointed out many times before, the way I understand this life is that each one of us has come into this lifetime to find healing through learning how to get all parts of our being to work together harmoniously.

The soft and sensitive feeling side of our nature is our soul and the only way the soul has of communicating with its counterpart, the small earthly self, is through the cells of everybody’s physical body. Whenever one of its parts is hurting it is invariably a message from our soul that something in our lives is not right and therefore demands our attention. For as long as the earthly self remains unaware of the presence of its spirit and soul within, it can hardly help failing to understand its requirements and the most basic spiritual principles of life. The soul must then keep on hammering with ever greater strength at the door of its earthly self’s conscious awareness.

Ignorance never could protect anyone against the consequences of any of their actions. Until we finally realise that any pain in our physical body represents a plea from our soul to deal with whatever may be out of kilter in our lives in a constructive manner, there is nothing for it but enduring whatever comes our way – without having any idea that we ourselves are the real cause of our suffering. Fortunately, many by now accept that any illnesses, discomfort and dis-eases that manifest themselves in our physical bodies are invariably messages from our soul that something requires our most urgent and diligent attention.

It is true that lots of our fears date back to our early childhood, but I believe that there are also a great many which we have brought with us from other lifetimes. Their memories are by now seated so deep within our consciousness that on the surface they can no longer be recognised. If as a result, they remain unnoticed for too long and can therefore not be dealt with in the appropriate manner, they can do nothing but continue to fester away. Finally, the soul’s need gets so great that it expresses its suffering through the very cells of our physical body and we become ill, sometimes so severely that cancerous cells develop that attack and destroy the good ones.

This is the reason why I believe that society will never conquer cancer, the greatest scourge of our age, with chemicals alone. To my mind, deep soul healing and releasing work are the only things that can help us forward here. It seems to me that the overall message our physical bodies are trying to give us whenever there is some pain or discomfort somewhere is: ‘Heal me! Find healing for me!’

Negative thoughts and feelings are a normal part of the healing process we all have to go through on our way back home into our true reality. Cleansing our consciousness of them and clearing them out so that they will never return is the only reason why they come knocking at our inner door. Many excellent books have appeared by now to assist us in this sometimes rather daunting task. My booklist in the ‘Further Reading’ section on this site contains several. To those who are looking for down-to-earth practical advice about healing on all levels of their being, I warmly recommend Dr. Ingrid Bacci and her work. Her self-help books to me are the best ones that have ever come my way on my healing journey thus far.

Recommended Reading:

• ‘The Art of Effortless Living – Simple Techniques for healing, mind, body and spirit’. The goal of this book is to offer the reader a comprehensive, practical and pleasurable map of the journey into becoming more fully ourselves and of helping us to find the healing that we and our world so desperately need.
• ‘Effortless Pain Relief – Especially from Chronic Pain’, a worthy companion to and extension of the previous book.
• For further information on these books, as well as free articles about Dr. Bacci’s work, please go to www.ingridbacci.com.

It may interest you that both Ingrid Bacci’s Moon and Ascendant are in Scorpio. She is living proof of the fact that everything that applies to the Sun in Scorpio does in equal measure to the Moon and the Ascendant in this sign. But there is more! The way the author describes her life in her books presents us with one of the finest case studies imaginable of the regenerative powers of Scorpio; its stamina, determination and sheer willpower to rise above all obstacles. She and her life are a shining example to us all; they demonstrate how the human spirit is capable of lifting itself above the limitations of the Earth, as soon as it learns to listen to and follow its inner guidance.

CANCER HEALING PRAYER
Great Spirit, Father/Mother Creator of all life,
Day by day by day, please help us
To love You more dearly and to see You more clearly
In all that is, so that we may grow in faith and trust
In Your wisdom and love that guides us all from within
Back home into our true nature and the oneness with You.

With the power of Your love may
All our fears and anxieties be uplifted and transmuted
Into total faith and trust in the goodness of the
Life You are constantly creating anew for us all,
So they can flow from Your loving heart and ours
As blessing and healing energies into
The farthest and remotest corners of all of Creation.

In the name of love we ask these things
From You on behalf of Mother Earth and all her kingdoms,
Especially that of the human race,
For all present on this level of life and
Our siblings on the other side of the veil of consciousness
That to this day separates our two worlds.

Amen

FEAR OF LOSING OUR IDENTITY

At the time of writing this, the book ‘Hanna’s Daughters’ by Marianne Frederiksson came my way. I warmly recommend this moving, thought-provoking and insightful book. It deals with the psychology of human relationships, especially between mothers and daughters, as well as the men in their lives. There was one passage in this book that struck a deep chord in me because of its relevance to my own memories of the war. On one occasion, the author speaks through one of the women in her tale. Born in the same year as myself, she was by that time in her sixties: ‘The war was even more remarkable. I’ve never thought about how it left its mark on my childhood, how much of my fear has its origins there. And yet I remember the German pilot burning in the air above us, and father coming and going, in uniform and talking about evil.’

The story is set in Sweden, one of the few European countries that managed to remain neutral during the Second World War. Through the mother of the above mentioned child, the author earlier describes how the people around her and she herself cowered like frightened rabbits, while their country was clinging onto its fragile neutrality. Although the mother carefully tried to protect her child against the influences of the war, one day when the little girl was three, they chanced to be outside when close to them a blazing German plane dropped from the sky. To her greatest chagrin, she could not shield her child against catching a glimpse of how the pilot was burnt alive.

To my mind, nothing could explain better than these words how wars affect us all through our collective consciousness and the soul of our world. Because on this level of life we are all one, we feel everybody else’s suffering and fears and they feel ours. So much of this has by now accumulated in every individual consciousness, as well as that of our world, that it is hardly surprising that many types of cancer are becoming ever more rampant. As mentioned earlier, I believe that the roots of this disease reach down into the deepest layers of our soul memories. That is why, to my mind, medications of the chemical kind will never enable us to find genuine cures; they can only come from the patient’s individual psyche and that of the collective. How heart-warming it is to witness that by now many are seeking alternative approaches!

As mentioned before, deep-seated and intense fears when left unattended for a long time can do nothing but eventually manifest themselves as illnesses in our outer vehicles. They are invariably a cry for help from the soul in its attempts at communicating with us. Release from our anxieties and healing of the damage they cause can in my view only come through renewing our inner connection with our Highest or God Self. When we rediscover our true nature and our spiritual roots, our soul finds peace and our whole being restores itself and heals. Over time, this also slowly starts to express itself in our physical bodies.

Whenever something is too frightening and traumatic for us to release from our subconscious during waking times, including in meditative states, the Universe rescues us in many ways. As a means of helping us let go of such things we are then given in dreamtime a symbolism that we can interpret and understand. For example, if someone has a nightmare of losing their identity, especially if this is a recurring dream, it is highly unlikely that dreams of this nature are meant to be premonitions and a taste of things to come.

I believe that our Highest Self merely uses them as symbolisms. In its infinite wisdom it appreciates that this is the only safe way that the earthly self can shed some of its most fundamental fears, which at present may be stopping its soul from making the progress that could otherwise be achieved. Should any of our fears by now be so deeply embedded in our subconscious that they cannot be reached any other way, all is by no means lost. With great love and compassion the Universe knows our difficulties and helps us move forward in dreamtime.

To the small earthly self the fear of losing its identity is even greater than the one of death; as a matter of fact that is the very reason why it is so terrified of death. I believe that no-one will ever lose their individuality, that even when we finally ready to fully merge with God again we shall not lose our identities and uniqueness. After all, that is what the whole process of individuation has been about. This means that when you and I have reached a sufficiently high level of consciousness to be one again with God, you will still be you and I shall continue to be me.

MY SPIRITUAL ROOTS

During the increasingly frequent bombing, I recall our family sometimes standing outside, when the all-clear had been given. From the reflections of the fires caused by the incendiary bombs, the sky looked as if it was burning in the direction of the Rhine/Ruhr area. I remember how my mother broke down when someone told her of the total defeat and unconditional surrender of our country. Even as a child, I senses that this must have been because of the sheer relief she felt when the long nightmare of the Nazi regime was over, at last. There is a German saying: ‘A horrible ending is preferable to horror without an end!’ It describes better than anything I can think of how the rule of probably the greatest evil that our world ever had to witness drew to its natural conclusion in one gigantic orgy of destruction. When the whole nightmare was over, the great majority of German people – not only the civilians – must surely have been relieved that the Nazis had not won. What would have happened otherwise does not bear thinking about.

It always puzzled me why all four of us were baptised into the Protestant branch of Christianity, when there had never been any evidence of any kind of faith in our family. But having reached this part of my life, it is not hard to recognise that my parents must have lost their faith through the events of the war; many did. People are bound to ask themselves in such times whether there really is a God. If so, how can He allow all that suffering? My parents never talked about matters of faith, probably because the memories of losing theirs were too painful. Thus it came about that we were brought up completely without religion. When religious education started at school again after the war, we were exempted from it.

The birthcharts of my middle sister’s and me reveal that the background we were born into is likely to have been a staunchly Christian one. Alas, I cannot investigate the charts of the other family members because our two times of birth are the only ones I have been able to assess with certainty. During a recent stay in Germany, I found to my amazement that all those years ago the time of birth of every child was recorded in the birth register of my hometown. This was great news! Although both my sisters have already passed on, because of the data protection act, it was only possible to find out my own time and – with the help of her husband – that of my middle sister.

My mother kept diaries for my sisters, but by the time I was born, she no longer found time to continue with them. Her last entries into both diaries are from 1937, shortly after I was born, so my brother’s arrival in 1939, one month before the outbreak of the war, was not even mentioned. However, what was there did provide me with some clues. The most important ones were that my mother wrote on the occasion of the birth of her first and second daughters that children are a precious gift from God. I do not believe that someone without faith would express themselves in such words. We shall return to what losing one’s faith means.

THE POST-WAR YEARS

Let me stay for a while with some more of my early childhood memories. Although most of them fortunately have faded by now, the hardships endured in the post-war years 1945/48 in Germany stand out vividly, especially the extremely severe winters. There were huge piles of snow everywhere that refused to melt for months on end. The older children took advantage of this and learnt how to build igloos at the end of our street; to the greatest annoyance of us younger ones, we were not allowed in.

At the end of the war the Morgenthau Plan was put into operation. As Morgenthau sounds like a Jewish name, I find it all too understandable and all too human that, after all the Jewish population had suffered at the hand of the Nazis, this meant times of extreme hardships were ahead for Germany. There was hardly any food to eat and fuel to keep us warm. My mother got into trouble with our teachers for keeping us at home because of the lack of warm clothes and footwear. Towards the end of the war, my parents miraculously got hold of two pairs of army boots – a rare treasure indeed. My brother remembers wearing one pair on his first school day. The other one fitted our big sister, seven years older than me, reasonably well, so at least she could go to school. Forever into some kind of mischief, her boots promptly got her into trouble with our science teacher. He caught her in her ‘stylish’ outfit performing a Cossack dance on the table in the chemistry room to an admiring audience of classmates. Oh yes, we did have our moments, too!

Apart from being puzzled that quite literally overnight our school life transformed dramatically, I cannot say that I remember those early days there in great detail. My brother still does; he recalls how the day before the change, his teacher still appeared in her smart Nazi uniform, complete with leather boots. In common with all German schoolchildren, at the beginning of their lessons, he and his classmates had to stand by their benches, raise their right hands in the Nazi salute and shout: ‘Heil Hitler!’ In the new order, his teacher turned up – figuratively speaking – in sackcloth and ashes, with a Bible tucked under her arm. As ever, the children had to stand by the side of their desks, but now were told to fold their hands and say the Lord’s Prayer. My class had to do the same and I clearly remember how – even at that tender age – this behaviour struck me as one of the most ridiculous and hypocritical things that anyone could ever dream up. I cannot imagine that this kind of behaviour would ever endear any uninitiated person to religion in general and the Christian belief system in particular.

A toned down version of the original Morgenthau Plan was signed by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at the Second Quebec Conference in September 1944. It was limited to turning Germany into a country primarily agricultural and pastoral in its character. The original plan provided that the Ruhr mines should be destroyed; this requirement had been dropped in the meantime. From 1945/1948, the Morgenthau Plan ensured that everybody knew that we were a nation defeated, humiliated, ground into the dust – never to rise again. But after three years of this undiluted misery, the Allies realised that something needed to be done to stop West Germany from falling into the hands of communism.

That is why in 1948 the Marshall Plan came to our rescue, as it did to other European countries, including Britain. This plan was the primary scheme of the United States for rebuilding the allied countries of Europe and combating what was seen as the communist menace, in the aftermath of World War II. The initiative was named after the United States Secretary of State, George Marshall. The reconstruction plan was developed at a meeting of the participating European states in 1947. The Marshall Plan offered the same aid to the Soviet Union and its allies, if they would make political reforms and accept certain outside controls. In fact, America worried that the Soviet Union would take advantage of the plan and therefore deliberately made the terms hard for the USSR to accept. The plan was in operation for four fiscal years, beginning in July 1947. During that period some $13 billion of economic and technical assistance – equivalent to around $130 billion in 2006 – was given to help the recovery of the European countries that had joined in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

By the time the Marshall Plan had come to completion, the economy of every participant state, with the exception of Germany, had grown well past pre-war levels. Over the next two decades, Western Europe as a whole would enjoy unprecedented growth and prosperity. The Marshall Plan has also long been seen by many as one of the first elements of European integration that helped to remove tariff trade barriers and to set up institutions to co-ordinate the economy on a continental level.

THE CURRENCY REFORM

With the Marshall Plan came the currency reform and the birth of the Deutschmark. Every man, woman and child received DM48.00; those who still had some savings found their value reduced to ten percent, as far as I recall. This was the turning point the country had been yearning for. Almost immediately after this event, my sister and I were allowed to attend a camp of the young socialists ‘The Falcons’. Against the protests of my father, my mother had to use the full per head quota for my sister and myself for this adventure. It was worth it!

We had a wonderful time and I recall moments of standing hand in hand with other youngsters round a campfire and singing some of the old socialist songs. Against the background of my early childhood some of them struck a deep chord in my heart and soul, even then, and they took on some very real meaning. ‘Unsterbliche Opfer’, meaning ‘Immortal Sacrifices’, was one of my favourites. Freely translated it carries the following message: ‘Though you sank into dust your sacrifice is immortal. We stand at your graves; we weep and we mourn; our hearts and minds filled with pain. You fought and died for a peaceful world and rights yet to come. We, the generation of the future, rise and vouch to do our share of bringing it about. When our whole world finds freedom at last, we shall think of you and honour you, for you went before us and taught us how – if need be – to defend one’s highest ideals!’ Stirring stuff indeed!

There were other songs with similar themes; I loved them all and still do. Should the above words sound pathetic to your ears, please forgive me. But then they brought us a measure of comfort – healing maybe. For me, they will always remain an echo of the age-old cry from the soul of humankind for freedom from all oppression. Most importantly, they carried a message and a ray of hope for a better world to come. When viewed from that angle, possibly for the first time in our young lives something in connection with the war made sense. Maybe the sacrifice of those who gave their lives to free us had not been in vain? There were brave ones on our side who had tried unsuccessfully to unseat the Hitler regime. Even though they failed, their hearts had been in the right place.

Incidentally, many years later I learnt that the above mentioned song has an interesting history. Written by W.G. Archangelski in 1878, it had undoubtedly been inspired by the suffering of the Russian people. It became a hymn of mourning for the victims of the Russian Revolution of 1905. At the end of the First World War in 1918, Hermann Scherchen translated it into German. After 1919, it was adopted as the funeral song for the fallen and murdered members of the international socialist workers movement.

Nazis is short for National-Sozialisten, but let no-one confuse them with a genuine socialist organisation. They merely adopted the word socialism and made a mockery of it. The true German socialist movement had been forced underground by the Nazis. It remained alive, but it took until after the war before it was officially allowed again. During the Nazi times, one of my mother’s brothers insisted on remaining an active member, for which he had to pay with his life, the highest price of all. He was involved in printing and distributing a tiny newspaper, which could only be read with the help of a strong magnifying glass. One night, the Gestapo called for him. He had been found out by the authorities, almost certainly through denunciation, and they presented him with a macabre choice.

If he wanted his wife and two small children to be safe from persecution, he could either go to a concentration camp or be sent on what was then known as an ‘Ascension Mission’. This meant impossible assignments on the front from which no-one ever returned. He chose the latter and shortly after perished in Russia – lost in action, without trace. After the war, it took many years until the authorities finally accepted my aunt’s appeals that he should be declared dead, so that she could begin to draw a pension for herself and her children. The saying goes in Germany: ‘The thanks of the fatherland you can be sure of!’ when in truth no-one is likely to thank anyone for their suffering and the loss of life and limbs. Alas, that seems to be all too common everywhere, but the British Legion in this country each year is making a real effort to help people show their appreciation.

THE GESTAPO AND THE NAZI RALLIES

Another point that comes to mind is that as far back as I can remember I have always been gripped by an inexplicable fear at the sight of a policeman. Never having had any unpleasant personal dealings with the police force in any country I have lived in, this had to be something irrational. It had always puzzled me why I should feel that way, until one day, at the time of editing this work, I ‘chanced’ to look out of the window. A policeman and a small boy were walking past my house and chatting amicably to each other. The usual fear rose from within and then suddenly it came to me with great clarity that this held some kind of a message for me.

Because the Universe really does love us, it is always trying to show us the way. Through the happenings in the world around us, it is constantly sending us signals, especially when we are in difficult situations. However, their meaning can be hard to recognise. After some reflection I realised that in this case the Universe was trying to help me face up to and come to terms with one of my ghosts from the past. The incident had nothing to do with the fear of the policeman, but the institution he represented. And I hope that writing about it will help me release myself from the darkness of the memories of the Gestapo and enable me to see police officers as the friends and helpers they truly are to law-abiding citizens.

But who were the Gestapo? The Nazi regime was nothing short of organised and legalised terrorism. All societies contain dark elements and the German ones in those days found many new outlets and that with the blessings of the state. One of the government’s most important tools was the Gestapo, short for Geheime Staatspolizei, which means secret state police. They could and did arrest and take away anyone at any time of day or night. Their main job was to spread fear; no-one was safe from them and there was no way of getting away from them when they came for you. The Gestapo was one of the modern versions of the Inquisition of the middle ages.

A further aspect of the Nazi terror was their party rallies. With hindsight, it is not hard to see that they were carefully staged and orchestrated, in particular the ones in Nuremberg and the Olympic stadium in Berlin. The rallies served several purposes. It was not only to strike terror into the hearts and souls of other countries, but also into those of the German people, in preparation for the coming experience of our whole world of the monstrous extermination machine which the Nazis were in the middle of creating in the name of the German people.

The newsreel pictures of these events were intended to create the impression that they stood solidly behind their government. But that most certainly was not true. The vocal minority controlled everything; any opposition was swiftly and mercilessly silenced. Our street was a good example of this. It contained thirty odd homes and most of them were occupied by young families with children; we lived at No. 17, about halfway along. As far as I am aware, only one of these families, the one next door to us, supported the party. They had one little boy of our age, whom we used to call Nazi pig – sometimes to his face. Not that the boy had anything to do with the party and I am not proud of this, but children can be very cruel. We got away with it, because the adults must have quietly agreed. You will appreciate that I am only including this to illustrate a point about the general feelings of the ordinary citizens of that time.

There seems to have been a widely held view abroad that Nazi Germany was orderly and well organised. It is true that the Germans had been known for these qualities in their administrations before the Hitler time. It is often assumed by many that this continued under that rule, when quite the opposite was true. Frequently, the overall general administration of the Nazis was a mess. The top of the organisation wanted it that way, so that those within it were constantly at each other’s throats. This not only caused chaos and confusion, it also ensured that the lower ranks within the party never knew where they stood.

Bearing all that in mind, it is hardly surprising that the closer the end of the war drew, the more the whole country resembled one gigantic concentration camp; it certainly would have looked like that to a neutral observer. Large numbers of prisoners of war were kept within the country; they were part of this. At the time of writing and editing this work, the book ‘The Last Escape’ – the untold story of Allied prisoners of war in Germany 1944-1945 by John Nichol and Tony Rennel came my way. The following quote comes from its preface: ‘How many prisoners of war were there in Germany? Official documents are inconsistent in their estimates of numbers, but it can be said with some – but not total – confidence that in the middle of 1944 Germany had nine million prisoners of varying nationalities. It is a staggering figure, hard to take in. Imagine the entire population of Greater London held behind barbed wire.’ Although I am told that the population of London is seven million, as the above is quote, I do not wish to alter any of it.

The suffering in large parts of our world was incredible and the karmic debt incurred by Germany, as a group, through this must be so immense that it would be folly to hope that any one person could redeem and repay even the tiniest fraction of it. To my mind, healing and forgiveness for those events, and all those like them, can only be found through a better understanding of the higher purpose behind all life and the reason why even such trials are necessary. If this work achieves this for someone, I hope that on the higher levels of life this may count as a minute contribution towards making good the debts that were incurred by the country of my birth of my present lifetime, and I will not have come this way in vain.

Anyone willing to look beneath the surface of life can see that this contained an important lesson and demonstrated the truth of the Bible teaching that those who sow the wind shall reap the storm. The events of the war gave the group soul of our whole world and also the one of the German people, and within those all individual souls involved, a practical demonstration of the truth of this quote; more on this theme in a moment. All who took part in these events and others like them, both at the giving and receiving end, will eventually appreciate the significance and importance of such lessons. Should their meaning remain unclear while these souls are on this side of the veil of consciousness, they will surely understand when they return to the world of spirit and are once more capable of seeing the whole picture.

NO JUDGEMENT DAY

I believe that there is no such thing as a judgement day in the traditional sense and that nothing happens perchance or is a coincidence, although it may often seem that way. Every experience that comes our way is meant to teach us something and if it is not immediately clear what, it is up to us to go within and ask our Highest Self to help us find out. God has created each one of us in His/Her image and perfect. The archetype of a perfect human being exists in the heartmind of God and every soul carries within the core of its own being the seed form of all the attributes of its Divine parents.

The final aim of all human development is the bringing forth of these qualities, each from within their own being, until ours exactly mirror those of our true parents. Hence the saying that we are young Gods in the making, a theme to which we shall return to in more detail later. The Earth plane is meant to teach us the wise use of our Divine characteristics. Through striving to alleviate the suffering of all its creatures, so that our planet slowly evolves into a better place for all, in the fullness of time we grow into adepts at pursuing the interest of the whole instead of our own. That is the only way the Divine qualities can be developed to their highest potential and the wholeness that is in our Divine Father/Mother can be achieved.

Our Creator loves each one of us totally and unconditionally, and accepts us the way we are. No-one ever judges us, but there does come the time for every soul at the end of each lifetime, when we have safely returned to the world of spirit and have recovered sufficiently from the stresses and strains of earthly life, together with the wise ones in charge of us, we take stock and assess our over all performance up to that point – not just our most recent lifetime, but all of them. On the etheric level a record exists of every word that was ever spoken, every thought ever thought, and every action that was ever taken, not just by you and me but by everyone. We are responsible for all of them and at the right moment, back in the world of spirit, we shall be confronted with each one.

We shall then see with great clarity where our weaknesses and strengths lie, where we have done well and where we failed. This assessment helps us to recognise which lessons we most urgently require, during our next lifetime. When everything has been stripped from us and we are once again that which we always have been, spirit and soul, we shall stand before the mirror of ourselves. What a wonderfully sobering and comforting thought that no-one will ever judge us!

This reminds me of a somewhat unusual gentleman who was recently introduced to me. Dressed up as a very attractive lady, he confessed that throughout his life he had wanted to be a woman rather than a man. His lifelong struggle with a conflict of such severity is sure to have brought him a great deal of suffering – and therefore, soul growth. Having finished telling me his story, he added: ‘What will God think of me?’ He was visibly relieved when he heard: ‘You need to become aware that you yourself are God and that when you return to the world of spirit there will be no judgement day, at the end of this lifetime or ever. However, you will be confronted with yourself – you will stand before yourself and look at yourself with utter honesty. God never judges us; no-one does; we ourselves are required to do it.’

Therefore, if any difficult decisions have to be made by you, tune into the world of your innermost feelings, to see the reaction of your inner guide and teacher. It helps to try to imagine yourself standing before that mirror in the world of spirit and see how you would be judging your chosen course of action then? Will you think it was a good and positive one or was a destructive one? If the latter, did it teach you something? Did you learn from it? Because God loves us, all our desires are always fulfilled, so either way we should learn from the experiences it brings and grow. Maybe you need to do what you have in mind to find out whether it is really what you want and need. You may be surprised!

Before entering into yet another new lifetime, we ourselves together with the wise also choose where we are going to spend it. Learning to appreciate the value of peace is altogether the most crucial lesson for humankind on this level of life. Those who have already learnt it the hard way, may well during all remaining lifetimes on this planet want to dedicate all their energies to acting as a driving force behind the bringing in of the Age of Aquarius – more of this in a moment – so that peace may come to our world. To such souls applies what the Bible tells us in Matthew 5:9 ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.’ However, not only these particular children are meant to make their contribution towards bringing peace to our world; the same is true for everybody who is here now. Each can make a valuable contribution by living their life more peacefully. And that, my dear friends, is the only way that peace and healing can finally come to our world and rule it, for evermore.

THE AGE OF AQUARIUS

The Age of Aquarius is dawning; it is bringing us the long awaited spiritual rebirth of our race and our whole world, and the saviour and redeemer, promised of old, is at last in flesh appearing. This is happening in a highly surprising and much more beautiful way than anyone could ever have envisaged in past ages, even in their wildest dreams. The New Age is with us and as the months and years go by, it is coming clearer that this is not just some kind of a fad or an airy-fairy notion that has sprung from the minds of the participants of the hippy movement. It is a concept that deserves to be taken seriously, because it demands the fullest attention from each one of us, not merely from those who are already interested in their own spiritual progress and that of our whole world.

The Age of Aquarius is an evolutionary period in the spiritual development of humankind, during which spiritual wisdom and truth directly from the Source will flow ever more strongly into all human hearts. The long promised and awaited World Teacher is now coming to us in the most miraculous and unexpected way, namely by being born in the heart of each and every one of us. At long last it is coming clear that this teacher is none other than the living God within. For a very long time this part of us has been known as the small still voice of conscience; it constantly tries to tell us right from wrong and communicates with us through our intuition. As the English poet Robert Browning, 1812-1889, once put it: ‘There is an inmost centre in us all, where truth abides in fullness.’

When all have become attuned to and are following the guidance of this, their very own teacher, there will be peace in our world and there will no longer be any need for religions; having served the purpose they were created for, they will disappear. This theme is one of the many we shall discuss as the jottings unfold. My writings, among them primarily the jottings, are discussions of how the monumental changes that are now taking place are affecting us all. Helpful new perspectives on all aspects of life are gradually revealing themselves to us. If you study the various parts of my life’s work which by now are available here, you will soon be able to see this for yourself.

The collective consciousness of our race is opening up and all round there is clear evidence that an ever stronger awareness of the ‘facts of life’ about our true nature and eternal reality is emerging. With the recognition that life is an absolute continuum and that there is no such thing as death, the limited vision of Earth life as a one-off thing dissolves. We then realise that one cycle of life emerges from and is born from the previous one. All life is guided and protected by God and the Angels. Old life-forms that have outlived their usefulness are removed by them, as all life inexorably moves forwards and upwards, and all its participants are evolving into constantly improving and more beautiful forms, as they reach for higher and highest levels of existence.

Recommended Reading:
• ‘Enlightenment’
• ‘The Great Year and the Ages of Man’
• ‘The Coming World Teacher’

THE AGE OF PISCES

The era we are now leaving behind is the Age of Pisces. Pisces is the sign of Karma and the soul, one of the Water signs. This reflects that during this time our world has been strongly under the influence of the Water element. All the Water signs are concerned with the development of our emotional nature. Not surprisingly then, the previous age above all things was a super-charged with emotions. It was of the soul and under the dual rulership of the planets Jupiter and Neptune, blind faith and gullibility were top of the agenda. Individually and collectively, we were deceived by the institutions we allowed to be in charge of the spiritual wellbeing of our race. The way they tricked us and we followed their teachings blindly were – and to many people still are, to this day – vital parts of the lessons of the Piscean Age.

Part of that same lesson was that, at its beginning there appeared a rosy dream and illusion that a saviour and redeemer would come, who could wave some kind of magic wand to release us and our world from all suffering. The illusion of the Piscean Age can be likened to a bubble and, in keeping with the nature of bubbles, this one – the same as all others – eventually had to burst. Enormous soul growth was achieved, as gradually ever more individual souls and the soul of our whole race woke up from its misapprehensions. In deep disappointment humankind turned away from them and started its search for spiritual truth.

Undoubtedly, all these things were necessary, too; they were preparations for the Age of Aquarius. This sign is co-ruled by Saturn and Uranus. Saturn is a symbolism for the stern and undeviating schoolmaster of the zodiac, whose intention it is to teach the human soul the kind of self-discipline that eventually leads to the complete mastery of all its aspects, the lowest and the very highest. Uranus is the awakener and enlightener. Without having mastered Saturn’s lessons no soul will be able to go forward and be released into the full freedom of the Aquarian Age. Aquarius is an Air sign; this signals that we are moving into an intellectual age, one that will be ruled by the mind. That is why learning to control our lower earthly mind is now of the greatest importance for each one of us.

Recommended Reading: ‘The Sun in Aquarius’and ‘The Power of Thought’

LISTENING TO THE BBC

As the war years were chaotic times, I hope to be forgiven for finding it impossible to report the events of my tale in strict chronological order. Whilst in the midst of writing about one occurrence, another one comes to mind. What follows is connected with an air raid shelter, which some of the people in our street had built for themselves, at some stage of the war. They had dug a bunker into the ground and created a heap of soil that was visible from some distance. More of this later, but first it is necessary to tell you how my father became involved in this enterprise.

Because he worked as a foreman in a factory whose products were important to the war effort, father had been exempted from military service. His firm produced aluminium sheets from raw materials that were supplied to them. Yet another company made these sheets into aircraft parts. That’s how directly my father’s work was connected with the war effort. Because of the smelting process that had to be carried out, his firm’s furnaces had to be kept going day and night. The employees were required to work round the clock in two twelve-hour shifts. Fortunately, this was not necessary for the sister factory across the road, where some of the sheets were made into aluminium foil. One night, it was hit by one of those missiles which the bombers dropped somewhere along their flight path, as often was the case when they returned from their missions. That factory was the only place in our town that was ever hit and because it was closed at night, there was no loss of lives, only severe damage to buildings and machinery. Had the bomb landed a few yards over to the other side of the road, where the night shift was being worked, quite a few could have been killed, including my father. How lucky we were!

When father worked the day shift, he was usually at home in the evenings. He was a double Sun Aquarius, i.e. born on the 31st January, and what would now be called a techno-freak. He loved all technology and especially his radio. Whenever the news came on, which was by no means as frequently as these days, and he was at home he was glued to his loudspeaker. The radio sets and also the reception in those days were so poor that all noises had to stop, as soon as the signal was heard. Heaven help anyone who dared to make a sound!

I remember how sometimes in the evening and at night, when we children were in bed, a faint sound came from downstairs that went: ‘Boom, boom, boom – boooom’. Many years later, I learnt that this had been a BBC signal for one of its German language propaganda transmissions that started with the words: ‘This is London calling!’ One of their German news bulletins followed these words. As my father did not speak a word of English, it cannot have been anything else. He was indulging in an extremely dangerous pastime; had anyone reported him it could have cost him his life.

Anyone who did not like you or bore a grudge against you could go to the authorities and tell them that you had committed some kind of an offence, even a concocted one. So-called friends, neighbours and relatives were known to be guilty of this. The Hitler youth movement encouraged children to inform on their own parents. People were taken away on the flimsiest accusations. The end result was a modern version of the medieval witch-hunting; standard punishment was the disappearance of ‘offenders’ into one of the concentration camps. Sadly, when millions are dying everywhere, life gets to be ever cheaper. As Stalin put it: ‘One death is a tragedy; a million deaths are a statistic.’

The Gestapo could knock on anyone’s door in the middle of the night – their preferred time – and take them away without questioning. The closer the end of the war came, the more the terror regime intensified its grip, and ever more people disappeared without trial or trace. There came the time when no-one dared to ask any questions. The turn of those who still spoke up was sure to come quickly. It is not hard to imagine how much damage and scarring is done to human souls who over some years have constantly been exposed to this kind of terror. It is bound to leave impressions that mark us not only for the rest of this lifetime, but also beyond. Heaven alone knows how many times each one of us must go through such experiences, until we have finally learnt the most precious lesson of all – the value of peace.

Under the Nazi regime, it was compulsory for boys and girls – in separate groups – from age ten onwards to join the youth organisation of the Nazi party. Girls went into the BDM, Bund Deutscher Mädchen, the Federation of German Girls. Boys at age 10 joined the ‘Jungvolk’, the Young People, moving on at age 14 to the HJ, the Hitler Jugend, Hitler’s Youths. These organisations were nothing but party tools for brainwashing children, from as young as possible, into believing that the Nazi propaganda was true. It was so skilfully presented that from where we are now, it is not hard to see how easily swayed many of them were. They were urged to report anything they saw in the world around them, including within their families, which could be detrimental to the party. From an early age, boys were trained in the use of weapons, preparing them for their fate as cannon fodder. Alas, far too many went that way, as the following incident demonstrates.

On one occasion, in the sweltering heat of the continental summer of 1944, when it was all too clear that the war was lost and practically over, my eldest sister, then twelve, returned from town in a state of shock. In the market place she had seen five dead soldiers, who had not been much older than herself. They were spread-eagled in a line on the ground and covered in flies. A sign by their side announced that they were deserters, who had been summarily court-marshalled and shot. By that time, boys were drafted away from their school benches, to be used the way the Hitler Youth movement had prepared them.

THE AIR RAID SHELTER

My father never joined the party and, as mentioned earlier, he was fortunate enough not to have to go to war. As far as I know, he never even held a gun in his hands. The closest he came to the war effort was being conscripted for six months to supervise the digging of trenches on the western front. This is how it came about that he was at home when our neighbours decided to build the air raid shelter, briefly touched upon earlier. He did not approve of this project and wanted no part in it for whatever reasons. However, having been involved in earth-moving work, he recognised the danger of the visibility of the bunker. Towards the end of the war, he advised those responsible to hoist a white flag on top of it, so that it could be identified from the air as a civilian and not a military installation, in the hope that it would then be spared.

His advice was ignored and disaster struck very early in the spring of 1945, only a few weeks before the official announcement of Germany’s unconditional surrender on May 15th. The war was almost over but now we were in the front line of the advancing Allied Forces. On one of those bright and sunny days in spring about midday disaster struck. The bunker came under artillery attack and most of those who had been seeking shelter in the bunker on this day perished. It was no accident, as three shots had been carefully planted: one in front, the next one behind and the third one went full into the centre. No-one will ever know whether a white flag really could have avoided the disaster that hit our street, only a few hundred yards from our house.

The victims were mostly women and their children; two of them tiny babies. One family was the hardest hit. Mother, the eldest and the youngest daughter – a baby only a few weeks old – died. The two middle daughters, my sister’s and my playmates, were left behind with some terrible injuries. Our town was lucky to still have a hospital. The girls, who had been badly wounded, had to spend months in it. Shrapnel had penetrated both thighs of the older girl, in one side and out the other; they went clean through. The younger one also had shrapnel wounds, but not of as serious a nature. The worst effect was visible on both girls’ faces, which were disfigured by black fragments of gunpowder that had deeply embedded themselves in their skins.

Again the younger sister was the less unfortunate one. Within a few years all her black particles had been removed and her face looked clear again. In Germany when disaster strikes and things are not as bad as they might have been, the people involved are having ‘Glück im Unglück’, which means literally good fortune within bad. This was the case for the younger sister, but the older one’s black specks had dug themselves so deeply into her skin that only some of them could ever be removed. The last time I saw her was as a grown-up woman and her face still was badly marked. Yet, she had come to terms with her predicament and seemed to be coping well. I have always admired her courage.

During all these happenings, the girls’ father was missing somewhere on the Russian front. So, the girls were brought up by their grandparents, until some years after their father returned from one of those infamous prisoner of war camps in Siberia. He married again and there were two more children. The family had always been staunchly Christian, in spite of the fact that matters of faith were not only frowned upon by the Nazi authorities, but openly scorned and ridiculed. In the tradition of the Christian martyrs, they bravely carried the cross of the problems which this adherence to their faith created for them. Upon his return from Russia, the father and his new wife dedicated themselves and their life to their religion.

A comparison between this family and mine is a good way of demonstrating how the war experiences affected people’s beliefs in different ways. While my parents lost whatever spiritual beliefs they may have had, the other father and his family became more devoted to their church than ever before. Having been reared in a veritable spiritual desert, I am deeply grateful that by now I have found a degree of understanding of the nature of God, as well as that of humankind and its destiny. It is good to know that there is so much more to this life than meets the eye, and that our physical bodies are by no means the most vital part of our being. Important though they are while we are here, we are not those bodies; we merely live in them temporarily. What really matters is that which is alive inside them. We are spirit and soul and our true home is the world of spirit. If we seriously wish our world to become a peaceful one, the most important requirement is to find a new understanding of God.

‘Knowledge and understanding are life’s faithful companions who will never prove untrue to you. For knowledge is your crown and understanding your staff; and when they are with you, you can possess no greater treasures.’ Kahlil Gibran

GOD AND THE DEVIL

The Venerable Bede was an English theologian and historian, who lived ca. 673-735 AD. All those centuries ago, he wrote about his work on the books of Ezra and Nehemiah: ‘... in the treasure of the prophets, [God] has furnished me with the grace, not only to embrace things old, but also in very truth to find new things under the veil of the old and to bring them forth, for the use of my fellow-servants.’ How about following his advice and applying it to the way we perceive ourselves and our world? To get the ball rolling, let us ask ourselves a few searching questions. To me, the most important one of all is: ‘Is there a God?’ At the beginning of the Age of Aquarius, it becomes necessary to redefine the meaning of the word God. If there is a supreme being, what is Its nature? Who am I and what is my relationship with It? To me, God is the Universe, the Universal life force; call it what you like: ‘Call Me by any name and I am there’.

You are sure to encounter some who refuse to accept that there is a Divine force behind the whole of the created world, as we now know it. The big bang theory of the origin of the Universe to many people presents an obstacle in the way of understanding the nature of the Created world. Some souls seem to draw the conclusion that if the Universe came into being through an abrupt expansion of energy and matter that this happened perchance and on its own, thus doing away with the need for a Creator. If that is your belief too, take a good look around you and then tell me please, how could there be so many intricate, differing species of life on this our beautiful planet alone, unless they were lovingly created by some great designer and artist? Do you seriously believe that the big explosion, the bang, happened by sheer accident?

Are you among those who accept the notion that there is a Great Architect who safely holds the threads of all our fates Its loving hands? Whenever you encounter others who do not share this belief, remind yourself that there is no need to give in to despair over the state of humankind. Know that we all get there in the end. And then speak your truth and quietly explain your beliefs, maybe something like this: ‘For the life of me, I cannot see why the big bang should do away with the need for some great Universal force to bring this event about. Even if the created world came about in this manner – who do you think caused this?

The way I see it, nothing can ever happen from nothing, and there is always a good reason for everything. A great creative power, for simplicity’s sake we shall call it God, is constantly at work behind the scenes of all life, including that of the Earth. God brings everything into being and also supports and sustains it. Without God no life would be possible, but with God’s help all life is slowly and almost imperceptibly evolving and moving forward into better and higher forms of creativity. To me, there is a much more magnificent display of power and glory in this so much more realistic and awe-inspiring story than the one that was presented to us earlier. The tale that our world was created in six days by some kind of a distant and remote God who just waved His hands was good enough for humankind in its early spiritual childhood days. Now that we are reaching spiritual adulthood, we are ready to accept the truth of the living God, who is part of us and of whom each one of us is an integral part.

On the threshold of the Age of Aquarius, ever more spiritual wisdom and truth is revealed to us. And I am convinced that when the time is right, we shall also know how the Universe really came into being. So, next time someone suggests to you that no explanation other than the big bang is needed, just quietly ask them: ‘How could there be a Creation without a Creator?’ They may as yet be unready to accept this concept, but you could be sowing a seed into their minds and giving them some food for thought; that in itself is frequently all that is required from us. We can then step back and leave it to God and the Angels to do the rest.

THE DUAL NATURE OF GOD

As explained in volume one of these jottings, God consists of a masculine and a feminine aspect and is both Father and Mother to us. As everything is of God and created in God’s image, the same duality principle applies to all lifeforms, including the inner as well as the outer life on our planet, therefore also humankind. Throughout the whole of God’s Creation opposing forces are working together harmoniously and peacefully. Because everything that is in God is also in us, we all contain the same energies and powers and each must do their own inner work of consciously taking possession and reconciling them. We need to teach them to function together, the way they are doing in God. From the moment of its creation, every soul strives to reach this evolutionary level.

Alas, to this day, many are still unaware of why they are here, never mind knowing about the dualities they contain and what purpose they are meant to serve. Most of the problems we are encountering in our own character and also in our world are caused by sheer ignorance. And that state is by no means bliss! The outer world is a manifestation of our inner self and the environment reflects back to us what we are within. As if gazing into a mirror, the events around us are constantly revealing what is within us.

We are in this life to become aware of the different aspects of our nature and there are basically two parts to our being. One is the all-good Highest or God Self; its counterpart is the lower or earthly self. When we first descended into matter, our learning must have consisted mostly of behaviour patterns that would now considered as all-evil. Up to fairly recently, the evil deeds induced by people’s lower nature were still believed to have been caused by an outside force that was called the devil. It was believed that this force could not be controlled by human beings and that it was even beyond the reach of the power of God.

At last we are finding out that nothing could be further from the truth. There is no force outside the power of God and there never was such a thing or person as the devil. All along, the culprit has been that part of every soul’s own lower nature that is capable of doing devilish things. Having reached maturity, the time has come for us, individually and collectively, to take full responsibility for ever part of ourselves and our deeds. Each soul has an equally great need for taking charge of their lower earthly self and learning to control and master its drives and urges.

Our lives and our homes are the responsibility of every individual soul, while the state of our world at any given time is one that is shared by all. Because we are part of God and God is part of us, in the widest possible sense, each one of us is also accountable for the whole of the created world. Hand in hand with God and the Angels, we ourselves eventually have to create a world where all learnt how to live together in peace and harmony. This is not an easy task, by any means, but it has to be done because it represents an evolutionary stage none of us can escape in the end. Who in their right senses would with to? So, why not get on with it now?

We are in this life to become masters of our whole self, mind, body, spirit and soul. First and foremost, this means taking charge of our emotions and feelings, a formidable task if ever there was one, but it is a assignment that has to be tackled by all of us. We need to stop acting like the helpless victims of our emotions and allowing them to run our lives for us, which many are doing to this day – to their own detriment and that of the whole of our societies. We are to take charge and show them that we, the spirit and soul that dwells within these earthly vehicles, our physical bodies, are the master and captain in command of the ship of his/her own being.

Any of the characteristics we do not like within ourselves and our world, with the help and the will of God, are waiting to be changed – by none other than us. Before any evolutionary progress can be made individually and collectively, each has to accept the responsibility for themselves and our world. The increased spiritual knowledge we are now allowed access to is the tool the Universe is placing into everybody’s own hands for doing just that. Taking charge and becoming the masters of our whole being, i.e. our body, soul and spirit, and in particular our character, is of paramount importance. It puts us in charge and allows each one of us to positively influence the flow of our own destiny and that of our world.

THE NUMBER 666

To return to the theme of the devil for a moment, we shall take a closer look at the age old puzzle of the meaning of the figure 666. To this day, it believed by some to be of the devil. As we know by now, everything in the whole creation is of God and from God; there are no external forces outside of God. Our God is duality, Father/Mother Creator, and because we were created in the image of God, the same characteristics and qualities are also in us.

Practising numerology as well as astrology helps me to recognise the 666 as a symbol of the dual nature of God and therefore also of humankind. The figure can either represent the highest good or the greatest evil. To enlarge on this: the 6 is ruled by Venus = love, peace, balance and harmony. This planet is the ruler of Taurus and Libra. 6+6+6 = 18 = 1 the Sun, 8 Saturn; both together 18 = the Sun in Capricorn, the sign in which the highest spiritual achievements can be made. 1+8 = 9 is ruled by Mars, the ruler of both Aries and Scorpio. For further understanding you might like to study the Sun in all these signs and their energies in the Astro Files. The Sun in Scorpio is particularly relevant here.

The early Christian teachings – which many follow to this day – still interpreted the opposing forces of the cosmos as a juxtaposition of God, in human form represented by the Master Jesus, and the Devil, who comes to tempt him in the desert. To me, the desert is a symbolism for the human soul in its exile on the Earth, in physicality. But our planet will not always remain a spiritual desert. It will only do so for as long as it lacks the nourishing influence of the waters of the appropriate kind of knowledge and awareness. Take heart and rejoice, for with the coming of the Aquarian Age, the waters of consciousness are being cleansed and beginning to flow freely again. The desert of human perception is in the process of bursting into bloom. What is now before you is part of this.

YOUNG GODS IN THE MAKING

As Christianity grew from Judaism, it is not surprising that the two religions have some parts of the Scriptures in common. In the Bible, this section is known as the Old Testament. Here Psalm 82:5-6 already announced to our world: ‘They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness; all the foundations of the Earth are shaken. I have said: ‘You are Gods; all of you are children of the most High.’ The New Testament confirms this in St. John 11:34: ‘Jesus said to them: ‘Is it not written in your law, I said, you are Gods?’ What a very long time it has been known that we are all of Divine origin! Alas, when the inspiration for both these texts flowed through one of the scribes whose task it was to write them down – each in their own time – our world was not yet ready to grasp that this applies to each and every one of us.

The Master Jesus most certainly knew; in great clarity his teachings conveyed the message that humankind has been created in God’s image. And by now we know that this means that everything that is in God is also in us. God is in us and we are in God; God is part of us and we are part of God. Whatever may befall us, nothing can separate us from God. In fact, we are young Gods in the making, apprentices and trainee Gods, if you like. God is spirit and so is the core of our own being. We are a great deal more than the bodies we stand up in; each one of us is a spark of the Divine and on the inner level of life, where all activities of our spirit and soul take place, we have always remained one

Yet, whatever we wish to manifest in the Earth’s environment first has to happen inside us and that is a clear indication that the invisible parts of everything that is in this world and all others, including us, are of far greater importance than their outer appearances. We are all in this earthly existence together to renew our understanding of these things, and by doing so, we and our world shall find healing and peace. Each one has come to be healed and over time grow into a healer in their own right. Hand in hand with God and the Angels, we are slowly evolving into a race of healers, saviours and redeemers of ourselves, each other and our whole world. .

Our world is bound in darkness,
Until we shine the light;
You, with your own vision –
And I, with my insight.

HEALERS AND HEALING

Those of you who have read volume one of these jottings are already aware that each one of us is on this Earth to develop into a healer, a seed carrier and a bringer of light, and that in spiritual terms light means knowledge. If that sounds like a daunting prospect to you, let me assure you that being a healer is simplicity itself! This function is fulfilled each time we help another to see their way forward in life more clearly, through understanding that bit better who they are and why they are here, why people and things come into everybody’s life and leave it again, and when we help them to see that there is no death. We are healers when we offer someone a shoulder to lean or cry on, maybe a hand to hold; when we bring renewed hope to someone by empathising with them, maybe helping them to view a difficult situation from a different perspective. Healers do these things not because someone tells them to, but because that is what they want to do. They are following an inner urge to be true to their real nature, which is love. Having found some measure of light, they feel the need to assist others to do the same for themselves.

Do not follow where the path may lead.
Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Never forget that as we climb up the spiritual mountain, others walk with us – physically and metaphorically speaking. We are never alone and the invisible helping hands of our guides and Angels are there for us to get hold of when the going gets too tough. All we have to do is call out and reach for them. They are always there to steer and sustain us, but the work we have come to do in this lifetime they cannot and will not do for any of us; each must do their own. The Angels will never fail to guide and support us and whenever one of us stumbles and falls, they draw even closer to bring comfort and healing.

As the awareness of these things is only now coming into our world, it will always remain a mystery to me how the surviving members of the family mentioned in the previous chapter reconciled the events of the war with their faith. How could they explain to themselves that the one whom they believed to be their Saviour either could not or would not save them – or anyone else, for that matter? From where we stand now, there is one main question that still puzzles me. Lacking our current degree of understanding of how matters of the spirit really work and affect us, how could anyone in times gone by not lose what little faith they had? It does not surprise me that through the events of the war many people stopped believing that there really is a higher benevolent authority that watches over and takes care of humankind.

Something of that nature must have happened to me in a previous lifetime. This is likely to be the reason why I chose to be born into a background where I would grow up without any spiritual input or support from anyone. During this lifetime, I reached an important crossroads in my spiritual development, which everybody comes to at some stage of their evolution. In the fullness of time, we shall all become enlightened beings. And each one in their own right is destined to find their way back home into the light of humankind’s true nature and the knowledge of why we are here – more of this later.

Yet, even for as long as we are unaware of all these things, choices are always presented to us and each is allowed to make their own decisions. It is left to us to freely accept or reject the treasures of wisdom and knowledge we are now finding about the spiritual aspects of life. If we learn to use them and apply them to our daily lives, we grow and make progress. Alternatively, we can insist upon remaining stuck in the darkness of our ignorance – or rather in the state of denial of who we really are.

WE ARE ALL NEEDY PEOPLE

Let’s face it; we are all needy people and everybody’s desire for finding a better understanding of the purpose and meaning of our present existence is great. Each one of us must eventually find and develop our very own philosophy that sustains us through the inevitable ups and downs of life. After all, we are on the Earth plane to become enlightened beings. You can read more about what enlightenment means to me in the chapter ‘Shedding False Beliefs and Prejudices’. For now, may it suffice to say that in simple terms it means an inner awakening and a recognition of who we truly are, of who and what God is and what our role is within God’s great plan of life. In my view, what we and our world need most of all is a renewal of understanding, a fresh approach to life and faith, in other words a change of consciousness; and that is precisely what we and our world are presently going through. On the individual and collective level the spiritual rebirth of humankind is taking place. Everybody is involved in this process and slowly but surely, with every new bit of learning we gather, each through their own experiences, we are all becoming enlightened beings.

Without a reasonably good perception of these things, Earth life will always remain a difficult and scary experience, no matter what kind of a brave face anyone tries to put on. I am but one of countless souls who are working tirelessly – in many different ways – behind the scenes of life on raising the level of consciousness of humankind. Through our joint efforts slowly but surely, one tiny step at a time, we are all moving forward together. I believe that much more rapid evolutionary progress is possible all those who are willing to search into the higher spiritual background of all life, to find a better understanding of their own existence within it.

It is a fact that we are all soul and spirit. Through the suffering of past ages and the present time, our souls have grown mightily and at long last we have reached the evolutionary level for becoming aware again of our spirituality and developing it. This is a journey of discovery and I can think of no better way of starting it than by asking myself: ‘Why am I here and what am I doing with my life? What are my beliefs? Do I have any faith in life; do I trust it?’ And there lies the crunch! More than anything else we and our world require a new approach to faith. But then, what is faith? As this is such a much misused word, we shall investigate the matter more thoroughly in the next chapter.

Speaking of spirituality, I do not mean communicating with those who have passed into our other world; the dead, as some may call them. To me, the dead ones – spiritually that is – are those who have not yet woken up to their real nature. Having experienced first hand the darkness of not knowing who I truly am and what this life is all about, I know how frightening that is. I found it deeply comforting to become aware that we are never alone and that we are all spiritual siblings in the vast family of the whole of life, because it is true that on the inner level we are all one. More than anything else in this world, I love sharing the light I have found and still am finding with as many as possible of you, my spiritual family. My greatest reward will be if some of that light helps the odd one here and there to leave the dungeon of their spiritual darkness.

The spirit of the Universal Christ spoke through the Master Jesus in St. John 8:31-32: ‘Then Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him: If you abide by my word, you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth and that very truth shall make you free.’ He was telling us – even then – that through finding out again about our own true nature, that of God and of our relationship with God, we would eventually be able to release ourselves and our world from the great wheel of fortune which is ruled by the Divine law of Karma.

UNBELIEF
Great Spirit, Mother/Father Creator,
I want so very much to believe,
I know that Your deep love and mercy,
Your forgiveness and understanding of all human hearts
Is very real, but still I doubt.

Through an ever increasing understanding of the mysteries
Of my own existence and Yours,
Please help me to overcome my unbelief.
May my perceptions no longer be based on mere surface words,
But on a deep inner knowingness
Of the hidden meanings behind the texts of all
Sacred teachings of our world.
Help us all to grasp them the way we did
In times gone by, in other lifetimes,
When this state of consciousness was known as gnosis.

The dawn my soul has patiently been waiting for is here.
It has arrived through the lonely watches of my spirit’s night
That took me through the narrow tunnel of the grief
Of having lost my inner connection with You.

Tortured, alone in the creeping loathsome dark,
Dragged along a labyrinthine maze, I wait,
Safe in the knowledge that the healing rays of the Sun
Of your eternal wisdom and truth will eventually bring about
The rebirth of my own soul and that of our world.
Triumphantly, the iron gates of pain are breaking down,
Bringing new life where broken hopes
Once lay crippled among the ancient battlements
Of my soul and that of our world.

May my lack of faith in You now be replaced by
The deep inner awareness of your Divine presence in me
And all my companions, each on their own way
Back home into the oneness with You.

As surely as each night is followed by a new day,
When the midnight of the soul of humankind has come to its end,
Mother/Father, the radiance of Your Light will reign supreme,
Forever and ever.

Amen

Randle Manwaring
Edited by Aquarius

REFLECTIONS ON FAITH

The Age of Pisces was the age of blind faith. Now that we are standing at the threshold of the Age of Aquarius, this part of the evolutionary path of our race lies safely behind us and many are beginning to find a new faith that is very different from that of all previous ages. It is of a visionary nature and based on the spiritual knowledge and wisdom that is increasingly flowing intuitively into every heart and soul directly from the Source of our being. This kind of faith is no longer an outer and therefore wobbly manifestation. It is an aspect of consciousness and a part that naturally belongs to every soul. It reveals its presence as an inner awareness that there is a Great plan of life, in which each has their allocated place and role to play. Through accepting that the Universe really does love each one of us and that all life rests safely in its loving hands; that it is on our side and knows exactly what it is doing, we learn to trust that we shall be safe wherever our destiny may wish to take us.

True faith is born within us from the knowledge that life is good and always moving forwards on all its levels. Faith accepts that we cannot direct life but that, if we relax into it, all will be well for as long as we do not try to control its flow but learn to go with it, whilst listening to our inner guidance to tell us what is right or wrong for us in any given moment. When we do this and do our best to work with the Universe, instead of against it, God and the Angels bring healing for us and our lives. Without such faith our lives will always remain empty, lacking focus and a centre, life on the Earth plane can be an extremely frightening experience for sensitive human souls.

Some believe that faith is a second rate option and many seem to think that religions can somehow give people faith. Yet, some of the most devout church-goers that ever came my way had no faith, i.e. no trust in life whatever. To this day, I am wondering whether the reason for going to church such a lot is that they are hoping that one fine day they will find faith there. The way I see it, the true variety of it cannot be imparted by religion or anyone or anything else, because it is something that must grow from within. It makes no difference whether one follows one of the religions of our world or none at all. This kind of faith comes to us through living one’s life and through learning to trust its goodness. We can and should seek the support of groups and have some input into them, but no matter who they are, they cannot give us faith; nothing can do this for us, except through experiencing life itself.

The recognition of this alone can give us a reason for living meaningfully and for choosing wisely, at all times. Until we find out that our life, the same as everybody else’s, indeed has purpose and meaning, true faith has little chance of growing from within. With the understanding that we have come into this lifetime in order to walk a certain pathway that is meant to teach us some much needed lessons, life itself finally helps us to build our existence on solid foundations and we recognise that every experience that comes our way presents us with more opportunities for growing ever more heaven-tall.

The recognition of this alone can give us a reason for living meaningfully and to work hard on making wise choices only. Until we find out that our life, the same as everybody else’s, indeed has purpose and meaning, true faith has little chance of growing within us. But our life finally begins to build itself a solid foundation, when we understand and accept that we have come into this lifetime in order to walk a certain pathway that can teach us some much needed lessons. We then begin to recognise that every experience that comes our way always presents us with another fresh opportunity for integrating yet another lesson.

FAITH IS LIKE FULFILMENT

True happiness comes from feeling fulfilled and trustful in the goodness of life. This takes faith, yet fulfilment and faith cannot come from without, they have to grow from within. To this day, for far too many life seems to have become a constant search for fulfilment and stimulus from without, i.e. sheer pleasure-seeking. To find genuine fulfilment, lasting happiness and inner peace, faith is our most vital ingredient of all. By that I don’t mean blinding ourselves to what is happening in the world around us, which far too many to this day seem to think of as their only reality. Faith is something rather elusive, which brings with it an urge to search for the good in everything and everyone. It is an increasing inner understanding of our own and everybody else’s inherent kindness and godliness and the wish to bring it forth and share it with others.

True faith, the kind that has organically grown from within, lends us the vision of recognising what lies beneath the surface of things, people and situations. With faith, we begin to recognise the good that is always there, in any situation and any person, if we but open our inner eyes to perceive it. This kind of faith enables us to give in to that aching need of our soul to become more loving and giving. Faith is an inner knowingness of what is right and wrong in any situation, and a trust that, when we do our best in all our endeavours, God will do the rest. Our inner teacher alone can tell us what is truly good and right for us, in any given moment. What might have been right yesterday may no longer be right today. It is everybody’s birthright to enjoy the protection and guidance of their inner teacher.

By the way, nobody ever said that faith is an easy option or an escape route. Quite the opposite! But the going gets smoother, the more our faith in the Universe’s gently helping, supporting and guiding hand grows in us. Faith is an inner hunger and thirst to find truth, and to tell the truth. It is a quest for knowing that which comes directly from God and is therefore pure, true and eternal. It is that which helps us to tap into our own inner fountain of truth, wisdom and knowledge, so that we no longer need to accept what anyone else says, unless it has been verified from within.

Faith grows from knowing that we are all here together to learn certain lessons from each other; and that sometimes we find ourselves in the role of pupil and other times as teacher. Faith comes when we realise that no-one and nothing really is our enemy, except the ignorance our small and fearful earthly self is riddled with; and all its fears are caused by not knowing. Yet, wise ones who learn to walk in faith, trustingly put their hand into the hands of God and the Angels and ask them to help them overcome their ignorance and, through it, all their fears.

Faith is no option for cowards. It takes a lot of bravery to trust God implicitly, to be able to say whole-heartedly: ‘Thy Will be done!’ and mean it, whatever the consequences may be. Just try it, and you will see what is meant. Faith provides our heart and soul with a harbour, a place where we can drop anchor and know that we are safe. Living with faith gives us the strength to trust that everything will always come right in the end, no matter how dire things may sometimes appear to be, on the surface of things. To have faith means to accept that life on Earth is a school and that we are all on an evolutionary pathway. It means trusting that in this school there are no sinners and no losers, only learners. For as long as we are willing to learn and grow through every experience, we shall always be one of life’s winners.

Wise ones have learnt from their own experiences that if they but persevere no matter what happens, with the help and Will of God, they will always go forward and gain something, if only in wisdom and understanding. They know that as long as they are willing to continue learning, they will always gain in consciousness. Because they are prepared to look for what every experience is trying to bring them, their understanding of their own true nature and God’s role in their life and all life constantly expands. They never give up on anything or anyone, because they appreciate that what they have learnt and gained in consciousness will be the only thing they shall be allowed to take with them when they leave their physical body behind, at the end of each lifetime, and that it is their to keep, in all eternity.

LIVING WITHOUT FAITH

My own life has taught me that living without faith means to be spiritually dead, because one’s most vital part – the spirit – is asleep. If we wish to become fully alive, the spirit has to wake up and become aware of its own presence again. Faith and trust are the ingredients we all need, if we want to find and fulfil the special purpose of our creation, as we are meant to. Although living without faith may not deny us worldly success, for as long as our life remains ungrounded in faith, in the long run, everything eventually turns to ashes in our mouth, and nothing will ever bring us lasting satisfaction and fulfilment.

Faith opens our vision to the highest levels of existence; it gives our life purpose, meaning and structure; and it enlarges our vision so that we begin to peer beyond the end of our nose, into our true reality and eternity. Faith allows us to rest safely in the knowledge that we have a right to be where we are, because that is exactly where God wants us to be, at any given moment. Faith is our trust in that everything in God’s Creation has a purpose and a reason, including us and our life.

As faith cannot be found anywhere, except inside us, looking for it is a solitary pursuit. It does not come from reading books, and it is unlikely to be drawn from something that has been handed down to us through long lines of deception, manipulation, exploitation, treachery, abuse and cruelty. All those things were and still are being committed in the name of a Creator, who is supposed to be just and loving, yet does not step in when such things are happening everywhere, to this day. How could intelligent beings ever have been expected to trust that kind of a God? In the chapter ‘Is there a God?’ of volume one of these jottings you can read more about this.

Only through becoming aware of what life really is all about and through accepting that we are responsible for ourselves and everything that is in us and our world to truly appreciate the great goodness and kindness of our Father/Mother Creator. Small children as we spiritually all are, each one of us stands before a God so infinitely wise, good and just that it is hard for human souls to grasp the depth of the love that holds all life and lifeforms in Its loving hands. Faith grows out of taking charge of ourselves and from aiming every thought, word, and action towards the highest good of all. No-one can give us faith because it already is within us, waiting to come alive again; it needs to be tapped into so that it can grow ever stronger.

OUR TWO MOST INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS

Our two most intimate relationships are the one with ourselves and the one with God, not as an external force, but as the spirit of love and goodness, honesty and truth that is a natural part of each one of us that is merely waiting to be consciously accepted and integrated by us. The more we become familiar with the processes of life, the more our faith in life grows. The only way of learning to trust life and its goodness is by testing and trying it, and by living it to the full, never by retreating from it in defeat. Wise ones know that conquering the instincts of their lower earthly self becomes easier with a better understanding of the laws of the Universe, by which all life has to live. Being aware that the law of Karma ensures that everything has to return to its source, and that whatever they send out into the world, inevitably has to find its way back to them, they set about building up nothing but good Karma.

When you can see with your own eyes how the good you once sent out into the world does indeed return to you – though not necessarily through the people it was given to – your faith and trust in the goodness and wisdom of the One who created this life increases more and more. That is why, listening to their inner guidance, wise ones do what is good and right, rather than what is convenient. At all times they give of their best because they know that in due course nothing but the best can and indeed does return to them. Thus the inner vision develops that enables us to see for ourselves how fair and just, as well as loving and wise our Creator is. Thus our inner trust and faith that our own life and all life truly is good with every passing day grows stronger. This continues until they finally can no longer be shaken or taken away by anyone, ever again.

True faith is what we are meant to find, when all the belief systems of our world have failed us and let us down, and when not a shred of faith in anything seems to be left in us. Faith is not a running with any herd, but something individual between us and our Creator that exists in every heart. To have faith means we believe in ourselves, the purpose of our own life and all life. It is a learning to trust our own ability to think our own positive and creative thoughts, which we are willing to follow up by positive actions.

When, with the help of God, we have become the master of our emotions, instead of allowing them mastery over us, we will also have learnt to trust our own reactions in all situations. As we are gathering first-hand knowledge of how God guides us, from within through the world of our innermost feelings, there slowly grows within us faith in ourselves and our ability to handle all situations. Gradually, we know that with the help of the living God within us, our inner guidance, we can achieve the mastery we all have to find, if we wish to evolve and grow sufficiently for our existence to finally rise above the physical plane.

Faith is the eternal well that springs forth from God. It nurtures our soul and spirit, who is one with God – always has been and always will be. Faith is capable of lifting us and our life above mediocrity, onto less mundane and more exciting levels of existence that have always been known to our soul and spirit. To have faith means to ever more trust our own abilities and to know that we can draw on endless amounts of inner strength, because it comes from God. It is that which is going to help us master any condition we may encounter with love, kindness and wisdom. And if that is not what life truly is all about, then please tell me what is.

THE SOUL’S YEARNING
So long as this you fail to see:
That death precedes re-birth!
A gloomy guest you’ll always be,
Upon this darkling Earth.

From: ‘Seliges Verlangen’
Goethe

THE MASS GRAVE

Let us return for a moment to the preparations for the funeral of the victims of the attack on the air raid shelter – see the chapter ‘The Air Raid Shelter’. There were more than thirty of them and no manpower available to dig graves for each one; besides, many of the parts that had been found could not be identified. My father was one of the few able-bodied men in our street who survived the war; he was also one of those rare specimens who at that time were at home. All those capable of lifting a shovel came together for several days and dug a huge mass grave. No-one ever explained anything to us children or spoke about these things, but I imagine that the men must also have had the gruesome task of retrieving the mortal remains of the victims.

During the time it took to dig the grave, my sister and I each day had to bring my father’s lunch to the side of the massive hole in the ground. I remember keenly that those days were bright and sunny with clear blue skies and the birds singing their little hearts out. Nature’s brilliance and beauty somehow made the whole scene even more painful and sad. Those of the adults who still believed in God and were capable of thinking and feeling anything except fear must surely have asked themselves: ‘If there is a God in Heaven, why does He allow most of our children’s playmates and their mothers to go to such an early grave and in such a cruel and meaningless way? If He is a fair and loving God, as the Scriptures promise Him to be, where is His justice and where is His love?’

Our pain was aggravated by the fact that no-one – least of all we children – could at least begin to grasp the reasons behind events like these. They are too monstrous for human comprehension, even when we are adults. This undoubtedly was why no-one ever attempted to explain what was happening around us and why our world was falling to pieces. How can you put into words that which is unfathomable and which you do not understand yourself? If you as a parent fail to understand the lunacy going on around you, how can you make it clear to your child? Like me, many to this day are still struggling to come to terms with those events. Yet, I imagine that when human beings have to take part in any war, be it as children or as adults, when the end finally comes, their collective and individual souls are long past the threshold of what can sensibly be understood. To me, there is a small measure of comfort in knowing that wars are always the result of the common Karma of all those involved. Suffering together is the predestined fate for all who get caught up in one of them for their present lifetime; the conflict is meant to teach them and their world some vital lessons.

What a pity that for such a long time humankind was not allowed to know that wars serve a higher purpose. And how good it is to find out now that all things pass and that all things are constantly changing. God is the only constant in all life and God is in you and me, in everybody and everything, waiting to guide and protect us from within our own heart. God is the small still voice of conscience that knows the way of all things. The love of God sees to it that Karma is not something that is set in concrete and it is not meant to last forever, as many seem to believe. Nothing could be further from the truth! Living proof of this is the fact that each new lifetime presents every soul with many opportunities for doing better and for resolving any outstanding issues it has brought over from the past.

In the meantime and in the darkness of its ignorance the human soul struggles on. Sadly, to this day far too many still have to deal with war situations in their every day lives, maybe the only way of doing so is by psychically closing off and stumbling through each day as best one knows how to. When one cannot change the events, one has to accept them as facts of life and turn towards counting one’s blessings. In spite of lacking all spiritual awareness, that is what I did in those days and still do. After all, we were alive when millions had perished; our immediate family was still intact – though the wider circle had been cleared of all men capable of carrying a gun; my father was the exception.

Also, we had a fair-sized garden and he was such a wonderful gardener that it saved us from the worst during the near-starvation years 1945/1948. The war created millions of homeless and displaced people, while we still had our house and it was undamaged. As the end approached, ever more refugees came flooding into the western part of Germany, trying to get away from the Russian troops, advancing from the East. The stories told by the survivors made your hair stand on end! To me, one of the worst possible fates that can befall human beings is homelessness, physically and spiritually. All my work aims to relieve both.

From the time World War Two was at its height until its official end, when we all had to drink the bitter cup of the lessons wars intend to teach our world, come some of the finest examples of White Eagle’s teachings – see the ‘Books/Further Reading’ section. Between January 1943 and July 1945, as the lights on the outside of life went out over large parts of our globe, much light in the form of spiritual wisdom entered on the inner level.

Regrettably, even when the war was finally over, for many the worst was yet to come in the form of the post-war years 1945/48. This undoubtedly increased the constantly rising numbers of souls who during these times lost all faith that a Saviour and Redeemer would ever come to their rescue. Yet, it is in keeping with spiritual law that some great new understanding comes to each soul and that of our world after having waded through the depths of suffering and pain.

DEATH COMES CLOSER IN WARTIMES

In times of war, death is always much closer than it would ordinarily be. For nearly the whole of the war we had been fortunate enough to be at least physically removed from it. When we heard that one of our relatives or neighbours had been killed, it usually happened in faraway places. One of the first to die was one of my uncles, a twenty-one year old professional soldier of junior officer rank. He went straight from the school benches of his officer’s training academy, where a high-ranking officer’s career had been planned for him. Photos show him as a dashing and handsome young fellow in a smart uniform. It took some years after the end of the war until the authorities posthumously promoted him to full officer status, so that his widow and children the benefit of a much better pension. One of the first to be moved to the Russian front, he went missing in combat in the battle of Stalingrad almost immediately upon arrival. No trace of him was ever found. He left behind a nineteen-year old-widow and two children. His daughter of two he saw once and he never set eyes upon his son, who had just been born at the time of his death.

And then something reminds me of a narrow-gauge railway system, which has long disappeared. At that time it was an important part of the local transport system that connected several small towns in our area. One day almost at the end of the war, it was attacked and hit in broad daylight by a low flying aircraft. This happened when the train was about the same distance away from our house as the air raid shelter, though in a different direction. The train was so slow that it made an easy target whenever it came chugging up a hill at snail pace. Its lack of speed must have made it unsuitable for troop movements.

As my parents’ house stood on the outskirts of town, it was a long walk to the main shopping centre. This was no problem, because everybody walked everywhere in those days. Ah, but every few hours the train did stop only about half a mile away from our house. A train ride into town was a rare treat for us children. If you were lucky enough to be considered worthy of a ride, the train could take you almost into the town centre. We had a lovely time standing on the platform, getting covered in soot, waving graciously to the less fortunate mortals who had to walk, warning each other: ‘Passengers must not pick flowers while train is in motion’.

I do not recall whether anyone was killed when the train came under attack, but some people were injured. When the pilot and gunner of the plane thought they had given enough attention to the train, they chased after and attacked some children, who had been playing on the embankment, forbidden though that was. Their only escape route was through an open field that offered no shelter.

In wartimes children live as dangerously as the adults, in many ways even more so. They encounter hazards which adults would easily avoid, as the following incident illustrates. As the war finally came to its end, many of the retreating soldiers discarded weapons and ammunition in the extensive German forests. Some deadly items were found by children and played with, sometimes with tragic results. For example, in the next street to ours, a twelve-year-old boy accidentally killed himself with an army revolver. He had found it in the nearby woods and as many children everywhere would probably do, he and some of his pals had been having fun practising some target shooting; he paid for it with his life.

Who will ever know the extent of the damage monumental struggles like wars do to those taking part? They leave behind indelible marks on our souls, even if human nature has a protective device built in, to enable us to continue living. That is why most of us as adults can no longer imagine the fears severely traumatic events aroused in us during childhood. First hand experience has taught me the difficulty of shedding them. In common with everything that is in our life, this is spiritually sound, and for the wise reason that such lessons should never be forgotten by our soul, enabling us to learn from the mistakes of the past.

As the concept of spirituality appears repeatedly in this work, you might be wondering what it means to me. To my mind, it is not enough to merely say: ‘I am oh so spiritual!’ There is more to it than that; being spiritual means that we have woken up to the knowledge that first and foremost we are spirit and soul. To me, that is the most important lesson this life has to teach each one of us. However, merely reading that this is so in itself is not good enough; we have to act upon what we know and make an effort to live according to spiritual laws and principles; no matter how difficult that sometimes may be.

To return to the poppies for a moment, it was the memories of the events described here that long ago helped me to decide what to do when I first encountered these flowers and the slogan ‘Wear your poppy with pride!’ Yes indeed; buying one each year and wearing it as advised was good and right for me, too. The brave ones, in whose honour they were and still are sold and worn each year, to me are the truly great ones of their time. They helped to free the rest of the world – not least us, the civilian population of Germany, from the Nazi scourge.

What it means to live and grow up within the clutches of any reign of terror can only truly be appreciated by those who experience it. In the great drama of life, the horror of the Hitler regime was our Karma and our lesson. Those who came to free us from it had been allocated the role of the conquering heroes. The former was our destiny for this lifetime and the latter theirs. In this earthly existence there is no way of knowing whether we did something similar for them in previous ones, but it has to be a strong possibility that something of this nature took place.

MY HEROES

It seems to me that these days the worshipping of heroes has become a popular pastime and so inevitably from time to time, someone wants to know who mine are. Everybody appears to have some; yet, I seem to lack the capacity for that kind of worship. Maybe my early experiences taught me which people are truly worthy of my deep love and respect and which ones are not. The worthy ones to me are those who day by day quietly and patiently bear their cross and get on with their lives, as best they can, the same as those brave warriors. Also, I am more than happy to specially honour anyone who has ever played their part in trying to make our world a better place for all to share.

If it were within my power, I would personally hand an award to each one, especially to those now in the world of spirit. As that is impossible, let me do the next best thing by expressing my deepest and most heartfelt gratitude to them here. Whether they survived the nightmare or not and wherever they may be now, I will always remember with gratitude and admiration the courage of those who marched, fought and gave their lives and limbs on behalf of us all. Who knows? Maybe some of them are now among our friends and helpers in the world of light, supporting us and spurring us all on to ever greater efforts. Now, there’s a heart-warming thought for you!

At the time of writing and editing this, I heard a news item about the fact that not only Germany had been bankrupt by the end of the war, but that the same was also true for the United Kingdom. On the internet I found the following press release: ‘In September 1945, its government borrowed $4.34 billion at a 2% interest rate from the USA and Canada, to rebuild the economy after hostilities had ceased. It had originally been intended that this loan should be paid back over 50 years, beginning in 1950. But it turned out that keeping up the payments was often difficult. There were six years when Britain deferred payment as a result of economic crises and pressure on the official reserves. Just before the New Year 2007, over sixty years after the end of the war, the final payment of £43m was made.’

This confirmed a belief I had held for a long time, namely that in any of the many wars our world has witnessed there never were any winners. In the end, everybody loses and everybody gets hurt; and that not only on the soul level. It is true that in the short term and on the material level, the warmongers and arms makers grow rich and fat. For anyone who still lacks all spiritual awareness, the most important lesson for this lifetime is sure to be the recognition that no material riches can be taken into eternity. Even the most materialistically minded people gain when this dawns on them upon their return to the world of spirit. The only true winners in any war are those who realise the futility of all wars. Great spiritual growth is sure to come to all who appreciate the importance of paying attention to such experiences and make an effort to extract the learning they are meant to bring to us individually and also to our world. If the survivors spend the rest of this lifetime in peaceful ways, they are demonstrating that they have grasped the most important lesson of all, the value of peace.

MORE GHOSTS FROM THE PAST

Forgive me for returning to the ghosts from the past for a moment. As far back as I can remember I have had difficulties getting to sleep. This was investigated in Germany, but no-one ever came to any useful conclusions. To my surprise, one of our GPs in Britain, a kind and loving old soul who was close to retirement, one day put his finger on the cause. He knew intuitively that my problem was a reflection of the wartime experiences of my childhood; I never doubted that he was right. As a child, I had been so afraid of dying in my sleep that the older I got the harder I found it to let go – without having the slightest idea why this was so. Yet, from where I stand now, it is not difficult to see how much difference even the simplest faith and the smallest prayer could have made. Some time ago, I heard someone pray: ‘If I die in my sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep.’ This sounded strange to me at first, but now that I know the power of prayer, I wonder how much difference a plea like that would have made to my earlier life.

Alas, only through the lack or loss of something can we come to appreciate its true value. Clearly, my main lesson for this lifetime consisted of appreciating the importance of spiritual matters. It was worth the long struggle through the darkness of my ignorance to come out into the light of knowing. What a precious gift it is to know that: God and the Angels at all times take care of us and our world; without them there would be no life; whether we believe in them or not, they are there, guiding and protecting us through all our experiences; and no matter what befalls us, we shall always be safe.

Each year, as the Sun moves into Scorpio and 11th November and Poppy Day in Britain comes round once again, I like to hold a small private remembrance service for those who went before us. Sun in Scorpio is a time of year that presents everybody with opportunities for using the cleansing, purging and healing energy of this sign for own healing journey. Its energy was at work when the first inspiration for this new project came to me. It is likely that this is the reason why I suddenly felt it was necessary for me to look into and talk about how the war years affected me and my life. Recommended Reading: ‘The Sun in Scorpio’ in the ‘Astrological Writings’ section.

This by now has grown into quite a mosaic of impressions. In the first place, it was written for myself, not in a selfish way but with the aim of fulfilling several purposes. As mentioned earlier, I hope that writing about my wartime experiences will enable me to let go of that part of my past by laying some of its worst shadows to rest. This is also an attempt at helping those around me towards a better understanding of what took place on the ground level of life in wartime Germany. Finally, there is the equally important part that focuses on some of the things those experiences taught me. That sometimes these parts weave into each other is inevitable.

As pointed out in volume one of these jottings, each one of us is on the Earth plane now to find healing and thereby become a healer in their own right. Everybody’s current lifetime offers many opportunities for working on this. Most helpful I find playing the role of an interested observer of my life rather than being a participant, or worse its victim. That changes everybody’s part to that of a victor. This is why I chose the Oscar Wilde quote from volume one: ‘To become the spectator of one’s own life is to escape the suffering of life.’ as the motto and main theme for all my writings.

Searching for and finding the higher purpose and meaning of any traumatic event helps to cleanse our consciousness of its memories and effects. This is of special significance now that the long-promised spiritual rebirth of humankind is finally taking place, and we and our world are at last moving towards more peaceful times. Each has to work on this, but how can people do so for as long as they still lack the awareness of what this existence in physicality really is all about? Yet, it is everybody’s birthright to wake up and come home into their true nature. This article is part of my contribution towards helping as many as possible to do that.

THE LAW OF LIFE DEMANDS EVOLUTION

The way I understand this life now is that love is the law of life for the whole of Creation and that all other laws have their origin in this one and radiate out from there. First and foremost there is the law of Karma and another, equally important one, is evolution. Whenever the law of love is broken by any soul, while taking part in its spiritual education on the Earth plane, Karma is created. That is why at some stage on our long evolutionary path, amends have to be made for whatever suffering we have inflicted upon any of God’s creatures – human and animal alike, and also ourselves.

As a spark of the Divine, we come from love; that is our true nature and only when we act in loving ways can we be true to ourselves. Although they are an important part of every soul’s learning process, all negative character traces are but interim states of this. When each one of them has been mastered and overcome by us, we shall have returned to love. And we are all in this life together, so we can help each other to do just that. But what each one of us needs most of all is learning to trust God and the Angels and once again walk hand in hand with them. That’s what we did before our descent into matter and physicality took us ever further away from our true nature and the awareness of our oneness with God and all life, as the evolutionary law demanded from us.

All life is constantly evolving on a forward and upward pointing spiral. I believe that when the development of our race had reached a certain stage, the Great White Spirit, our Father/Mother, decreed that each one of us should be released and go forward to develop as an individual. For this purpose a life was created in which every soul must learn to exist and get along in a physical body of their own. On the surface of Earth life this creates the illusion that we are all separate from each other, in spite of the fact that everybody’s inner oneness with the Divine, with each other and all life and lifeforms never ceased.

Spirit evolves in matter and as the matter surrounding the spirit absorbs the vibrations of everything that takes place inside it, it responds to its indwelling spirit by evolving simultaneously. Humankind came to the Earth plane to grow and learn from its own experiences, whilst at the same time helping the planet in its evolution. As we descended ever deeper into matter and the physical life, and the more the process of individualisation progressed, the more we lost our conscious awareness of our roots. In a future volume of these jottings we shall explore this theme in more depth.

What a long time it seems to have taken us and our world before finally we could be guided back into the understanding of the true purpose and meaning of this life. It is this knowledge that brings us the much needed and long awaited renewal of hope for the future of our race and our world. But what of those who do not yet know why they are here; what will happen to them? In case you are among them, please allow me to reach out a bit further.

We are all in this life together to learn about and reconnect with our highest or God Self. To ease our way and help us make some kind of sense of our earthly sojourn, many beautiful old stories came down the ages to humankind through all the spiritual traditions of our world. But only now are we ready to find the understanding that none of these tales were ever meant to be taken literally; that they all contained invaluable grains of the pure gold of Divine truths that first have to be unearthed by us. Many of the teachings that were given to us over the ages have well hidden esoteric meanings. Only when we look behind the scenes of life do they at long last begin to reveal their deep and powerful meanings, which until for sound spiritual reasons until recently had to remain hidden from common view and knowledge.

PUTTING OUR WORLD IN ORDER

Confucius was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher who lived from 551-479 BCE. His teachings and philosophies over the ages have not only deeply influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese thought and life, but also those of the rest of our world. Many of his words of wisdom are still as meaningful to us and our world, as they were in his time, for example: ‘To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must cultivate our personal lives; and to cultivate our personal lives we first have to set our hearts right.’

All spiritual concepts come to our world from the highest levels of life. The same as all other spiritual teachers that from time to time dwelt with us on the earthly plane, Confucius served as a channel through whom more of God’s Divine wisdom and truth were seeded into the consciousness of our race. When people’s understanding has grown sufficiently to be able to grasp the meaning of the messages that are given with the help of our guides and Masters on the higher and highest levels of life, they will gradually be accepted and become common knowledge.

 This has to wait until sufficient numbers of individual souls woken from their spiritual slumbers, the way it is happening now. Another suitable medium is then found, through whom the ancient concepts are to be presented in a fresh format that speaks to and captures the imagination of the many, at that time. This is how publications like ‘A Course in Miracles’ or ‘The Power of Now’ and ‘A New Earth’ by Eckhart Tolle came into being.

To attract the necessary attention they had to be pushed into the limelight, for example by powerful engines like the Oprah Winfrey Show on TV, which enjoys a wide following in the English speaking world. That is how ‘A New Earth’ had become so popular at the time of publishing this part of the jottings that it had made it onto the bestseller list. Astonishing for a book of this nature and an excellent sign of our times! To me, this is clear evidence that a mass awakening is indeed now taking place. For many souls on the Earth plane such books represent the first step on their journey back home into their true nature. Through further discoveries they will in due course be guided to move forwards, a bit more at a time, by their invisible helpers on the higher planes of life. Alleluia!

Thanks be to God and the Angels for making it all possible by providing us with ever more advanced ideas for the rapid technological progress that is one of the hallmarks of the Aquarian Age. The amazing communication tools of TV, computers and the Internet are very much inventions that belong to this age. Remember, Aquarius is one of the Air signs and they are the intellectual and thinking signs of the zodiac. Souls born into one of them, during their present lifetime, are given many opportunities for practising and developing their communication skills.

Because that’s what the Universe wishes all of us to do in Age of Aquarius, it has put the tools into everybody’s hands for spreading and broadcasting any new ideas within seconds of finding them to all parts of our world. As always, it is every soul’s own responsibility in what manner and to what purposes it applies all its gifts. Nothing could be a better demonstration than this of what degree of spiritual awareness we have reached at any given moment. And what a heart-warming experience it is when one witnesses that someone no longer uses them for the promotion of their small self, but for the genuine spiritual advancement of our race!

THE INTERNET PRAYER
Thank you, Mother/Father Creator,
For the beauty and the wonder of Your Creation;
Thank you for allowing us all to take part in it.
Thank You for the natural beauty of the planet
You have given into our care.

Thank you for providing us with the ideas
The technical revolution now taking place in our world.
May Your creative ideas continue to flow through our technicians,
To help them do their share of bringing into being
A better and more peaceful world where all partake equally in
The gifts that come from Your great abundance.

Thank you especially for the miracle of the Internet,
For the wonder of being able to meet and get to know,
Through communications that take only seconds,
Like-minded people, sisters and brothers,
Throughout our whole planet.
Help us all to re-awaken to our true nature,
So that we may slowly bring ever more light into our world,
Including the Internet,
Until it too will finally have been cleansed of all darkness.

Guide and protect us and show us how to use this wonderful tool
Wisely and for the highest good of all,
So that we may treat it the same way as all Your miracles,
Technical and otherwise,
With love and respect for You, the One who created it, through us.

Help each one of us to do our share of blessing and healing,
Saving and redeeming ourselves each other,
Our world and all worlds,
Hand in hand with You and the Angels.
So it shall be, now and forever.

Amen

Aquarius

THE LAW OF KARMA

The ever increasing amount of spiritual knowledge that is now flowing into humankind is an instrument the Universe places into everybody’s own hands, so each can do their level best of bringing our present evolutionary phase to a happy ending. Although I dislike repeating myself in this way, it cannot be stressed too much that understanding is the all important feature which all human souls are meant to find on the Earth plane. To grow in wisdom and understanding is the very reason why we are here. It is a prime requirement for exploring the mysteries of this world and of all life, so that we may come to terms with our present existence and find the answers to all our questions, especially the one why there is so much suffering on the Earth.

The first and most important item in our tool kit is finding out all we can about Universal laws, especially the law of Karma, of action and reaction and that means that every action causes a reaction. Another part of this same law is that everything must return to its source. As the Universal laws rule all life, it makes no difference whether one is aware of their existence or not. It is a fact of life that whatever anyone sends out into our world must always return.

As the human soul slowly progresses through each lifetime, it gradually accumulates ever more spiritual knowledge that helps it to grow in wisdom and understanding. And for every soul there eventually comes the magic moment re-awakening to its true nature and learning about the Cosmic laws that rule its life. This can become the turning point the soul has been waiting for, for a very long time. If it is already wise enough to apply the Karmic law wisely to its own life and relationships, it notices to its delight that both are beginning to flow much more smoothly. Eventually, the time comes when the soul’s grasp of these things is so deeply embedded in its consciousness that it prays for forgiveness for itself and others, especially those who still insist upon sinning against it. Like the Master Jesus on the Cross before us, it turns to God and asks: ‘O Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ St. Luke 23:34

Emotional bonds are the karmic manacles which will continue to keep us tied to Earth life and each other, for as long as we insist upon creating them. While we were still unaware of the Cosmic law of cause and effect, there was no way that we could have avoided them. Thus, in the course of many lifetimes, we created ever more suffering for each other and the chains of Karma that bind us together in our human relationships grew increasingly strong. In our ignorance of the law, whenever some of our evil-doings found their way back to us and painful events had to be dealt with, we had no idea what was hitting us. And so, we lashed out and hit back, causing more and more pain to ourselves and other. This is how the long history of belligerence of our world gradually developed and how our warfare grew fiercer and ever more destructive.

The law of Karma applies to all life, to every individual soul and also to the soul groups of people, like organisations, belief systems and whole countries. But, rejoice! This will not continue forever and for all of us the present lifetime is an extra special one, because opportunities are offered to resolve all our karmic ties, even the oldest and most difficult ones. Each one of us is here to bring theirs to their natural conclusion and to set each other free. Forgiveness alone can help us move forward and make us ready for different relationships and fresh experiences that will yield learning of a more uplifting kind. The desire to pardon comes alive in our soul, as we grasp that whatever anyone does to us now has to be made good by them in future lifetimes. Once our soul has woken up, it has no other wish than to play its part in ending all the suffering that is in our world, through releasing others.

FORGIVENESS PRAYER

Great Spirit, Father/Mother Creator of all life, I come before you to ask for your forgiveness for myself and all humankind.

Please, help me to forgive everyone who has ever hurt or wounded me, in words, thoughts and deeds, consciously or unconsciously, in this lifetime and all others. I forgive them, each one.

Please, help me to forgive myself for everything I have ever done to hurt or wound another, in words, thoughts and deeds, consciously or unconsciously, in this lifetime and all others. I ask each one of them to forgive me.

Please, help me to forgive myself for the many times when in ignorance of my true nature I harmed myself in words, thoughts and deeds, consciously or unconsciously, in this lifetime and all others. Please, forgive me Father/Mother, as I forgive myself.

Through forgiveness the chains and shackles of Karma are now falling from us. We are setting each other free, so that hand in hand with You and the Angels we may become the masters of the ship of our own being, life and destiny. In the name of love I ask this and on behalf of all humankind. Amen

Use this prayer twice daily for thirty days; after that only when you sense that bad feelings against another are rising within you.

VENGEANCE IS MINE!

As pointed out in volume one of these jottings, we live in a world of dualities. One of its aspects is that nobody is merely a woman or a man and that everybody consists of a feminine and a masculine part. On top of that, we all have an earthly self and a Highest or God Self. It is inevitable that at the beginning of any healing experience feelings from our lower self will float to the surface of our consciousness, making us want to shout things like: ‘How unfair! Why me? Vengeance! Crucify them!’ This will surely also happen to you. When it does, recognise that such feelings are the reactions of the small frightened child that is alive and kicking in everybody. It still feeds on the shadows of past realities, even when we have grown up. The adult part of us needs to play the role of the Highest or God Self who comforts and reassures the child that it is loved by us and safe, and that there never is any need for vengefulness. Looking for the higher purpose behind all our experiences, especially the painful ones, and asking for the help of our Highest Self, lifts us instantly above the level of the Earth and that of the child.

Whenever we need help or do not understand something, if we but ask, the way will be shown and answers will come. That is why in Matthew 7:7-8 the Bible tells us: ‘Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you. For whoever asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to them who knock, the door is opened.’ Whenever we turn to our Highest Self and pray for its advice, quite literally we are knocking at the door of Heaven. And lo! It opens and answers us, though not from ‘out there somewhere’ but from within the very core of our own being.

When we take our small earthly self gently, lovingly but firmly by its hand, we are nailing this part to the cross of consciousness – again, as the Master showed us. It seems that from an ever increasing understanding of life’s higher purpose genuine forgiveness and compassion begin to flow freely from our heart and soul unto all those who are struggling around us. This brings healing and peace to our soul and that of our world. There is every possibility that over time a healing miracle may manifest itself in our own physical body and that of the Earth; the very atoms of both are going through a process of transformation. As we grow and heal, our whole world changes with us, because in truth, all life is one and there is no separation between anything and anyone. Every individual soul is part of the soul of our world, and that in turn is part of the great soul of the whole of Creation.

That is how it comes about that any harm done to any one of us is done to us all and also when one of us finds healing, we and our whole world are doing the same. And any knowledge any one of us acquires on this journey is always meant to be shared with others, to encourage them to start looking for their own healing. Later they in turn will be able to hand on their learning to others, and so forth. It is in this way alone, through everybody’s own efforts, that our world will at long last release itself from the darkness of the prison of its spiritual ignorance. We are all in this life together to help each other, to lighten each other’s burdens and one to light the other’s way. Should you be gaining anything from this article, why not gently try to widen someone else’s horizons?

Forget about missionary zeal; that is not what we are here for. But, you may be able to nudge open somebody’s inner doors of perception. One quiet chat with them could become their first step into gaining access to their own inner connection with the source of all wisdom and knowledge. It is enough to point out to them where it can be found; no more is required from us. This wellspring inside us is now waiting to be tapped into by everybody; it is every soul’s birthright to access it. When one person passes their knowledge onto another, a further light comes into our world. And when our whole world is filled with the light of spiritual knowledge, peace will at last be with us.

In case you are now asking: ‘What if I encounter an unpleasant reaction from someone? And what if that person is one of my friends?’ I would reply that you are now a wise one, so give thanks and praise to the Great White Spirit and the Angels for helping you to find so much wisdom. Then pray for the one who reacted badly, that they too in due course will be blessed as you have been. Know and accept that that soul’s time has not yet come; this will help you to step back from the situation and from them. Besides, you may wish to consider whether that someone who acted towards you in such a way is really your friend. Rise above by considering the whole episode as part of the invaluable lesson of learning to discriminate, which is also helping you to sort the wheat from the chaff in your life and relationships. Last but not least, do not forget to give thanks to the Universe for your having grown that bit more tolerant and wise through your present experience.

Corrie ten Boom says: ‘Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hate. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.’ Furthermore, and to my mind most important of all, it helps us to dissolve the manacles and irons of Karma.

SOUL HEALING

This document has by now become somewhat too intimate for my liking and I am reluctant to present it publicly. However, I trust that my impressions of how the events of long ago affected one small life, in one small town, in one small country, in one part of our world may also help to explain the sincerity and motivations behind all my work. My writings are inspired by and given in the hope that they may present one step towards peace – tiny though it may be in comparison with the problems that are facing our world. The known part of humankind’s history on this planet seems to have been one long succession of wars. To my mind, this can only change through a better understanding of the purpose and meaning of this life. This alone can provide each individual soul, within that of our world, with the insight that good will prevail in the end. To learn to trust again, each needs to see for themselves that the forces of light will conquer every last remnant of evil and darkness that still is in our world, because that is what they are meant to do.

As a Sun Libra, writing this and presenting it to you feels appropriate for me and worthy of my predestined pathway for this lifetime as a maker of peace. May the fragments that are now before you give you an inkling of what went on in wartime Germany. And if at least some of my spiritual family in other countries feel a measure of forgiveness and compassion for the people of the country of my birth, then I did not come this way in vain – so God help me. Even if this work serves no other purpose, may it present a reflection of what takes place in the psyche of any nation at war, and how the events shape and affect the life experience of even its youngest and most most vulnerable members.

We and our world are an integral part of God’s great evolutionary plan for the whole of Creation. As suffering is an essential part of the lessons we and our world have to undergo, each must experience their share of it. We ourselves are invariably the cause of any suffering that has to be endured by us; we are also responsible for everything else that ever befell us and our world. And that is why, in the closing stages of a huge evolutionary cycle, it is everybody’s duty to repair the damage we once did, through seeking healing for ourselves and those around us. Many are doing this for their physical bodies, but to my mind such a quest cannot be successful unless we are willing to consider all aspects or our being, whilst at the same time digging deeper, to look for the spiritual gold that is hidden behind all suffering. Because the soul memories of all the pain and suffering that ever was and still is in our world are stored in the very cells of our physical bodies, it is essential to pay increased attention to the special needs of the souls that live inside sick earthly vehicles. Without first healing our souls no true and lasting healing can come to them.

The present lifetime undoubtedly is a gift of a very special kind from the Universe to us all, because it presents us with many opportunities for finding the forgiveness that sets the healing process in motion. It grows from the understanding that everything that ever happened has always been for good and wise reason, and that each one of us has their allocated place in our Creator’s great plan of life. It is part of this plan that each has to grow and evolve ever onwards and upwards into perfection, which is the wholeness that is in our Divine Father/Mother. Without this knowledge, how can anyone expect the small earthly self to sincerely love this earthly life and the One who created it? I for one would find that impossible.

But equipped with this awareness it is so much easier to buckle down to accepting the lessons we are meant to partake in on the Earth plane. It enables us to make an effort to understand and to love wisely, the way God loves us, totally, unconditionally and with respect for ourselves and each other. Listening to our inner teacher and following its guidance, we can learn to trust again the way we once did. This may take a little time, but we shall once more know that we shall always be safe, no matter what still has to take place on this plane of our existence, until world peace has finally been established throughout the Earth.

Peace can only grow from forgiveness and an appreciation that everything this life has to offer, in the final analysis always did serve everybody’s highest good. Peace is a dynamic and a magnetic force; it expands and attracts simultaneously. From one soul it flows into other individuals of its group, like families and neighbourhoods, groups and organisations, ethnic groups and nations, until it fills our race and our whole world. In ever stronger waves it eventually penetrates everything else within the framework of the Great Cosmic Plan of all life.

ASTROLOGY – SCIENCE OR ART FORM?

I believe that one of the greatest difficulties we are all facing is learning to trust the goodness of the Universe that it always takes care of us and all our needs. You may well ask now: ‘How can anyone do that after all that has happened in our world during past ages and still is taking place now?’ In my struggle to come to terms with such things, astrology undoubtedly is my most valuable tool. So, what is it? A science and an art form? By some, including myself, it is considered to be the Divine science. When the knowledge it can provide is used with humility, a loving heart and an appreciation of the source of its wisdom, it can provide us all with a better understanding of ourselves and each other, of life itself, the Universe and everybody’s place within it.

There is no doubt in my mind that astrology is a gift that was given by the wisdom of the Great Spirit, Father/Mother, to Its children of the Earth, to assist us in making some sense of our existence, and showing us the way back home into our true nature. Although it has been and still is used by many for trying to predict the future, I feel that it is much better for human souls to learn to trust that the Universe will always bring to each one of us whatever is right in any given moment. Instead of fortune telling, I prefer looking for the esoteric meanings of astrological terms and symbolisms. In that way astrology reveals itself to the astonished onlooker’s eyes as a precious tool for finding a new understanding and a fresh approach to the relationship between humankind, our solar system and the whole of Creation.

The three wise men of the Christmas story come to mind in this context; may they serve to illustrate this. The men are believed to have been astronomer/astrologers; in their time the two sciences were still treated as one. And to this day, astrology is based on the calculations of its sister science astronomy. As the Star above the stable guided the men and, through them, our world to the Christ child in the manger, astrology is now capable of showing every soul the way to its own inner Christ child, the divine spark that it waiting to come fully alive in every heart. Thus astrology provides us with a bridge between then and now, not only helping us to find better understanding of the underlying spiritual meanings of this particular story, but also of that of all life. For my liking that is the best use of astrology.
Recommended Reading: About the symbolisms of the Christmas story in the chapter ‘The Ancient Prophecies Fulfilled’.

Naturally, I would not dream of stating categorically that astrology is this, that or the other for everybody. All I can tell you is what it represents for me and how I like to use it. To me, it is but a means to an end, and that is finding a firm grasp of the underlying esoteric principles of the physical presence of the planets in the sky above us. Observing how the planets, the signs and the houses relate to the character and typical behaviour patterns of every human soul on its evolutionary pathway, I find endlessly fascinating. And it is amazing how astrology can point us towards fulfilling our highest potential, and where hidden treasures might be discovered, if one digs sufficiently deep into one’s soul memories. This to my mind is of the greatest importance, because through consciously working on this is it is possible to influence our individual destiny, as well as that of the collective.

As children of the One and of life itself, it is up to each individual soul to re-align itself with the energies and the forces of the Universe. And there could be no better tool than astrology for pointing us in the right direction. Astrology is something that the Universe lovingly puts into the hands of all those who reach out for it, showing their readiness and willingness to receive it. The amazingly accurate way astrology works is proof enough for me that there really is such a thing as a Great Plan in the heartmind of God, in which every individual soul and the soul of all nations and worlds have their allocated and predestined place. In the slowly moving progressions of the planets in particular, it is clearly visible that the purpose of all life is evolution and that everything in the whole of Creation expands and moves forwards and upwards, at a steady and orderly pace.

THE GREAT YEAR AND THE AGES OF MAN

To my mind, they are one of the most striking examples of this. Let me explain the technicalities involved, as briefly as possible. It takes the Earth nearly 26,000 years to complete one of the cycles that moves it through the twelve signs of the zodiac; such a cycle is known as one Great Year. Each sign the Earth passes through represents one Great Month, which lasts for rather more than 2,000 years. The unique character of each one of these months strongly influences all creatures and happenings on our planet.

At the same time the Great Months are also indicators of the Ages of Man; no-one can tell exactly when one of them ends and a new one begins. All we know is that we are now entering the Age of Aquarius. And when you observe our world more closely, you can see for yourself how the energies of this sign are influencing everything in our world ever more strongly. The remnants of the effects of the preceding age of Pisces are still with us; they are hard to shake off but must be dealt with by all of us.

From our present evolutionary level it is recognisable that the great wisdom and love of our Creator brought us into being and then into this world. It has constantly accompanied us and guided us through all our experiences, so that we should learn from them. This learning process will always continue, but now our development has reached the point when we are ready for lessons of a more elevated nature. During previous lifetimes Divine direction came to us from the subconscious level, but this is now increasingly happening on the conscious level.
Trying to make my peace, I find it helpful to view everything against the backdrop of the full sweep of the history of our evolution, at least those parts we have access to. Some of my reflections and insights into this are already included in volume one of these jottings. With the help and the will of God, more will follow in due course. The wisdom of hindsight reveals that two main lessons were always facing our race: a) the use and abuse of power and b) how to love wisely. Wars are but one of the evils that our world must experience in the process of taking part in the lessons of power. There are a great many other ways of misusing it, and each one of them is teaching us and our world how to differentiate between good and evil. Yet, more important still is the glorious lesson that none of us, on this level of life, has any true power; that belongs to God alone. The best we can do is to align ourselves to God’s power and love, so that they can work their healing miracles through us – as they once did through the Master Jesus.

I would like to share with you three links to videos called ‘Zeitgeist’ about the connections between Religions and Astrology:

• http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=BNf-P_5u_Hw
• http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qc-mrJf45Hg
• http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=IjAegPhQOUg

Recommended Reading: ‘Could Religions Ever Change Anything?’

BLACK MAGIC AND WHITE MAGIC

In common with every idea our world has ever known, the one of brotherhood – my preferred word is siblinghood – has a lower and higher, positive and negative aspect. The abuse of power by the Nazis and various other regimes, throughout our world, are part of our collective lessons. This also applies to all those countries and organisations that to this day succeed in suppressing any of their siblings in the great human family. It is an age-old practice that unfortunately is still widely spread in our world.

The centuries old struggle between Christianity and Islam is but one of its many expressions. But even this can only continue for as long as the warring factions on both sides remain stuck in the past and fail to grasp the reason why they are here. There is no doubt in my mind that this too will eventually run its course and disappear from our world. Everybody will benefit when eventually all our belief systems return to their common spiritual roots. There could be no better example for this than Sufism. As far as I can tell, it is the seed faith of Islam and it does come from the heart, because it teaches tolerance, love and respect for each other and all life.

Without exception, we are all in this wonderful school of life together, so that we may act both as teachers and pupils to each other. That is the only way every soul can imbibe the lessons it requires on its evolutionary pathway back home into our true reality and the oneness with God. For this purpose some of us, at any given time, may find themselves at the giving and others at the receiving end of every type of experience. Good bad and indifferent ones alike, each one wishes to teach us something. This also applies to those who to this day are leading us and our world down the slippery slope of evil.

Whether any soul is as yet aware of this or not, all evil deeds create alliances with the dark forces of the Universe and are in fact black magic practises. These experiences too are necessary because they teach us and our world to differentiate between good and evil. The lessons of evil must be as thoroughly absorbed by every soul as those of that which is good. Only through wading through the suffering that is created by evil can every individual soul and that of our world reach the spiritual turning point that takes us back into the experiences of Universal love.

To this day, there is much darkness in our world. Yet, anyone who reaches out for the blessing, healing and helping hands of God and the Angels alleviates this situation. When we act as light bringers and valuable instruments in the hands of the Divine by consciously aligning ourselves to the Universal forces of goodness and light, we are in fact taking part in and are practitioners of white magic. As increasing amounts of spiritual wisdom and understanding flow onto the Earth plane, ever more of us are waking up to their true nature and are then drawn quite naturally into this stream of life.

This is how every individual consciousness and that of our world has slowly but surely been expanding and growing, over the ages. This process will continue until every last shred of darkness and evil in our world has been dissolved, uplifted and transmuted by the forces of good into blessing, healing and harmonising energies for all life. And when finally all are operating on the same positive wavelength, peace and goodwill to all life will reign on our planet. .

RETROGRADING PLANETS

Let us return for a moment to astrological forecasting of the future. To this day there are many who use this for planning the events of their lives according to the astrological movements of the Sun, Moon and planets through the signs of the zodiac. Wise ones, however, appreciate that astrology is but a tool and that the planets can neither make us behave in certain ways nor do they make things happen. They are never the cause of events, but merely signs in the sky that are visible to earthly eyes. In the right hands they can reveal to us Earthlings much about the flow of the energies of the Universe.

The same as everything else in the whole of Creation, all life on the Earth plane, including people and events, are most certainly affected by these energies. Yet, in my view, they are not the cause of what happens on our planet or elsewhere. The moving force behind all life, including that of the Earth, is the power and the will of our Creator. The Father/Mother of all life conducts the Great Symphony of all life by keeping the planets as safely in their orbits, as it does with each one of us on our predestined pathway.

When viewed from the Earth, from time to time planets create an impression as if they were travelling backwards through the zodiac. Rest assured, it only looks like that! Life is ever evolving and nothing in God’s created world ever moves back. The apparent backwards movement of the planets is known to astronomers and astrologers as retrograde motion. Observations have shown that during the periods when this happens to Mercury, human plans sometimes do not seem to work out.

It has been found that such periods are excellent for looking within and reflecting on the past. This is helped by intuitive levels at such times being particularly high. It has also been observed that sometimes extraordinary coincidences also take place. Thus, the general advice when Mercury is retrograding is to remain flexible, allow extra time for travel and avoid signing contracts. There is no harm in reviewing projects and plans during such times; for finalising them it is wiser to wait until Mercury moves direct again.

LIGHT OF THE WORLD

The Buddha was used by the Highest to bring new light, i.e. increased spiritual understanding to Asia, while for the Western World this was achieved with the help of the Master Jesus. He acted as the speaker, the spiritual medium and the channel through which the love, the wisdom and the healing power of the true Christ, the Cosmic Universal Christ, could flow into and operate in our world. The Universal Christ is the Light of our whole world, and His Church is the Universal Church of the whole of Creation and his truth is the Cosmic truth of all life.

We are in this life to gather as much as possible of the wisdom that over many ages has been given through the teachers of all the belief systems our world has ever known. It is becoming increasingly clear that none of them was ever given a monopoly of truth, but that each one merely contained some nuggets of the Cosmic truths. The time has come for extracting these gems of wisdom, so they can be joined together like precious pearls on a string. On the threshold of a New Age they are meant to provide us with a new understanding and a fresh outlook on life that brings us and our world the much needed renewal of hope, faith and trust in the goodness of life and its Creator.

The old religions of our world were of the mind; that’s why they separated us ever further from each other. With every great teacher or prophet who appeared, there were more divisions. This was very much so when the Master Jesus walked among us two thousand years ago. He came so that through his life some of the Great Cosmic truths could be re-enacted and newly presented to the evolving consciousness of our race. There can be no doubt about it that he was a very old and experienced soul, a Master spirit and therefore well aware of his mission of acting as wayfinder and pioneer for all humankind. His whole life was a demonstration of how each one of us will eventually be required to find their own way back home into the full awareness of their oneness with God.

With the help of the wonders and miracles that were worked through the Master Jesus the Universe showed us how each of us in their own right can and indeed needs to become a healer of ourselves, each other and our world. In St. John 14:12 he told us: ‘Truly, truly, I say to you: those who believe in me shall do the works that I do; and even greater than these things they shall do, because I am going to my Father.’ That should not have left anyone in doubt that even he had no power to perform miracles and that for this purpose he went to the One, the Great Father/Mother of all life.

The One is the power, light and wisdom of the trinity of the Great Father/Mother, and the only born Son, the Christ Spirit who is the Great Spiritual Sun behind all life. As much as the old religions were of the mind and therefore separated us from each other, the faith of the New Age is going to be of the heart. It is one of feeling and loving, uniting and drawing together that which became divided, fortunately not in our true reality, but only in our earthly minds.

There could be no better tool for explaining this principle of the New Age than astrology, because in the zodiac Aquarius and Leo are in polar opposition to each other. Aquarius is an Air sign, therefore intellectual and of the mind – not that of the earthly but the Universal intelligence of our Creator. Leo, the Fire sign, rules the heart. Living completely in the extremes of either sign is not good for anyone’s spiritual advancement. Their point of balance, as in all things, lies halfway between them. Striving to find it, we develop what is known as the mind in our heart.

Recommended Reading:
• ‘Sun in Leo’
• ‘Sun in Aquarius’

THE UNIVERSAL CHRIST, SUPREME RULER OF ALL LIFE

The more we lift our fears and pain into the great wisdom of the Highest, the more rapidly the shadows and clouds of the darkness of the past that still surround our planet dissolve. The Christ Spirit and Its Angels are the light of the Sun above the Sun, which rules supreme throughout the whole of Creation, the way it always has done. This light is now waiting to be called upon to help us find relief and healing for the suffering that we ourselves caused during this lifetime and all others. As already discussed, in the spiritual sense light is wisdom and darkness is ignorance. Spiritual wisdom and knowledge directly from the Source of our being is now flowing ever more strongly into the consciousness of humankind.

This is nothing new and the insights that can be found now are no indication that God’s eternal truths have changed or in some way become invalid. They have always ruled supreme and remained unchanged; it is just that during previous ages we were unready to grasp its meaning. The time is approaching on the Earth plane when the incoming light of the Divine wisdom will have destroyed and absorbed into Itself every last shred of ignorance that still remains with us at present, because this too is part of the Great Plan that has existed from the moment our race was created.

Because each one of us is spirit and soul, temporarily encased in matter, everybody is on the spiritual pathway; it makes no difference whether we are aware of this or not. Some already have woken up to this knowledge, while others are still slumbering – that’s all! Hand in hand with God and Angels, we are all walking the same road and climbing the same mountain. The spiritual pathway, even or maybe especially when one begins to walk it consciously, has long been known to be a difficult one. How reassuring it is to know that no-one ever has to walk it on their own; that unseen friends and helpers always accompany us. Our Highest Self never left us; It has always watched, guided and protected us from within. It’s just that we did not know about it for a very long time.

Many opportunities are now offered to everybody for making peace and coming to terms with ourselves, those around us and, most important of all, with God. Progress on the Earth plane will become much more rapid when each one of us follows their inner guidance and aims for the good of the whole rather than pursuing their selfish ends. My early experiences and many of my later years were good preparation for a lifetime spent as a Sun Libra. As pointed out before, Libra is the sign of the builder of bridges and the peacemaker. Making peace to me entails purifying my whole being of the false beliefs, prejudices and superstitions that seem to be hanging around in my unconscious as much as in everybody else’s.

Through my writings, I would like to help others do the same for themselves. Together let us try to actively raise the consciousness of humankind onto a higher level and make a small contribution, so that the whole idea of wars will soon have become a thing of the past. On the healing pathway one slowly becomes ever more aware of the futility of an excess of material riches. One has better things to do than chasing after them and prefers to bring comfort to the sad and encouragement and new hope to those who have lost all faith in a benevolent Father/Mother Creator. One does one’s best to assist others who have not yet woken up to their true nature to find their own way back to God; to create joy and beauty wherever possible; and to recognise the living God in oneself and others, as well as everything else that shares our world with us.

THE MAYAN CALENDAR

The following is an extract from a site that no longer seems to be available on the web. As the insights I found there made more sense than anything else that had thus far come my way, I felt they were worthy of presenting them here – they still are. Although the author’s name was not given, I would like to honour their contribution nonetheless.

‘Over a year’s time the Sun transits through the twelve houses of the zodiac. Many of us know this by what ‘Sun sign’ is associated with our birthday. Upping the scale to the Platonic Year – the 26,000 year long cycle – we are shifting, astrologically, from the Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius. The Mayan calendar does not really ‘end’ in 2012, but rather, all the cycles turn over and start again, vibrating to a new era. It is as if humankind and the Earth will graduate in the eyes of the Father Sun and Grandmother Milky Way.

‘Why should we care about the Mayans today? Is there anything we can learn from them? The trees give us oxygen to breathe and help create the nourishing rains upon which we depend, sustaining life. We are missing these rains in places where the trees have been cut down or burned. Fires begin that nature can no longer extinguish. For the Mayans, trees were intermediaries between the physical and spiritual worlds, and absolutely essential to life. They believed that without trees humankind could not survive and that with the death of the last tree the human race would die.

‘The ancient carved stones and the stars themselves tell us we are on the brink of a new world age. There is no reason not to take a leap of faith into imagining what may be in store. We may trust that it is time for humanity to awaken into a true partnership with each other, with the Earth, and the Cosmos. By accepting this, we may claim our birthright and become Galactic Citizens who care for and sustain the planet, thus doing the same for ourselves. This is clearly the challenge of our times. Yet, arriving just in time and on schedule is the Winter Solstice dawn on the day to remind us that we are truly Children of the World.’ End of quote.

In my heart of hearts I not only believe that many truly great things are in store for humankind, I know it. And I am convinced that, unbeknown to us Earthlings and invisible to our physical eyes, beings from much more highly evolved worlds than ours are presently already moving among us. But, they come as guests, never as aliens. To me, that word always seems to have an undertone of something threatening and hostile – and that these visitors most certainly are not! They are here to help and guide those who are ready through the difficult transition period from one age to another.

As they are far more evolved than we are, to visit us they do not need clumsy spacecraft in the style of ‘ET-go-home’. They are already capable of travelling by thought transfer, taking with them their bodies wherever they choose to go. These bodies are of a much higher vibration and finer substance than ours. In the fullness of time, when we have become sufficiently evolved, we shall be able to do the same and they will be helping us to acquire their skills.

Because there is so much negativity in our world at present, and especially in connection with the Mayan Calendar, including that it marks the end of the world – oh yawn, not another one! – I would like to add a few positive observations of my own. Do you wonder, as I sometimes do, whether it has ever occurred to anyone that the Mayan calendar might end in 2012 for one very simple reason? Could it have been written such an extremely long time ago that those responsible for it could not imagine that our world would continue beyond 2012? That time would then have been such a long way ahead that they might merely have thought: ‘That’s enough! We’ve toiled long and hard on this calendar. Let those who come behind us do their own work from then onwards!’ Or would that be too simplistic a view? What do you think?

The meaning of the Great Year and the Ages of man were explained in the previous chapter. To this day, there is evidence that there have been times on our planet when people worshipped the Earth element with the help of stone images, and also that – possibly the most recent one of these periods – were followed by times of worshipping the Fire element and its most obvious manifestation, the Sun. Intuitively I feel that the leftovers of such times are indications of one of the past Ages under the influence of the Earth sign Capricorn, which – unlike in the ordinary zodiac – is followed by the Fire sign Sagittarius. To enable us to see why Capricorn should come before Sagittarius we have to reach out further.

Most people know that the Earth rotates on its axis. What is less well known though is the fact that it does so with a slight wobble that is not unlike the movements of a giant spinning top. Because of this wobble the constellations situated behind the Sun have over thousands of years gradually been changing their positions. The word precession means the slow movement of the axis of a spinning body around a perpendicular. That is why almost imperceptibly, the equinoxes come round that bit earlier, all the time. This is the precession of the equinoxes and the reason why the zodiac signs of the Great Months move anti-clockwise, while those in our birthcharts do so clockwise. And just as the Sun signs in our birthcharts colour the character of each human soul on its pathway through this lifetime, every one of the Great Months has its unique quality that greatly influences all creatures and happenings on our planet.

After all that, back to the Mayan Calendar. The way I see it, maybe it was handed down the ages to our world from the ancients, during the Age of Gemini. If this was the case, the calendar would be between six and eight thousand years old. It could be an interesting evolutionary study in the mental/scientific development of our race and one of the finest examples of what the human mind is capable of perceiving. As the Age of Gemini drew to its close and the Age of Taurus began, people will gradually have lost their fascination with extensive mental explorations.

The Earth sign Taurus is the builder of the zodiac; under the influence of this sign some of the greatest monuments that are still known to humankind, for example the Egyptian pyramids and the ziggurats of Latin America, came into being. According to archaeological estimates the pyramids were built over a period of about one thousand years, from approx. 2800 – 1800 BC. Ziggurats and variants of them have been found in many parts of the world, from the Mesopotamian area to the Mayan and Aztec regions in South America. Some of the earliest proper ziggurats are believed to have been built by Ur-Nammu, a late Sumerian king of Ur, who lived from 2112-2095BC.

With the coming of each new age the energies of the Earth change and with them people’s interests and their occupations take on different directions, just the way ours are doing now, at our entry into the Age of Aquarius. You can see this for yourself; when you look around you, you will observe how we, on the threshold of an age under the influence of the Air element, are increasingly exploring the capabilities of the human mind. Many by now are in attuning their earthly minds to that of the Highest, the Universal intelligence. This enables them to be used as channels for bringing Divine wisdom and truth down to the Earth plane, to become available to all.

Recommended Reading:
• ‘Sun in Gemini’

THE ANCIENT WISDOM

From what is known as the Ancient Wisdom, which belongs to the highest levels of life, spiritual knowledge has always come to humankind and the Earth, to help us make some kind of sense of our existence. This Wisdom contains the Divine knowledge of the cosmic laws that govern all life, including Mother Earth and everything that is within her loving embrace. The teachings contained in all the sacred texts our world has ever seen always had and still have their foundations in this wisdom. To my mind, such writings were valid, each in its own right, when they first appeared but now that we have reached the Aquarian Age, we are a last finding out that taking them literally is no longer right for humankind. The only thing that can now move us and our world forward spiritually is the search for fresh interpretations of the wisdom which such writings undoubtedly have always contained.

From the evolutionary level we have reached by now, as a race and individually, it is not difficult to see that the mists of the illusion which humankind’s existence in physicality created are dissolving ever more rapidly. We live in exciting times of re-discovering and re-entering into the wisdom and knowledge of past ages and lost civilisations. It can be recognised now that their symbolisms, legends and allegories, including those of the Bible – to name but one source – always did hide genuine grains of truth. The task lies before us decipher the higher esoteric meanings of the sacred texts of the religions of past ages, as well as some of those that are practised to this day. Many contain the pure gold of Divine wisdom, which has up to now been carefully hidden from the view of our world. To increase our comprehension of the purpose of this life and all life, in this part of the jottings we shall continue the process that was started in volume one, of unearthing some of these symbols and applying fresh interpretations to them.

The first one just has to be the tale of Adam and Eve, which in my view is supercharged with symbolisms of the first appearance of our race in physicality. You can read more about this in the chapter ‘Why did we leave Paradise’ in volume one of these jottings. The serpent or the snake is a symbol of spiritual wisdom and also of healing. It seems to me that to this day this animal conveys the following important message for us and our world: ‘To become wise like me, you first have to be ignorant, so you can make mistakes, from which you learn. To be healed and in turn become a healer, you have to be hurt and wounded. You first have to lie and cheat and then be lied to and cheated, before you can know what effect this has on the human soul. And this helps you to appreciate the value of right thought, word and action, of integrity, honesty and truth. You are magnetic beings and you attract what you are yourself. Only when you yourself have become truthful and honest in all your dealings, can you expect the same from others.’

The snake is also a symbol of transformation; it sheds its skin many times as it grows to maturity. In the long course of our evolution, something similar happens to the human soul on its way to spiritual adulthood. We frequently have to shed the old skins of prejudices and false beliefs which we accumulated over the ages.

TO EVERYTHING, THERE IS A SEASON
And a time for every purpose under the Sun:
A time to be born and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time
To pluck up that which has been planted;

A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up;
A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones and
A time to gather stones together;

A time to embrace and
A time to refrain from embracing;
A time to lose and a time to seek;
A time to tie up and a time to untie;

A time to rend and a time to sew;
A time to keep silent and a time to speak;
A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace –

He has made everything beautiful, in its time.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

There has been a time for being ignorant of our true nature and that of God,
Which carried us and our world forward into one
Of being wounded and of wounding others;
And that is a lesson that has to be learnt thoroughly by all;
Out of the suffering such a time brings, quite naturally,
There evolves one of great wisdom and understanding,
And at last we are allowed to go home into the friendship and kinship with all life.
Rejoice! That time is here and we are finding forgiveness and healing,
For ourselves, each other, our world and all worlds,
For blessing and healing the soul wounds of all lifetimes,
Our own and those of others.

And that is what the Age of Aquarius means to me;
It is with us, now, and all my writings are about it.
Aquarius

LOVE YOUR ENEMIES

Throughout the ages, parts of the Ancient Wisdom have time and again been presented, interpreted, re-worked and presented to our world in constantly changing forms. Such messages reached us from many sources, but they were often hard or even impossible to understand. Now, at last they are revealing their true meaning and are therefore speaking to us more profoundly than ever before. Receiving the wisdom of the Highest is one thing; understanding and unearthing the esoteric higher meaning that lies behind the words is quite another. This has always presented our world with problems, but when one realises that many Bible quotes are hidden references to the law of Karma, things begin to fall into place and start to make some sense.

For example, to this day many are puzzling over the interpretations of teachings like ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ I see them as hidden references to God’s Universal laws, in particular the law of Karma. I do not believe that the above teaching was ever intended to represent instructions of behaviour and of how we should cause pain and destroy each other, to the best of our ability. Such an interpretation can never have done justice to the nature of sacred texts. All life is subject to the Divine laws and every soul has always been responsible for all its own thoughts, words and actions. Not knowing of the existence of these laws has never protected anyone against having to live with the consequences of their every thought, word and action.

To illustrate the point some more, let us reflect on the Master’s teaching in St. Luke 6:27-38 ‘I say to you who hear: ‘Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you. And bless those who curse you, and pray for those who compel you to carry burdens. And to those who strike you on the cheek, offer to them the other. And to them who take away your robe, do not refuse your shirt also. Give to everyone who asks you; and from them who take away what is yours, do not demand it back again.

Just as you want people to do to you, do to them likewise. For if you love those who love you, what is your blessing? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good only to those who do good to you, what is your blessing? For sinners also do the same. And if you lend only to them by whom you expect to be paid back, what is your blessing? For sinners also lend to sinners, to be paid back likewise. But love your enemies and do good to them, and lend and do not cut off any person’s hope; so your reward will increase and you will become children of the Highest. For He is gracious to the wicked and the cruel. Be therefore merciful, as your Father is also merciful. Judge not and you will not be judged. Condemn not and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you shall be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken down and running over, they will pour into your robe. For with the measure that you measure, it will be measured to you.’

When the Christ Spirit thus spoke through the Master Jesus, it was too early in the evolution of our race to tell us about the workings of the karmic law. As the majority of souls would not have understood the underlying message, the infinite wisdom of the Highest thought of a simpler way of saying that whatever we send out into life inevitably must return to us. Naturally, this principle applies to any bread we cast on the waters of life, i.e. the good we do. In spite of the fact that the benefits we create in this way rarely come back to us through the same people, any love given will always return in one form or another, the same as everything else must do.

CREATING ABUNDANCE

The above brings to mind the creating of abundance by the sheer force of thought, which seems to have become such a popular pastime these days. It seems to me that casting whatever bread, i.e. the gifts and talents the Universe has bestowed upon us, onto the waters of life to alleviate the suffering of humankind is the only healthy, i.e. spiritually correct way of tapping into the Universe’s abundance. Naturally, I realise that not everybody shares that view. But, I believe that we and our world stand to gain greatly the more we all become aware of the fact that thought is the most powerful force in the whole of Creation. All our wishes are always granted and whatever one of us desires with all their heart and soul will eventually be given unto them, so that we can learn something from the consequences of all our desires. So, next time you wish for something, take extra good care, because it may come true in unexpected and unwanted ways.

Let’s forget about being jealous of other people’s achievements. Nothing disturbs our peace of mind as much as jealousy, when in truth there is never any need for it. Any success that crowns someone’s efforts on the Earth plane has to be worked for very hard at some stage. No success ever falls into anyone’s lap, although on the surface of earthly life this may often appear to be the case, there is no such thing spiritually. Accomplishments have to earned, if this did not happen during someone’s present lifetime, then it is due to the credits its soul has brought with it into this lifetime in the spiritual ledger that accompanies each one of us during the whole course of our evolution. Peace of mind comes through knowing and accepting that all things on our present level of life can only happen for karmic reasons. So, make your peace with the Universe and say: ‘Thy will be done, not mine! Success will come to me, but in Thy time, not mine!’

From the all-important spiritual point of view, the outcome of all our efforts in the final analysis depends not only on the karmic aspect of what we have brought across from other lifetimes in our spiritual ledger on the credit as well as the debit side. Our inner motivations are of equal importance. Are we hoping for material gains and that our enterprise turns into a money spinning one? Or are we looking towards our inner guidance to be shown how we can do our share of altruistically serving life on the Earth plane and the One who created it? For example, the suffering of humankind can be alleviated by releasing ever more of us from the dungeon of ignorance and false beliefs, to get us all that bit nearer to the end to the suffering that these things have created for us and our world? As long as we pay attention to what rises from within by doing the things we naturally feel drawn to, we are sure to find what is rightfully ours.

ENTERING INTO THE MASTER’S JOY

I do not believe that there is any need for looking over our shoulders for the rewards of our actions, because the law of Karma ensures that they do come, for good or for ill. The Bible tells us in Matthew 25:21 ‘Well done, good and reliable servant; you have been faithful over a little; I will appoint you over much. Enter into your Master’s joy!’ Some seem to interpret this quote as an indication that many earthly goodies will be given unto those who serve their Master faithfully on this plane of life. Isn’t that merely another way of asking for some kind of recompense?

Some may be wondering what my rewards are for giving away and sharing the spiritual wisdom I am finding. Well, do you think there is something wrong with me for not asking for anything in return for the work I am doing? My rewards are manifold, but least of all would I would want to become a ruler of things and people or whatever, never mind many of them, in some distant future. Most important I find learning to love for love’s sake and giving for the joy of giving. That, to my mind, is the most enjoyable lesson of all lifetimes, because that way alone can we be true to our real nature. And when we do, we are in our Master’s joy at all times. Under his/her guidance and protection, we walk safely in the footsteps of the Master Jesus and many others, who walked this way before us. What more could anyone wish for?

In itself, the understanding I am finding with my inner Master’s help is my reward. And my greatest joy of all is when through freely sharing my gifts with someone, they see their way forward through life more clearly. It is a great privilege to have precious gifts that can be shared with others and having people to share them with. After all, what use would the finest gifts be if we had no-one to give them to? What more could anyone wish for? Beyond any shadow of a doubt the greatest prize of all is when someone tells me that their renewed grasp of the concept of God has helped them to find their way back to God and that their soul has made its peace with God. Let me give you an example of this.

Many years ago on my daily walk to my office, when I was still in the early stages of writing and setting up my astrological work, I used to regularly meet a gentleman in his late seventies, who was out for his early morning stroll. After a while, we started to say: ‘Hello’ to each other and occasionally we stopped for a chat. We became good friends, but when I first told him that I was studying astrology, he did not seem to have much time for this kind of thing. Fortunately, however, he possessed the greatest gift the Universe can bestow upon on any of us and that is an open mind.

As we got to know each other better, he confided in me that earlier in his life he had been a devout Christian. But there had been so many excruciatingly difficult situations to be dealt with by him that – by the time we met – he had lost every shred of faith in God, and did not believe in anything any more. Remarkably, he was one of those who had been marked and wounded more deeply by the feuds within his family circle than through the first hand experiences of two World Wars. As a small child he had suffered from the privations of World War One; during World War Two he served on the front line. In the forthcoming section ‘Relationship Healing’ we shall return to this theme.

My friend was a Sun Scorpio, in essence a highly spiritual sign that cannot be truly understood against a purely material background. For as long as people born into this sign fail to grasp that all their experiences serve a higher purpose and have specific meaning, many eventually reach the point when they cannot believe in anything any more, and they become very cold and cynical towards a more spiritual vision of life. My friend had reached this phase in his development many years ago.

As time went by, I told him a bit more about the Sun in Scorpio. When he could see that the points I was making were serious ones and had nothing to do with fortunetelling, the matter clearly began to intrigue him. When he asked me whether I would do a birthchart interpretation for him, I obliged. After handing it over to him, he seemed to disappear for a while. Just when I was beginning to wonder whether he might have passed on and whether I would ever hear from him again, one fine day he suddenly stood beside me, when I was waiting to be served at one of the counters of our local Bank, out of all places.

He told me that he had greatly enjoyed my work and that he wanted to thank me for it and also pay something for my efforts, although I had asked him not to. When I refused to take anything from him, he told me to my astonishment that I had helped him to understand and that, through this, he had made his peace with God. Tears were rolling down his face and – in spite of being a gentleman of the old school – he clearly was not ashamed of them. He just quietly wiped them away and then tried to persuade me to take his money. When I told him to give it to his favourite charity, he said that’s what he was going to do and walked away.

Seeing the effect my work was having on this man, made me even more determined to continue with my spiritual work free of charge. In my view, my gifts are too precious to be paid for by money; they were freely given to me and should therefore be passed on to others in the same manner. Besides, my writings are a work of art and a labour of love and if I counted the hours I have and still am spending on them, no-one would be able to afford them. So, it is better by far for me to give them away.

Some folks do not seem to appreciate what comes to them free; this is a risk I am willing to take and I don’t mind doing so. It’s their Karma they are creating with their actions, not mine. To genuinely have helped someone was worth more than winning the jackpot in a lottery. When my friend told me all those years ago, it came clear to me why it has been said that there are many forms of healing, mine obviously was the one with words. To know that, when placed in the right hands, my contributions can work wonders is a far greater reward than money could ever be. Besides, isn’t it better to light a candle, than sitting in the dark and complaining about people’s ignorance of the spiritual background of life?

DOING THE RIGHT THINGS
People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centred –
You don’t have to like them, but love them anyway!

They are all part of your own family;
They are part of you and you are part of them;
They may not yet know it, but you being wiser,
Love them anyway!

People may project their own ulterior motives onto you,
And accuse you of having them.
Rest safe in the knowledge that the Universe
Knows their heart as well as yours -
Do good anyway!

If being successful means that we can only win
False friends and real enemies –
Succeed anyway!

The good we do today, shall be forgotten tomorrow –
Do it anyway!

What may have taken years of building up,
Could be destroyed overnight –
Build anyway!

People who are in need of our help,
May attack us whilst we are trying to help them –
Help anyway!

Give the world the best that is within you,
And should it be rejected, never stop giving –
Give anyway!

The Universal Law of Karma ensures that what we send
Into the world, has to return to us:
Give of your best and only the best is sure to return!

Bishop Abel Muzorewa
African Spiritual and Political Leader
Edited by Aquarius

Recommended Reading:
• ‘The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth’ from ‘Astrology on the Healing Journey’
• ‘The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth’ from ‘The Universal Christ Now Speaks To Us And Our World’

SOWING THE WIND

Hosea 8:7 from the Old Testament strikes an early warning note: ‘They have sown the wind and they have reaped the whirlwind; it has no stalk, nor an ear to yield meal; and if it were to yield, the strangers shall eat it.’ This teaching has not just one but two hidden esoteric meanings. First it refers to the law of Karma and that what we send out into the world must return to us. But that is no means all there is to it! In keeping with the Universal laws the force of whatever any one of us creates through their thought processes and the actions that follow these thoughts in our world will always increase; it gathers ever more strength and momentum. This demonstrates the urgent need for learning to control our thought processes, for in this aspect of life, the same as all others, the dictum that practice makes perfect applies. The more we work on something, anything, the better we become at it.

We are part of God and God is part of us. On our own we are nothing and certainly cannot create anything, but as co-creators with God – within reason and with the help and the will of God – we can create anything. As living parts of the ever expanding Universal energies, we are expansive and dynamic beings. This expresses itself in abstract as well as in visible terms, and given time all our creations enlarge. This shows in the way we learn; the more we learn the more our consciousness expands; the more we give, the more we receive, and so forth. This principle applies to everything we send out into our world and it is well worth our while to carefully watch every thought, word and action. However, the knowledge of these things puts us in charge of our destiny, because this way we can indeed ensure that only the right things return to us.

Whatever we create, for good and for evil, more of the same inevitably comes flooding back to us. For example, being loving generates more love; living peacefully brings more peace, whereas war faring returns to us and our world as ever more destructive wars, as the past has clearly shown. Let us not fool ourselves! On the spiritual level of life cheating does not exist and escape from or avoiding the unerring justice of the Universal laws is impossible. The more human souls become aware that God is always with us and that therefore nothing ever gets away from the scrutiny of Its all-seeing eye, the more it is likely that we shall strive to conduct our lives with honesty and integrity. In this way we, each through their own efforts, are capable of changing the course of our own destiny as well as that of individual nations, our whole world and the whole of Creation.

It is not difficult to see how our chances of making some real progress on the evolutionary spiral increase because of all the knowledge we are now allowed access to. It really does set us free to consciously decide which way we wish to travel in future. Further down into darkness and evil or up and ever up back into the light of our true being, at one with our Highest Self, the choice is ours. Becoming aware of our true nature and taking charge of our destiny is an immensely empowering experience, but it also brings us the responsibility of choosing wisely. It’s a great time and energy saver as well, because whenever we are in difficult situations, we no longer look towards others to provide us with the answers to our questions. Instead, we go within and consult with our inner teacher and guide.

As you can see, taking responsibility for everything that is in our life is a wonderfully liberating experience. One cannot help wondering how long it will be until the leaders of our world, business, political and spiritual also grow wise to that. The Universe tests the human soul constantly to establish how much understanding it has thus far developed, and the trials of power are particularly difficult ones. Would that the consciousness of all those who are presently in leading positions throughout our world, wake up to the fact that no-one on the Earth plane has any real power. This would help them to recognise their responsibility for wisely handling any power that has been entrusted to them.

May the orgy of destruction of places like Berlin, Leipzig, Chemnitz and Dresden – in particular on February 13 and 15, 1945 – serve as a reminder of how Germany, because it sowed the wind of war, could not escape the consequences of its actions. Universal justice worked through the Allies and ensured that we, the civilian population, had to reap the bitter harvest of what our politicians had sown. The historian Frederick Taylor wrote about the destruction of Dresden: ‘It has an epically tragic quality to it. Dresden was a wonderfully beautiful city and a symbol of baroque humanism and all that was best in Germany. It also contained all the worst from Germany during the Nazi period. In that sense it is an absolutely exemplary tragedy for the horrors of twentieth century warfare…’

Let this be a warning to all those who to this day are walking on the warpath. We also need to consider that – as always – there is more to these events than meets the eye. The world around us is a reflection of what is happening within, an outer manifestation of the inner realities of humankind, in cases like these. Because of this, manmade and natural disasters alike are part of the Universal justice of the law of Karma. Should you now ask me: ‘How can we as individuals counteract this?’ my reply would be: ‘A great deal could be achieved if all who read this go within themselves in their prayers and meditations, and ask that the radiance of the light of wisdom from the Highest Star may flow into the hearts and souls of all political, business and spiritual leaders of our world – to help them with their awakening.’

LEARNING TO CONTROL OUR MINDS

Do you sometimes get a sneaking feeling that our world has become one in which only bad news is good news? I do and to me refusing to give way to this and taking part in any kind of negativity is an important part of our role as healers. Instead of adding to the clouds of darkness that surround us and our world by insisting on watching and listening to the news, we are here to do everything that is within our power to counteract these tendencies and do our share of dissolving these clouds.

We are responsible for what we allow our earthly minds to be filled with. And for anyone who is seriously interested in taking charge of theirs, I suggest that you set a good example to others. Whenever you hear or see it is time for the news on radio and/or TV, exercise your freedom of choice and remind yourself that your set has an ‘off’ button. Before opening a newspaper, recall that no-one can force anyone to read or listen to anything. Protect your mind from being bombarded with and penetrated by all the negativity our sensationalistic and media-orientated outer world is constantly trying to pump into the collective consciousness.

When your friends find out that this is what you are doing, they will soon enough tell you whatever they consider to be important, whether you ask them or not. Why not try it for a while and watch how they relish reporting any negativity they have come across? This kind of thing has always been happening in our world; it is just that with the advance of technology it can now be served almost instantly to all who are willing to pay attention. After all, it’s a great filler of air time and seller of newspapers.

As you and I prefer quality of information rather than quantity, switch off. Please, do yourself the favour of refusing to create your own guilt trip for doing so. Instead, be happy and rejoice, because increasing numbers of people round our world are coming to the same conclusions. Reflect on how environmentally friendly your behaviour is. Think about the energy you are saving, and the forests that do not have to be chopped down because of you and all those like-minded souls round the world. Then feel good about yourself and all you are doing to help our planet in its struggle against over-consumerism. Let those who are addicted to the news not fool themselves into thinking that this issue is unimportant. It is, because we are all responsible not only for our thoughts, but also – as mentioned earlier – for what we allow our minds to be filled with.

More imperative still is that we, the awakened ones, do not dwell upon chaotic material conditions. Are we not privileged indeed to know that – in spite of whatever may happen in our world – everything rests safely in the hands of the all-pervading, all-loving, all-knowing, all-powerful and all-understanding spirit of our Divine Father/Mother, the Great White Spirit? All who ever spent a lifetime in the Native American tradition, as many who are here now are likely to have done, know how in those days the Great Spirit was worshipped by all. We were aware then, as we are now, that this is not only the Source of all being, but also the One from whom all the blessings on the material plane life come forth, including our own life. The One is going to provide us with all the spiritual strength and sustenance we shall ever require, so that we may carry out the special work that has been assigned to us for our present lifetime. We can always turn to It and draw from It whatever our needs turn out to be.

Let us pray together: Great Spirit, Father/Mother Creator, forgive us our trespasses and help us and our world to uplift and transmute all the evil that ever was and that which still is in our world, into the Highest good and the greatest joy of all life, so that we may join the praises of the Angels for Thee and Thy Glory. Now and forever – Amen’

HELPING TO BUILD THE NEW JERUSALEM

Many think that our world is falling apart and that humankind is neglecting its duty of caring for it, and that therefore it will perish. It is true that sometimes on the surface of life there seems to be nothing but confusion, pain and suffering. For as long as we fail to look beneath or beyond this, we shall be unable to notice the progress that we and our world have been making throughout time. But even for those who can see, this it is impossible to tell where God’s great plan of life wants to take us in the future. This is because it is not our place to know.

But, whether we are as yet consciously aware of this or not, each one of us is part of the great stream of light and siblinghood that is getting ever stronger on the Earth. We are the pioneers of the Aquarian Age and all who already are aware of their true nature can and indeed need to consciously make their contribution towards manifesting God’s light of wisdom and truth on the Earth plane. This is one of the many ways in which it is possible to express our love for God and the world that has been given to us. Another one is expressing the compassion and love we feel for our fellow human beings, endeavouring to be patient and tolerant towards them, whilst all the time steadily holding on to that which we know to be true.

Any small effort we make is valuable because it helps to activate and bring fully alive the flame of love and the light in everybody’s own heart and that of the whole of humankind. To paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson, let us not follow where the well trodden trail may lead, but instead go where no-one has ever walked before, so there is no path and leave a trail behind that others may wish to follow. Thus, each can do their share of building on our present level of life the New Jerusalem, the city of light described by St. John in his Revelation. It is revealing itself with ever greater clarity that this is not going to be a place somewhere but that, all along, it has been a symbolism for the awakening of the spark of the Divine, the Christ Spirit, which each one of us contains in seed form.

The way it is now coming fully alive in the heart and soul of all humankind, that is the New Jerusalem. We are its builders. The realisation that every human heart contains a spark of the Divine and that this is the living God, who eventually wakes up in each one of us, that is the building of the New Jerusalem. There is no need to wait until we go to Heaven, which by the way is state of consciousness and not a place where anyone goes either – more of this later. We can start right here and now by making an effort to think, speak and act in loving ways and to live in accordance with laws of the Universe, thus coming back into harmony with it. We are here to learn to trust its wisdom to know and show us how to bring us and our world the growth – whatever this may entail – that will take us back into the oneness and togetherness with all life.

I find it helpful to quietly affirm to myself every so often: ‘God is in me and will use me when I am willing to act as Its channel for lovingly spreading truth and knowledge. I come from love and to love I now return. The real purpose of this life is the realisation of this my true reality.’ Try it for yourself and listen carefully to the responses that rise from the innermost core of your being through the world of your feelings. They are the feedback we constantly receive from our inner guide and God Self who can tell us at any given time whether something we hear or read is true or false.

THE CAUSE OF ALL SUFFERING IN OUR WORLD

After having gone through traumatic events, there comes a time when things settle down again. We then need to take stock and start to work our way through the events, to sort the wheat from the chaff in our life. Painful experiences call for true forgiveness, the kind that comes from our heart and soul; it alone can bring healing and peace to our inner self. It is an act of clemency and to my mind, one that can only truly be found through understanding the underlying higher purpose of our experiences and why they were necessary. Coming to terms and making peace with the events of the past – not only this lifetime but all others – is of great importance for all of us. Because of our inner oneness, when one of us heals our whole world does the same.

To my mind, there are several main reasons for all the suffering we and our world ever had to endure. In the long course of our evolution, it became necessary that we should forget or rather lose all contact with our conscious awareness of:

• Who and what we truly are;
• Where we came from and one day will be going to;
• The reason why we are here;
• The knowledge that we and our world, the same as everything else in the whole of Creation, are subject to great Cosmic laws, God’s laws. The most important one of these is the law of Karma, explained earlier;
• The fact that everything has its origin in us, in our thinking and behaviour patterns, and that all things start and end with us;
• And that therefore if we wish to change our world, we have to begin with ourselves.

As we know by now, this amnesia was merely a temporary one; it was not meant to last forever. The sound evolutionary reason behind all this is that each should learn from first hand experiences the difference between good and bad, darkness and light, and so forth. Alas, as a result of our memory loss, the consciousness of our race gradually filled itself with ever more false beliefs, superstitions and prejudices. As Don Miguel Ruiz writes in ‘The Mastery of Love’: ‘The mind knows – and that’s the problem’. The earthly mind for a very long time has been thinking it knows things that are now revealing themselves as untrue. To this day, this creates all the difficulties of our world. They are hard to overcome because we need to convince the earthly mind of the truth of the knowledge that is now coming to us from the highest levels of life and help it to accept this.

In my view, the first essential step towards ending all the suffering that is in our world is taking a good look within. It is necessary to establish which of our deeply ingrained behaviour and thinking patterns are no longer valid for us. They then either need to be discarded completely or at least changed. Born of the beliefs we once saw as truth, they now present serious obstacles in the way of our individual and collective evolutionary progress. Everybody has their work cut out for them, for we all have brought a great deal of excess baggage of this nature with us.

From ‘The Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East’, Volume Three comes: ‘A house divided unto itself is shattered and must fall. United it does maintain forever. Choose whom you will serve. Division is failure and death. Unity in the Father/Mother Principle is eternal progress, honour and dominion.’ This wisdom is relevant to what is happening to everybody now, because we are all trying to develop our spiritual nature but are still hanging on to old fears and habits. For as long as our earthly and our Highest Self are in conflict, we shall be a divided house. It is time now to choose between allowing our lower mind to run our life or turning increasingly towards our inner guidance, so that with Its help the mind in our heart can be developed.

However, the letting go of the emotional baggage of the past that this requires is by no means easy, because by now the old beliefs are so deeply embedded in our subconscious. We can do nothing but wait until they are ready to surface and when they do, ask God and the Angels to help us to deal with them. This requires patience and also courage, but knowing that any obstacles we encounter on our pathway through life always present us with opportunities for learning, rejoice. Give thanks to the great wisdom of our Divine Father/Mother that it provides sufficient lessons for each child of the Earth. And bear in mind that those who refuse to pay attention to theirs will be presented with them time and again in different forms. Until their behaviour shows that they have got the message, they will not be allowed to move on to studies of a more elevated nature.

ABOUT PAIN
A woman spoke: ‘Tell us of pain!’
And the Prophet replied:
‘Your pain is nothing but the breaking of the shell
That encloses your understanding.
Even as the outer shell of any fruit has to break,
So that its heart may begin to grow and emerge into the Sun,
So you have to know pain.

If you could but open your heart to the wonder
And the miracle that is your life and all life,
So that you could see that it is contained in everything.
If you could do that, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy.
For then you would be able to accept the seasons of your heart,
Both their coming and their going,
In the same way as the inevitability of the seasons
That pass over your fields;
And you would watch yourself, with serenity and wonder
Through the winters of any grief,
Knowing with certainty that spring and resurrection
Will surely follow; and that even in the event of death,
You will always be granted the gift of another lifetime on the Earth,
For as long as you require it.

With the onset of wisdom, you will begin to recognise
That much of your pain is self-chosen;
That it is the bitter potion by which the physician within you,
Your Highest or God Self,
Is trying to heal your small, sick and wounded earthly self.
You will then be able to trust
The Divine Wisdom of your very own Heavenly physician,
And drink Its remedy in silence and tranquillity.

You then rest safely in the knowledge that
Its hand is only seemingly hard and heavy;
That in truth the cup that is now burning your lips
Is given to you by the tender hand of the Unseen;
And that the cup has been fashioned from the clay,
Which the Great White Spirit, the potter of all life,
Is moistening with Its own sacred Father/Mother tears.’

From ‘The Prophet’ by Kahlil Gibran 1883-1931
Lebanese/American poet
Edited by Aquarius

ARMAGEDDON

As mentioned before, Divine wisdom and truth directly from the Source has always been with us. It was brought to us by various teachers for as long as our race remained a spiritual infant, then a toddler and an adolescent. Now that we have grown into adulthood, inspiration from the highest levels of life is increasingly pouring directly into our individual and collective consciousness. Anyone who is willing to go the inner way can gain access to them. The strength of this inflow is slowly growing and will continue to do so, the deeper we move into the Aquarian Age.

We also discussed earlier that the cosy notion has been with us for a very long time that some time in the future a saviour and redeemer would appear in our world, who would wash us all clean by wiping away our sins. If we but followed him by regularly going to his church on the Earth plane, he would come to save and redeem us. Now that humankind is reaching spiritual adulthood, the secret of this promise is unlocking itself. Clearly, it was neither a false one nor some kind of a hoax.

What confused the issue earlier on was merely our lack of understanding of the underlying esoteric meaning of such messages. It is becoming abundantly clear by now that that it is up to each one of us individually, and to all of us together collectively, to save and redeem ourselves and our world by making good and repaying the Karma that has accrued in our spiritual accounts over the ages. We shall return to this theme in more detail later.

Yet another one of those false beliefs is the idea that Heaven and Hell are places we go to; that they are somewhere up there or down there! Are the experiences anyone gathers from their most difficult relationships in the here and now not sufficient proof that Heaven and Hell are states of consciousness? Each one of us is quite capable – and I am not excluding myself from this – of creating Heaven or Hell for ourselves and each other through the behaviour patterns we developed, either during this lifetime or previous ones.

As earthlings are here to recognise that the freedom of being allowed to make our own choices is a gift of great value. In the early stages of our evolution we had to remain unaware of it. The lessons of freedom of choice and the responsibilities this brings can only be added to the curriculum when the individual soul and that of the whole race has reached a certain evolutionary level. It then becomes possible and necessary to make a conscious decision in our daily lives to bring our own ideas of Heaven down to Earth. Thus, at long last some real progress is possible. Be kind to those who still lack this awareness and therefore insist on creating hell for themselves and those around them. Such poor souls deserve our compassion, so spare a loving thought for them. Caught in the dungeon of their ignorance, they are producing ever more negative and difficult Karma for themselves, which has to be redeemed by them at some stage.

Makes you wonder – does it not? – how much longer it will take such souls until they too realise that everybody has the power within to transform their own life and that of those around them from a living Hell on Earth into Heaven on Earth? If we told them, would they believe us? If you come across one of these people, how about trying to nudge them the way someone probably once did with you? It is quite possible that you could be predestined to be the one who helps them walk their first step towards that great change of consciousness, which after all everybody eventually has to go through. Such grandiose words! All it means in simple terms is to change one’s outlook on life and with it one’s inner attitudes towards oneself, to others and our world. This is the meaning of being reborn; as more and more undergo this process, the spiritual rebirth of humankind and our world is taking place.

Those who still believe that someone will come to do the work for them and save them, or that Armageddon has to happen first, to my mind, are barking up the wrong tree. The time for swinging into action to rescue ourselves and our world is now. We have to do it; therefore, do not procrastinate. Armageddon is not an event to come. It is an idea and a symbolism for the inner struggle between the small earthly and the Highest Self, and the forces of good and evil within each one of us, which has been taking place all along.

As far as the outer world is concerned, I see the two World Wars with their grand finale of the horror of the atom bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, were Armageddon and the Apocalypse rolled into one. They were manifestations on that level of life of the great events and clearing actions that were then and still are taking place on the inner plane, cleansing us and our world of accumulated negative energies and offering opportunities for paying karmic debts. How many more demonstrations do we need of the consequences of the abuse of power, dangerous psychic experimenting, and irresponsible manipulation of the masses?

The material destruction we have witnessed in our world was an outer manifestation of the great clearing out that must have taken place on the inner level of life. Universal law decrees that something old must always be destroyed before something new can be born. Many of our old beliefs had to be cleared away within, to facilitate the birth process of the newly awakening consciousness of humankind. Our unseen friends and helpers on the higher and highest levels of life have been waiting for a very long time to lead each one of us back home into the knowledge of God’s true nature and our own, which is everybody’s birthright. As God’s own children, we are re-discovering our predestined role in the great scheme of life. Hand in hand with God and the Angels, one small step at a time, we are all going forwards together.

OF GOOD AND EVIL
One of the elders of the city said: ‘Speak to us of good and evil.’
And he – the prophet – replied:
‘Of the good in you I can speak, but not of the evil.
For what is evil but the good within you
That is tortured by its own hunger and thirst
For the experience of learning that will help you
In due course to return to your true nature?
That is why when the good in you is hungry
It seeks food even in dark caves,
And when it thirsts it will drink of dead waters, too.

You are good when you are at one with your Highest Self,
Yet, when you are not one with it, you are not evil.
You are but a divided house and that is not necessarily a den of thieves;
It is merely that the two parts of you,
Your Highest Self and its earthly counterpart, are still
Travelling in opposite directions; thus, you are a divided house.
This can be likened to a ship without rudder that wanders aimlessly
Among perilous isles, without necessarily sinking to the bottom.
When you have learnt enough about evil,
With the help of God and the Angels,
The two parts of you will be joined together again,
And brought into harmony, so that they can work for you,
Instead of against.

If some of the souls in your world still seem to be guided
Away from their Highest Self and ever deeper into physicality,
Fear not – the turning point does come for you and all that is in your world.
Your evolution is a circle that first moves you away from God,
That which is all good.
As you descend into matter, you move downwards.
Having reached a certain evolutionary stage,
You begin to move upwards and are on your way
Into re-discovering that you are part of God
And that God is part of you, and that because of this
The core of your being is good, through and through,
As well all-loving and all-knowing, like your God Self
With whom you are becoming one again,
Though this time consciously.

For as long as your soul lessons require that you move downwards,
You are not evil.
Even while the outer self is still learning to differentiate
Between good and evil, your innermost being remains good and of God,
You are good when you are spiritually awake in thought, word and deed.
Yet, you are not evil when you are not
And your tongue still staggers without purpose;
Stumbling speech also serves a purpose;
It helps to strengthen a weak tongue.
You are good when you strive to give of yourself.
Yet, you are not evil whilst you are still seeking gain for yourself.
When you are doing so, you are still learning the lesson
Of being a root that clings to Mother Earth and sucks at her breast.
Like the root and the fruit of the same tree, your soul’s needs
Vary according to the evolutionary phase you have reached.
That is why a fruit cannot say to a root: ‘Be like me,
Ripe and full and ever giving of my abundance.
Yet, the fruit’s giving is as good a need as the receiving of the root.

You are good when you walk towards your goal firmly and with bold steps.
Yet, you are not evil whilst you still go there limping.
Even the limping ones in this life do not go backwards,
For all life is evolution and moves ever forwards.
But let those who are strong and swift,
See that they do not limp like the lame,
Believing this to be out of kindness to them.

You are good in countless ways,
And you are not evil when you are not good,
You are neither loitering nor sluggard,
But merely learning to tell the difference between good and evil.
Have compassion too for those who already move as swiftly as stags,
And think they can teach their swiftness to those
Who so far can only move like turtles.
Wise ones know that in God’s great plan, the turtle has its place,
As well as the stag.

Your goodness lies in your longing for being at one
With your Highest Self; and that longing is in all of you.
In some, it already is like a torrent that is rushing to the sea,
With all its might, carrying with it the secrets of the hillsides
And the songs of the forests.
The longing of others is still like a shallow stream
That loses itself in angles and bends, until it too finally reaches its destination.

Each does come to the end of their journey, in their own sweet time.
That is why there is no need that those whose longing already is strong
Say to those in whom it is still weak: ‘Why are you slow and halting?’
And that is why someone who already is truly good
Would never dream of asking someone who is naked:
‘Where is your garment?’
Or someone who is homeless: ‘What has befallen your home?’’

From ‘The Prophet’ by Kahlil Gibran 1883-1931
Lebanese/American poet
Edited by Aquarius

SHEDDING FALSE BELIEFS AND PREJUDICES

Living on a steady diet of Christian teachings has never been my way, certainly not during this lifetime. It therefore seems strange that in spite of that I am struggling as much as anyone else to discard many of my deeply ingrained false beliefs about God and my fear of God is great. In my view, this is due to the fact that on the one hand we absorb such ideas from the collective consciousness of the group we chose to be born into this lifetime. On the other, it is likely that we bring them with us from previous lives, in the hope of resolving and shedding them in this one. How about souls who are at present in the world of spirit who have not yet done this work? They are likely to require at least one more lifetime to do so, because this can only be carried out on this side.How lucky you and I are that our life has presented us with the opportunity for getting on with it now! Let’s make the most of it, I would say.

The peace and healing we and our world have been craving for such a long time can only come about through everybody’s own efforts and by each of us doing their share. We are here to take charge and become masters of all parts of ourselves, through learning to control our thoughts, words and actions. Rather than repeating myself endlessly and boring those who are already familiar with other parts of my jottings, please note that they are all available here and can be downloaded free of charge, at all times.

On the surface of life our world often appears to be a chaotic place where great hardships have to be endured by many souls. It certainly is a messy place, not only because of the wars that to this day are taking place in it, but also because of the astral and etheric forces to which most of us unconsciously respond. We have other bodies besides our physical one, which are finer and much more sensitive than our outer shell. On these bodies the thought-forces of passion, hatred and bloodshed that emanate from the souls in the war-stricken parts of our world are constantly beating. This is the cause of much nerve strain, heartache, sorrow and fear in the rest of us on the physical plane. These finer bodies are the ones we use exclusively, once the outer physical one has been cast off. These are the bodies we take with us from lifetime to lifetime, until finally we have become sufficiently evolved, so these can be shed, too.

Our soul is our emotional body; one of the vehicles every spirit uses during the various stages of its long evolution. Because of our oneness on the inner level of life, each individual soul is part of the soul consciousness of the whole race and that of our world. It needs bearing in mind that everybody’s soul has always been affected by everything that any one of us ever felt. These feelings were and still are caused by all the thoughts that ever pass through anyone’s mind. For better and for worse, each one of us is constantly absorbing everybody else’s vibrations. Can you see the importance of positive thinking; why we are told that when we harm another, we also hurt ourselves; and that we are all responsible for whatever happens in our world?

There is so much suffering by now on our planet that when we come to dealing with and overcoming it, there is only one realistic choice and that is to ask for the help of God and the Angels. They alone know how we can redeem, individually and collectively, the many karmic debts we have incurred along the way. All we can do is to patiently endure whatever our healing journey presents us with. This not only balances our own karmic account but also that of our world. There is no easy way out and there are no exceptions. As we all have done our share to create the state we and our world are presently in, isn’t it only fair that everybody should make their contribution towards resolving it?

Because our thoughts build our world and determine its state, it cannot be stressed too strongly that it is crucial that each one of us learns to control their thought processes. I see our duty as wise ones and healers as making a genuine effort to project nothing but kind, loving, understanding and forgiving thoughts into all events in our world, and to all the people involved. It is our task to lift them and everything else that is causing us problems in our life into the wisdom, the love and the light of the Universal Christ, the Highest Star in the whole of Creation, whose symbol is the Christ Star. Each one of us is a spark that once went forth from Its loving heart. This Star is the Great Light that is Father/Mother to us all; every child of Earth at all times has the birthright to ask for Its guidance and protection at all times. The Divine spark is now waiting to wake up in every heart. Turning towards its Highest Self it will be taught how to project the radiance of Its wisdom, so that it may flow into everybody’s heart and soul, and that of our whole world. We shall return to the Star in a moment.

With every experience that comes our way the Universe is testing us to establish which level of spiritual maturity our soul has reached, and the way we react to the people and events in our life reveals this best of all. This lifetime is an extra special one for everybody because we are now presented with many opportunities for becoming initiates and for finding some true enlightenment. As by now we have a much better idea of God’s nature and our own, it is highly unlikely that it consists of what the Buddhists call Nirvana. Each one of us contains God’s energies and they are of a dynamic and expansive nature. They are ceaselessly creating, bringing new worlds into being and destroying old ones that have outlived their usefulness. What in the Buddha’s time would still have been understood as a state of total and utter bliss, to us and our world, to God-like creative beings, as in truth we all are, surely would be more like Hell than Heaven on Earth.

The human soul finds its greatest enlightenment when it becomes aware that all life – including its own – is subject to Universal laws. Of particular relevance to us in this context are those of evolution and of Karma. If, from the moment we become aware of these laws, we make every effort to only create good, we ourselves ensure that only good can return to us. This is indeed what is going to happen in the Age of Aquarius, as ever more focus their whole attention on sending only good thoughts, words and deeds out into the Universe. And that, my dear friends, is the only way the long promised New Heaven and Earth can be created. Each and every one of us must make their own contribution towards bringing into being a peaceful world and a golden age of plenty, where suffering and pain have been overcome, and greed and selfishness are no longer known.

The energies of this age are growing ever more potent and much progress is possible for all who are willing to accept that everything that has ever happened in our world and is still taking place serves a higher purpose. Accompanied by God and the Angels it is possible to face up to whatever challenges that may have to be encountered by us. We are safe in the knowledge that they are helping us to work our way through whatever comes. It is no empty promise that when we do our best, God will do the rest, and we shall eventually be blessed with a glorious reward. Our compensation will not come about in some never-never-land, but in the here and now. An ever stronger faith of not merely believing but knowing through our own experiences that the Highest forces are always taking care of us and our world is a gift that can only be developed on the Earth plane. It is well worth every small effort we make, as once it has been found we shall keep it forever. We shall take it with us into the world of spirit and from there into all future lifetimes.

Those who are willing to work unselfishly and unstintingly for the good of the whole are sure to find the Angels assisting them in many surprising ways. It is in their power to provide us with everything we may ever require. They will see to it that we find the contacts and resources we truly need. Whether we are aware of this or not, it is their task to help each one of us to fulfil the purpose of their being on the Earth plane at this very special time, to help us make our contribution towards blessing and healing ourselves, each other and our world.

That is why the Universal Christ, who spoke and taught through the Master Jesus, told us: ‘Seek ye first the Kingdom of God’. But where is this kingdom? Undoubtedly the Christ and also the Master Jesus knew that the whole of Creation is God’s kingdom and that God is in everything that is. The above words were given to our world so that in the fullness of time each one of us should find out for themselves that God’s kingdom is not somewhere ‘out there!’, that it never was and will be a place to which anyone goes, but an inner state of consciousness.

The Divine spark of the Christ Spirit is now ready to come alive in every heart and soul. In our world it manifests itself through an increasing love for doing that which is good and right by following our inner guidance, the living God within. So, whenever we are in need of support in any of our endeavours, it is best to go within and ask God and the Angels for their help, without specifying what form it should take. ‘Thy will, Great Spirit, not mine!’ Unlike many of those on our present plane of life, the Angels in their role of messengers of the Divine are utterly trustworthy. Familiar with the Father’s will and the Great Plan of life, they are under instructions to show us our place in it and assist us in finding any special tasks we may be expected to fulfil.

Recommended Reading
• ‘You Are Special’
• ‘Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God’

COLONISING OTHER PLANETS?

From time to time there is talk about this, but in spite of the evidence that on the purely physical level it may well be possible, I do not believe that we shall ever make any real progress in this direction, because spiritually the permission for it will not be given. Some years ago the American scientist, Professor Carl Sagan, who was well known for his research into terra-forming of other planets, did some extensive laboratory experiments. He found that blue-green algae thrive on carbon dioxide and have a phenomenal tolerance of hostile conditions, particularly extremes of temperature. The atmosphere of the planet Venus is extremely dense and rich in carbon dioxide, which makes the surface temperature of the planet too high for human beings.

The professor suggested that terra-forming of this planet could best be achieved by changing its atmosphere. It was his idea that a number of rockets could be sent to criss-cross the Venusian atmosphere to bring this about. The nose cones would be filled with blue-green algae; they would be triggered to explode into the atmosphere of the planet. The algae would instantly begin to feed on the carbon dioxide available. This in due course would effect sufficient changes in the atmosphere to cause heavy rainfall, thus reducing the planet’s surface temperature. Being nearer to the Sun than the Earth, but of comparable size to her, Venus would still remain warmer than our planet. However, large areas of it could have temperatures tolerable to human beings, thus making colonisation feasible. Extensive laboratory tests were carried out at the time, supporting Sagan’s theory that this idea may well be workable. Terra-forming ideas exist about Mars too, but not about any of the other planets in our Solar System.

I do not believe that we shall ever be allowed to do much damage through what we – with typical human arrogance – would like to call ‘colonising’ other planets. Before we do any significant adventuring into space, we shall first be required to put our own house in order and get our home planet into an acceptable state. Only when we – as a race – have become sufficiently evolved, shall we be permitted to venture far into space and then under the protection and guidance of the Wise ones who look after us and our world. They will show us how to behave properly, i.e. without interference with other life-forms, as yet unknown to us, on other planets. In my view, it is more than likely that they do exist, but unlikely that for as long as we insist on searching for planets from a purely earthly perspective and vision we shall ever be able to see them or even perceive their existence.

There are many who still believe that one day we shall succeed in taking over other planets, but I believe that other, more urgent and important events, issues and developments will require humankind’s full attention. In themselves, incursions into space always represent tests for humankind. They establish to what degree we are trying to understand the spiritual nature – invisible behind the outer form – of other planets and our attitudes towards them. Each one of us being a spark of the Divine intelligence, there cannot be any doubt that we are a highly resourceful race. The way I see it, we shall be allowed to stretch our imagination and ingenuity in matters of space to the full. But whatever our ambitions may be, something will always happen that will stop us causing serious harm to other planets and their inhabitants.

LOSING FAITH

In this chapter I would like to share with you what my life has taught me about losing one’s faith. My conclusion is that it is by no means the disaster it may appear to be at first. It is merely a signal from our inner self that the old belief was a superficial one, namely not faith at all. Like many of their contemporaries, my parents must have encountered this dilemma; otherwise there would have been no need for them to stop believing that there is a God. And I imagine that something of this nature happened to me in another lifetime. Should you ever wind up in a similar predicament, try not to be too sad or upset. Take heart and know that losing ones faith can be – and indeed is meant to be – the first step towards finding some true inner beliefs. By that I mean the kind that can no longer be shaken by anything or anyone, and which cannot ever be taken from us. The way I see it, there are two types of faith. The first one is a remnant from the outgoing Piscean Age, the age of blind faith and of illusions.

The suffering, disappointments and disenchantment with the established order of the previous age are now leading us and our world into the light of the Age of Aquarius. This is an age during which Divine wisdom and truth will flow ever more strongly into each one of us directly, through our inner connection with the Source of our being. This knowledge is now waiting to pour into every heart and soul that is open to receive it. Because we understand it from the very depth of our being, rather than from our head alone, the second type of faith gradually grows within us. This has nothing to do with blind faith; it is a deep inner trust that has its solid foundations in knowledge. It reassures us from within that we and our world will always be safe in the hands of God, no matter what happens. Even when things seem to go wrong on the surface, our innermost feelings will always help us to understand and accept that whatever occurs is right. This is not as difficult as it may sound, because we then appreciate that things always come to us so we should learn something.

In this way the long awaited and promised spiritual rebirth of humankind is taking place. And that is possibly the very reason why this article has found its way to you. Because of the freedom to make our own choices, it is up to you whether you make use of anything you may find here. The deeper we move into the Aquarian Age, the more strongly its energies are going to be felt by everybody; they already are – just look around and see what a difficult time most people are presently having. The Cosmic energies affect us all and we are all involved in this spiritual rebirth; each has to do their share of bringing in the New Age.

Many are searching for new ways and there is a slowly increasing sense of urgency in the air about matters of faith and a yearning for peace. Yet, peace and healing cannot come to us and our world merely through finding knowledge. For as long as we fail to act upon information of any kind it remains dead. This also goes for spiritual knowledge; it can only come to life when we start to live in accordance with that which we are finding. If we want peace in our world, each must start with themselves by paying attention to their inner attitudes and their own lives; putting their own house in order and making a genuine effort at peaceful living.

PEACE PRAYER
Let there be love and understanding among us;
Let peace and friendship be our shelter from life’s storms.
Eternal God, help us to walk with good companions,
To live with hope in our hearts
And Eternity in our thoughts,
That we may lie down in peace and rise up every day,
To find our hearts waiting to do Thy will.

Amen

From the Jewish Tradition

THE ANCIENT PROPHECIES FULFILLED

As mentioned earlier, each one of us is a child of God and every heart contains a spark of the Divine. Though initially only in seed form, this is the Christ child, the long awaited saviour and redeemer who can and will come to our rescue. Throughout the ages, the myth of the birth of the child has been presented to our world in ever different forms. What a long time it has taken until it finally becomes clear that this refers to an inner event that has nothing to do with earthly experiences.

Because of humankind’s lack of understanding of such matters when the Christian teachings were given to our world, the birth of this child still had to be interpreted as coming about through what the Bible calls the Immaculate Conception. From the evolutionary point our race has reached by now, it is clear that all along this has stood as a symbolism for the spark of the Divine, the child that is pure spirit. It was conceived on the highest levels of life by the Great Universal Mind and is born in human hearts and souls untouched by anything earthly. It has been in its individual existence since the moment our spirit was sent forth from the heartmind of God with the intention that eventually the Christ spark would wake up in the earthly self the spirit had to create for itself to enable it to function on the Earth plane. The spark, the embryo Christ child, in the fullness of time would wake up and slowly return into the full awareness of its true nature and into the knowledge of its relationship with God.

Open your inner eyes and witness how this is now happening everywhere. This is how the ancient prophecies are fulfilling themselves in a much more beautiful and magical way than anyone could ever have imagined in past ages. Anyone who is willing to look beneath and behind the surface of life into our true world, the spirit, easily grasps all these symbolisms, including the meaning of the Star of Bethlehem. It is a six-pointed star and represents the merging of the Holy Trinity of Father/Mother and Christ, their only born Son, and humankind’s threefold nature of mind, body, spirit and soul; spirit and soul are one. The Star symbolises the healing process that is now taking place in us and our world between the small earthly self and the Highest.

The Christmas story itself is a metaphoric description of the Divine child that is born in a stable, the most humble place on Earth imaginable. The stable and the manger are symbolisms for the human heart, from which the Divine spark, the Christ child in all its goodness and innocence looks with astonished eyes into our world. What a long time this child in every heart has been waiting to come fully alive, so that it may thrive and grow into adulthood. During times of great need and deprivation, spiritual and material, and the accompanying suffering the souls grows and the Divine spark begins to stir within. As the human soul slowly responds to its call and reaches out for the blessing, healing and helping hand of its Highest or God Self, the Christ birth has seriously began.

THE GOOD SHEPHERD

Although it often feels that way, we are never alone on this earthly existence. Others walk with us – physically and metaphorically speaking. The invisible helping hands of our guides and Angels are there for us to get hold of when the going gets too tough. All we have to do is call out and reach for them. They are always there to steer and sustain us, but the work we have come to do in this lifetime they cannot and will not do for any of us; each must do their own. The Angels will never fail to guide and support us and whenever one of us stumbles and falls, they draw even closer to bring comfort and healing.

The world of spirit has always communicated with us through symbolisms. The shepherds in the Christmas story are no exception to this. They are a metaphor for our spiritual leaders, the friends and helpers on the ‘other side’ of life. Unseen by earthly eyes, they are the ones who have already risen above the desires of the Earth plane. Their spiritual vision has opened and from where they are now they are guiding and coaxing us, their human charges, on to experiences of ever higher levels of life.

The Bible in St. Matthew 18:10-14 tells us: ‘See to it that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I say to you, their Angels always see the face of my Father in Heaven. For the son of man has come to save what was lost. What do you think? If a man should have a hundred sheep and one of them is lost, would he not leave the ninety nine on the mountain and go in search of the one that is lost? And if he should find it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety nine that were not lost. Even so, your Father in Heaven does not want one of these little ones to be lost.’

So, what’s this parable trying to tell us? Spiked with symbolisms, first there is the mountain. It represents the pathway each spirit and soul must walk during its descent down the slopes into experiencing life in physicality and the subsequent ascent back home into the full awareness of its true nature. We, God’s children of the Earth, the whole human race are the sheep. Whether we are as yet aware of this or not, at all times we are on this mountain; on its pastures where every sheep is grazing safely, because good shepherds have been appointed by the Highest to look after us every moment of our existence, in this world and also in the world of spirit, our true home.

We, God’s children of the Earth, the whole human race are the sheep. It is the nature of things that many get lost along the way, but none will do so forever. This is the point the story is conveying. The good shepherds are our unseen spirit guides and Masters. There are whole groups of them and each one of us belongs one of these groups. The Master Jesus is at the head of one of them; the Master Mohamed undoubtedly is in charge of one of the others, and so forth. Our helpers are human souls, the same as we are. The only difference between them and us is that they are already more highly evolved than we are.

Yet, they too once walked the Earth, the same as you and I are presently doing. This helps them to appreciate the difficulties and struggles of those who follow behind. From first hand experiences they know all too well that getting lost from time to time on the way up the mountain is as essential a part of humankind’s earthly education as all others. They appreciate how steep and demanding the ascent can be and are well aware of how strong the pull of the desire nature of the human lower self is, when earthly temptations come its way.

Undeterred by anything that happens, they walk hand in hand with us, regardless of the fact that for a very long time we have to be completely unaware of their presence. We may forget about them, but no matter what happens, they do not! They never leave us and are there to catch us when we fall, to comfort us when we are in tears, to heal us when we are sick and to bring us safely back to our flock, on either side of the veil of consciousness that separates our two worlds.

Ever mindful of our difficulties, the Great Spirit, Father/Mother in Heaven, i.e. the highest level of life, has assigned to them and the Angels the task of taking good care of us. Ensuring that not one single one of the little ones, God’s children of the Earth, can ever be truly lost is their work. And whenever one of the good shepherds return yet another one to their flock by helping us to become aware again of our true nature, the Heavens celebrate our homecoming.

Who doesn’t recall the times when we, the small and frightened earthly self, stumbled through the experiences of our present life, shrouded in the darkness of our spiritual ignorance? What’s wrong with us that, before we at long last go down on our knees – literally or metaphorically speaking – and call for help, we wait until things get so bad that we eventually no longer know which way to turn? But God and the Angels have been watching us all along and our friends and helpers have been waiting for our signal, so they can draw closer to us. Whenever we call out for help, not to dazzle us with too much of its light – spiritual knowledge – at first it may arrive as the faintest glimmer. This slowly grows stronger and more help comes. As the earthly self’s awakening progresses, its Highest Self over time guides it to the right people, books, magazine articles and other sources of information that reveal more of the way forward.

Recommended Reading: ‘God’s Chosen People’

THE THREE WISE MEN

The three wise men are yet another symbolism from the Christmas story. They came to the baby Jesus to offer their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh – more symbols! The gold they bring is the human soul’s inherent ability to transmute the base metal of its earthly animalistic nature into the pure gold of its true spiritual self. The frankincense stands for the gift of gentleness and sweetness which the soul in the fullness of time will develop. The myrrh represents the bitterness of sorrow and pain. But this too is a gift because understanding and compassion can only grow from such experiences. Through them the soul moves forward emotionally and spiritually, and at the end of all its suffering it returns into the joy of being one again with God.

As mentioned in volume one of these jottings, the three wise men are thought to have been Persian priests, astronomers and astrologers. At first, the men were called magi because what they did was then considered to be magic; St. Matthew’s Gospel is the only one to mention this fact. The men’s gifts suggest that they could have come from Babylon, Arabia, Sheba or Yemen. Later traditions gave them separate nationalities and colours of skin, as a symbol of the worship of the Christ child by all nations. The men were called Balthazar, Melchior and Gaspar or Casper. It was only in the third Century that the church declared them to be Kings; this was possibly an attempt to justify the prophecy in Psalm 72:11 ‘May all Kings fall down before him.’

Be that as it may, to me the kingship of the men is a symbolism for the elevated state of the groups of Masters and guides from the highest levels of life, who are in charge of humankind and its destiny. They consist of wise ones whose evolutionary pathway has taken them all the way through the experiences of Earth life. Because of this they know and appreciate the difficulties we are struggling and the suffering that has to be endured on that level of life to help our souls to grow and evolve. Compassionate and immensely rich in spiritual knowledge and understanding, they have been appointed to rule like wise and loving monarchs over the human kingdom and its world; the crown of their kingship they wear with great humility. Just imagine, when you and I have evolved to a sufficiently high level, we may be allowed to serve our apprenticeship with them.

Our friends in the world of spirit never leave our side and are always ready to bring some kind of assistance to anyone who reaches out for them. They appreciate that times of great sorrow, pain, fear and loneliness are necessary for the human soul, so that its inner strength may be developed and it can be guided safely back home to the only place in the whole of creation where true safety can be found, namely in its oneness with God. Finding it, as well as genuine and lasting happiness is every soul’s birthright; that’s why each in their own sweet way is constantly pursuing this state.

This is good and right but in my view it cannot be found on the Earth plane. Here it can only come from the awareness of our true nature and the acceptance that whatever lessons still need to come our way invariably serve our highest good and our greatest joy. This enables us to rest securely in the knowledge that even if great sorrow and pain have to be endured by us we are learning something and our understanding and wisdom are growing. That is the only manner in which the human soul can find its way back home into the greatest happiness of all, which lasts forever, and that is the oneness with God and all life.

When you reflect on your past you are sure to recognise how you, the earthly self, quite happily and unperturbed soldiered through life, for as long as things were smoothly going your way. Even then we are not alone; the silent watchers stand by and let us get on with it. Times of suffering are necessary to wake us up from our complacency. That is why sometimes obstacles come thick and fast, until we no longer know which way to turn. As the going gets ever rougher and we are in danger of getting lost in despondency and despair, there comes a ray of light from somewhere. No matter how deeply a soul may be lost in the darkness of its spiritual ignorance, there comes the moment when at last it goes down on its knees – if only metaphorically speaking – before God and prays for help. To anyone who asks it will never be denied.

As difficult times undoubtedly are always gifts from God, it would be most unwise to reject them. They are drawn into everyone’s life to act as birth helpers and midwives to the Christ child. They represent the Angel in disguise, whose lessons have to be accepted by every soul and whose hand has to be touched, so that the Divine spark can come alive. The wisdom and understanding that grow within us by struggling through difficult experiences is the true saviour of humankind, for they in the end will reveal to us the glory of the infinite wisdom and the great love of God for all Its children. They bring us the gift of God’s Universal laws and the comprehension that everybody has to learn to live by them, because that alone can save us and our world from chaos and destruction. Recommended Reading: ‘The Angel in Disguise’ in the ‘Words & Prayers’ section.

I am telling you about these things not from book knowledge, but through the experiences of my own life. My personal journey of a thousand miles, of healing and of finding out who I really am, has been a very long and painful one that is by no means finished yet. In the course of many years I seem to have worked my way through mountains of the debris that must have accumulated in my soul memories. During this lifetime they are stored in the very cells of our physical bodies. I frequently get the feeling that my soul must be shedding endless layers of traumatic memories that reach ever deeper into past lifetimes.

This process can be likened to the peeling of an onion and is the emptying out that has been known to the mystics of all ages. Now that the Age of Aquarius is with us, this is a vital and very necessary ingredient of the individual and collective rebirth of our race onto a higher level of consciousness, which is progressing ever more rapidly. It is a mystical experience that each one of us in one of their lifetimes eventually must go through. As discussed earlier, the Age of Pisces was a Water sign and therefore of the soul. As the Age of Aquarius is under the rule of an Air sign, we are now all required to work on developing our mental faculties to their highest potential. This will enable us to take us and our world forwards unto ever higher levels of understanding of Divine wisdom and truth.

My emptying out started many years ago; it was a very frightening experience indeed, as I had no idea of what was happening to me – neither had anyone else. By now I realise that this was due to the fact that I was spiritually too closed off, so much so that I did not even know how to pray. The Lord’s Prayer came to my help; fortunately, it is such an important part of life in the Western world that even I knew it by heart, both in English and in German. As I have always been fond of poetry, I appreciated this special prayer for the sheer beauty of its words rather than as a prayer.

And then, one frightened, dark and lonely night, when yet again I could not get to sleep, suddenly the thought came: ‘Why don’t I pray?’ Never having done so before, I slowly started to say the Lord’s Prayer in my mind, first in one language, then in the other. This went on for some time and after a while, I felt myself calming down and drifting off to sleep. That was a wonderful discovery and the beginning of saying at least one evening prayer. Mind you, even that did not always have the desired effect. But, at least it was a start and after some time, my Highest Self led me to other people and things that helped me forward, one small step at a time.

A TIME FOR EVERYTHING

As pointed out earlier, there is a right time for everything. Now is the time for finding a better understanding of the spiritual principles of the dualities and polarities that form the basis of all life, including that of the Earth. One of the most important aspects of life we have to come to terms with is the concept of good and evil. As this is the most vital and fundamental issue of all, every soul must study it through real life first hand experiences. And because the laws of the Universe demand that the scales of justice eventually have to be balanced, everybody must at times find themselves sometimes at both the giving and the receiving end of this lesson.

Yet, God and the Angels never leave us, and no matter how dire things may sometimes look on the surface and whatever may befall us, things will always turn out right again, if not during this lifetime then in another. The best we can do in all situations is to look towards our inner guidance and trust that we and our world rest safely in the hands of God and the Angels. All we can do is accept what comes and work our way through our tests and trials, safe in the knowledge that all evil is only in this world so that we may learn from it and that finally it will lead us and our world back to good. That, after all, is the Universe’s true nature and also our own. For as long as we always strive to remain faithful to it, trusting our inner guidance to show us the way, everything will always work out well in the end.

There comes a time in everybody’s life when the Great White Spirit, the Father/Mother of all life, draws us towards Itself; more about this theme later. Recognising when this event is likely to occur is not difficult for me as an astrologer. As I do not want to bore you with technical details here, may it suffice to say that we can only be drawn when our energies have aligned themselves to those of the Universal life force, the Father/Mother of all life, whose super-conscious faculties every soul contains in seed form. However, they can only begin to germinate and grow when the energies are right. And even then the awakening this brings with it does not happen for each soul until it has reached a certain degree of spiritual maturity.

The journey back into the light of its true nature and the oneness with God is a natural part of the evolutionary program of every soul. We reach the point of return is reached when we have gathered sufficient experiences that led to true growth of wisdom and understanding. Assimilating and integrating the lessons of the darker aspects of life is an important part of every soul’s return to its Source. When the right moment has come for any one of us, the Father can and will draw us. This never happens like the flicking of a switch. It is a development that takes time. As the months pass, new feelings begin to stir within us and gradually grow stronger. It is likely that we will feel instinctively drawn to a more spiritual and philosophical outlook on life. To help us along, people of this inclination will be drawn into our orbit.

There are certain times in our lives when we could be seriously in danger of ‘catching religion’, even if we previously lacked all interest in such matters. At such times, some are known to have suddenly wandered off into the sunset with a Bible tucked under their arm. A chance meeting, listening to someone on the radio or TV, a website we stumble upon on the internet, reading a book or a magazine may suddenly capture our interest and set us thinking. Typical responses at such times are: ‘This is interesting; why don’t I look into it a bit more, maybe get a book; how about attending a workshop or lecture?’ It is worth our while to follow such hunches, because that indeed is how – one way or another – our great Father/Mother eventually draws each one of us back and invites us to come home into the oneness with It.

Interestingly, even science is now confirming that among the genes we all have in common there is one, which one of its representatives in a 2006 TV interview called ‘the God gene’. Apparently, in about half the population this gene is active, whilst in the other half it is dormant. The active gene seems to help us sense and feel the presence of the Divine in ourselves and the world around us and there then come fleeting moments of awareness of the oneness of life.

For wise reasons the God gene remains quiescent for a long time. Only when a soul has reached a certain degree of spiritual maturity and the energies are aligned in the right way, the gene in question comes alive and begins to stir within. And if any of the spiritual aspects which this work touches upon speak to you and you feel a positive inner response – even if you were never interested in such things before – to me, that is an indication that the Father is drawing you towards Him and that your God gene is in the process of awakening. For souls who so far do not feel this kind of response, the Father’s special call has not yet come. Like all great things, it’s that simple.

THE PRICE OF SPIRITUAL WISDOM

My life has taught me what a priceless jewel spiritual wisdom is. Because it is given freely to any one of us, in my view it belongs to everybody and is there to be shared and enjoyed by all. That is why I give all my work away and why everything that has up to now been published on my website can without restrictions be downloaded free of charge. I believe that all knowledge belongs to everybody and should not only be within the reach of those who can afford to buy the latest publications. Fortunately, many countries these days have Internet Cafés and public libraries where computers can also be used free of charge. So, even those who cannot afford a computer and an internet connection of their own at home can – if they so wish – download any part of my work from my website. What do I get in return for my efforts? My greatest reward comes each time some of my work helps someone to find a renewed faith and trust in the Universe and as a result, that person walks their pathway through life with more confidence.

As discussed in the chapter ‘The Ancient Wisdom’, Divine truths have always existed; they are eternal and unchangeable. God is the source of all spiritual knowledge and ever since the human race first emerged on this planet, it has come to us through various teachers. Over the ages, they came from the highest levels of life to walk among us and show us how to live our earthly life more meaningfully. Depending on the level our individual and collective spiritual evolution had reached at any given time, the teachings of the Ancient Wisdom were presented to us in ever different ways. Every one of the religions and belief systems our world has ever known was but a variation on the main theme of this Great Wisdom. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are three of Its most recent interpretations.

Through finding new interpretations of some of their symbolisms, my writings, for those who are ready to receive them, aim to bring a renewal of hope, faith and trust in this life. Seeking neither fame nor fortune, all my work is done for charity. If, with the help and the will of God, any of it one of these days is published in book form, all proceeds will go to the charity ‘Médecins Sans Frontières’ or MSF. It is an independent humanitarian organisation that is committed to providing medical aid where it is most needed, regardless of race, religion, politics or gender and also to raising awareness of the plight of the people they help. They work round the world for the poorest of the poor, especially in war stricken areas.

Closer to home, my favourite charity is the Salvation Army. Apart from their work with the homeless, they are also making a wonderful contribution in times of war. A friend told me that her father had fought as a soldier in the Second World War. He said that the best cup of tea he had ever had was the one that was given to him by Salvation Army volunteers, before his battalion had to move into battle. The father said that he had never heard any of the soldiers – or anyone else – say a bad word about the Sally Bobs. My friend was also told by an ex-RAF soldier, now back home in Britain, that they are doing the same work in the Iraq crisis.

Now, I am aware that there are some people ‘out there’ who seem to have difficulties understanding my motivations for giving all my work away. Such reactions are nothing to get upset about; they are merely human. Another aspect is that it has ever been the way of spiritual establishments to try to discredit and suppress any new wisdom and knowledge that reaches humankind. Unless such organisations are wise enough to adjust themselves and go with the flow, they will become irrelevant. Even now, the way some people react to new spiritual insights is reminiscent of the religious establishment surrounding the Master Jesus, and the mass of its people shouting: ‘Crucify him!’ Does it never occur to souls who to this day behave this way that executing him did not get rid of the message of his teachings? On the contrary, through the very resistance the early Christians encountered, their support grew stronger and gathered ever more followers.

Nothing in the long run can suppress the emergence of God’s eternal truths. Depending on the evolutionary level of our race, it has been presented in various ways, at different times and through many sources. But this too has run its course and now ever more of the Great Wisdom is revealing itself directly and through different sources to us. The consciousness of our race has always been evolving, as has everything else in the whole of Creation. Nothing can hold up progress. No matter how hard some may try to keep us in the past, we are constantly moving forward and are gradually finding ever greater understanding. No-one can deny us the gift that is known as the Ancient Wisdom; it has always come to our world from our Divine Father/Mother. And if here and there you come across souls who cannot yet grasp and accept the fresh insights you are finding, refuse to be discouraged. Be aware that they too will come to understand, but in their own sweet time, as we all do eventually – it cannot happen any other way.

Take comfort from knowing that sooner or later the time will also come for them to be drawn to the Father. Should this not happen during this lifetime, it is sure to do so in another. The Universe is endlessly patient; it is we who want everything to happen now. Just bear in mind that we have all eternity to learn and that it is true in every aspect of our life that everything comes to them who wait. If you have any missionary zeal, contain it. There is no point in wasting your time and energy trying to convert the unready. It is undoubtedly more constructive to pray for souls, who are still stuck in the dungeon of their own darkness, that they be lifted into the light of the Highest Star. Leave them to it, move on and concentrate on doing what your inner guidance tells you is right for you, in any given moment.

My feeling is that one seed carefully planted in good and fertile soil is sure to yield in the fullness of time more than any amount of broadcasting, missionary work, standing on soap-boxes or going from door to door could ever do. That kind of thing is likely to be aimed predominantly at those who cannot yet understand what we have to give. The only thing it can do in that case is drawing ridicule and suffering to ourselves. But, there are no prizes for martyrdom. And most important of all, we are not to cast spiritual pearls – well no, not before swine – but to the unready, because they would fail to grasp our message. It might even frighten people and bring out the worst in them. All too easily they could turn aggressive and maybe even attack what they perceive of getting in their way. On all levels we would thus achieve the opposite of what we set out to do.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

Because spiritually we are all one and everybody has their allocated place in the great web of life, we are here together to grow and evolve, and so that we can help each other to constantly find a new understanding of the spiritual concepts that come our way. Through the learning from everybody’s own personal experiences, and from those of our world, the knowledge we have been gathering has constantly expanded our individual and collective consciousness. To my mind, the finest thing the Universe can bestow upon any one of us is the gift of an open mind.

Barbara Kingsolver writes in her ‘The Poisonwood Bible’: ‘Every life is different, because you passed this way and touched history.’ Forget about begrudging any of your experiences, be thankful for them instead. Hasn’t each one of them added to the great prosperity of the wealth of wisdom of the whole of Creation? And the final aim of our sojourns on the Earth plane is that we should become empowered to act as channels, through which the Divine blessing and healing power of the Highest can flow into everything that is in our world and all worlds.

It has been said that knowledge is power. Indeed this is true, though it depends on what power means to you. When God said: ‘Let there be light!’ the Great wisdom was saying to humankind: ‘Go out into the world, live your lives and gather knowledge, each through their own experiences. For knowledge is light and ignorance is darkness to the human soul.’ When we recognise that becoming a healer in our own right is the true reason for being in this life and we accept the responsibility of sharing our ever increasing spiritual knowledge with others, we take possession of our personal power and can then make a conscious decision that we wish to act as light bringers and seed carriers for all humankind.

Through the illumination we are finding the power is put into everybody’s own hands to do their share of overcoming the darkness of ignorance that still keeps large parts of our world in a kind of deathly shroud. Each one of us in their own right has the power to overcome all cruelty and violence in our world. And like any journey of a thousand miles, this one begins with one vital step – as the Chinese proverb says – and that a conscious decision of how, from this very moment onwards, we shall react and behave, in any given situation. Try it for yourself and see how truly empowering that is! Making wise decisions and choices are the power tools the Universe is now placing into everyone’s own hands to work with, until every last shred of the darkness that still is in our world has been overcome.

The most vital step for every soul on its journey of healing and home-coming, which is this lifetime, is the re-awakening to the knowledge of our true nature. Everything else falls into place from there. For how can anyone go home, without knowing where that is? The finding of such knowledge in itself and the realisation that our world is but a cultural illusion gets the healing process going. Knowing and accepting that everything that ever happened in our world, to us personally and as a race, did so for specific and wise evolutionary purposes, in itself brings a measure of inner peace. And that is but one of the first steps towards the major change of consciousness, the quantum leap of faith and trust, we and our world have for aeons been waiting for.

It needs bearing in mind though that none of us in this existence can ever have any true power; that belongs to God alone. The only power worth striving for to my mind is getting to know our true Self and our true nature, because this empowers us to rise above the drives and urges of our small earthly self. Instead of giving in to them and acting them out, as we are likely to have done many times in the past, we need to seek the advice of our inner teacher, our Highest or God Self, to show us ways of overcoming them. Only when that has been achieved and the channel of the small earthly self has been cleansed so much that it has freed itself from all its fears and anxieties, can the true power of the Highest work through us in an unhindered flow.

STEMMING THE TIDE

As you go through your life, you are sure to encounter some who would like to stem the tide of new understanding that is now flowing into the consciousness of our world. When you do, forgive them and think of fate of the Polish astronomer and mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus, 1473-1543, who established that our planet is not the centre of the Universe, and that it revolves round the Sun and not the other way round. Reflecting on how much the understanding of ourselves and our world has grown by now is clear evidence that it was as true in Copernicus’ time as it is now, that in the long run, no-one can suppress the truth.

Yet, to this day, there are many who try to do just that, in the hope that they may thus be able to hold back the spiritual development of us and our world. Knowing that it has ever been so, do not let anyone or anything disturb your peace of mind and remind yourself how Copernicus’ announcement once shook the foundations of all Christian beliefs. The Church of Rome, still all powerful at that time, did its best to undermine his credibility. However, even with the help of its ruthless and cruel tool, the Inquisition, it did not succeed. It could not because his discovery was meant to come to our world through him and at that time.

Goethe, 1749-1832, wrote: ‘Of all discoveries and opinions, none may have exerted a greater effect on the human spirit than the doctrine of Copernicus. The world had scarcely become known as round and complete in itself, when it was asked to waive the tremendous privilege of being the centre of the Universe. Never, perhaps, was a greater demand made on mankind – for by this admission so many things vanished in mist and smoke! What became of our Eden, our world of innocence, piety and poetry; the testimony of the senses; the conviction of a poetic/religious faith? No wonder his contemporaries did not wish to let all this go and offered every possible resistance to a doctrine which in its converts authorised and demanded a freedom of view and greatness of thought so far unknown, indeed not even dreamed of.’

Just imagine! Something many times more magnificent is now taking place. And you and I are here to help bring it about. Count your blessings if you are among the wise ones, who can recognise that there is no conflict between the old and the new; that in fact, there is now a coming together and a reconciliation of all the beliefs, religions and philosophies our world has ever known. Through the new understanding that is ever more strongly flowing into us and our world this is quite naturally happening.

Yet, when it comes to sharing the knowledge you find, you are likely to hit some obstacles in the shape of those who rigidly insist on clinging to beliefs that have long become outdated. Their eagerness to defend their viewpoint, may blind them towards the spiritual developments that are now taking place in us and our world. Respect their views – even if they fail to do the same for yours. Take comfort from knowing that they too will understand when their time has come and that the Universal Father will then draw them ever more closely towards Himself. Even if this takes until another lifetime, or maybe several, we all get there in the end.

The way I see it is that none of us has come into this lifetime to destroy any ladders our siblings in the human family are still climbing on, but that gently and lovingly widening someone’s horizons never harmed anyone. You can tell by their reaction whether people are ready. If so, the Father may have chosen you to be the instrument and His channel for working through. Do not persevere with those who reject your beliefs, but accept that their time has not yet come. Leave them to it, move on and let the Lord within you, your God and Highest Self, be your shepherd to guide you to greener pastures, where other sheep – like-minded people – are willing to graze peacefully, together with you.

Recommended Reading:
• ‘Positive Thinking’

THE CHANGING VIBRATIONS OF THE EARTH

May the knowledge that the old prophecies are indeed coming true – if in unexpected ways – help us all on our way back home. I believe with all my heart and soul that our world will not perish, because it is the will of God that we ourselves shall save it. Although the physical aspect of the Earth will vanish in due course, its and our inner heritage will never be taken from us. We ourselves are the world. Each one of us an integral and equally important part of it and we do not inhabit it on our own. Hand in hand with our great Father/Mother and Its Angels the process of making our planet one of peace and healing that radiates its blessings throughout the whole of Creation has been in full swing, for quite some time. With increasing speed we and our planet are changing and becoming ever more spiritualised.

The vibrations of the Earth are being modified and all its material aspects are filling increasingly with light. In the fullness of time, our world will be such a different one that if all this happened too suddenly, no-one would be able to cope at all. The going for a great many is tough enough as it is. When things threaten to overwhelm me, I remind myself that it is a great privilege to be here at this very special time of transition from one Age to another. Therefore, let us not begrudge anything that has to be endured and joyously make our contribution towards creating a peaceful world. It is a great honour to be allowed to take an active part in the building of the New Jerusalem and bringing God’s Eternal Kingdom down to the Earth. To this end, let us all give freely and willingly of the best that is within us.

Now that we have reached the age of truth that flows directly from the Source into every heart and soul, I rejoice that none of us will ever again be required to believe anything blindly; naturally, this also applies to my writings. The Bible tells us in John 14:2: ‘In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.’ In the traditional versions of the Scriptures rooms was translated into meaning mansions. However, I prefer the wording of the Lamsa Bible – see the note about it at the end and also my booklist. To me, the word ‘rooms’ comes closer to what the Master Jesus was trying to convey to our world, namely that our Father’s house is big and full of love.

After all, it is the heart of the whole of Creation and that indeed has many rooms and there is enough space for every soul and for all the belief systems of our world. We alone can decide whether one of them is for us or whether our spiritual understanding has already grown beyond them. It is said that all the answers are known within. Why? Because everybody’s heart is an integral part of that great Universal heart; it is where our God Self dwells. And that is why it is the only place on this Earth where truthful answers to all our questions can be found.

As mentioned many times before in my writings, it is our right, even our duty, to believe whatever truth comes to us through our inner teacher, our intuition; we neglect it to our detriment. Every time you hear, see or read something – including this – listen to the responses of your heart. Things are only true if your innermost feelings say to you: ‘This does make sense; it is true!’ You can then take it on board and allow it to penetrate your consciousness. Know that there is no absolute truth, and that everybody’s truth is at least slightly different from any other. Whenever your heart says about something: ‘This makes sense; it is true!’ then that is your truth. No matter what anyone else may say, stick to it; it will never deceive you or let you down.

PART B

WAR AND PEACE IN RELATIONSHIPS

ASTROLOGY AND RELATIONSHIP HEALING

Where there is righteousness in the heart,
There is beauty in the character.
Where there is beauty in the character,
There is harmony in the home.
Where there is harmony in the home,
There is order in the nation,
And when spiritual order has come to each nation,
There will be peace in our world.
Chinese Proverb

FAMILY FEUDS –
MICROCOSMS OF THE MACROCOSM OF WORLD WARS

Mud can make you prisoner and the plains can bake you dry;
Snow can burn your eyes, but only people make you cry.
Home is made for coming from, for dreams of going to,
Which with any luck will never come true.

From ‘Paint your Wagon’ by Lerner & Loewe

Those words surely were spoken from the heart and soul of all those who are deeply unhappy at home. Though it all too frequently family life is like that, it doesn’t have to be. Should you be one of those who wish to create more peaceful relationships at home and in the world around you, you have come to the right place. If you are not already aware of this, you will soon discover in this part of the jottings that Astrology has a valuable contribution to make towards this goal.

Saturn, the planet of Karma who is known as the stern taskmaster of the Zodiac, at the end of October 2009, moved into Libra, the sign of relationships, marriage and partnerships of all kinds. Saturn’s transit through this sign will take approx. two and a half years. During this period each one of us is likely to encounter extra tests and trials in all our relationships, which will provide us all with great learning opportunities. This, however, is only possible for those who understand what is at stake and who perceive Saturn’s lessons in the right light. This enables them to approach all their relationships with love in their hearts, for themselves and all others. The Universe in its infinite wisdom requires that, at special times like this Saturn transit, there is an increased need for handling those around us with at least a measure of Its wisdom. That is why it provides it all for those who are ready to receive it and therefore willing to listen.

It is good to know that in Libra Saturn is in its exaltation and that natural help is coming everybody’s way, even if at times we forget to ask for it. A planet is said to be strong or in the old terms ‘dignified’ when it is either in the sign it rules or in the sign in which it is exalted. This is when the essential and most positive qualities of the energies of the planet involved can unfold to its best and developed to its highest potential. More of this theme later. To celebrate Saturn’s transit through its sign of exaltation and to enable as many as possible to take full advantage of the energies available at this time, the idea for sharing in this form with you the learning of a whole lifetime spent in Libra.

Just like the Astro Files, the insights you are going to find in this section of the jottings were written down, revised and edited time and again, in the course of many a year. Like all of the Astro Files, they are an essential part of the ingredients in the recipe for bringing peace to our world through creating ever more peaceful and loving relationships. Through a better understanding of their Sun sign and ours each one of my interpretations are aimed at helping anyone who is interested in them to become more tolerant towards the foibles and peccadilloes of their fellow travellers on the great journey, known as life, back home into the awareness of our true nature and origin.

All information is given in the hope that it may be useful to the wise ones amongst you who are interested in finding more contentment with life and inner peace through improving and healing their relationships.

Recommended Reading:
• ‘Saturn as the Teacher and Rewarder’
• ‘Saturn – Gatekeeper of the New Age’

RECIPE FOR A HAPPY HOME
Take two loving hearts and
Melt them into one.
Add lots of love;
Mix well with respect;
Add gentleness, laughter, joy,
Faith, hope and self-control;
Pour in gallons of understanding;
Don’t forget patience;
Blend in listening ears;
Allowing each other to grow and share;
Sprinkle generously with
Smiles, hugs, and kisses.
Bake for a lifetime.

Yield: one happy home

Anon.

Dear Friends,

‘That’s all very well,’ I hear you say, ‘but how many of us can actually achieve that state of affairs?’ The aim of this part of the jottings is to help us all to get a bit closer to it. It is dedicated to another aspect of warfaring, which is probably even more destructive than the conventional kind on this plane of life. To my mind, relationships represent in many cases the most vicious and damaging battleground to human souls of all. Every small effort to conduct them in more harmonious and peaceful ways counts as a valuable first step towards making our whole world into a more peaceful one.

Each one of the feuds in our family circles is a microcosm of the macrocosm of all the wars that have ever been fought on the outer plane of our world between the different members of the families of nations. They all were and still are reflections and outer manifestations of the struggles within the microcosm of our inner self and the families surrounding us. More wars are fought in this way in the smaller family circles than in the world around us. And I know from first hand experience that they can be far more destructive to the souls of all participants than any fighting in the outer world could ever be.

Buildings that have been destroyed can be rebuilt and the souls of those who are killed move into the world of spirit, to rest and wait until they are ready to re-enter another lifetime on the Earth. Destroyed relationships are far more difficult to repair, as we all know. The wounds we inflict upon each other in our human conflicts we take with us into the world of spirit. We bring them and the relationship with us into our next lifetime and all following ones, until the differences between us can finally be resolved and the wounds healed. All wars in the material world eventually come to their natural end, no matter how long they may last. But, unless someone eventually starts to work consciously on healing such troublesome relationships, all unresolved issues that are left behind at the end of each earthly sojourn have to be freshly tackled next time round.

This is where astrology really comes into its own. Better than anything else, in my view, it can assist in finding a new appreciation of the other’s and our own uniqueness and preciousness, as well as their particular pathway and the special lessons they have come to learn which – in spite of being connected with us – may be very different from ours. Focussing on the other’s inner beauty and strengths, instead of on their flaws which, after all, everybody has on this level of life or we wouldn’t be here, sets us free from the negative frame of mind of criticising and fault-finding missions, the most destructive element in any relationship.

With hindsight it’s easy to see that the Astro Files were created specifically for the purpose of healing our relationship. From the beginning, they have been available free of charge to all. Familiarising ourselves with the purpose and meaning of this life in general and all human relationships in particular, getting to know our own and the other’s special requirements and soul needs for the present lifetimes, increases our understanding of ourselves and others. In the form of astrology the Universe places an invaluable instrument in everybody’s hands for doing just that. It, like no other means known to me, can help us create happier, more harmonious and mutually satisfying relationships.

First and foremost this happens when we stop to expect reactions from our partners of which they may as yet be incapable, because the relevant part of their psyche has not yet been built in by them. We are all in the process of becoming more whole and we attract others into our lives so they can help us develop and integrate some of the parts that are still missing in our own psyche. We are meant to do the same for them in return. When this purpose has been fulfilled for one of the partners, the other one either learns from them or their ways separate, so each can draw different people and life lessons towards them. All that is part of the beginning of the wisdom, which we have been placed in this life to find and with whose help the infested parts of all relationships can be forgiven, healed and removed, once and for all.

THIS TIME ROUND
All of us are blessed with individuality.
We are different from each other,
Because that is how God wants us to be.
And that is why perceptions and opinions often differ
And we can’t see eye to eye with others.
But, when angry words are spoken and tempers start to fly,
Let’s calm ourselves and make an effort to step into the other one’s shoes,
So we can see their point of view and reconcile our differences,
The way the Universe wants us to do.

Only through getting along with others, through every kind of strife,
Can we hope to be friends, when – at the latest –
At the end of our present lifetime our ways have to part.
We have been placed in this life so our horizons should broaden
And our spirit and soul grow in wisdom and understanding.
So that gradually we can get ever more from
The span of time that has been allotted to us,
This time round.

Anon.
Edited by Aquarius

HEALING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

It seems to me that the most urgent requirement of our race, now that we are growing into spiritual maturity, is the healing of our relationship with God. Through this the one with all life does the same and we begin to think of God in Cosmic terms. A slow dawning is taking place in the individual and collective consciousness of our world that all notions of personality cults, like the one that for so long surrounded the Master Jesus, are waiting to be shed. Such beliefs were necessary and justified during humankind’s spiritual childhood and whilst growing into adulthood.

But, having reached our present evolutionary level we recognise with ever increasing clarity that now they are but excess baggage for us. This bring us the realisation of the true role the Master has been playing all along as a benevolent, kind and loving influence for the whole of humankind, one of the spirit guides and good shepherds in charge of the spiritual wellbeing and development of our world. There is no need for anyone to give up reaching out for his helping hand. For as long as any soul still requires it, it will be there.

To my mind, the prime requirement for healing our relationship with God is a reappraisal and a redefinition of who and what God is and who we are. Each in its own way, all the spiritual teachings of the past and those that are still with us, have tried to show our race the way back home into the knowledge that in truth we are spirits and souls, who are temporarily encased in matter, that we are part of God and that God is part of us. I see God as the source of all life, wisdom, knowledge and truth. It is the all pervading, loving, knowing, forgiving and powerful spirit that is behind every physical manifestation of life, whose spark is alive in each one of us.

What a long time it has taken until we finally get to know the true nature of God and our own, and that God is by no means an outside force, but an inner reality! For me, the three aspects of the Divine are Father/Mother Creator and their only born Son, the Universal Christ. One of its sparks is in every human soul. We are physical manifestations of the Christ Spirit and all together we are the body of Christ. God is that which is good in you and me and everybody. It is the ability – the power, if you like – to bring forth the best that is within us.

Doing the right things by following our inner guidance, being kind, caring, loving, understanding, honest and true within all our experiences is the only behaviour that is worthy to be called Divine, for it makes us God-like. In seed form we all contain this power, the power of God – of good. Never doubt that even in the worst criminal it is there, merely waiting to wake from its slumbers and to come alive some day. If this does not happen during this lifetime, it is sure to do so in another.

God is the love that dwells within every human heart; in some of us it is still asleep and in others it is already awake. Yet, it is always there. This love in our heart is our inner teacher, our intuition. It is the small still voice within us that is always trying to guide and protect us, through giving us constant feedback to all our impressions. Our own heart is the only place in the whole wide world where truth is known. If we wish to find it, all that is required from us is to look into and learn to listen to it. It alone knows what is true for us and also what really is good for the present state of our spiritual development. The voice within every heart is now coming alive and waiting to guide each earthly personality to its own inner truth. Call upon it and listen to it, so that it can help you understand and digest all the new concepts you are finding along the way. Your inner guide, your God or Highest Self, is waiting to show you whether whatever you are seeing, hearing and reading at any given time, is false or true.

No outer influences are involved in our spiritual awakening; everything comes from within. As one becomes more familiar with this inner guidance and learns to respond to and rely on it, a deep faith and trust in the goodness of life grows within us. In this way, each soul learns through its own experiences that all its true needs will always be met and that everything that has ever happened in our world rests safely in the hands of God and the Angels. Whenever there is talk about faith and trust, let no-one confuse them with religion. Although the two notions do not necessarily exclude each other, in practice they frequently do.

Nobody asks those who believe in God to give up one iota of their faith. It is merely that during a change of consciousness the perception of God adjusts itself to the new understanding we are finding – that is all! This brings with it the realisation that Heaven and Hell are states of consciousness and that they never were places that anyone goes to. The corollary of this is that no matter how good a life I have lived on the Earth plane, upon my departure from it I shall not go to Heaven. To me, that has always been quite a scary prospect, as no-one seems to know what this entails. It’s good to know that everything that happens on this level of life is a learning experience and that, independent of how bad a life a person may have led, no-one goes to hell either. The hell they are creating and the suffering this causes, for themselves and those around them, is punishment enough in itself.

I enjoy the knowledge that it is not death that looms ahead for each and every one of us, when we leave our physical bodies behind, but a rebirth and release into our true home, where our loved ones are waiting to welcome us. We shall then all stand before each other in our true roles as children of God and siblings in the vast family of all life, rather than as grandparents, parents and children. I hope that for all the relationships in which our reconciliatory efforts on this side of the veil of consciousness that separates our two worlds failed, on the other side it will still be possible to dissolve the chains and shackles of Karma that have remained between us through true forgiveness that naturally grows from our increased understanding.

As day by day our perception that God is in all life increases, our relationship with God heals simultaneously. This is a deep mystical experience every soul eventually has to go through. The realisation that all life is a loving sacrifice and everything it contains is sacred and holy takes us back into the oneness with God and with the whole of life. Almost imperceptibly our horizons gradually widen into the awareness of the sanctity, preciousness and holiness of everything that is, on all levels of existence.

Recommended Reading:
• ‘What is God?’
• ‘Reflections on Faith’

CAN ASTROLOGY HELP HEAL RELATIONSHIPS?

Before we go any further with this, we need to remind ourselves that the chaos, discord and disharmony, the selfishness and greed that surround our soul on the Earth plane is in stark contrast to the world we once came from. Existing and being trapped in such a world can be very painful and the cause of much suffering for sensitive and delicate human souls. Yet, these conditions too are not in our lives for nothing. They are meant to teach our soul some invaluable lessons through which it grows and finds the expansion of consciousness we all have come to seek in this life, no matter what.

As time goes by, every soul progresses on the evolutionary scale, one small step after another. No matter what happens to us on the Earth plane and how far we remove ourselves from God, the inner yearnings for a better and more beautiful world where all live together in harmonious relationships with each other will not go away from any soul. In fact, the deeper we descend into physicality, the more powerful these longings call us. They are our inner guidance from the soul of the Great Mother/Father, who in this way eventually draws each one of Its children back home into the awareness of its true nature and into the harmony and oneness with Him/Herself and with all life.

In the first six signs of the zodiac, from Aries to Virgo, the soul remains very self-centred. It may be so occupied with building itself a personality that this happens sometimes to the exclusion of all others. However, from Libra onward the soul’s interest turns away from purely ‘I and me first’. Its consciousness begins to open up to the concepts of ‘we and us’ and it learns to appreciate relationships and partnerships of all kinds. One of Libra’s main soul lessons is the search for the point of balance that lies half-way between the two extremes of utter selfishness, as for example expressed by young souls in Aries, and that of total surrender of the self to the wishes and needs of the partner in Libra, which can be highly detrimental to the soul’s own spiritual development.

Truly wise souls take care not to live in the extreme characteristics of any of the signs that are in polar opposition to each other in the zodiac. The point of balance always lies in the middle. This is reflected by the position of the dot in the small circle in the middle of the birthchart halfway between each set of signs. The zodiac is the wheel of fortune around which the soul in its search for growth and enlightenment is required to whiz, until eventually it reaches the point when it must learn to become still and conduct its life from the centre in the hub of the wheel. Before it can do this, the soul has to move countless numbers of times round and round the spinning wheel of life, for that’s the only way it can grow and learn from its experiences. Enriched by each one it moves through lifetime after lifetime of ever new and challenging situations that lead to more and more growth.

After developing its earthly personality in fiery Aries with all its selfishness, push and drive, the soul moves on into much steadier and earthbound Taurus. This means it is descending deeper into matter and therefore needs to learn how to deal with and appreciate the value of material possessions, including its physical body and life on the Earth plane. When the Sun moves through this sign, it is springtime for the soul and also for everything on the Earth plane. In the sky above us Venus appears as the morning star and the time has come for enjoying and appreciating the goods things of the Earth, especially all natural things as well as the more earthy aspects of love-making. Metaphorically speaking this applies to the lessons of the soul throughout its lifetime through Taurus. Spiritually, Venus in Taurus is the morning star in the evolution of the human soul. By the time it reaches Libra, Venus has become the evening star.

GOOD RELATIONSHIPS DON’T GROW ON TREES

As briefly touched upon earlier, Saturn, the planet of Karma, is exalted in Libra, the sign of relationships and partnerships of all kinds. Relationships are all important to every soul’s development. Without them no human progress is possible, but acquiring the skill of nurturing them so they can grow into good, loving and stable ones, takes a great deal of patience and determination. This kind of relationships never did grow on trees. They neither appear in anyone’s life out of thin air nor do they happen perchance, but have to be created, by us. This is a skill that has to be acquired just like any other and to become really good at it may take many lifetimes.

All our relationships were created by us and we have brought them with us into this lifetime, so that through them the parties involved can learn and grow. This applies even our most difficult relationships – maybe especially those. It was our own selfishness and of the other one that made them the way they are. Making them into harmoniously functioning ones is going to require a great deal of determination and downright hard work. Resolving the issues that were once created between any two souls is of particular importance during our present lifetime. That is why the Universe is offering us this chance for making peace at last and developing this connection into a mutually satisfying one. Rest assured it is worth every small effort we make, because the more harmonious relationships we create during our present lifetime, the more of them shall we be able to bring with us and enjoy in all subsequent ones.

It’s never too late to get started! To my mind, most helpful of all is the recognition that all difficulties and obstacles we encounter on our pathway through life – not merely the ones in relationships – are in truth challenges, to be worked with and learnt from. This process speeds up considerably once we have grown wise enough to accept Saturn as our teacher. If we willingly accept and submit ourselves to old Father Time’s stern and undeviating demands, we can build stability into our character make-up as well as our relationships. Before this lifetime is over for us, we are likely to find that life itself has equipped us with a fine sense of responsibility and self-discipline, as well as the ability of telling right behaviour from wrong, in ourselves and those around us. And that is the only way Saturn’s role in our lives can change from that of the teacher into the one of the rewarder.

THE PLANET MARS

I can think of nothing better than the study of the whole of the Astro Files, to keep track of how our own soul has evolved and grown in wisdom through its own experiences, as we were required do steadily move from one sign to another, lifetime after lifetime. To me, the most essential building block for happy and lasting relationships that sustain and support us on the Earth plane is a better understanding of the planetary energies.

Mars and Venus are the most important ones involved here. As Aries, ruled by fiery Mars, is the first sign of the zodiac, we shall first take a closer look at Mars, the planet of desire. In its most basic expression on the Earth plane it is a force, a drive that makes young souls feel and say loudly: ‘I want, want, want – and I want it NOW! If anything gets into the way of the force of the Martian desires by refusing to do as the soul in that inexperienced state wants, the unwilling ones get suppressed, shouted down, bullied and, if need be, manipulated into submission. At worst Mars is willing to walk over dead bodies to get what it wants. It goes to war and unthinkingly destroys everything that does not surrender willingly, if need be even the objects of its desires.

Such things happen, so that we should learn from them and recognise within ourselves that a strong sense of self-preservation is a natural part of every human soul. This is where tendencies towards selfishness and greed for getting our share of the goodies Mother Earth has to offer have their origin. The zodiac is a symbol of the great wheel of life. As in the course of many lifetimes the soul travels time and again round the zodiac, the excessive manifestations of these character traces – so very rampant in our world – gradually have to be transmuted into more agreeable and acceptable variations on this theme.

The Mars energy moves the newly created Divine spark onto the Earth plane where it needs to build itself an earthly personality. By each soul dwelling in its own physical body it begins to recognise and experience itself as an individual. With the help of its developing earthly personality the soul finds itself a place in its new environment. It maintains this place by bursting forth with all its youthful vigour and vim and the enthusiasm for the enjoyment of life that is typical of the Fire element and the signs it rules. Mars is a force that in young soul expresses itself like a wild mustang that has to be caught, tamed and harnessed before it can be ridden wisely. To master this energy, the same as all others, every human soul must spend sufficient lifetimes on the Earth plane. Instead of the earthly desire nature riding us, it needs to be conquered, so that eventually we can ride on the desires of our Highest Self, i.e. following the directions of our inner teacher, back home into the oneness with God.

To make this possible the soul has to learn the wise handling of the Martian Fire. In the small earthly self this kind of fire initially burns as unbridled passion and when that is the case, it can turn into something thoroughly destructive and evil. It takes time until the soul wakes up to the realisation that its own sexual energies are part of God’s creative/spiritual energies of the purest kind. Each soul must eventually learn how to them with great caution and reverence. It is worth noting that in God’s creation nothing is inherently evil or bad. The intention behind any action alone decides whether its outcome is going to be good or evil.

All energies are basically good ones, including the one of Mars. However, when it is used selfishly and for the domination of one part of the population, on an individual, national and international level, this energy all too easily gets out of control. Ever escalating conflicts and wars are the result, as the state of our planet clearly demonstrates. If we and our world ever wish to find peace, the control and mastery of the Mars energy is the most vital lesson that is facing us and our world. Bear in mind that this energy is usually the underlying cause of all manner of warfare, especially in human relationships.

Recommended Reading:
• ‘The Sun in Aries’
• ‘The Sun in Scorpio’

THE PLANET VENUS

Our true nature is love and Venus is the planet of love, as well as of peace, balance, harmony and unity. Under the influence of its energies we can learn how to make the conditions in our lives more bearable through harmonising them and through re-uniting things and people that have somehow drifted apart. This is what we need most of all for the healing of all our relationships. Through Venus in earthy Taurus, feminine, and airy Libra, masculine, the Universe demonstrates to us the feminine and masculine energies and characteristics of the qualities of this planet. Each sign teaches us the expressions of the Venusian energies in its unique way. The positioning of Venus as sometimes the Morning Star’ and other times the ‘Evening Star’, mentioned earlier, carries a message of its own that is charged with symbolisms for the human soul on its return into its true nature and home.

First each one of has to descend into matter on the Earth plane, where we are all teachers and pupils to each other. Taurus teaches us to appreciate all the good things Mother Earth has to offer, especially its material goodies, whereas a lifetime in Libra focuses on the value of relationships and partnerships. At the latest at the end of each lifetime in physicality there comes the understanding that any of the material aspects do not matter anything like as much as those of the spirit. Good relationships with everything that shares or life with us is much more important than the earthly things, for in due course they inevitably pass away. Our relationships are of vital importance because they teach us how to shed ever more of our inborn selfishness through loving and caring for others who, in return, partake in the same lesson with us.

The wisdom every soul must gather with the help of the lessons received under the guardianship of Venus is intended to light up the way through our earthly existence. It shows us how we can ease the load of the earthly cross through living in ever more loving ways that are in harmony with the laws of the Cosmos and also our real nature. Every soul eventually reaches the evolutionary point when it is ready to begin its ascent back into the higher realms of air and understanding, represented in the zodiac by Libra, where Venus lights its the way as the evening star. In this sign the planet teaches different kinds of expressing human love with the help of all our faculties. This requires the development of the inborn intelligence that is a natural part of the equipment of every one of God’s children of the Earth. The Universe offers all souls born into the Air signs ever more opportunities for taking charge of their earthly minds and its thought patterns. Libra adds to the soul’s natural equipment the fine art of creating better relationships through learning how to express ourselves with kindness, tact and diplomacy, and finding words of love and forgiveness at the right moment.

A circle with a small cross either underneath or on top of it is the symbol of Venus. The circle represents the human spirit and soul, and the cross the Earth, its existence in matter. I prefer to visualise the cross as being below the circle, because it shows the ability of the human spirit and soul who, through the power of love – in the fullness of time and in the long course of its evolution – can and indeed is required to rise above the cross of matter, i.e. the purely physical aspects of Earth life. Although in biology, the Venus symbol represents the female sex and femininity, astrology clearly shows that it would be a mistake to describe the planet’s energy as a purely feminine one. The planet’s dual placing in feminine Taurus and masculine Libra clearly demonstrates that the ability of giving and receiving love, living in harmony with others and peace-making, from the beginnings of time on the Earth were never meant to be a monopoly of the feminine.

Recommended Reading:
• ‘The Sun in Taurus’
• ‘The Sun in Libra’

COMPATIBILITY OF THE SIGNS

In case you are wondering by now about the compatibility between your own Sun sign and that of your loved ones, my experience has shown that there are no hard and fast rules but as a general rule the signs within their own element get on well with each other, also the signs that are in polar opposition in the zodiac, for example Earth and Water, Fire and Air. Because there is an underlying harmony between them they enjoy working with and responding to each other. Water gets on well with Earth, Air with Fire, and vice versa. Whenever two extremes join forces and find the golden point of balance halfway between them, they are capable of giving of their best. The others can have difficulties, but they do not have to. In loving relationships where two people are seriously making an effort to get on with each other, in my view, it should always be possible to work things out together.

My experience has shown that the least compatible of all signs are the ones next to each other in the zodiac, for example Scorpio and Sagittarius or Taurus and Gemini. It will come clearer to you why this should be so, when you study the interpretations of these signs and especially their energies. Reading about the characteristics of the Sun signs can save us a great deal of heart-ache in all our relationships through simply making ourselves familiar with the inherent qualities and energies of each sign. This is particularly helpful when one wants to find out about the compatibility of two people. For instance, if Sagittarian’s potential partners knew beforehand about their loved one’s strong thirst for freedom, many future problems could – one way or another – so easily be avoided. If you were in their shoes, armed with this knowledge you would be able to make a conscious decision whether you are willing to put up with this need for freedom. All will be well if you also have Sagittarius in a prominent position in your chart, for example if your Moon or Ascendant is in this sign, because you would then need a lot of freedom yourself. After all, like attracts like and this is because we are magnetic beings who attract in their partners what we are ourselves.

Each one of the twelve signs of the zodiac has a different temperament and the two signs next to each other are usually of a profoundly dissimilar nature. The approach to life of Sagittarius and Capricorn, the two signs side by side, are as good an example of this as any, because they could not be less alike. Driven by their freedom loving energy, Sagittarians look into the future and are constantly searching – whether they are consciously aware of this or not – for ways out of any entrapment they encounter, even if it is only an imaginary one. In contrast to this, Capricorn clings to tradition, the past, home and mother. Above all things, Sagittarians want to be free. But it may take them a surprisingly long time until it dawns on them, through their own life’s experiences, that the only true freedom that can be had in physicality is that of becoming aware of spiritual free will. That is the freedom we are all trying to find, but the need for it is certainly accentuated during a lifetime in Sagittarius.

ASK THE BEASTS AND THEY SHALL TEACH YOU
UNIVERSAL GUIDANCE FROM THE ENVIRONMENT

‘For you shall be in league with the stones of the field;
And the wild beasts shall surrender [their wisdom] to you.’
Job 5:23

‘But ask now the beasts and they shall teach you;
And the fowls of the air and they shall tell you;
Or speak to the Earth and it shall teach you;
And the fishes of the sea shall declare to you.’
Job 12: 7-8

The world around us is an outer manifestation of the inner life of our race. It acts like a mirror that constantly reflects its state back to us. Subtly and in many different ways, the Universe has always been trying to guide us and teach us by showing us better ways of living harmoniously with each other and our world. Martin Luther, the Father of the Reformation in Germany who, for the first time in its history, made the Bible accessible to lay people by translating it into German, observed: ‘Study the animal world and you will understand human behaviour much better.’ The same applies to all other parts of the world around us. Much new understanding can be found through observing it and then interpreting intuitively what kind of messages it may wish to convey to us.

Take for example the trees and observe how their branches reach ever higher upwards into the sky and their roots work their way deeper and deeper into the Earth, in search of nourishment and water. They are doing so with such force that they are capable of growing through and breaking up stones. Our developing inner roots can and need to do the same. Like the trees, we are bridges between Heaven and Earth and are in this life to behave like them, the way Richard St. Barbe Baker describes in his book ‘Green Glory’: ‘The Earth itself is a child of the Sun and its tree children are ever striving to get nearer their distant father.’

For a very long time the Bible has been trying to draw our attention to the fact that, if we but open our inner eyes and ears and pay attention to our environment, God’s human children of the Earth can receive guidance and participate in her great wisdom. Becoming aware of our oneness with all life, we realise that we are indeed in league with the stones of the field and that, when we approach the wild beasts with love in our hearts, they eventually are willing to not to exactly surrender to us, but to tolerate us and live in harmony with us. Through watching them much can be learnt about the loving care and wisdom of the Goddess, the Great Mother of all life and the feminine wisdom aspect of the Divine Trinity. With the help of the animals we can find a better perception of how life works on all its levels. By taking a closer look at the animal kingdom and letting the behaviour of the beasts speak to us it is possible to become more familiar with the drives and motivations of our own inner self.

The flying creatures mean to teach us about the human spirit. Like them, we have the ability to fly. Yet, this doesn’t happen effortlessly. It is a learning curve like any other with all its inherent trials and errors. Watch any young bird family. You don’t have to look for anything exotic. A family of house sparrows will serve our purpose perfectly. Observe how difficult it is for the young ones to take to their wings and to go in search of nourishment. But, when they finally take off and soar through the air, they remind us that our spirit can fly, too, and that in truth it is as free as they are, in fact more so!

The fishes of the sea are symbolism for the creative ideas that are floating in great abundance in the vast ocean of life. When one pays attention to them they are only too willing to declare themselves to us and help us gain a better understanding of our soul’s existence in the vast ocean of love and life. Watching the behaviour of the beasts demonstrates that what they have within is also in us, because many of our habits are like theirs. We all stand to gain from paying attention to the beliefs of the Earth and Nature attuned traditions of the Native Americans and the way they have always echoed and been in harmony with the Ancient Teachings that have come down the ages to our world.

ANIMAL TEACHERS

Since time immemorial, animals have been humankind’s spiritual companions. The earliest indication of the spiritual significance of the human-animal relationship can be found in the twenty thousand year old cave wall paintings of Cro-Magnon people. In many if not most cultures, animals have served a variety of spiritual functions. They have been linked with supernatural forces, acted as guardians and shamans and appeared in images of our true home, the world of spirit. They have even been worshipped as agents of Gods and Goddesses. Many ancient creation myths, for example, depict God with a dog. These stories do not explain the existence of the dog. Like God, the dog is assumed to have existed from the beginning. With this, the primordial people revealed their intense attachment to their animal companions.

That animals touch us in a deep inner place is not a modern-day phenomenon, but one that pervades the history of the human-animal relationship. We sense that we can benefit spiritually in our relationship with animals. This is right, because they offer us something fundamental which is a direct and immediate sense of both the joy and wonder of creation. Witnessing how animals feel much more intensely and purely than we do, we may yearn to express ourselves with the same abandon and integrity. Animals fully reveal to us what we can only glimpse in ourselves and that is feeling and the organisation of feeling, which forms the core of our own self. It is possible to sense through our relationship to animals how we can recover that which is true within us and, through the discovery of that truth, find our own spiritual direction in life.

Most importantly, animals teach us about love. How to love, how to enjoy being loved, how loving itself is an activity that generates more love and the way it radiates out and encompasses an ever larger circle of others. Animals share with us their abundance and encourage us to do the same.

They teach us the language of the spirit. Through our contact with animals we can learn to overcome the limits imposed by our individuality and the notion that we are all different from each other. They can help us reach beyond the walls we have erected between the mundane and the sacred, and stretch ourselves to discover new frontiers of consciousness. Although animals cannot in human language to us, they can and do communicate with us in a language that does not require words. They show us how words often are not even helpful but get in the way of understanding.

THE CHRISTMAS MOUSE

As an illustration of how animal guidance can and does work in real life, I would like to share something from my own experiences with you. Probably the most valuable lesson I was ever taught throughout my whole life was given to my by the Christmas mouse when, some years ago, we had rented a place in Ireland, which was infested by mice. These creatures seemed to be tamer than the pet mice our children had when they were small. They didn’t scarper when they heard or saw you, but just walked away. There was no peaceful way of getting rid of them, so we decided to move on. One of the mice seemed to be particular audacious, some kind of a leader, if there is such a thing among mice. When there were only a few days left until our move, I appointed that mouse to be our Christmas Mouse. The next days was St. Nicholas day, so I cut a small wedge of cheese and chopped it into smaller portions. I left them in a pile by the side of our kitchen bin, where the mouse traps had been before, but this time there was no trap. I wished the creature Happy Christmas and went for a walk.

Upon my return every bit of the cheese had gone. My theory was that, if we feed this mouse, instead of trying to catch it, maybe it will go to sleep in one corner and not rummage through our cupboards, leaving most unhygienic droppings every¬ where. One can but try! Oh wonder, by the look of things it seemed that my method succeeded. The next day at lunchtime I spotted our mouse in the kitchen. I had fed it with some home-baked soda bread, which it obviously enjoyed because every scrap had gone within a very short space of time. Not wishing to leave our mouse wanting in any way, I offered it a small slice of best cheddar, chopped up into the most handsome morsels. As by late afternoon the cheese was still in the place where I put it, I hoped that mousey was fast a-snooze in a corner somewhere. The next morning, fully expecting that all cheese would have disappeared, I found to my amazement that it had not! Some of it was still there. The mouse had taken what it needed and left the rest for those who came after it.

How much the animal kingdom can teach us! Even this tiny mouse with its modest requirements, taking only what it really needed and leaving anything it did not want for someone else to find and enjoy. One cannot help wondering how many human beings would do that, if they found themselves in such reduced circumstances. To me, the encounter with the mouse encapsulated the whole story of our problems on the Earth plane. Amazing how the mouse’s behaviour clearly showed a way to solving them! When the human race at last has reached the degree of maturity displayed by this diminutive creature, all our problems will disappear very quickly and in a most natural way. That is the way it is going to happen in the Age of Aquarius, the age of plenty for all. We shall all do our share of bringing it about. Why are we so greedy and why do we have so little trust in the fact that all our needs are always being provided for? What an excellent example of teaching by good example! That’s what the Christmas mouse did for me.

What does animal speak of the Native American tradition have to say about mouse? It scurries about and pays close attention to the little things in life that we often miss. Mouse scrutinises everything to see whether it’s worth a nibble. To us this is a reminder that it is essential to attend to the small details of our lives. Mouse shows up the importance of analysing situations before acting and the necessity for balancing our hearts with our minds and for not losing sight of the bigger picture, because otherwise trouble may ensue.

The ‘Animal Cards – the Discovery of Power through the Ways of Animals’ and the accompanying book by Jamie Sams and David Carson – an excellent set, highly recommended – had this loud and clear message for me: ‘Mouse medicine is telling you to scrutinise. Look at yourself and others carefully. Maybe that big hunk of cheese is sitting on a trigger that will spring a deadly trap. Maybe the cat is in the pantry waiting for you. Maybe someone to whom you have delegated authority, such as a doctor, lawyer or even a plumber, is not doing the job faithfully The message is to see what is right before your eyes and to take action accordingly.’ As I found out much later, every bit of this guidance from the Universe, at that particular time, was spot on!

THE BEAR

During the past weeks and months, images, presentations and videos of different kinds of bears kept on arriving in my inbox with such frequency that it eventually dawned on me that the Universe must want to draw my attention to them. But how? This is what I found in the ‘Animal Cards’:

‘The strength of bear medicine is the power of introspection. It lies in the West on the great medicine wheel of life. Bear seeks honey, or the sweetness of truth, within the hollow of an old tree. In the winter, when the Ice Queen reigns and the face of death is upon the Earth, bear enters the womb-cave to hibernate, to digest the year’s experience. It is said that our goals reside in the West also. To accomplish the goals and dreams that we carry, the art of introspection is necessary…’

‘… Reclaim the power of knowing. Find joy in the silence and richness of the mother’s womb. Allow the thoughts of confusion to be laid to rest, as clarity emerges from the West, nurturing your dreams as the Earth Mother nourishes us all… Only through being your own advisor can you attain your true goals. Anything less than the doing of that which gives you the most joy is denial. To achieve [true] happiness you must know yourself. To know yourself is to know your body, your mind and your spirit. Use your strengths to overcome your weaknesses and that both are necessary in your evolution…’

There comes a time in every life when many of the things and relationships that once mattered a great deal have outgrown their usefulness and are therefore ready to go from us. My astrological progressions reveal that, for me, one of those times has come. I am reaching the end of a large cycle of experiences that lasted roughly thirty years, which has taken me through the whole gamut of the special lessons provided by each one of the signs of the zodiac. Because my energy levels will gradually decrease more and more, the next two and a half years are going to present me with a kind of prolonged hibernation. Struggling against the stream of energies from the Universe is never advisable. It is preferable to go with the flow of our lives and to allow the things that are ready for it to die a natural death, when the time for doing so has come for them.

The deeper one moves into this progression the more intensely one become aware of how, through steadily lowering our energy levels, the Universe invites us to retreat a bit more than usual from the hustle and bustle of life. One begins to feel a steadily increasing need to create a space and find more time for going within. As one doesn’t have much choice in the matter, wise ones do not try to force any issues. They stop rushing around and constantly doing things. Listening to their inner guidance they discover that quiet and peaceful pastimes, inner reflections and meditations go particularly well at this time and may become more enjoyable than ever before. For artistically creative people this can be a wonderfully inspiring time, so they take full advantage of it. Aware that at the end of this period a complete rebirth will be waiting for me, I look forward to finding out what surprises the Universe may then have in store for me.

THE FLIGHT OF THE GEESE
I hear the low wind wash the softening snow,
The low tide loiter down the shore. The night
Full filled with April forecast, hath no light.
The salt wave on the sedge-flat pulses slow.
Through the hid furrows lisp in murmurous flow
The thaw’s shy ministers; and hark! The height
Of heaven grows weird and loud with unseen flight
Of strong hosts prophesying as they go!

High through the drenched and hollow night their wings
Beat northward hard on winter’s trail. The sound
Of their confused and solemn noises, borne
Athwart the dark to their long Arctic morn,
Comes with a sanction and an awe profound,
A boding of unknown, foreshadowed things.

Roberts, Charles G. D. 1860-1943

One of Mother Earth’s most wondrous and profound spectacles is surely a skein of loudly honking wild geese flying overhead in one of their precision formations. The sight of wild untamed creatures behaving in such orderly and disciplined fashion seems to have fascinated those watching below for a very long time. Who taught them or rather tells them how to dos so? Their instinct! Yes, but what is that? It’s their inner guidance that is part of the wisdom of the Great Mother of all life, as it expresses itself through the geese. Each time the moment for this has come, it takes care of their safe arrival and guides them to distant shores, where feeding and breeding is possible for them, when condition are no longer suitable for doing so in their usual summer habitat.

As studying the behaviour of wild geese is of particular relevance for our family relationships, we shall scrutinise it, especially with regard to the underlying purpose of their wonderful flying formation displays. As each one flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the birds that follows. By flying in a V configuration, the whole flock adds seventy-one percent greater flying range than if each bird flew alone. Applied to us, this means if we share a common direction and sense a community we can get where we are going quicker and easier because are then travelling on the thrust of one another.

Geese and some other species of birds migrate in distinctive ‘V’ or ‘U’ formations or in lines. This is because by taking advantage of the wing tip vortex of the bird in front, each bird can save energy by reducing drag. The energy savings in flight can be as much as fifty percent. When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front of it. Applied to us, this means that when we have as much sense as a goose we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others.

When the lead goose tires, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies to the point position. Contrary to popular opinion, the lead bird of the V formation is not always an adult male; rather, the geese shift their relative positions frequently during the flight. This can teach us that it pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent on each others skills, capabilities and unique arrangements of gifts, talents or resources.

The geese make loud honking noises, called contact calls, to help them stay together. This can also be interpreted as meaning that the ones behind are encouraging those up front to keep up their speed. We need to make sure the noises we make encourage those who are walking up front. Research has shown that where there is encouragement, better production results are achieved.

When a goose gets sick, wounded or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock. Families of geese do not break up after the breeding season, but form strong family units that migrate and winter together until they return to their breeding ground. Geese families fly together and are very closely knit. If one drops out, the others family member follow and stay with the injured goose. Should this be possible, they will later re-form their own formation or they will join another formation when the injured goose gets well or dies. Those of us who are as wise as the geese stand by each other in difficult times, as well as when we are strong.

WHAT CATS CAN TEACH US
Cats never:
Sit and worry about tomorrow;
Stay where they are not happy;
Do things they do not want to do;
Tell people everything about themselves;
Go jogging in the midday Sun!
Anon.

And when the world gets us down and threatens to close in on us, it’s all too easy to forget that life is supposed to be fun. Cats are constant reminders that it is and how we too should go about enjoying life to the fullest. Watch how they always find time to play and although some of their owners buy them expensive toys, they just as happily play with an empty cotton reel, chase a snippet of paper or explore a cardboard box. With this they show us it is possible to gain the greatest pleasure from the most simple things. So, why not be good to ourselves, behave more like cats and start building more fun into our lives?

WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM DOGS

• When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
• Never pass up an opportunity for going for a joyride.
• Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
• Only when it’s in your best interest, practice obedience, but let others know when they’re invading your territory.
• Take naps and stretch before rising.
• Run, romp, and play daily.
• Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
• Avoid biting when a growl and a snarl will do.
• On warm days, stop what you are doing and lie on your back in the grass.
• If it’s too hot in the Sun, drink lots of water and find yourself a comfortable spot under a shady tree.
• When you’re happy, show it by dancing around and wagging your entire body.
• No matter how often you’re scolded, don’t buy into the guilt thing and pout. Instead, go straight back and make friends.
• Delight in the simple joy of long walks.
• Eat with gusto and enthusiasm, but stop when you’ve had enough.
• Be loyal and faithful to your friends.
• Never pretend to be something you’re not.
• If what you want lies buried, dig for it until you find it.
• When someone is having a bad day, sit silently close by and nuzzle them gently, until they come round again.
• And never trust anyone until – metaphorically speaking – you have sussed them out intuitively and like their scent.

Created by Anon.
Edited by Aquarius

THE PORCUPINE FABLE

Down the ages and with the help of legends and myths, fairy tales and legends, the Divine, through many different human channels, has transmitted its wisdom and truth into the collective consciousness of our race. Referring to the progress of their success on the Earth plane the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788-1860, wrote: ‘All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as self-evident.’

Schopenhauer was the author of a fable about the Porcupines that to this day conveys a vital message of how we all can and indeed have to learn to co-exist more harmoniously. Under the guidance of the wise one within me, here are some of my reflections on Schopenhauer’s allegory. It tells of how during one of the coldest winters Mother Earth had ever experienced, many animals were dying from cold exposure. As this was happening all around them ever rapidly, it occurred to the porcupines that the only way their species would probably survive the bitter cold of the howling North and East winds would be by pooling their resources and gathering closely together. They realised that benefiting from each other’s body heat would be the only way of protecting themselves.

Alas, even though they were much warmer now, their quills were so sharp that they could not help wounding each other. This caused so much pain that after a while they reluctantly had to move apart again. Alas, when each one was on its own once more, ever more of them froze to death. That’s when the brilliant idea came to one of them that for their survival they would have to decide individually whether to accept the quills of their companions or die. Realising the danger of their whole species possibly disappearing from the Earth, enough of them were sufficiently wise to move closer together with the others.

So the fable goes. Yet, in truth it is the love and wisdom of the Great Father/Mother of all life, in whom all is one, that orchestrates and conducts the wondrous symphony of life by constantly guiding and protecting all Its creatures. On the Earth plane this expresses itself through the wisdom of our planet and that for all its inhabitants. This is where all instinctive behaviour of all living things, plants and animals alike, including us, has its origin and no living thing in the whole of Creation is ever without its Divine guidance and protection.

It’s the force that is in charge of the clever formation flying of birds during migration as much as of the mothers of all species, who instinctively know how to protect their young against all threats, if need be at the expense of their own lives. It is in charge of our own body clocks as well as that of all other members of the animal kingdom. It tells the creatures when to mate and when to abstain from it, for example when not enough food is going to be available for the raising of young. It instructs hibernating animals when and where to begin theirs and when it is safe to come out of it again – and so on and so forth.

And it was the porcupines’ group soul, as part of the Great Mother, who is the soul of the whole of Creation, who instructed them through their instincts to move closer together and keep each other warm, so sufficient numbers of them would stay alive, to secure the survival of their species next spring. That’s how the porcupines during that terrible winter knew that sharing their own warmth with their companions was the most important ingredient for getting through it. Putting up with the wounds the unusually close proximity with their companions inevitable inflicted upon each other was a small enough price to pay for their survival.

Human relationships can frequently be very similar to what the porcupines had to endure. The essence of every human being, without exception, is spirit and soul and we all contain everything, the very best and the worst. While our spirit is immortal and cannot die, the soul is our soft, sensitive and vulnerable feeling side, in which the memories of each of our spirit’s experiences on the Earth plane are stored for future reference. It usually does not take long until the earthly self, aware of its soft and defenceless underside, develops sharp inner spines that express themselves through its words and actions. For as long as young and inexperienced earthly selves remain unaware of the fact that whatever we send out into our world, in thoughts, words and deeds, inevitably has to return to us, they are unlikely to wish to restrain themselves in their human contacts.

To this day, there are a great many of these foolish young ones in our world, who take pride in their ability to employ their barbs in the most hurtful ways possible. Giving such people a wide birth is the best solution. Yet, whenever that is impossible, there is every reason why we should forgive them, for they know not what they are doing to themselves, i.e. what kind of Karma they are so vigorously creating for later in their present lifetime and future ones. The rigours, stresses and strains of Earth life are the winters of our lives. Here conditions all too easily turn arctic, for example when we become embroiled in some of those family feuds, in the course of which the attitudes of the participants may become ever more deeply entrenched. Until at least one of those involved at last turns for help to their spirit helpers, the Karmic pendulum may swing helplessly to and fro, one lifetime after another.

The world of spirit, our true home, is our summer land that knows no winters. During their next spell of recovering there, even spirits – or maybe especially they – who have lost their souls are offered opportunities for consulting with the wise ones in charge of our race. When asked, they can help us to work our way through any kind of conflict, until each one of them has finally been resolved.

THE TALE OF THE TWO PEBBLES

FOR EVERY PROBLEM THERE IS A SOLUTION

Many years ago in a small Chinese village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to the village moneylender, an old and ugly man who fancied his beautiful daughter. When the farmer fell behind with his payments, the lender called in the loan and demanded that the whole remaining sum should be paid at once. As the farmer could not possibly do this, the lender proposed that if he could marry the farmer’s daughter, he would consider the debt as paid in full.

The farmer and his daughter were horrified. So, the cunning lender suggested that providence should decide the matter for them in the following manner: he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. The girl then would have to pick one pebble from the bag.

• If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father’s debt would be paid in full.
• If she picked the white pebble she did not need to marry him, but her father’s debt would still be fully redeemed.
• If she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.

Discussing this, the three people were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer’s field. Whilst explaining his proposition, the moneylender bent over and picked up two pebbles. But, as the girl was sharp-eyed, she noticed that the lender picked up two black pebbles. Putting them into his bag, he turned to her and asked her to pick one of the pebbles from his bag.

The situation is a dire one. Imagine you are the daughter. What are you going to do? Or if you had to advise her, what would you tell her? It seems she has three options:

• She refuses to take a pebble.
• She shows that there were two black pebbles in the bag and exposes the money-lender as a cheat,
• She picks one of the black pebbles and sacrifices herself to release her father from his debt and save him from imprisonment.

Clearly, the girl’s dilemma cannot be solved by traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses one of the above logical choices. The story is intended to help us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking. So, let’s ponder on it for a moment. What would you recommend the girl should do?

This is what she did: putting her hand into the moneybag, she drew out a pebble without looking at it. For a second she fumbled with it and then dropped it onto the pebble-strewn path, where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles. ‘Oh, how clumsy of me!’ she exclaimed. ‘Please, forgive me. Never mind though! If you look into your bag for the remaining pebble, you will be able to tell which one I picked.’ Because it was black, if the deal had been an honest one, it would have been safe to assume that she had actually picked the white pebble. The girl was aware that, to save his face, the moneylender could not possibly admit his dishonesty. And this is how the girl changed an apparently impossible situation into a highly advantageous one.

The tale of the two pebbles is a well known one. I have merely retold it in my own words and added some of my observations to it. To my mind, it belongs to the realm of fables and is an allegory to demonstrate how solutions can always be found, even for the most complex problems and situations, if only we are willing to pay attention to the guidance that comes from within. It is there for each one of us at all times, ready and waiting to show us the way. No matter how learned our earthly self believes itself to be, true wisdom has its origin in the wise one within, i.e. the intuitive knowledge who has the answer to all our questions and a solutions for all our problems.

So, let’s start each new day with this positive thought and rest safely in the knowledge that by listening within we shall always find our way. Have a fruitful day and may each day, week, month and year that remains of your present lifetime be filled with positive thinking and sound decisions.

And may the living God inside us grant all of us the wisdom of thinking outside the boxes of our world.

THE TALE OF THE BUTTERFLY

Once upon a time, by the side of a dusty road in India sat an old beggar who was selling cocoons. He noticed that a young boy was watching for many days. Finally, the beggar beckoned to him and asked: ‘Have you any idea of what beauty lies within my cocoons?’ When the boy shook his head, the old man continued: ‘It is the home of a beautiful butterfly. I will give you one of my cocoons, so you can find out for yourself. But you must be careful with it and not handle it until the butterfly emerges.’

The boy was enchanted with his gift and hurried home to await the emergence of the butterfly. He laid the cocoon on the floor. Watching it, he became aware of a curious thing. The butterfly seemed to be beating its wings against the hard outer shell of its chrysalis. ‘The butterfly will surely perish before it can break free from its unyielding prison,’ the boy thought. ‘I have to help the poor creature!’

When he pried the cocoon open, out flopped a soggy brown and ugly thing that quickly died. After a while, the boy met the beggar again and told him what had happened. ‘Ah yes,’ the old man said: ‘It is necessary for the creature to beat its growing wings against the walls of its cocoon, until they have grown strong enough to support the butterfly, when it finally emerges into the light of day. Through its struggling alone can the butterfly’s wings become beautifully strong and durable enough to carry and support it. When this is denied to the creature, it dies because its only chance of survival has been destroyed.’

The butterfly is a symbol of transformation, because the life cycle of each one of them represents a microcosm of the macrocosm of humankind’s individual and collective evolutionary pathway. May the walls of everyone’s cocoon be just thick enough – and no more – to support us all in our struggle of breaking free from the entrapment of the cocoon of false beliefs and prejudices about our true nature that have kept us bound to the Earth plane for such a long take. May we all at long last take to our spiritual wings to aid our flight of growing and evolving into the beautiful beings we are truly meant to be.

Anon
Edited by Aquarius

NOT BY BREAD ALONE

Although the human spirit is eternal and cannot be killed or harmed by anything or anyone, our souls can and indeed sometimes do perish. It is not for nothing that St. Matthew 4:1-4 and St. Luke 4:1-4 both contain the identical warning – maybe for special emphasis: ‘Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and the Spirit carried him away into the wilderness for forty days, so that he might be tempted by the adversary. He did not eat anything in those days. When they were over, at last he became hungry. And the adversary said to him: ‘If you are the son of God, command this stone to become bread.’ Jesus answered: ‘It is not by bread alone that man can live, but by every word of God.’

The above words belong to a dialogue between Jesus and Satan, also known as the Tempter or the Devil. I see legend of the whole life and times of the Master Jesus as a metaphor for humankind’s spirit self during its many sojourns through the wilderness of the Earth plane. Satan is a symbolism for the untamed desire nature of the earthly self, psychology calls this part ‘the id’. This part of our nature seeks to dominate at all costs and is in never ending pursuit of gratifying its own selfish wants. You can read more about this if you follow the link ‘Mars and Venus in Relationships’ at the end of this chapter.

The evolutionary pathway of our whole race demands from us, individually and collectively, complete mastery of the Earth plane. To achieve this, it is the greatest importance that first of all we make ourselves familiar with all parts of our nature. The next step is taking charge of them and learning how to control them. This applies in particular to the desires and impulses of our lower earthly self, a formidable task if ever there was one. To get started, it’s crucial to become aware that we all contain a force that at times is quite capable of behaving like a wild horse on the loose, reacting to the slightest irritations by biting, kicking and thrashing in all directions.

Getting hold of and training this part of our nature is up to us, until in the end it turns into a docile work and saddle creature who willingly toils for us instead of against, the way it frequently did in the past. For as long as this force remains uncontrolled and left to its own devices it all too happily goes on the rampage and manages to create havoc for us in our lives. Each has to teach their own inner beast how to act like an amenable and enjoyable companion, so that it can eventually carry us – and our whole world with us – forwards and upwards into experiencing increasingly higher dimensions of life.

To return to Jesus and the wilderness, just for a moment, what about the number forty? The ancients considered figure to be a sacred one. This is how it found its way into some of the legends of our world, for example the ones of the Lord Buddha and the Master Jesus. The former, so we are told, meditated for forty days and nights and the latter spent the same amount of time in the wilderness.

Both the above quotes draw our attention to the fact, for extra emphasis twice over, to the most urgent factors for the survival of the human spirit and its soul during life in physicality. More important than anything else for the survival of the rigours and hardships that are an inevitable part of the winters of our earthly education is keeping in touch with our true home and our Creator, our Highest Self. To see us through the traumatic experiences that have to be endured, we are meant to draw on its support and strength. As through disuse any muscle, spiritual and physical alike, atrophies and loses its usefulness, clearly bread of the heavenly kind is of even greater significance than the earthly variety during our sojourns on this planet.

If we focus too much on the material plane and eventually get stuck there, our soul is in danger of dying from mal-nutrition. Souls can and do perish when their requirements are neglected for too long and they are denied access to the nourishment it draws from spiritual wisdom and truths that come from the source of our being. It makes no difference in what this may present itself or whatever belief system someone may follow. Any spirit whose soul has died, from its next lifetime onwards, has no option but to start from scratch and set about building itself a new soul.

The awareness that our thoughts and beliefs create our reality is useful here. Bearing in mind that even the worst offender has as much good in them as the greatest saint, it’s not hard to believe in them and their potential goodness. By never giving up hope that one day it will begin to surface and show, it is possible to help those who reveal their need for it through their behaviour. Let’s face it, the best relationships, i.e. the ones that help us grow in wisdom, tolerance and understanding of human nature, are by no means the ones that bring us together with people who already realise the importance of watching their words and actions carefully.

A NEW COMMANDMENT

As and when required, let’s remind ourselves that the highest potential of the porcupines of the human race – to return to this metaphor for a moment – is as great as our own, and that in the fullness of time they will bring it forth from within themselves, the same as we have done. It then becomes clear that our encounters with them are by far the best teaching aids for our earthly education. Rubbing shoulders with these people is excellent practise for living with the imperfections and inadequacies of others. They alone can teach us how to grow more tolerant and loving towards everybody and especially those who, on the surface of things, don’t seem to deserve it.

Learning to peer beneath the surface structure of all life onto its spiritual background is a good habit. It’s the only way we can learn how to love the unloving, in spite of themselves. After all, aren’t they God’s children of the Earth, our sisters and brothers in spirit, the same as everybody else? It is not necessary to like people in order to love them and that has nothing to do with condoning their hurtful words and actions. The ability to love everybody the way our Creator loves all of us, totally and unconditionally, is the most essential ingredient for growing ever more godlike. Without it we cannot return into the oneness with God.

We have chosen to be educated in a physical environment because we wish to gain control and mastery over all aspects of our nature. For this purpose the spirit and soul of each earthly self, under the guidance and protection of its Highest Self, eventually learns how to lift itself above the difficulties and temptations, trials and errors of the Earth plane. The many vexation they cause the human spirit and soul, each time it finds itself trapped in a physical environment, when it would very much prefer to freely roam the Universe, is exactly what we need to grow ever more in understanding and wisdom.

As we are witnessing everywhere in our world, there are many young and inexperienced souls in our midst, who must be receiving their early earthly training. Irresponsible and reckless as they are, can you imagine if such souls were let loose on the Cosmos in their present state, while they are still lacking the rigorous and unrelenting training that can only be received in our present existence? It’s not hard to imagine how much chaos and havoc any soul that has not been sufficiently prepared for higher missions could spread.

The Universal Christ tells us through the legend of the Master Jesus in the Bible’s St. John 13:34-35: ‘A new commandment I give you: that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this everybody shall know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another.’ This single commandment does away with the need for all others. When we have learnt to love from the level of our soul, the way the Christ Spirit has always loved us and forever will, we no longer need anyone to tell us that killing, stealing, violence and crime, disrespect for our elders and all God’s creatures, including ourselves, is a sin against the law of life – which is love – and therefore wrong.

When at long least we show through our behaviour that we are capable of totally and unconditionally loving, respecting and accepting, without prejudice, the whole of life, including that of our planet, all its creatures and especially our siblings in the human family, we shall be a living proof of how the Christ child, the spark of the Universal Christ Spirit has come alive on the Earth plane. Sounds like a tall order indeed, doesn’t it? What else would you expect from young God’s in the making?

Without the need for following any of the belief systems of our world, we are then demonstrating that we are the true Christ’s disciples. This process is about spirituality and does not necessarily have anything to do with religion. The more we and our world are spiritualised, the more the significance and influence of the various faiths that exist to this day will fade into the background, until they have finally been forgotten altogether. And when sometimes unscrupulous elements shamelessly take advantage of people’s sympathy and compassion, to exploit them to their benefit, there is every reason to forgive them because only young and inexperienced souls will do such things, who are not yet aware of the consequences of their actions. They deserve that we send a small prayer for them into the ethers, maybe: ‘Father forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.’

Recommended Reading:
• ‘Sowing the Wind’
• ‘Taking Charge of our Tongues’
• ‘Karma in Families’
• ‘The Planet Mars’
• ‘Mars and Venus in Relationships’

GETTING TO KNOW OURSELVES

Life is one gigantic animated work of art that is forever improving and evolving. Even that which is still ugly in us and our world serves a valuable evolutionary purpose and is merely waiting to be made beautiful, too. And because the Great Artist and Designer of the whole of Creation wants all its works – including us and our world – to grow and evolve into ever more beautiful forms, from the time of the first appearance of our race on the Earth, the Universe has provided us with different types of guidance that are at all times available to all who have developed the inner eye to perceive them. In spite of the fact that for a very long time individual souls remain unaware of the presence of the various kinds of guidance, they have always been provided for us.

One of them is through the environment we find ourselves in. Wherever this may be, life itself demonstrates how our existence – our own and that of the whole of Creation – is a never ending progression that will forever go on and on. All life and all lifeforms are constantly unfolding and evolving into higher and more beautiful expressions. Clearly, the fading away of the material things we witness all around on this plane of our existence reveals itself as not only very necessary but also beautiful. The process of clearing away the old, so that God and the Angels can bring new life into being is at work throughout the whole of Creation.

In our world this is particularly visible in autumn before the winter’s rest, when our deciduous trees shed their leaves. Nature’s wisdom causes them to be pushed off because of new life is waiting behind them, in preparation for a new spring. When one takes a closer look at the leaves at the height of the summer, the new buds are already there and slowly getting bigger, as we move through summer and autumn. The decay of all matter clears away that which has grown old and outlived its usefulness, so it can make room for new and still more beautiful creations to come into being. Nature’s decay at the same time heralds its rebirth. The same is true when we leave our physical bodies behind. At the moment of its passing, our spirit and soul are reborn into our true reality.

All human souls have always found themselves on an extraordinary odyssey of exploration and learning that consists not only of one or two lifetimes but probably many thousands. It is a voyage that takes each one of us back into full conscious awareness of God’s true nature and our own and whose result is the healing of our relationship with our Creator. This is why, since time immemorial, getting to know ourselves and God has been humankind’s most essential task. Through that which can be seen with our earthly eyes on the Earth plane the Universe has always sent us its messages and provided us with feedback of one kind and another. Alas, it takes a long time until we realise that our environment acts like a mirror that very wisely – for better and for worse – reflects back to us what we ourselves are on the inner level.

Many are only now beginning to wake up to the realisation of the Universe’s way of guiding, protecting and teaching us, its beloved children of the Earth, to grow from robbing and plundering the precious resources of our beautiful home planet into its guardians and keepers. To this day, every one of the problems of our world has been and still is caused by a sheer lack of understanding of humankind’s true nature and purpose of our being on the Earth plane. For wise evolutionary reasons this phase of our development undoubtedly did not happen perchance but was designed so that we should learn from the mistakes we make along the way.

Before our world came into being, the wisdom of the Great Father/Mother of life decreed that it should be thus and that, only in the fullness of time, the presence of Its guidance should be revealed to us. Paying attention to it and following its directions can considerably speed up the progress of our evolutionary pathway, as this enables us to conduct our lives in more wholesome and meaningful ways. However, to benefit from the Universe’s messages, human souls have to be ready to receive and take advantage of them. An ever increasing awareness of their presence makes it easier to read, decipher and take advantage of them.

Our race belongs to the animal kingdom and like all its occupants, not merely the animals mentioned in this part of the jottings, we also have instinctive reactions and it is unwise to ignore them. The greatest hindrance is that we, Earth’s human children, have been equipped with an earthly logical and rational thinking mind. It was given to us to help us understand and make sense of our present existence, but alas this frequently gets in the way.

Besides, having been provided with the voracious desire nature which we touched upon in previous chapters that just wants, wants, wants. For as long as this aspect of our character remains beyond the control of our higher nature and its only support is our earthly mind, it is capable of leading us down ever darker alley ways, so we may grow and learn from the experiences they provide. There is nothing to stop any human soul from sinking ever deeper into the abyss of the darkness of Earth life, until we eventually recognise the error of our ways and recognise that going on forever in our same old ways means not making any progress on the evolutionary spiral. When this realisation dawns in our consciousness, it heralds the beginning of the ascent back into the full and conscious awareness of our oneness with our Highest or God Self and the Source of our being.

As one becomes aware of what is operating behind the scenes of all life, the animal world can be turned into an outstanding educational tool for us. We are meant to learn from them which behaviour patterns are wise and which ones are not, if we individually and as a race wish to move forward on our evolutionary pathway. To my mind, the flight of the geese is but one of the finest demonstrations of the infinite love and wisdom with which the Great Father/Mother of all life takes care of all Its children. With equal meticulous attention it provides for every last detail of our lives. Scrutinising the various parts of the animal kingdom, one discovers to one’s astonishment how much our own behaviour is actually reflected in that of the animals. Or could it by any chance be the other way round?

HEALING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH MOTHER EARTH

The relationship with our planet has been crying out to be healed for a very long time. A most commendable contribution towards finding a better understanding of this was made by Vivienne de Watteville in her travelogue ‘Speak to the Earth’, first published by Methuen in 1935. At the age of twenty-eight, Vivienne spent five months in Africa. She went with the intention of befriending and photographing the animals, instead of shooting them – as was the fashion in those days. This book is one of the most inspiring ones I have come across and I would like to share a few extracts from it with you here.

In her closing paragraphs p.328-329, Vivienne has the following message from Mother Earth for humankind. The words in square brackets are my additions: ‘At the root of all our lives is a great and terrifying loneliness, from which first or last there is no escape [the only relief we can find from it lies within]. Yet, by going out [into the wilderness] to meet it halfway, one discovers that its terrors are illusory. Solitude is an ally; there is nothing to fear, for truly ‘Nature never did betray the heart that loves her’. With infinite and loving patience she reassured me over and over – with symbols brighter than words: ‘You are not a stranger walking the Earth to clutch at this friendship or that, [or] to be comforted. As surely as you will return to me at last, so surely while you live am I interwoven with every fibre [of my being with yours].

‘You are never lost or alone, so long as you can claim kinship with everything that is. You are no more alone than the river is alone or the mountains are alone or anything in the Universe, for you are part of the whole and not a single unit of nothing, aimlessly drifting. Don’t build up the walls of loneliness about your spirit. Keep flowing, so that every day you can come out and meet yourself in the sky’s reflection or the dew lying in petals or any other natural thing. Renew yourself in these things; identify yourself with them; for all is fashioned from the same material, shaped by the same inspiration and animated by the same life breath.’

Earth and spirit proclaim with a thousand tongues the unity of the spirit. It is not life, nor fate, nor providence that is unkind, but we ourselves who persist in dividing instead of uniting. The same love of dividing that makes us cut ourselves into fifty religious sects, all seeking one and the same Truth; or that makes for the sifting and sorting into different social layers; or divides us into different political parties; or nation versus nation. It is this same mania for dividing and separating that finally revenges itself upon the individual. Yet we are – after all – only superficially divided. Spirit will ever be like mercury, ready to run together again at the first opportunity. Nature may [seem to] be cruel contradiction – life for ever warring against life – but her ultimate message is the friendship of God. Secure in that friendship, we cannot be afraid. Life is the glorious experiment, and death the great adventure, when the mists shall at last lift long enough for us to see clearly [again].

Page 314: ‘The Divine law, the Divine force and the Divine protection are all there, but the idea is too big for most of us to grasp. [It is like] The frog trying to give an idea of the size of a bull, and bursting with the effort. Our [earthly] minds being the size of frogs, the fear of bursting compels us to reduce everything else to the size of frogs also. It is a great simplification, but the things themselves remain the size of bulls or elephants or Himalayas, and it is only the link between them and our own vision that is needed. [The realisation that we all are spirit, and that the elephant, you and me, all things and beings are God is that link.]’

The adventures, as well as her impressions and insights Vivienne shares with us in her book are as valid, topical and poignant today, as they are sure to have been when they were written. For example on p.302: ‘... Earth’s teaching [during Vivienne’s time in Africa] was always that the inevitable must be endured. It is our own fault if we suffer more than our due of pain, because we rebel against it; or dwell too much upon the thought of it.’

Page 288: ‘... Returning to myself again – that circumscribed little prison – I thought: on the one hand I am nothing; on the other I am fire, strength, love itself, because I also am IT. As a single individual, [I am] less than the dust; as a part of the whole, [I am] strong as the hills and endless as the stars ... Each of us is revolving like one of those spheres in space, moving at his own speed, carrying with them the atmosphere of their own thoughts and individuality. Things from without filter through, but not without some measure taking the colour of this atmosphere, or being distorted by it. To hear, see and feel them truly, it is necessary to project a part of oneself outside the mist and the hum of these revolutions, into the utter stillness of space.’

Page 319: ‘The things round me were ever trying to tell me something more, gently toppling over theory and leading me back to first principles. Not philosophy but simplicity. I missed much, for nothing is harder than to unlearn one’s preconceived ideas. [Ideally,] One should start [each day] off fresh without any. Things may be quite different from what they seem or from how we see them. As Montaingne wrote: ‘When I play with my cat to amuse her, how do I know that it is not she who is trying to amuse me?’

Charlotte Bronte was a born philosopher, if ever there was one. She was born 21. April 1816, a Sun Taurus who – by the time she wrote ‘Shirley’ had learnt her Sun sign’s main lesson, the one of ownership. In ‘Shirley’ she writes on page 522: ‘I believe – I daily find it proved – that we can get nothing in this world worth keeping, not so much as a principle or a conviction, except out of purifying flame or through strengthening peril. We err, we fall, we are humbled; then we walk more carefully. We greedily eat and drink poison out of the gilded cup of vice or from the beggar’s wallet of avarice. We are sickened, degraded; everything good in us rebels against us; our souls rise bitterly indignant against our bodies; there is a period of civil war; if the soul has strength, it conquers and rules thereafter.’ That is as beautiful a description of the struggle between our lower earthly self and our Highest Self that I have ever come across.

HEALING THE RELATIONSHIP WITH OURSELVES

The spirit of the Universal Christ spoke through the Master Jesus in St. John 8:31-32: ‘Then Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him: If you abide by my word, you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth and that very truth shall make you free.’ He was telling us – even then – that through finding out again about our own true nature, that of God and of our relationship with God, we would eventually be able to release ourselves and our world from the great wheel of fortune which is ruled by the Divine law of Karma.

In the whole of Creation all creatures and things are in relationship with everything else. Many on the Earth plane are as yet unaware that on the inner plane of life all is one. We are God’s children of the Earth, in relationship with all of life and it has the same inner connection with us. God is love and our true nature is love. From love we have come and to love we are returning now. So, how should we relate to those around us and the rest of life on all its levels? If we wish to do justice to our true nature and ancestry, there can only be one answer and that is: ‘With love!’

Everybody appreciates good relationships, but as already mentioned they don’t grow on trees or fall from the Heavens. Far from it! They take a great deal of effort, time, tolerance, love and respect for ourselves and each other and in the course of many lifetimes, they have to be built – by us. We have been placed in this life to learn how to take advance of the Universal healing energies and to use them for repairing ourselves and all our relationships. The history of our world clearly reveals that the peaceful world the soul of humankind has been craving for a very long time is not going to come about on its own. No large hand will reach down from Heaven and do the work for us. No-one will appear in our world and wave a magic wand over all of it and say: ‘You are making peace, now!’

The Universe, through humankind’s history, is making it abundantly clear that, if we ever wish our world to become a peaceful one, it is none other that us who have to bring this about. Each must do their share of creating it and the healing of all our relationships is the most essential and valuable input each one of us is required to have into the creation of this world of our dreams. Through our actions we have to prove that we are not only aware of our real nature, but also willing to act upon the knowledge of our interconnectedness with all life. This has to continue until eventually our whole existence is filled with nothing but loving and peaceful encounters. Each one of them needs to be conducted in keeping with the spirit of the Aquarian Age, which brings to us and our world the gift of friendship and siblinghood of all life.

From the evidence all around me, including that of my own life, all of us have brought our most trying relationships with us into this very special lifetime. We did this in the hope that with the help of God and the Angels resolutions can be found that will heal our relationships and those involved in them. As pointed out earlier, the most urgent task that faces all of us during this lifetime is the healing of our relationship with God, i.e. what the Creator concept means to us. Next in line and just as vital is mending the relationship with ourselves.

This is probably the most difficult one of all and therefore most in need of attention, because we all have everything within. The feminine and the masculine, the roughest as well as the smoothest, the most destructive and the most creative. The highest and brightest ideas and desires but also the drives and urges of our small earthly animal nature have to be accepted and worked with. All are part of our nature and the Earth plane is the only place where all of them have to be acted out and eventually integrated by taking charge of them and learning how to handle them safely.

Isn’t it strange that for some of us, including myself, it can take a very long time until we realise that we all have special requirements and that our own are in as much need of being attended to as those of others? If we wish to create peace in our world, our most urgent requirement is making peace with ourselves and learning to love and respect ourselves. By presenting us with the gift of our present lifetime, the wisdom and love of the Universe is providing us with the time and the space to do just that. Part of this is waking up to the realisation that our own innermost needs and wishes are just as important as those of others.

PEACE PRAYER
I wish you warmth – in a world that has grown cold;
I wish you joy – for all your days,
To soothe your own sorrow and that of others;
I wish you wonder and a growing awareness that
The Glory and the love of our Creator
Manifests in all beings, places and things.

I wish you a sense of humour and the gift of smiling,
For they help to overcome our own fears and those of others;
I wish you silence,
In which to recognise the Will of our Creator
Who loves us and lives within each one of us,
As it reveals itself in you and your life.

I wish for peace in our world, within and without.
May it flow from the heart-mind of God
Into the farthest, remotest corners of our world,
To bless and heal us all.
May God’s Wisdom and Truth shine into every heart,
The only place where truth is known.

I wish that the creative fire, the ideas from God’s heart,
Lighten and warm everybody’s days,
So that Its dreams and visions can come true,
Through us and our world, and all worlds.
I wish for a renewal of faith in our world,
So that we may walk holding the hands
Of those who are frightened and in pain.
May God’s strength work through each and every one,
So that we all can share it.

I wish for the renewal of hope and faith and trust in our world,
So that all together we may ascend to the heights of Divine compassion;
I wish for God’s love to flow into every heart and soul,
So that we may all walk together hand in hand,
As one big family, peacefully and forever united.
With all my heart and all my soul and all my being,
I wish for peace, harmony, and healing
To come to our inner and outer world, and all worlds.

I know that it still is a dream, but one that can come true,
As much as anything, through me and through you,
For when God’s love dwells again
In the heart and soul of humankind,
All things shall be possible.

Amen

Anon.
Edited by Aquarius

HEALING PARENT/CHILD RELATIONSHIPS

Finally, in this series of articles about relationship healing, we turn to the possibly most fundamental human requirement of all and that is the healing of all parent/child relationships. Because everybody is someone’s child, this concerns everybody. Even those through whom no children have come in their present lifetime require this kind of healing. Its most comforting aspect is that an ever deepening awareness of what lies at the root of all life and the healing of our relationship with our Father/Mother Creator, our true parents, this part of our nature comes into focus and heals almost on its own.

Some of what my own healing journey has taught me is contained in the following poem, which was inspired by a chapter from ‘The Prophet’ of the Lebanese/American poet by Kahlil Gibran, 1883-1931:

ABOUT CHILDREN
A woman held her babe against her bosom and said:
‘Speak to us of children’,
And the Prophet replied: ‘Your children are not your children;
They are the sons and daughters of life’s longing to experience itself.
Your children come through you, but they are
Neither of you nor from you;
And although for a time, they are with you,
They do not belong to you.
You may give them your love, but not your thoughts,
For they have to think their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies, but not their souls,
Because they dwell in the house of tomorrow,
Which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
But you will visit it again, when you return to Earth
As a child in future lifetimes.

You may strive to be like them;
Be young and see your world through the eyes of a child again,
But do not seek to make them like you,
For life neither goes backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which life sends forth Its children
As living arrows.

The Divine Archer alone can see their mark and yours
Upon the path of the Infinite.
With His might he bends each one of you into shape,
So that all His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the Archer’s hand be with gladness;
For as much as He loves the arrow that flies,
He loves the bow that is stable.

He particularly loves parents, who give their children roots to grown in
And the freedom to fly when their time has come to do so;
Who as their children grow up, slowly step back and set them free,
Encouraging them to learn from their own experiences,
And to dream their own dreams;
Who do all they can to help their children
To fulfil their own highest potential, not their parents’.

The Archer loves wise parents and teachers,
Who tell the children in their care that they are the children of God
And that therefore one is as precious and unique as the other;
Who respect them because they know that even when a child is still living
In a smaller body than their own, it has nonetheless
Come into our world as a fully developed soul and spirit in its own right,
Who may have a long history of evolution behind it
That could have taken more lifetimes than those of its parents.

Wise parents tell their offspring that they are certainly not some kind
Of appendix of theirs and that they have come into this life
To learn, evolve and grow some more through their own experiences,
The same as they are doing and will always continue to do.
When their children go to school, they point out to them that they are
Learning for themselves and for life itself,
Not only for this lifetime, but for Eternity.
They explain to them the laws of the Universe and that because of this,
Whatever anyone sends out to life has to return to them.
And they teach by their good example that it is necessary
To have some input into this life, before one can expect
To get anything of value from it.

Inspired by ‘The Prophet’ by Kahlil Gibran 1883-1931
Lebanese/American poet
Edited by Aquarius

THE CHILDREN OF THE AQUARIAN AGE

For some time now large numbers of ancient souls have been coming into physicality; many of them already are growing up in our midst. The same as everybody else, they are here to take part in the special experiences they Age of Aquarius is bringing and to take advantage of the opportunities for vast amounts of soul growth that can presently be achieved. These children of the New Age carry its energies within them and project them into our world. Some kind of specific task is waiting to be fulfilled by every child of the Earth, adults and children alike, and we are all required to do our share of bringing in the New Age. Some of the missions that will be facing the now incoming children, when they have grown up, are likely to be extremely demanding ones. That is why their need for of lots of loving support is especially great.

The children of the New Age are highly intelligent, intuitive and sensitive, as well as rebellious and disruptive. Aquarius is an Air sign and, as can be seen all around us, it is an Age in which enormous technological progress is made, especially in connection with communications. We have only just scratched the surface of these developments, of that I am sure. That is why the children of our age are born technological wizards and at home in the world of computers. Watch them blasting away on all cylinders on any computer that comes to hand! Enjoy it, but don’t forget for a moment that they are likely to be very old souls and that only those seek difficult experiences, as that helps their inner strength to develop and come forth, early on in life. To my mind, the severe testing many of our young people are presently undergoing proves this sufficiently.

The same as everybody else, our children have been granted the gift of another lifetime to allow them to take part in and play their very own specific role in bringing in the Aquarian Age. The present assignment of those among us who are of childbearing age is the providing vehicles for these children for the length of their present lifetime, in the form of physical bodies. Part of our own potential is helping them grow into adults with an inner vision, who will be capable of bringing illumination and enlightenment into the density and darkness of ignorance that still exists on the Earth plane. Clearly, they need all the help and encouragement we can give them, so that in due course they can take humankind another step onwards and upwards on its evolutionary pathway.

As adults with children of their own, we are the ones who have to tackle and work our way through the difficulties that are facing our whole race during its present quantum leap in consciousness, which brings us the spiritual rebirth of our whole world that has been long awaited and much heralded since the days of yore. The same as any child ever did, but even more so, the children of the New Age require our understanding, co-operation and the loving support. Without it they cannot develop their own intuitive inspiration, so that in due course they can make their contribution towards dissolving the clouds of false beliefs, prejudices and superstitions that still surround us and our world. The idealism that eventually lifts us and our planet into the heartmind of God needs to be nurtured and fostered in them.

NATURAL APTITUDE FOR SPIRITUALITY & MYSTICISM

At the core of every human being is a natural human aptitude for spiritual understanding, mysticism and the arts. It is a gift that accompanies us throughout all our lifetimes on the Earth and we bring it with us each time we enter into a new one. Our Divine parents bestow their gifts most generously on us, but developing them to their full potential takes many lifetimes. They are always waiting to be nurtured and coaxed into further growth by us and each new earthly sojourn presents us with further opportunities for honing our talents into fine precision tools. This continues until at last we have shed all selfishness and false pride and are ready to use them for the highest good and the benefit of all. That is why every child’s natural talents demand to be fostered and cared for from as early an age as possible. Only in this way can they in due course become instrumental in ridding our world of the difficulties and problems it is plagued by to this day.

There are so many ways we, as parents, can help our children. Explaining that everybody contains a mixture of seemingly opposing and conflicting aspects is as good a starting point as any. The earlier one becomes aware that what we carry within is nothing to be afraid of, the more chance one has of successfully working with them. Through getting to know and balancing the different parts of our nature, we become more integrated and whole human beings. How fortunate we are to be able to understand that everything inside us was given to us for wise reasons and that everything we have within can be made to work to our advantage, instead of against us.

Our own awareness gives our children a great advantage over others from the word go. This shows itself when problems arise – no life would be complete without them. Rather than leaving our child to struggle on its own, because we don’t understand what’s at stake ourselves, we can pour oil on troubled waters by explaining to them that all the conflicts we have to wrestle with occur for wise reasons and that in truth they are grist to God’s mill because they aid the spiritual growth and evolution, as individuals and a race. And if we apply our spiritual knowledge to our own lives and conduct them as a good examples for those who follow behind, our offspring receives one of the greatest benefits in life from us.

In my view, awareness is the key for unlocking all the mysteries of life and the greatest mystery of all are we ourselves. Fortunately, we know by now that we are children of the Highest and therefore young Gods in the making. God is in us and we are in God. The Earth is not our true home and no soul is ever left on its own on this level of life. God and the Angels are always with each and every one of us and it makes no difference whether someone believes in them or not. Finding this kind of knowledge is every soul’s birthright. Yet how can we take possession of it, unless we first re-discover it for ourselves and then share it with others.

It stands to reason that any child who is aware of such things through its parents and from early on has indeed a head-start in life. The difficulties it has to encounter later in life, the same as every other soul, are sure to be greatly eased by such understanding. In this way, it will in due course be capable of playing its predestined part and doing its share of bringing in the Aquarian Age, with a great deal more ease than you and I experienced. Every successive generation is meant to take the whole human race another step forward – that’s what evolution is all about. Encouraging our children to fulfil their own potential and living their own dream avoids the danger of forcing them into the misery of feeling under the obligation – for whatever reasons – to fulfil and live the unfulfilled hopes and dreams of those around them.

Spiritually, wisdom and understanding represent light and ignorance darkness. It is true that at present many old and extremely wise souls are re-entering life in physicality. They are going to bring much light into our world, but let us not forget that the brightest light casts the deepest shadows and that where there is a lot of light, there is also a great deal of shadow. To create the required balance in our world, large numbers of young and inexperienced are also emerging on the Earth plane. They are providing their older siblings in the human family not only with many headaches, but – more importantly – with essential learning and teaching opportunities. With the help of the links provided below you can read more about this.

Recommended Reading:
• ‘They Will Rise From Their Graves’
• ‘Colonising the New Planet’

Further Reflections, Poems & Prayers from:
• ‘Healing Corner for Parents and Children’
• ‘The Truth about Parents’
• ‘Healing Prayer for Parents and Children’
• ‘Letting Go’
• ‘Affirmation’
• ‘Transmutation of Karma’
• ‘The Barren Fig Tree’
• ‘Do Not Judge’
• ‘You Are Special’

THE JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES

Ever more of us are becoming aware that the Earth plane is not all there is to our existence. To our astonishment we find out that each one of us has been placed in this life for the specific purpose of learning and progressing in the spiritual development of our spirit and soul. That is the only way how, in the fullness of time, any one of us can hope to be guided by their inner teacher into fulfilling their highest potential. Only through doing so shall we eventually be allowed to return into the oneness with the Source of our being.

This way back home is a journey of a thousand miles and like any journey it begins with one step and that is learning to take better care of ourselves than we are likely to have done previously. If in the past we have been treated like doormats by those around us, the time has come for becoming aware that strictly speaking that is not their fault, but ours. It took me a long time before I became aware that there is such a thing as boundaries and that everybody has them, including myself, and that they have to be clearly defined towards others and also ourselves.

We are children of God and beings of love. We come from love and to love we are presently returning, for that is our true nature. We are on the Earth plane to experience love in all its many different manifestations and expressions, and this can only be done through constantly giving and receiving it. Loving those who love us is easy. The real test comes when in our encounters with the unloving ones. Can we love them, too? Like everything else in the whole of Creation, we are subject to Universal laws. The most important one in this context is law of cause and effect, also known as the law of Karma and reincarnation, which ensures that that which we consciously and unconsciously project and send out into our world must without fail return to us. On top of all that, the Universe constantly provides each one of us with sufficient opportunities for learning to love and respect ourselves and our space and time, as much as that of others.

We are dynamic beings, who can only attract towards themselves that which we ourselves have within. As pointed out earlier, the world around us acts like a mirror of that which goes on within. The corollary of this is that if we want more love in our lives – the way we all do – we first have to become more loving ourselves. All struggles and conflicts on the outer levels of life are invariably reflections of those that are taking place inside us. Everybody is responsible for sorting their own issues and settling their own inner quarrels, as well as those in their outer lives. We have been placed in this life so we may learn how to intelligently deal with all our relationships and to heal those that are in need of it. This needs to be done not only with love in our hearts and consideration for the suffering of those who share our lives with us, but also applying the same to ourselves.

For all of us there eventually comes the time when we realise if we do not wish to be treated like a doormat, over which the whole world walks without ever hearing a grumble from the mat, we have to learn how to stand up for ourselves and assert ourselves. It is up to us to set boundaries and to show the world through our behaviour in kind and loving, yet determined ways, that this sort of treatment is no longer tolerated by us. This is sure to surprise them at first, but we need to persevere and show them that we mean business. We have every right to do so, because spiritually and before God we are all the same, equally loved and appreciated. Nobody has to put up with any old rubbish from anyone and there are no prizes for martyrdom!

And whenever when we refuse to have anything to do with someone, because our intuition tells us that his person is not right for us, such reactions should not be misunderstood as signs of intolerance, but as signals that we have learnt to love and respect ourselves, our time, as well as our space and its sanctity as much as that of others. Not only does everybody have the right to defend these things; it’s our duty to do so each time the need for it arises.

LISTENING TO THE INNER TEACHER

To this day many are unwittingly creating fresh relationship problems for themselves by looking for the answers to the questions they raise towards the teachings of the Bible. It’s a great work that contains many nuggets of golden spiritual wisdom and truth, but when one takes every one of its words literally one more likely creates obstacles instead of overcoming them. I believe that none of the religions that are still part of our world were intended to be with us forever. I believe that the teachings that are contained in the sacred texts of books like the Torah, the Bible or the Koran, to name but three, were not meant to be treated as if they had been set in concrete or chiselled into stone for all eternity. They were given to humankind, through various teachers over the ages, so that in the fullness of time each one would be replaced by more advanced teachings at some future date.

Spiritual wisdom and knowledge is a living organism that grows and evolves, the same as everything else in the whole of Creation, including us and our world. New religions appear at certain predestined times to serve humankind because our race is ready to receive more of the Divine truth; when they have lost their usefulness they are removed and replaced by something else. A good belief system is capable of taking on the role of a staff human souls can lean on for a while, during some of their journeys through Earth life. And religions that are worthy of carrying that name aim to act as ladders that invite and encourage human souls to climb it, so that it may rediscover its origin in God and reconnect with the Divine.

Finally, however, the soul is guided into the realisation that no-one can really teach it anything because in the depths of its own being, through its oneness with God, it contains all existing knowledge. On its return into this blessed state the Universe presents the soul with many opportunities for learning from its own experiences that the answers to all its questions really are known within, and that this is the only place where each one of them is always answered truthfully.

My experience has shown that some are using Bible’s teachings to act as a protective shield for them to hide behind, but from what? Maybe their own true feelings for someone? I cannot help the feeling that the Universe is giving those who do a lesson of a very special kind, so that their own experiences may eventually guide them into the realisation of how destructive such behaviour patterns in fact are. Finding out what our true feelings for someone are can only be done through listening to our inner guidance, which has its origin in our Highest or God Self. This is the only place where the answers to all our questions are known. Bearing in mind that the Bible’s words were written for another world, for other times and other cultures than ours, instead of turning for advice to words that have remained unchanged, frozen in space and time, to my mind it is better by far to seek our own contact with the living God within.

From the evolutionary plateau we have reached by now it is not hard to see that hiding behind a barrier of Bible or other spiritual teachings has never been a substitute for consciously making wise decisions and choices, for taking responsibility for our actions by following our inner guidance. Doing so is the very reason why we are at present in this life. Blindly following anyone’s teachings is not what the Universe demands at this special time from any of us, its children of the Earth. We are here to learn how take responsibility for ourselves and every one of our thoughts, words and actions, and we are all required to make our own decisions about what we can and want to believe.

We are responsible for what we allow to enter our consciousness and the only reason for accepting anything is when the small still voice of consciences within prompts us: ‘This is true!’ or ‘This makes sense!’ This part speaks to us through the world of our feelings. It has always been with us, but for far too long it has been suppressed and ignored by – I dare say – all of us. When something feels right or wrong, then that’s what it is. We ignore this guidance from within very much to our detriment, because in everything that is in our lives, we ourselves are the bottom line. We are the only ones who can decide what is still of value to us today and what needs to be discarded. To find out whether any spiritual teachings are still valid for us these days, we need to feel inside our own heart and listen to the responses that come from within the very core of our own being by the small still voice of conscience, which has been with us since times immemorial.

BEAUTIFUL THINGS
Knowing that beautiful things are right and true,
And that beautiful actions please God,
Helps wise ones to develop their inward sense of
What is right, true and beautiful.

The highest wisdom is to trust
One’s intuition and to follow its guidance and
The answer to the last appeal of what is right or wrong
Lies within everybody’s own heart.
So, trust thyself.

Aristotle 384-322 BC.

ARE MARRIAGES MADE IN HEAVEN?

Well, they are not exactly made in Heaven but in the world of spirit. Long before any soul ever make its appearance in physicality, the whole plan of its coming lifetime, including the people it is going to get more intimately involved with, is carefully laid out in the great book of life. To ensure maximum room for the expansion of our spiritual growth on the Earth plane, this is done in broad outlines only. Behind the scenes of life, our God or Highest Self and the Angels are restlessly planning and preparing the learning opportunities most suited to our present state of development.

Human relationships, as nauseating as some of them can turn into at times, are an essential part of every soul’s development. Through our relationships we learn and grow. But real progress only becomes possible when, ideally, the parties involved in them have woken up into the awareness that each one of us is an individual and unique soul and spirit, although both are on the same pathway. The further we advance into the Aquarian Age, the more urgent an issue the transforming of all our relationships into friendships becomes. This is especially true for the hardest one of them all, the one with ourselves. As everything starts with us, if we wish to find friends, we must first learn how to be a good friend to others and that, like any other skill, it has to be acquired through constant practice. And to know how to be a good friend to others, we first have to learn how to be our own best friend. Without too much selfishness, we need to safeguard and take care of our own needs, wishes and interests. If we do not respect ourselves and them, how can we expect others to do so?

True friendships last beyond this earthly existence. We take them with us wherever we go; we bring them with us, should another incarnation become necessary. They will then be part of our support system, so there is every reason to nurture our human relationships and look after them, right here and now. Whenever the need for it arises, it is to our advantage to aim to transform even the most difficult and traumatic ones into connections of friendship and love. True love is an eternal bond between two souls, who will always recognise each other, wherever and whenever they may meet again.

Love is stronger than steel could ever be. Steel belongs to the Earth, but love belongs to God. Steel has to decay like all earthly things. It rusts and deteriorates and its molecular components are eventually returned to the Earth, the same as anything else that consists of matter. Love, however, survives and conquers all, because it is of God and therefore eternal and immortal. If difficult karma once tied two people together, having dealt with it and having become friends, their loving relationship will last forever. ‘The friends thou hast and their attention tried, grapple them to your soul with hoops of steel.’

My experience of long-standing relationships, whether the people involved are married to each other or not is irrelevant, has taught me that, unless both partners make a genuine effort to remain interested in each other, their marriage is bound to become increasingly stale and uninteresting, like a loaf of old bread, or as tasteless as a glass of wine or beer that has been standing too long. Even the best glass of wine turns to vinegar, when left unattended for too long. Is it any wonder that so many marriages these days, are winding up in the divorce courts after thirty or even forty years? I think not. Any marriage, in which there is no spark any more and discoveries can no longer be made, gets to be like an old pair of slippers, and needs treating in similar fashion. When it has become so trodden down that it is increasingly uncomfortable to wear, the only way to recycle it is by putting it into the bin. If one wishes to continue to wear slippers, the time has come to look out for a suitable new pair.

GOOD AND HAPPY MARRIAGES
They do not fall from the Heavens or just happen,
But have to be created by the people involved.
In marriage, the seemingly little things
Are the most important ones.
For example:

Never being too old to hold hands,
Remembering to say: ‘I love you’, at least once each day;
Never going to sleep angry;
Having a mutual sense of values and common objectives;
Standing together and facing the world;
Forming a Circle of Love that gathers in the whole family.

Expressing words of appreciation in a thoughtful manner
That demonstrates the gratitude you feel towards each other;
Being able to forgive and letting bygones be bygones.
Creating together the right atmosphere
And giving each other sufficient space,
So that both partners can breathe and be,
Growing independently of each other and yet together.
A common search for the good and the beautiful
In all people, things and situations.

And because we are magnetic beings who can
Only attract that which we ourselves are,
Like always attracts like and
Making an effort at being the right partner is
Far more important than marrying the right person.
This alone decides what kind of spouse
We shall attract into our orbit in future lifetimes.

Anon.
Edited by Aquarius

THE PRICE OF PEACE AT ANY COST

Having said all that, I do not believe that any relationship ever makes any real progress when the waters of life appear to be calm and unruffled and when no-one dares to rock the boat for fear of disturbing daily routines and the surface calm. This could be deceptive and no calm at all, only an expression of fear. The doldrums such times produce can be quite deadly, if they are allowed to go on for too long. People do not come closer together, but drift further and further apart through the sheer boredom, frustration and lack of excitement within their relationship. Eventually, something forces its way between them that will help their stalemate situation to erupt. Whether they consciously look for this or not, some kind of turbulence will then enter from without, to get things going again.

This happens because two souls who have been joined together have ceased to grow and learn within their relationship. The disturbance, in whatever form it may come, has become necessary so that they may learn some more about themselves and each other. It is only through our relationships that our soul can grow some more. The choice is ours: either the events in our life make us resentful, bitter and twisted, so that we retreat from the world and relationships altogether – or we turn towards love. With hindsight, the disturbance can then be seen as an opportunity for growing and learning, for gaining in understanding, tolerance, kindness, forgiveness, love and understanding for ourselves and our own inner needs, as well as those of the other one. For as long as there remains love between two people, they will eventually find a way to resolve their difficulties. Feeling sorry for ourselves does not get us any further, but the willingness to grow and change, individually and together, does.

Quietly enduring the things that are wrong in a relationship makes us into false martyrs, breeding bitterness towards and contempt for each other, as well as ourselves, because we are constantly failing to stand up for our soul needs and wishes, ourselves and our ideals. They are not meant to be ignored, because they are there for wise reasons. If things are not right in one of our relationships – maybe all of them, because we cannot yet assert ourselves in the right way – the onus is on us to pluck up the courage to learn how to stand up for ourselves. We have the right and the duty to make changes in our lives whenever things are not right.

That, however, is a particularly tall order for people who are strongly under the influence of Libra – Sun, Moon or Ascendant in Libra, also Sun, Moon and other planets in the seventh house, which is naturally ruled by Libra. Such people would rather shut up and endure whatever comes, for the sake of peace. ‘Peace at any cost – but what price peace?’ That is the pitfall they must learn to avoid. Once they have fallen into it and wish to end their suffering, they themselves must work their way out of it; no-one can do it for them.

Peace at any cost has another harsh downside. In our desire to keep the peace, even if we succeed in creating a comfortable enough environment for those around us, how about ourselves and our own needs? Aren’t we constantly creating exactly the opposite of what we are trying to achieve, namely dissatisfaction, discontent, frustration and pain – especially pain of the soul, because it can never find what it is looking for? True, these things are good for our soul growth. That must be the reason why it has been said that in Libra we grow ourselves a soul. The suppressed pain of our soul is bound to eventually manifest itself as illnesses in our physical body, as an outer sign that something is crying out to be looked at inside, on the soul level. For those who do not succeed in finding their way out of the Libran trap, the price that has to be paid, in my view, is a high one – too high for anyone.

LONG STANDING RELATIONSHIPS

They frequently arise when only one of the partners awakes from their spiritual slumber. If we refuse to tackle the problems this causes head-on, but think we can sweep them under the carpet, consciously or unconsciously, we are in for a surprise! Our problems have a habit of manifesting themselves in an uncomfortable manner. For example, we could suddenly and surprisingly fall in love with someone. The only way that can happen is because that someone gives us the attention and tenderness we may have been craving for in our existing partnership, without getting anything, for some years. Such an encounter can help us to become aware that although we are older now, we have also grown wiser. In many ways, we are now more attractive and lovable than we ever were in our younger days.

It may dawn on us slowly how much we have grown since our partnership first began, and that our partner has refused to keep pace with our development. After all we have learnt, over the years, instead of allowing our partnership to deteriorate into one of boredom and indifference, why aren’t we giving more to each other, rather than less? Again, we need to look into our life and ask ourselves a few uncomfortable questions, like what kind of a partner do we need now? Would we prefer to be together with someone who shares our interests, and who responds to us the way we would like to be treated? And if there isn’t anyone we would like to share our life with – oh, perish the thought! – wouldn’t we be better off on our own and being free again?

When the dust has finally settled, our encounter may have amounted to nothing but a brief interlude. But, even if it is all over in a flurry, we are sure to get more in touch with ourselves. It will help us to find out a lot about ourselves and our requirements, likes and dislikes in a mature relationship that does justice to the way we are now. If we have allowed ourselves to become trapped in a long standing relationship, then that in itself could be the only reason why this needed to come into our life. As we have grown, through the years, our old relationship has not grown with us. It may have ceased to satisfy us not only emotionally, but especially spiritually.

Another person cannot break our relationship up for us. No-one can do that, except we ourselves. But, they can be the catalyst who helps us to become aware of how starved and lonely we have become. The whole affair might last just long enough to help us realise that we do not want to live our life without mutual appreciation and love – the most basic human requirement – any longer. We may then decide to make one final attempt at trying to get our partner to make a joint effort. If that fails, too, it may dawn on us how much more comfortable, enjoyable, less complicated and stressful life on our own could be.

We may finally reach the end of our tether, and realise that one-sided efforts at trying to keep a partnership together, can and will not work. In fact, they seem to work almost in the opposite direction, pushing the partners further and further apart. It must be something inherent in our human nature that, the harder we try, the more the other one plays at hard to get – as if life was a game of some kind. Now, we know from first hand experience that no partnership will ever work, unless there is a mutual coming together of hearts and souls. Alleluia, we have learnt!

Rather than putting up with the constant heart-ache and frustration our fruitless efforts are causing us, reluctantly, we may decide to move on and get on with the rest of this lifetime, on our own. Could it be that our Creator wisely made us that way, so that we can let go of relationships that have outlived their usefulness in our life? True, in our stubborn refusal to accept this, we create suffering for ourselves, which leads to soul growth. But, might we not develop better in other directions, by expanding our life and living it the way we really would like to? No harm in trying, is there?

There is yet another consideration. What if we refuse to bring about the necessary separation, are we not in danger of seriously blocking our own and our partner’s spiritual unfoldment? Could it be necessary for us to leave them, so that – through the pain this causes, their own spiritual awakening comes about? Who are we to stand in their way, as well as ours? And who knows what a separation may lead to, in the end – maybe a reunion, if we still want it. In time, our partnership may transform itself into a spiritual and truly loving one, who knows? What if we agreed, in the world of spirit, to do some specific work together? If we do not eventually pluck up enough courage, and it may never come into existence. Now, wouldn’t that be a pity?

In the course of many lifetimes, we learn that it is unwise to make another person totally the focus of our life. Death, our own and that of others, sees to it that, eventually, we learn the most valuable lesson of all, namely that lasting security cannot be found those around us on the Earth plane; it can only come from within. No matter how hard anyone tries to cling on to another, all earthly relationships are not meant to go in on the same form forever. They need to change and grow, the same as we do. If we refuse to, we are in danger of stagnating, and circumstances come into our life that forces us to let go. Some may see such things as force majeure, but they are not really. Through growing and learning, we ourselves set these things in motion, because we need different experiences and relationships that can help us evolve some more.

And yet, aware of the temporary nature of everything on the Earth, including all our relationships and their purpose, why is it that one is still so afraid of letting go and taking the odd risk here and there?

RISKS
To the small earthly self life frequently seems
Like a risky and scary business.
That’s why it dislikes and resents the changes which
Our Highest Self wants us to go through,
So that we should learn and grow
From as many and varied experiences as possible.
This requires the changes which our personality hates and resists,
But our soul understands and rejoices,
As it knows that this is the way home!

Making changes is risky and scary for all children of the Earth
On their pathway back into the light of their true being.
Yet, risks have to be taken, to help us
Transform our approach to life and the way we perceive it.
We need to let go of our deeply ingrained thinking
And behaviour patterns, old prejudices and false beliefs
That create many obstacles and difficulties in our life,
As well as parting with people and places
That have long outlived their usefulness for us.

It is true that that life can be a risky thing when for example
To laugh sometimes means to risk appearing foolish;
To weep is seeming to be sentimental;
To reach out for another to become involved with them;
To expose one’s feelings means to reveal one’s True Self;
When one hopes, one risks despair;
When one tries, one risk failure;
When one lives, one risk dying –
So what?

Risks have to be taken,
Because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The one who risks nothing,
Does nothing, has nothing and is nothing.
Souls who hope that in this way they can avoid
The suffering and sorrows of this world are mistaken;
They too are a necessary part of human growth.
The only thing one can hope to achieve that way is
To avoid precious opportunities for
Learning, changing, growing, loving and living.

Souls who allow themselves to remain enslaved and enchained
By their own false beliefs, rigid prejudices and opinions,
Forfeit the only freedom we truly have, namely
The spiritual freedom to think and believe what our inner Self tells us is true;
And to have the courage to act upon the knowledge
That we have come from love and that love alone can show us the way
Home into what we always have been: spirit and soul.

Only those who are willing to take the risk
Of loving the way God loves us,
Unconditionally and wisely,
Can truly be free.

Anon.
Edited by Aquarius

THE EDGE
‘Come to the edge,’ He said.
They said: ‘We are afraid.’
‘Come to the edge,’ He said.
They came …
He pushed them …
And they flew!

Guillaume Appolinaire

TEACHING AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS

It has been said that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks! Besides not doing justice to the purpose of our being in this existence, this simply is not true. How do clever old dogs go about learning new tricks? Because they have been on the Earth plane for a long time, they have – or should have – gathered much wisdom from their experiences. They are likely to have found out that no-one can teach us anything; that in truth everything is already inside us; and that we just need to be willing and bring things forth. Knowing this, we can teach ourselves, secretly and without anyone finding out what we are up to. There is no need to lose faith in humankind and life, when learning is what we are here for. It really is as simple and easy as all that! But then, aren’t all things when one has found out how to go about them? Without any further ado and without losing face to anyone, we can quietly get to work. Aware that talk is cheap and that actions speak louder than words, we can practise for as long as it takes, until we too can do what many others are capable of.

When one has learnt to appreciate and respect oneself, as much as one does others, it gradually becomes easier to recognise one’s own true needs and to let one’s heart have its say. When our heart has opened, because we love all life, we get more in touch with ourselves, and learn respect for ourselves and our requirements. What has helped my heart to open and my soul to heal more than anything, has been the finding of a place, where it is a pleasure to be, with people who enjoy and seek my company, as much as I do theirs. People who accept and appreciate me for who and what I am, and who freely respond to what I have to give, without needing to be prompted. On top of that, I have found out how good it is to live on my own, in a place of my own.

There is no need to ask for the Earth or the Stars, but human beings need warmth and affection in our relationships. If we and they are to thrive, each party must learn to give and take both in equal measure. It is normal for human beings to reach out to others; to share and take part in each other’s life; to support each other and to be there for each other; to enjoy each other’s company and to take an interest in each other, rather than each living on a small island of their own. That is why we are here together in human relationships. And once our heart is opening up, life itself teaches us these skills.

One thing is sure and that is that true love is a strange and wonderful thing that moves in mysterious ways. Why do we have so little faith in God? Haven’t all our true needs always been met? Our Creator is well aware of the fact that each one of us needs a partner who shares our spiritual requirements, as well as our material ones. That is why this too eventually appears in our life, when the time is right – one way or another. Who are we to stand in the way and hesitate, hopefully not for too long? We are here to learn to love wisely. Well, is it wise to cling onto something – anything that is past its sell-by date? Spiritual awareness, by the way, does not make such decisions any easier. Knowing that we are responsible and have to live with the karmic consequences of our actions, we make an extra effort at doing the right things, on all levels, trying to do justice to all involved. But with our limited view, how can we ever know what is best for ourselves and another? All we can do is to follow our inner guidance, and then take the plunge.

If our intentions are good and we act with love in our heart and do our best, then God and the Angels can and will do the rest. The Universal laws ensure that when we send our best into our world – and all worlds, for that matter – only the best comes back to us. All bread cast onto the waters of life does come back, and any love we have ever given will always return to us, though not necessarily through the people we gave it to. This hardly ever happens, but back our love comes, as often as not in the form of help, when we really need it. Suddenly it is there and to our amazement hands are reaching out to us, from unexpected people and places.

Observing this kind of thing in our own lives goes a long way towards restoring our faith and trust in the inherent goodness of life, which we may have lost along the way whilst struggling to find out way through some particularly traumatic events. To my mind, that is yet another reason why such situations arise. Although I still have my share of weak moments, the same as everyone, it is good to learn from first hand experiences that it is safe to trust that our true needs are constantly being met. And if it is faith and trust we need, the Universe helps us to learn that, too.

From White Eagle comes the following wisdom. It appeared on the Message Board of the White Eagle Lodge in March 2006: ‘You will ask if divorce or separation can be wrong. I answer: not at all; in everyday life you go through certain phases, physical or spiritual, which teach you certain lessons. When the phase is over it falls away, its usefulness being finished. So also with marriage; when the required period of wedded life has passed, and when you have learned what was necessary, you have probably fulfilled the purpose of that marriage, not only to yourself and your partner, but to the whole, as a result. We do not, therefore, hold that divorce is sinful, nor does it hinder further spiritual advancement.’

OF MARRIAGE
And then Almitra spoke again and said:
‘And what of marriage, Master?’
And he replied:
‘You were born together, and together you shall be for evermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God,
For in spirit all is one and together all once came forth from the heart of God.

But let there be spaces in your togetherness
So that the winds of the Heavens can dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love.
Rather let it be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

You do not need another to make you whole,
For each has the energy of the other dormant within;
It is merely waiting to be taken into possession by each one.
Let the other help you do this, but then let go of each other again.

As each soul has their own pathway to walk, let each do their own thing.
Share what nurtures you –
Fill each other’s cup but do not drink from the same cup
Or eat from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous,
But let each also sometimes be on their own;
Even as the strings of a lute are alone,
Although they vibrate with the same tune.

Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping;
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, but not too close,
In the same way as the pillars of a temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress do not grow in each other’s shade.

Each in their own way and time has to learn their lessons,
Their Karma to redeem and their Highest potential to fulfil.
Let each learn to take the lead in some things and to follow in others;
When each contributes in their own special and unique manner,
You add variety and interest to your relationship,
Helping it to last longer and ensuring that both partners
Grow at an even pace, individually and together.

From ‘The Prophet’ by Kahlil Gibran 1883-1931
Lebanese/American poet
Edited by Aquarius

Recommended Reading:
• ‘A Celebration of Kahlil Gibran’
• ‘Afflictions are no Ancestral Curses’

THE VALUE OF MAKING MISTAKES

The very nature of our earthly education is that we do not always know in advance what is expected from us and therefore what the right thing to do is. Yet, this principle applies at all times, but most of all whenever we are ready to venture forth into new experiences. While in physicality and spiritually still the equivalent to young children at school, we are bound to make mistakes. There is nothing wrong with that! Indeed, they are good for us and we are meant to make them. There is no need to become unduly upset over our errors, past or present ones. For one thing, they teach our earthly self humility, a quality it is greatly in need of. And for another, as long as we glean something valuable from any experience, we are progressing and growing, giving our soul every reason to rejoice.

By trying one or two – maybe three or four – of the wrong things, the discomfort and/or pain they cause us will eventually guide us towards what really is meant to be for us, and is therefore good and right. That does not mean the other options we tried were wrong! As they helped us in our search, they were right for us and our development, then. Having established that something is not for right for us, we owe it to ourselves to search for what is. Clearly, we also needed our ‘mistakes’, because they helped us to grow into what we are now, complete with all our learning, from which we can draw. Not to make mistakes means not to be alive and the most essential thing is following our inner guidance, the small still voice of conscience that has always told us right from wrong. The main trouble in the past has been that we have all too easily ignored it swept it aside, in view of the fact that:

People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centred –
You don’t have to like them, but love them anyway!

They are all part of your own family;
They are part of you and you are part of them;
They may not yet know it, but you being wiser,
Love them anyway!

People may project their own ulterior motives onto you,
And accuse you of having them.
Rest safe in the knowledge that the Universe
Knows their heart as well as yours -
Do good anyway!

If being successful means that we can only win
False friends and real enemies –
Succeed anyway!

The good we do today, shall be forgotten tomorrow –
Do it anyway!

What may have taken years of building up,
Could be destroyed overnight –
Build anyway!

People who are in need of our help,
May attack us whilst we are trying to help them –
Help anyway!

Give the world the best that is within you,
And should it be rejected, never stop giving –
Give anyway!

The Universal Law of Karma ensures that what we send
Into the world, has to return to us:
Give of your best and only the best is sure to return!

Bishop Abel Muzorewa
African Spiritual and Political Leader
Edited by Aquarius

Having the courage of willingly making mistakes, owning up to them and looking for what they can teach us, so that our consciousness may grow and expand, protects us from merely vegetating and becoming one of the:

THE NOTHING-PEOPLE
Here’s how you recognise them:
They do not lie, but they do not tell the truth;
They do not take, but they do not give either;
They neither steal nor stop a thief;
They rock no boats and never pull any oars;
They will not drag you down, but are more than
Happy to let you draw them and
Should the effort kill you, it’s tough luck on you.
They do not hurt you, but they refuse to help;
They do not hate you, but they cannot love you either;
They will not burn you, but happily fiddle, while you burn;
And they never volunteer for anything.

Do you know what they are?
They are the sins of omission folks:
Spiritual voids, neither good nor bad,
They stand still and stagnate.
Because they never risk anything,
They neither learn nor grow!
At least, the good keep trying,
And the bad in their own way, work just as hard,
But at least both are based on action and conviction.
So, please God, send me either a sinner or a Saint,
But protect me against the nothing-people!

Anon.
Edited by Aquarius

ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS

It is mostly women and children who are found in abusive relationships. Should you ever find yourself pondering on the injustice of life for having been born a woman, take heart. There is no need for women to feel bitter about the dice having been so heavily loaded against them, during past ages or during this one, because the unpleasant residues of the patriarchy – more about this theme in a moment – to this day are lingering in our world. Because life is always fair and just, it has always been the case the in some lifetimes we reincarnate as a woman and during others as a man. Which one we choose depends on the type of experiences we require, at any given time. Life is never unfair or unjust, it merely seeks a balance. That’s why in one lifetime we may find ourselves at the giving end of particularly unpleasant experiences, whereas in others we are at their receiving end, which creates the required balance. Nothing happens without good and wise reason. Whatever we may currently be suffering through the treatment of those around us, we can be sure that we ourselves once created its underlying cause.

For example, if as a woman we attract violent, cruel and disrespectful men into our life – whilst secretly dreaming of a gallant knight in shining armour, who comes to our rescue – in other lifetimes we ourselves have been treating women badly. What we created then is now coming back to us, as all things must, not as some kind of punishment, but to teach us some vital lessons. That’s why our first requirement is finding forgiveness for ourselves and our perpetrators. This does not mean condoning their behaviour, but if we wish to make any progress, there must eventually dawn the recognition in our consciousness that the whole thing has been nothing but an opportunity for learning from first hand experience, what it feels like to be treated in this manner.

Because of the mirror effect, before we can hope to draw the person of our dreams into our life, we ourselves first have to change our energies and become the person we would most like to meet, We all have to face up to the fact that any true changes in our world can only take place through everybody’s own willingness to first change their own inner attitudes and perceptions, because that alone can bring about the change of energies we are seeking. For each one of us this lifetime is quite literally a God-sent opportunity to grow in understanding and for learning to love wisely, the way our Creator loves us, totally and unconditionally.

In the course of many lifetimes, all together we created every bit of the suffering and the evil that ever was in our world and still is with us, now. I am not trying to send anyone – including myself – on unnecessary guilt-trips, but nothing can change the fact that we are all responsible for the state of our world, because we all have taken part in creating it and are therefore equally guilty. Instead of wasting our times on guilt-trips and/or a fault-finding missions – with ourselves and others, we are far better advised to work on finding forgiveness for ourselves and everybody else.

More than anything else, our present lifetime is a quest for truth and vision for what is good and right now, and not what was thirty, three hundred or three thousand years ago. My role in this process I do not see as one who causes controversy, but as a mediator of understanding and a maker of peace. I was born when the Sun was in Libra, the sign of relationships and of peace-making. Doing so, I am responding to and being true to the pull of the same spirit that is willing to guide each one of us from within, onto higher levels of existence – if we but listen. Libra is one of the Air signs and those born into them can fulfil their highest potential through siblinghood in action.

YOUNG GODS IN THE MAKING

As children of Divine parents the essence of our nature is love. We come from love and to love we return. Young Gods in the making that we are, the educational demands on us are justifiably great and the road home is an exceedingly rough and thorny one that is strewn with rocks and boulders of all sizes. It is inevitable that on this highway every human soul has to travel through the valley of experiencing the polar opposite of love and also of life. Each must deal with and get to know through its own experiences fear and all the evils it causes, like arrogance, false pride, selfishness that leads to greed and corruption, death and destruction, hatred, violence and crime. Every child of the Earth must partake in these lessons before its ascent into love and the knowledge of its eternal life can begin in earnest.

Oh yes, there is light of the end of this tunnel, the same as any other, more light than anyone could ever have believed possible. All human souls on the Earth plane eventually reach the evolutionary stage when they awaken into the realisation that their present existence is not all there is to life and that it is by no means a one-off affair. The individual soul then becomes aware that life is a never ending process that consists of an exceedingly long chain of lifetimes of coming and going on the Earth plane. Neatly aligned, one follows the other in a most orderly procession. This discovery leads to the next major step on this journey of many, many thousand miles and that is the understanding that we are responsible, and always have been, for ourselves and every one of our thoughts, words and actions.

If these Eureka moments have already come for us but not for those with whom we are enmeshed and trapped in relationships, maybe abusive ones, we have every reason to count our blessings. Our knowledge puts us a giant stride ahead of our trespassers, because it enables us to consciously start working on forgiving them. That is the only way we can free ourselves and others from the Karmic chains and shackles that consist of negative emotional and psychic bonds, which all human beings have created for themselves and each other in the course of many lifetimes. Getting to work on this, it pays to remind ourselves frequently that the only person we can and indeed are required to change is ourselves and our inner attitudes to anyone with whom we encounter difficulties. No matter how hard and impossible the task ahead of us may at first appear it is of vital importance and cannot be avoided by anyone. So, why not get on with it, now?

All religions have at their heart spiritual knowledge that was given to our world through various teachers directly from the Source of our being; such knowledge is called the Ancient Wisdom. For a very long time, the teachings of the Bible, the same as all other publications of this nature, have been trying to convey to us God’s Divine truth. The only snag was that each time some more of God’s wisdom was given to our world, humankind was still too young and unevolved to be able to grasp their underlying esoteric meanings.

As far as the law of Karma is concerned, there is historical evidence that in the early days of Christianity it was known and referred to in the New Testament, but that at a certain stage all references to it were removed from the Bible. There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus, as a Master soul, knew about the law and lived accordingly. His most recent lifetime on the Earth, as far as we know, was a demonstration of the various initiations every human soul must eventually undergo in its earthly existence, before it can find its way back home into the realisation of its true Divine nature and the oneness with God. No matter how long this may take for each one of us, we all get there in the end.

TURNING THE OTHER CHEEK

It also needs to be borne in mind that over time, the teachings of the Bible have become more and more corrupted by a power seeking priesthood and others like emperors and kings, who used the sacred texts to support and achieve their own personal ambitions. For example, let’s take a closer look at what the Bible tells us in St. Luke 6:27-38: ‘I say to you who hear: ‘Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you. And bless those who curse you, and pray for those who compel you to carry burdens. And to those who strike you on the cheek, offer to them the other. And to them who take away your robe, do not refuse your shirt also. Give to everyone who asks you; and from them who take away what is yours, do not demand it back again.

‘Just as you want people to do to you, do to them likewise. For if you love those who love you, what is your blessing? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good only to those who do good to you, what is your blessing? For sinners also do the same. And if you lend only to them by whom you expect to be paid back, what is your blessing? For sinners also lend to sinners, to be paid back likewise. But love your enemies and do good to them, and lend and do not cut off any person’s hope. Thus, your reward will increase and you will become children of the Highest. For He is gracious to the wicked and the cruel. Be therefore merciful, as your Father is also merciful. Judge not and you will not be judged. Condemn not and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you shall be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken down and running over, they will pour into your robe. For with the measure that you measure, it will be measured to you.’

For those who are already awake to their true nature, behaving in kind and loving to everybody and everything is no longer an effort but a natural reaction. Alas, when one does, with some folks this creates the wrong impression and leads them to the wrong conclusion that the other one can easily be taken advantage of. Unless that person already knows how to love and respect themselves, again the doormat trap threatens. But, what are we to do? Turning the other cheek when someone has done us wrong does not sound like good advice to me. In my view it show a distinct lack of respect and appreciation of who and what we – and the other one – really are, namely spirit and soul and a beloved child of God, who is only temporarily encased in the matter of its physical body.

Allowing others to walk all over us is not what I believe the Universal Christ had in mind when he spoke through the Master Jesus. It is more than likely that the words ‘turn the other cheek’ were later added to the original sacred texts by an organisation that was in pursuit of personal and spiritual power. To this day, not only in days gone by, they could and indeed are used to browbeat and manipulate into submission those who are either of weaker social standing or merely have less physical strength, in particular women and children, but also of both genders those with less intellectual and/or spiritual power. This was particularly true for women in the days when the Bible was written, in the depths or the heights of the patriarchy, depending on which side of human society one views this epoch.

Nonetheless, there is no need for thinking that women were ever unfairly treated by the Universe, as throughout the course of our development on the Earth plane, to achieve a well balanced earthly education, in some lifetimes we have appeared as women and in others as men. This ensures that every human soul at times finds itself at the giving and the receiving end of whatever behaviour patterns between the genders have been developed by us in the course of many lifetimes.

What a long time it has taken, until it is finally possible to grasp the message contained in Matthew 5:18: ‘For truly I say to you, until Heaven and Earth pass away, not even a yoth or a dash shall pass away from the law, until all of it is fulfilled.’ A yoth is the smallest letter in the Aramaic and Hebrew language. The Cosmic laws will be with us forever and until every last shred of the Karma we once created for ourselves in our ignorance of these laws, has been redeemed by us, we cannot release ourselves from the chains and shackles that tie us to life on the Earth plane.

THE END OF THE PATRIARCHY AND MALE DOMINANCE

We are presently in the process of leaving behind us thousands of years of patriarchy – briefly touched upon earlier – and the dominance of the masculine. Mind you, even that fulfilled a higher, i.e. educational purpose, the same as everything else on the Earth plane does. The patriarchy served the development of the masculine aspect of our world. In our approach to the Age of Aquarius this was necessary to bring us the human, scientific and technical progress that was and still is required to enable us to tackle the tasks that are waiting for us in the New Age. Because of this functioning of the masculine or feminine energies each on its own, our world got out of balance, the state it is in to this day.

But things are a-changing, thanks be to God and the Angels. The time has come for working our way out of this unbalanced state. Probably the most significant step forward has been equal rights to men and women, hopefully this will soon extend to all the peoples of our world. To create the new peaceful world of our dreams, the masculine and feminine energies within ourselves and our world have to be reunited and balanced. To become whole, there no longer is any need to look towards other people to make us so. And to fulfil our highest potential, individually and as a race, there is no more to it than each one of us giving of our best and teaching our inner man and woman to work peacefully and harmoniously together, in the same way the masculine and the feminine energies of our Divine parents are doing.

To my mind, turning the other cheek can never have been the right thing to do. But even if such an alarming degree of lack of self-respect and appreciation of ourselves was alright when the New Testament was written, for our present evolutionary level that is most certainly no longer acceptable, no matter what the Bible says. If you do not believe me, listen within to what your inner guidance has to say. The likelihood is that you it will tell you the same. For me, the Bible words highlight that creating more difficult Karma for ourselves and others should at all costs be avoided by every soul. How else can we ever hope to find our way back home into the oneness with God? For anyone who wishes to make the maximum progress that is potentially possible for every soul in each subsequent lifetime, it is essential to resist the temptation of taking revenge or even nurturing vengeful thoughts in our bosom. In truth, there has never been any need for doing this, because the law of Karma has always taken care of this aspect of our lives.

That undoubtedly is the meaning of the Old Testament’s Deuteronomy 32:35: ‘To me belongs vengeance, and when their foot shall slip, I will recompense them at the time.’ In the New Testament St. Paul reminds his followers of this, to my mind, clear reference to the law of Karma in his letters to the Romans 12:19 ‘Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather restrain your wrath; for it is written: Vengeance is mine; I will execute justice for you, said the Lord.’ The texts are from the George Lamsa Bible translation from the original Aramaic texts of the Peshitta.

•Recommended Reading:
• ‘The Sins of the Fathers’
• ‘Karma in Families’
• ‘Dynamics of Human Relationships’
• ‘Family Energies’
• ‘Afflictions Are No Ancestral Curses’
• ‘Love Your Enemies’

RESPECTING EACH OTHER’S SPACE

As commonly known, one not respecting the space of the other causes the wars between the members of the families of nations. Are we then, in our private lives, to stand by helplessly when others try to invade and rob us of our precious space and time? Whenever someone forces us into actions to defend ourselves, we have every right to remain firm and to stick to our guns, even though they may, to crown it all, call us intolerant. What use are peaceful negotiations, invitations, and entry permits, if someone has no intention of playing by the rules? To insist on invading others against their will, in my view, is not a way of making friends, but enemies. After all, what the whole thing boils down to is manners and common sense – or rather the lack of both of them. Whenever someone displays these symptoms we do not only have the right to be angry and to say that we are, we also have a duty towards ourselves for expressing our annoyance. The biggest mistake on our present level of existence is not confronting any issues openly, as and when they arise.

Nothing has ever been achieved by constantly sweeping things under carpets, because one fine day when we least expect it, as I know from first hand experience, such floor coverings have a habit of lifting themselves and exposing to us the mess we have made of our lives. We then have to face up to every one of the unresolved issues that have accumulated. The only thing such self-protective cover-up actions can ever hope to achieve is to produce smouldering resentment inside, each time the person in question is encountered; that more surely than anything else will eventually destroy the relationship, in any case. Isn’t it better by far to tackle debatable points before they have a chance to grow into festering sores, and cause us unnecessary suffering? We are not saving anyone anything, because a lack of communication will always rebound on all involved and when the inevitable end of relationships affected by this comes, they are then bound to leave it behind deeply wounded and upset.

Whenever we are suffering it is necessary to speak up for ourselves and tell those who trespassed against us. Suffering silently will get us nowhere. None of us are mind-readers as yet and those around us usually have no way of telling what we are going through. There is no need for constant moaning, but there is one for letting others know how we feel. Not only do we owe it to ourselves to actively do something that aims to put an end to our suffering, we also owe it to the offender. In truth, we are doing them a good turn by speaking up, because this places into their own hands the tool, i.e. the choice of stopping to create ever more difficult Karma for themselves, which at some stage will return to them and will have to be made good.

One thing is certain, bottling things up does no-one any good; all that can hope to achieve is creating serious health problems later in life. Unless we speak up for ourselves, the other person may never realise that there is a problem between us. This is unfair to all involved, because we are then not giving others the chance to put things right, even if they wanted to with all their heart. It is better by far for all concerned to take the bull by the horns, stand up and be counted. Let me give you an example of what can and does happen. Trying to be all things to all people, and a desire to be loved and liked by everybody is a weakness that is frequently the Achilles heel of souls who are spending their present lifetime in Libra. Overcoming this is their most important lesson, as in the course of bending over backwards to accommodate other’s people needs and wishes, we are in danger of neglecting our own. It may take a long time until it dawns on us that it is impossible to be loved by everybody, much as we would like them to.

By showing love and respect for ourselves, our own personal needs and requirements, and our space we ourselves need to teach those who cannot love us that at least they must learn to respect us and our wishes. The Universe is constantly testing and trying us to see through our reactions to people and situations how far we have mastered our earthly lessons. We prove that we have by working with any spiritual wisdom we find and putting it to good use in our daily lives, for example by extending the love and respect we are learning for ourselves to others, that’s what spiritual awareness is all about. That is what the Master Jesus meant when he said: ‘Love thy neighbour as thyself.’ This statement pre-supposes that we love and respect ourselves.

HUMAN BEHAVIOUR IS CHOSEN

It comforts me to know that we all have everything within, the very best but alas, the worst as well. That’s when we look in shock and horror at what some people are doing, we are well advised to remind ourselves that what is in them is also in us. In truth, we are all capable of all kinds of behaviour and it is up to us in any given moment who we want to be and how we wish to behave. The discovery that human behaviour is chosen and by no means compulsive is an empowering and liberating experience. It makes one realise that there is nothing to be afraid of inside ourselves. This is what our freedom of choice is all about; in fact, it’s the only true freedom that anyone ever has on the Earth plane.

We have not been given freewill for nothing and it needs bearing in mind that every right inevitably brings with it a duty and a responsibility. In this case it means that we have to choose in any situation how we wish to behave. Nobody has to act upon any bad or downright evil impulses; there is always a choice. It is up to each one of us to resist the pull of their lower earthly nature and to rise above its urges. All unpleasant characteristics we observe in others are waiting to be lifted into our conscious awareness. Everything that is inside us needs to be accepted and acknowledged. It’s just that the lower instinctive behaviour patterns need to be counteracted and reacted to firmly saying: ‘No!’ to them. God and the Angels are waiting to show us how to rise above them and to help us release them, so that their energies can be transmuted into wholesome and good ones.

Going through the above described process can be a painful one. Yet, diligently attending to whatever surfaces into our conscious awareness is well worth anyone’s while. For those who diligently attend to it enormous evolutionary forward strides are possible. There is every likelihood that at the end of it we shall be a far more whole and integrated person than our loved one could have hoped to become in their most recent lifetime. If we can muster the courage to consciously accept and integrate all parts, we shall never have to act out their obnoxious behaviour patterns ourselves.

Having served us well as teaching aids, it is a good idea to give thanks for them. And then, it’s time for moving on and seriously getting to work on letting go of all excess baggage from the past. This makes room for concentrating on bringing forth from within all the desirable qualities we wish to integrate into our character make-up. Once the change of energies has taken place inside us, the necessity will never again arise to draw people who act the old distasteful traces out towards us.

If however we fail to do this and the offending item remains unrecognised and therefore unresolved in our own subconscious, through the behaviour of those around us the mirror that such experiences represent will be held in front of us again and again. Until the issues concerned have been attended to and resolved by us, it is highly likely that we shall attract more of the same into our orbit. The principle f this does not change even when one of the perpetrators returns to the world of spirit. Until the offending character traces have been eradicated from our own consciousness, we shall continue to be at their receiving end, as a constant reminder of the way we once sinned against others in previous lifetimes. Thus balance is created in the greater scheme of life and excellent teaching and learning opportunities are provided for all parties involved.

It needs bearing in mind that karmic conditions do not come into anyone’s life as some kind of a punishment. The law of Karma is one of opportunities, because with its help ever more of these are created for resolving issues and for once and for all shedding the parts that are no longer required by us. The karmic chains and shackles we created for ourselves and each other in the course of many lifetimes can only be dissolved by true forgiveness that comes from the heart. This is greatly helped along by our increasing awareness of the reason for being on this plane of life.

Probably the most vital asset in the healing of all human relationships is taking charge of our tongues. As early as the Old Testament the Bible warned in Proverbs 18:21: ‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue; and those who love it shall eat the fruits thereof.’ In ‘Spiritual Unfoldment 2’ White Eagle has this to say: ‘Keep control of your tongue, so that it says no unkind and hurtful thing; remember the feelings of those to whom you speak, and so speak gently and thoughtfully, without anger and without haste. And then, my dear children of the Earth, difficulties fall away, sorrow recedes into the background and you cannot help but become aware of the gentle presence of your Master.

‘We ask you to render a service to us and that is holding your tongue. This is one of the hardest tasks you can be asked to do. Oh, the mists that surround humankind that is caused by idle chatter. When there is so much of it on the Earth, even the Angels can to nothing but fold their wings and bow their heads, because they are then unable to minister to you. So, whenever you are tempted to say: ‘I think so and so; I believe so and so; I like this man; I don’t like the other…’ instead of speaking, be silent and wait and see. If you can restrain yourself from expressing any foolish opinion about the affairs of the world you will also greatly assist the Angels in their work.’

THE END OF ALL SUFFERING

A renewed understanding of the purpose and meaning of Earth life and an ever increasing awareness of the things that are truly of importance is the device for putting an end to all the suffering in this world, which the Universe is now laying before us. The beginning of wisdom is waiting to provide each one of us with the key for unlocking all life’s doors – inner and outer. Making good use of this gift, the Divine qualities of compassion and love open our hearts and souls and almost on its own the required forgiveness floods our consciousness for all those who have ever hurt and wounded us, and also for creating the miseries we had to endure in the first place.

There eventually comes the time in everybody’s healing process when sufficient distance has been gained from the events of the past. To paraphrase someone’s immortal words: ‘The past is a foreign country where things were done differently.’ We are here to learn from the mistakes of the past and make good where we have sinned. As pioneers of a new age, we are expected to invent better ways of being and doing things. There comes the time in everyone’s life when one begins to realise that in truth there is every reason for forgiving our perpetrators and even for being grateful to them. After all, they have been excellent teachers to us, because through their offensive behaviour towards us they taught us how we do not wish to be. Thus, they made an invaluable contribution towards our personal evolution by playing a major part in helping us to become the person we now are. Therefore, if any loved or unloved person who ever took part in our life – whether they are by now in the world of light or not is irrelevant – had in our view a few too many obnoxious qualities, which we with their help have overcome, let us give thanks to God and the Angels for providing us with such good tutors.

All human relationships are invaluable tools for personal growth and development and the importance of changing our character cannot be stressed sufficiently. It is by no means as difficult as it may sound when one first encounters this concept. All that is required from us is that we should own up to the less pleasant qualities we witness in others and to accept them as our own. There is never any need for acting them out ourselves. If they have already been changed by us into agreeable ones there is no need to do anything but to say: ‘Yes, I also have this character trace. If the other person had not acted it towards me, I would probably have been like that myself. Oh, perish the thought and thanks be to God and the Angels for protecting me from that!’ Something along these lines; be creative and above all things forgive, forgive, forgive! This alone can break the vicious karmic circle that once drew those painful experiences into our lives; it set us and the other one free to move on to higher levels of learning.

DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES

Some time ago, one of my friends commented that she believes we all come from dysfunctional families. I have to admit that at the time this took me a bit by surprise, but when I observed the world around me and the way we all grow up, including myself, I had to admit that she was right. Not finding this a satisfactory state of affairs, I begun to wonder why this should be so. I am no longer prepared to accept such things as the status quo we jolly well have to put up with, whether we like it or not, as I once used to, because I know that we can and should change anything that is not to our liking. If we want to improve any situation, there usually is something we can do to help ourselves, if only we are willing to.

My own life’s experiences have led me to the conclusion that all our human families on the Earth plane are dysfunctional and that they probably have to be and that for two reasons. The first one is that most of us, to this day, have the wrong perception of the parent/child relationship. Therefore, both sides of the fence approach it with false expectations. Deep within our soul and spirit, each one of us carries an image of our perfect and ideal parents, all-protective, omniscient and omnipotent. Their relationship with us and ours with them is one of silent mutual understanding, the ideal one. It is the relationship with our Divine Parents, our Creator who is both Mother and Father to us all, and of whom we are a spark. That is what we are always seeking in all our human relationships, though in vain. Such ideal relationships take place on the highest levels of existence, where personalities no longer play a part any more, and so they cannot clash. And is that the reason why, although we all dream of such relationships, they are practically impossible to achieve between two human beings?

Because of our faulty perception, we look for the same kind of protection, knowledge and wisdom that our Divine Parents grant us from our human parents. This is grossly unfair to them, as they are merely human and fallible, and on the Earth to learn, the same as we are. The second reason is that each one of us is a spark of the Divine. No matter which role has been allocated to each one of, during this lifetime, underneath we are all brothers and sisters, including our parents and our children. There is a special reason why we find ourselves in these roles. In the animal kingdom, to which our earthly part belongs, new vehicles, physical bodies for souls to reincarnate into, can only be created through a male and female of each species; this ensures their survival. That is why brothers and sisters temporarily find themselves in parent/child relationships.

Our world was created to be a school, in which each has been allocated its own space and time to grow and evolve into spiritual maturity. Life itself is the greatest University of all, where we all must study, sometimes as a parent, and other times as a child. In all relationships, we are constantly acting as teacher and student, both at the same time. There is no such thing as a one-sided relationship, and everything must balance in God’s created world, and because we are an integral part of it, we and our relationships have to be balanced, too. It does not make one iota of difference whether we believe in God or not, and whether we enjoy this state of affairs or not. We are here to help each other grow and evolve, no more, no less.

Those who in this lifetime have come together as parents and children, the likelihood is that both parties involved are on a similar level of evolution. This ensures the best possible results from the teaching and learning roles that have been allocated to the participants. There is every possibility that in future lifetimes the roles may be reversed, so that those who once were our parents will then be our children. This creates many karmic opportunities for all involved for learning one time at the giving end of a particular experience and then at its receiving one. If, for example, we have been good parents during one lifetime, it stands to reason that next time round we shall reincarnate through a couple that is capable of being good parents to us.

Whichever way all this works in our life, it is important always to remind ourselves that both parents and children are human and therefore fallible. The only reason why we all are here is to improve our character, and if that was not necessary any more, we would not be here! Whether we find ourselves in the role of parents or as children, we should never be afraid of making mistakes. Without them, there would neither be learning nor teaching of any kind. Clearly, a lifetime without mistakes would be a wasted one, but then that is highly unlikely ever to happen!

Having become adults in our own right and having gained an understanding of how human relationships truly work, the time has come for parents and children to let go of each other. Because of their lack of understanding of the spiritual background of all life and human relationships in particular, many find it difficult to release each other once and for all from the ties that have been formed. But spiritually this is essential, because otherwise we shall never be able to release ourselves from the unhealthy child/parent bonds of mutual dependency, so they can be transmuted into invisible bands of total and unconditional love and friendship.

Recognising that the mistakes of the past were necessary for all involved, makes it easier to find forgiveness for ourselves and each other. Every single slip-up we make is an invaluable teaching aid in the earthly education every child of God has to attend. The watchful eyes of the great wisdom and love of our true parents of both parties, our Mother/Father God, has always taken care of all our needs on the Earth plane. This will continue wherever else our education may take us, as we go forward and eventually move onto higher and highest levels of consciousness. Accepting these concepts as our truth can bring peace and healing into what must be the most fraught area of human relationships of all, our families.

As understanding is the only key that can and does unlock all human suffering on the Earth, shall we join St. Francis of Assisi’s prayer: ‘... O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love ...’?

MARS AND VENUS IN RELATIONSHIPS

In connection with relationships the aspects which the planets Mars and Venus are forming with each other in our birthcharts are of particular significance. When they are in what is known as a hard aspect, like a conjunction, square, semi-square or opposition, special lessons are waiting for us during our present lifetime. All the struggles that are encountered in our relationships are outer manifestations of the conflicting different aspects of our inner nature. It is not enough that our masculine and feminine side are struggling to come to terms with each other, our higher love nature and the drives and urges of our lower animal self are also battling against each other. Until we manage to bring these parts into harmony with each other, their quarrelling will continue and try to tear us apart.

To draw towards us all the experience we need for the balancing act this requires, the Universe provides us with much sex appeal and personal magnetism. And to get us started with working on this as early as possible in life, we reach sexual maturity earlier than others. This aspect can be an extremely difficult one to handle in our younger days because we may get involved in adventures, which we later regret. The wise intention behind this is that, because of our learning experiences earlier on, with increasing life experience such situations should be handled by us with much more ease. For those who are willing to learn, this surely is the case.

The snag is that for as long as human souls are still largely motivated by the animal instincts of their lower earthly nature, sex rather than love is likely to be the most dominant note in their lives. During that evolutionary phase, sex is frequently mistaken for love. Power struggles ensue that may wind up in the most destructive expressions of Mars, like over-possessiveness, jealousy, resentment and vengefulness. But, the necessity for taking take charge of our lower animal nature, its drives, desires and instincts eventually dawns on every soul and our journey through life eases off. With increasing spiritual maturity our higher love nature, whose symbol is Venus, takes over and with its help the lower parts of our nature are slowly conquered.

The Fire sign Aries is the sign of the self and ‘I’. It is ruled by Mars, the planet of desire and passion. Mars was the God of war of forebears. The Air sign Libra is the sign of ‘we’ and relationships. It is ruled by Venus, the planet of love, peace, beauty and harmony. To the ancients Venus was the Goddess of love, peace and all the beautiful things Mother Earth has to offer. The planet endows our soul with its gifts, most important of all the tact and diplomacy that is required to help us create harmonious relationships that are based on co-operation, Venus, instead of competitiveness, Mars. Aries and Libra are in polar opposition with each other in the zodiac. Undiluted highly energetic Aries loves fighting, arguing and quarrelling more than anything, whereas above all things Libra one wants peace and harmony. Clearly, the two are struggling to come to terms with each other.

Why should this be necessary? Well, to help us find and maintain our place in this world, the basic human nature of unevolved souls is almost neat Mars energy, what is known in psychology as the ‘id’. This part of us knows nothing but: ‘I want it and I want it now! If you have got something I want, I just take it from you and see whether anyone can stop me! I go after what I want and if it means walking over dead bodies!’ Ever more disastrous wars are the result in human relationships on a personal, national and international level of thwarted Mars energies. Look around you and you will be able to observe that a great many unevolved souls are still living among us.

Human nature consist of three parts, psychology calls them the id or the infra-rational, the ego or rational and the superego or the supra-rational. The ego, the small earthly self, contains the id. The ego is still very selfish but it has been endowed by the Universe with a reasoning and logical thinking mind that enables us to learn from our own experiences about the consequences of our actions. The Super-ego is our higher nature; it knows at all times intuitively what is good and right and without hesitation goes and does it.

Without sufficient influence of the Venusian energies, as well as a lack of awareness that in truth nothing on the Earth plane belongs to any of us, our desire nature, Mars, at the slightest provocation and obstruction on the way of getting what it wants, reacts with the potentially highly destructive emotions of anger, jealousy and resentment. Greed and covetousness for what is considered to be other people’s belongings, including whole countries, are part of this challenging part of our world of feelings. The energies of Mars and Venus can function on their own in us and our world, but for as long as this is the case both lack wholeness and remain unbalanced. Every soul in its own right must work on uniting and balancing them. And each must find out through their own experiences that that no matter what life may bring and what is destroyed through the wrong use of Mars energy, love is the strongest force in the whole of Creation. It can heal and mend anything that has been broken, especially human relationships. Once we have learnt to persevere and our efforts are determined enough, love will always rule in the end.

Gaining control over our emotions and passions through taking charge of our lower animal self is of the utmost importance for all of us. This is a particularly urgent issue when Mars and Venus form one of the above named hard aspects in our chart. Whether we ourselves behave cruelly and ruthlessly towards others, or we attract people into our orbit who treat us in this way, both are external expressions of the same learning process that is required by those involved. People with these aspects, especially in their younger days, at times can be sexually so strongly attracted to someone that they mistake their feelings of desire for being in love. Getting married far too early and for all the wrong reasons ensures that sufficient opportunities are created for learning their main lesson for this lifetime.

People with these aspects, because of their difficulties in relationships, may suffer from nagging feelings of being oppressed, suppressed and misunderstood. To overcome all of this and to free themselves from drawing further unpleasant experiences into their lives, most of all they need to recognise and accept that the roots of all their problems lie within them and not in other people.

The greatest school of love, in my view, is life itself and learning to love the way God loves us, totally, unconditionally and wisely, is the most essential part of every soul’s earthly education. Yet, this can only be done through taking charge of the instincts of our lower earthly nature. The first step towards resolving any problem, including this one, is through acceptance that the cause for all our difficulties invariably lies within us. As our understanding of the true purpose and meaning of this life increases, feelings like jealousy and resentment are gradually shed, until they have gone from us once and for all.

Marrying unwisely and maybe also far too early in life may bring suffering to souls with these aspects. If this is true for you, accept it for what it is, namely a karmic condition. If you are at the receiving end of cruelty in relationships in your present lifetime, it is highly likely that in previous ones you inflicted it on others. Take heart, this will only continue until you have resolved your inner Mars/Venus conflict. Come to terms with the fact that your past experiences were not some kind of punishment that was meted out to you by an unkind fate, but opportunities for learning to appreciate how it feels to be treated cruelly. By learning to love from the heart, unconditionally, in a detached and unemotional way, not only others but also ourselves, all our human problems can and are indeed meant to be overcome.

Recommended Reading:
• ‘Sun in Aries’
• ‘The Sun in Libra’

KARMA IN FAMILIES

From time to time the question arises: ‘Why is our planet so over-crowded?’ I believe that this is happening for a very wise reason. At the beginning of a New Age it makes a great deal of sense because opportunities are thus created for as many souls as possible to be on the Earth plane. We are all here to take part in the great transformation and initiation that makes it possible for a new age to emerge and be born from the old one. Birth is always a painful process and this one is no exception; like all others it is visibly accompanied by severe labour pains.

Look around you and see for yourself how everybody is struggling! Aren’t you? I believe this is because many have brought their most difficult and ancient relationships with them into this lifetime, in the hope that a final resolution may be found between the people involved. Souls who are sufficiently evolved and therefore ready, hopefully also willing, to heed the call of God and the Angels in the New Age and respond to its demands, will be given many opportunities for doing so, thus clearing up even their most ancient Karmic debts.

However, not much progress is possible for any human soul unless it reawakens to its true nature, becomes aware of the purpose of its earthly existence and rediscovers that all life, not only that of the Earth is ruled by Cosmic laws. For as long as the soul fails to understand these things its sojourns into physicality often appear as unnecessarily and pointlessly cruel, dark and threatening, as if it had been placed in a cold and nasty world – and all for what? In that state the pain of life’s sorrows, limitations and hardships hits the soul hard and it suffers intensely. This is accentuated by sneaking feelings that an impersonal and unloving providence permits all these ‘bad’ things and inflicts them upon all and sundry without purpose, rhyme or reason.

A certain amount of relief comes straight away when the soul finds out about the Universal law of Karma and that because of this law a justice of a very special kind is at work in every life, a Divine justice that is so perfect and fair that human consciousness finds it very hard to grasp. But now that our race is at last moving onto higher levels of consciousness to many there now comes a renewed understanding of spiritual concepts like the above. However, for a long as any knowledge remains merely of the head, it will do us no good whatever. But as it sinks into the deeper levels of our consciousness we begin to realise the necessity for applying our learning to real life situations.

The more our awareness increases, the easier it becomes to forgive and find the necessary compassion for our own suffering, as well as that of anyone who ever hurt and wounded us in the past. Forgiveness is essential because its gets the healing process going and brings ever more peace to our soul. The knowledge that everything that is in our lives is and always has been there purely to teach us something helps us to shed the notion that there is such a thing as good or bad fortune. Whether we like it or not, one way or another, we ourselves once set the wheels in motion for everything that is presently in our lives. The acceptance of this makes forgiving surprisingly easy.

Family situations are particularly fraught and the saying: ‘You cannot choose your family, but you can choose your friends,’ is only true up to a point. We are told by the wise ones from the world of spirit that there is more Karma in families than in any other aspect of life. Look at your own life and that of the families around you and you will – like me – have no difficulties accepting that this is undoubtedly so. The way I see it, far too much suffering is constantly created in our world through family life – mine is no exception.

As to my mind this is due to a lack of understanding of the roles we are meant to play in each other’s lives, let us examine the matter more closely. The living together of people in the close proximity of families, no matter how splendid their surroundings may be, puts enormous strain on everybody’s inner resources. As invasions of each other’s privacy and psychic space are constantly taking place within all families, I feel that psychic protection is of the essence; see the item below this chapter. Grating on each other’s nerves almost certainly is inevitable; even in the most loving relationships sooner or later this is likely to begin to show. Statistics of divorce figures and people living on their own these days prove this particular point.

The work that is required from everyone to improve this situation can only be done in our earthly existence. Once we have been released from its limitations and are back in the world of spirit, such strains no longer exist and therefore cannot be worked on. This realisation highlights the great importance of making every effort to resolve and heal our troublesome relationships in the here and now. Undoubtedly, the arising conflicts and tensions in them lead to much soul growth for all concerned.

This clearly has been the intention behind this particular challenge in the past, but now that we are reaching spiritual maturity the tools are put into everybody’s own hands for learning to rise above such situations and for doing better. Alas, without discovering what is at stake here, nobody has much of a chance of making any progress. For as long as any warring parties remain unaware of what is expected from them, the people involved are likely to repeat the difficult behaviour patterns, which they brought with them as part of their soul memories from previous lifetimes. Thus they can do nothing to continue to endlessly create ever more difficult Karmic situations that will have to be redeemed and resolved, if not during their present lifetime then in one of their future ones.

As long as at least one participating soul wakes up, all involved remain trapped on the great wheel of life. Tied to it and each other, unwittingly creating ever more chains of Karma is the kind of yoke we have all carried with us, ever since we entered into our first relationship with someone. Setting each other free from this is sure to be done more successfully and rapidly when both parties in thorny relationships wake up from their spiritual slumbers. For all who are willing to work on this formidable task, their present lifetime will offer many opportunities for transforming their difficult connections into bonds of friendship and mutual respect.

Let us now return for a moment to the theme of choosing one’s family, briefly touched upon earlier. In case someone is now asking: ‘How can this be?’ a few words of explanation may not come amiss. Each time before we enter into yet another lifetime, working together with the wise ones in charge of us, we do indeed choose our family. This not only creates possibilities for balancing the scales of justice, but also for resolving any issues that were left unattended to in other lifetimes. Without the necessary awareness there is little chance of achieving this goal. The key for unlocking this challenge, as always, is the understanding of what is now at stake, because that enables us to consciously get to work on all our problematic relationships. And when we do, there eventually comes that blessed moment when the people involved can set each other free. As everything in the whole of Creation always has to balance, we do not only bring our difficult relationships with us but also some good and helpful ones, which can be built upon and further strengthened.

The poet W.H. Auden, when asked why he was migrating from the United Kingdom to the United States, said: ‘I love my family, but I don’t want to live with them!’ Now, there is honesty for you and if we were all equally truthful with ourselves, many would express the same feelings. Not to jump to conclusions though, let us not assume that they are hypocrites. Maybe they are the wise ones, especially if they are consciously and patiently putting up with the lessons their difficult relationships can teach them. With sufficient awareness, ever more of us will be able to grasp the opportunities that are now on offer to help us resolve all Karmic ties with each other.

Recommended Reading:

• ‘The Transmutation of Karma’
• ‘About Children’
• ‘The Truth about Parents’
• ‘Healing Prayer for Children and Parents’

PSYCHIC PROTECTION

Because of our inner connectedness we all react to each other from the subconscious level. That’s why psychic protection is of the greatest importance in all human relationships and especially when it comes to dealing with the people with whom we have difficult Karmic lessons to undergo and issues to resolve. Both people in such relationships are vulnerable and wide open to psychic invasions by the negative vibrations they are constantly receiving from each other. Also, the more our spiritual awareness increases, the higher our sensitivity to the detrimental psychic influences that emanate from others becomes.

Therefore, whenever we have to go through hurtful or negative experiences or sense that we are otherwise in danger of absorbing the negativity of those around us, we are in need of protecting our psychic space. If someone around us gives out negative vibrations, intentionally or otherwise, whether they originate from this level of life or any other, the best advice I have ever come across was from White Eagle.

He recommends that in such situations we quickly fold our aura around us, similar to an Angel closing its wings. For me it works best when I say in my mind: ‘Like an Angel folding its wings and like a flower closing its petals when the Sun goes down, I now close my aura around me; I am safe.’ I find it helpful to accompany these words by making some corresponding movements with my hands and taking several deep breaths, breathing in the Great White Light of God and breathing out love.

To my mind, everybody by rights should always have the benefit of this kind of protection. I suggest practising it especially first thing in the morning and last thing at night, as well as any time in between, as and when you feel the need for it.

From the White Eagle Lodge Calendar March 2008: ‘To protect your aura, immediately you feel a hurtful or negative condition, or think you may be picking something up, quickly fold your aura round you, like an Angel folds its wings. Do this mentally. You will help this process by taking several deep breaths. Draw in the Great White Light. Nothing can then touch you; you have got everything within. It is like a flower closing up, as the Sun goes down.’

THE DYNAMICS OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS & THE LAW OF ATTRACTION

Do you sincerely wish for our world to become a more peaceful place? If so, the one thing you cannot do is to sit on your behind and wait for a large hand to reach down from the Heavens and wave a magic wand. As briefly touched upon earlier, each one of us must do their share of bringing this peaceful world into being and has to experience a change of heart and consciousness. This takes place through finding new ways of looking at our world, namely from a different perspective and through the eyes of our spirit. Every soul eventually undergoes this experience. We then wake up to the understanding that the world of our dreams can and will not happen on its own, that it can only do so by all of us working on conducting our lives and especially our relationships in more peaceful ways.

As the dynamics of human relationships are of an extremely complex nature, they deserve a closer examination. We all have everything within; nobody is all good or all bad, and everybody is a diverse mixture of all manner of things. When some people in our lives consistently cause us problems of one kind or another which, no matter how hard we try will not go away, it is worth our while to look inside and see whether there is something there that may be asking for our attention.

We are magnetic beings and the law of attraction is at work in all life, including each one of us. This law sees to it that all human souls can only draw into their orbit that which they themselves are. Wherever we may find ourselves at any given time, that is always the right place for us to be. We are there to integrate certain lessons and the world around us can be used to help us find out what that may be. The environment is designed to act like a mirror of our unconscious inner self; at all times it is trying to help us in our spiritual development by reflecting back to us what is taking place within.

That is why we can only see in others what we ourselves are. Alas, rather than living our less pleasant traits out, in a psychological process that is known as projection we prefer to assign them to others, rather than owning up to them ourselves. The world around us is always a reflection of their good as well as the distasteful behaviour patterns of others, which in truth are also our own. Nobody has any problems when it comes to integrating and owning the good qualities that are on display in this way. But, it is another matter entirely when one has to deal with the less desirable and endearing ones. No matter how objectionable they may be, in the process of becoming more whole it is important that we should own up to them. Our psyche tries to hide them from our conscious awareness but they are there nonetheless. This is proved by the fact that we can recognise them in others, as we can only see in them what we ourselves are.

If our energies and characteristics were not so similar to the ones of those who irritate and annoy us – including our nearest and dearest – we would never have drawn a relationship with them into our lives, because we would not have needed it. But, the way things have been thus far in our evolutionary plan of life, we most certainly do. For as long as we suffer intensely from the nastier character traces we observe in others, we are receiving signals from the Universe that the same is tucked away inside us, in our own subconscious, waiting to be released.

Human behaviour is not compulsive and each soul can and indeed must in due course learn to choose how to behave in any given situation. This is where our much cherished freedom of choice comes into the picture, and that is the only true freedom the human soul has, while it is held captive by its physical body. The way someone behaves and the choices they make reveal better than anything else the evolutionary level that person’s soul has reached thus far. This gives a clear picture to our guides and masters on the higher levels of life of how much we have up to now learnt to control and master the lower aspects of our nature. Most of all this reveals itself in all our relationships with our environment, especially our human contacts and within that framework in particular with our nearest and dearest. That is why each one of these connections is of the greatest importance to every soul.

There is nothing to be afraid of here. We have not been given free will for nothing; we must exercise it and choose in any situation how we wish to behave. Nobody has to act upon any bad or downright evil impulses; there is always a choice. It is up to us to resist the pull of our lower nature and rise above its instincts and urges. The characteristics we observe as unpleasant in those around us will only continue to annoy and irritate us for as long as the same ones are lurking in our own subconscious. I can think of no better way than asking God and the Angels to help me lift them into my conscious awareness, so I can accept and acknowledge them. This I follow by a response of a firm: ‘No!’ and ask that they should be released and their energies transmuted into wholesome and good ones. That in a nutshell is evolution. It is a process that demands constant changes from us and our world; that is why nothing ever remains the same.

It is possible to influence others and those on the healer’s pathway ensure to do this in positive ways only. Anyone who to this day believes they can change someone else is chasing an illusion, because that is impossible. In all human relationships projection is always at work. It is a normal part of human behaviour; everybody does it, so let this not worry you. Next time you find yourself in troublesome relationships and situations, stop feeling bad about them or yourself. Bearing in mind that the only person in the whole wide world that can be changed by us is ourselves, do something constructive and positive and get to work, not on the people who are irritating you, but on yourself.

Whenever we have problems with others and want their behaviour towards us to change, we must first sweep in front of our own door. To find a resolution we have to look within and with utmost honesty examine our own mannerisms and deep seated inner attitudes. They are the culprits and the cause of all our difficulties. First we have to assess our problem, then our search for a solution can begin. This is a journey like any other that starts with the question: ‘Where am I now, where do I want to go and how can I get there?’

Because of the special dynamics between people it frequently happens in such cases that those around us being to respond to the different vibrations we are then radiating in their direction. The effect of this can sometimes border on the miraculous. With some people this process takes longer than with others, but spiritually every small effort anyone makes towards improving their human relationships into more loving ones are recognised and rewarded by God and the Angels. If we but ask, the Universe is all too happy to show each one of us how to go about changing our own attitudes, so that those around us can respond to them. Why not try it for yourself? Given time, you will be able to watch how the miracle of growing more loving that is taking place within you is affecting the world around you and how the people in it reflect your own lovingness back to you.

Recommended Reading:
• ‘Afflictions are no Ancestral Curses’

SOUND ADVICE
Amid the cares of married life,
In spite of toil and business life,
If you value your wife,
Tell her so!

When your own days are dark and deeply blue,
Remember that she has her troubles, the same as you.
Show her that your Love is true –
And tell her so!

Don’t act as if she was past her prime,
And as if to please her was a crime.
If ever you loved her, now’s the time –
Tell her so!

She’ll return for each caress
A hundred fold in tenderness.
Hearts like hers were made to bless –
Tell her so!

You know that she’s all your own,
And that you are hers and hers alone.
Don’t wait to carve that on a stone –
Tell her so!

Do not allow her heart to grow cold,
For richer beauties for both of you will unfold.
If you know she’s worth her weight in gold –
Then, before it’s too late,
For Heaven’s sake, just tell her so!

Anon.

P.S. Naturally, the above applies to wives telling their husbands, too.

REASSESSING ALL RELATIONSHIPS

Many by now have reached the evolutionary point for reassessing all their relationships and for leading those that are worthy of staying in our lives in better and more holistic ways than has ever been possible before. Just look around you and see how fraught human relationships all too frequently seem to be these days, on an individual level as well as world wide. Life is difficult because many of our old institutions are breaking up and disintegrating; it seems that one of them is marriage. To my mind, this is largely due to and connected with everyone’s need for integrating and coming to terms with the fact that we all contain everything, the Highest and the lowest qualities, as well as feminine and masculine energy. This awareness that on the inner level of life each one of us already is whole and consists of both woman and man, does away with the need for seeking others to make us whole. Women are ever more integrating and becoming one with their inner man; and the same is happening for men and their inner woman.

We are all in this life to find healing for our crippled and wounded inner child, so that it may rise from its wheelchair, metaphorically speaking. We are that child and to find healing and peace for our adult self, we first have to attend to our child part, so that it can learn to smile and laugh and trust again. Before we can walk and run into the wide open and waiting arms of our Divine parents, Father/Mother, without any fears and inhibitions, our child first has to practise crawling and toddling. To achieve this, our most urgent requirement is a complete change of inner attitudes towards ourselves.

During the journey back home into our true nature, the small wounded child within must have its say, at least from time to time. Whenever its wishes surface, they are doing so for good reason. They are asking to be looked at and healed, through our own love and compassion for the suffering we experienced when we were small, helpless and at the mercy of those around us. For me, the best way of finding healing has been through a better general understanding of myself, my life and life in general. That is what to me the healing journey of this whole lifetime has been all along and still is.

That is why when my inner child’s feelings rise to the surface during meditations, I no longer suppress them but allow them to rise to the surface of my consciousness. For as long as it is necessary, I do a bit of wallowing in self-pity, if you want to call it that, though that is not what it truly is. To me, it as a necessary part of the healing process that helps our tears to come. And tears are the Universe’s, by that I mean God and the Angels’, way of comforting us and bringing us healing. To my mind, it would be wrong to suppress such feelings. They too are very real and they are surfacing because they never found their proper expression at the time, never mind anyone being around to comfort us. This healing process is very painful indeed, but I can tell you from first hand experience that it does work and if it does so for me, then it is likely to do the same for you. So, why not have a go yourself? As long one does not carry this attitude of wallowing in self-pity forward into one’s daily life, the way it is now, there is nothing wrong with a spoonful of this kind of bitter medicine. Taken with discrimination and in small doses, at the right moment and in the right place, whilst communicating with the Universe, it can be highly beneficial.

That helps us to face all our other human relationships with more strength. Why is it that they are so fraught and difficult? To me, one of the main reasons is that for as long as we insist on looking for fulfilment in another human being, no relationships is likely to work out satisfactorily in the long run. To overcome any of our problems, as always, we first have to look towards ourselves and wake up to the reality of who we are and why we are here. This also applies to our relationship problems. There is no point in searching in those around us for what they have not got, because they are not meant to have it. As likely as not, they themselves are still hoping to find it – probably in us.

Knowing that inner manifestation always comes before outer, wise ones however look for whatever they want from life within and develop it there. They are aware that the kind of security we all are seeking is the one that only our Highest Self can give us and that it can only be found within. It cannot be provided by other people, because it is not meant to; they too are here for the same reason. As one starts looking in the right place, relationships begin to run more smoothly. One no longer enters into them with false and expectations that cannot be fulfilled, because they are not meant to.

Why are women and men naturally dependent upon each other? On the physical level, for as long as physical bodies are required for incoming souls to enter into and live this life, this will continue. On the inner level, however, this has never been true; more of this in a moment. We have now entered a new age and therefore big evolutionary changes are taking place, which are stressful and need a great deal of adjusting to. The way I see it, we do need human beings around us and with us on our pathway, indeed we do; it is through our human relationships that we grow and develop. The way I see it, they will become much easier when everybody realises their own true nature again, and therefore knows that each one of us is whole within themselves. Knowing that we do no longer need other people to make us whole stops us from looking for fulfilment in another and for being made whole by their presence.

In previous lifetimes, women and men lived their earthly existence vicariously, through each other. All she knew then was that she was woman, no more and no less – and did the same. The men in a woman’s life acted out her masculine part for her and reflected her own masculine energies back to her. By now, many are becoming increasingly aware that wholeness could never be found in others, but only within, because it represents every soul’s own inner connection with its Highest or God Self. Other people were never meant to replace the missing part of ourselves, which we have been seeking ever since we left behind the conscious awareness of our oneness with God and all life. This happened for wise evolutionary purposes and is the reason why no matter how close our relationship with anyone ever was or will be, the other one can never become fully one with us – no more than anyone else can, on the inner level of life. The only way of being one with any other being is on that level, where we and all life always have remained one, in any case.

THE DIVINE SOUL MATE

Samuel J. Ellis wrote: ‘When people take more and more advantage of you, they begin to dislike you more and more. It is not because of anything you do or say. Instead it is because of what they are saying and doing to you. So, in your next situation do not let others take unfair advantage of you. Say something to them early on. Everyone seems to act this way, though some more than others.’ He too discovered that if we do not respect ourselves, others cannot do so either. This is because – for good and wise purpose – a special dynamics is always at work in human relationships, so that two people reflect back to each other – again the mirror effect – what is within them.

As also mentioned before, we all have everything within woman and man, Sun and Moon, yin and yang, human and Divine. To become whole, each has to integrate and reconcile the opposite energies and forces within themselves and help them to work together. When we have achieved this we shall be whole and androgynous, like God and the Angels, not wanting for anything any more. The desire to rule and dominate others will finally have gone from us and we shall have freed ourselves from all possessive and needful emotional love. Our love consciousness needs to raise itself ever more towards our Highest Self and connect with it in a deep, loving and satisfying inner union that is without compare. Our hunger for love will be satisfied once and for all and the inner thirst will be quenched and gone for good; we shall be healed and, therefore, whole.

To reiterate what was said in ‘Anam Cara’ in ‘Healers and Healing’, the love relationship everybody is looking for and the soul mate we all yearn for is not to be found within another human being, but within ourselves – with our own inner lover. Everything lies within! Only through the process of integrating and becoming one again with this part can the deep inner wound, which we all carry within, be healed, which means to be whole. This wound was caused by detaching ourselves from our God Self, our true and eternal lover, once upon a time, a long, long time ago. And it does not make one bit of difference what name you care to choose for It. ‘Call me by any name and I shall be there’ that is the Divine promise that has always been with us. God is in us and we are in God; we truly are one and always have been. It was our earthly mind that created the illusion of separateness, but as we attune ourselves ever more to the Highest Mind, we come home into the awareness of our oneness with all life.

The Universe always has provided each one of us with natural help to dissolve our ego structures and boundaries; this is increasing now that the Age of Aquarius is with us. Uranus’ energy helps us to break up that which is old and outworn within us, while Neptune’s dissolves all ego structures. On 3rd February 2012 the planet Neptune moves into Pisces, its own sign, where its influence is sure to be felt more strongly than at any other time. A new section of the jottings is in preparation specifically for this event and will be published closer to the above mentioned date.

We as pioneers of the Aquarian Age and healers are here to discover new ways of being and feeling, and to help others to do the same for themselves. Far too many are still unfamiliar with these concepts. As a result, they are frightened and are trying to run away from the very thing we all most desperately want and need, which is the re-union with our God and Highest Self. For as long as they keep on running, they have no chance of finding what that is, because it can only be found through stopping, going inside and listening to the murmurings of our heart, where the Highest or God Self dwells, in each one of us.

WHAT IS HOPE?
When things go wrong, as they sometime will,
Optimists hope that they’ll come right again and they do!
And when times are hard, positive thinkers hope they’ll
Become easier again, as they invariably do!
So, what is hope?
It is not the closing of one’s eyes to
Difficulties, risks or failures,
But an inner trusting that:
If we fail now, we shall not do so forever;
If we get hurt, we shall be healed;
If we make mistakes, we shall learn from them
And be allowed to move on to higher learning.

Hope is the awareness of our innermost soul that:
Life is good and the power of love is the most powerful
Force in the whole of Creation.
It straightens all crooked corners and, if we but ask,
Helps us heal everything,
Even the most difficult situations and relationships.

Hope is an inner knowing that, in God’s time,
All things will come right on the Earth plane,
And that, like actors on the great stage of life,
In front of a friendly audience of friends and helpers
From the world of light,
We shall eventually step in front of the curtain.

Every participant of the comedy of errors that is this life,
Eventually must nail the urges of their small self to the
Cross of consciousness of the Earth.
At the end of their present lifetime, the wise ones,
Who willingly submit themselves to Saturn’s demands
And extend the restraint of self-discipline and self-mastery
Onto all their relationships, in the form of good and healed ones,
Shall be presented by life itself with the leaving certificates
That sets them free from further lessons on the Earth.

No further returns to the earthly plane will then be required
And like in earthly school, our teachers – the Angels,
In due course, move us on to increasingly elevated
Levels of existence and studies.
Thus, all human souls in the end take their final bows
On this side of the veil of consciousness.

United in friendship and love,
Smilingly reaching out for each other and, holding hands,
We enjoy the roar of applause that greets us,
Though in truth we are much more eager to follow the Angels,
To see where they may wish to lead us.

Having surrendered our earthly self to our Highest Self,
In the shelter of God’s mighty wings, in all Eternity
We shall in the end serenely venture forth,
Never to be frightened or feeling lonely again.

I will abide in Thy tabernacle forever;
I will make my refuge the shadow of Thy wings.’
Psalm 61:4:

Aquarius

FORGIVENESS GROWS FROM UNDERSTANDING

Finally, a word to those who find forgiving difficult. It does not mean giving in, but letting go. Whether or not you think someone deserves your forgiveness, you most certainly are worthy of forgiving them, because that is the only way of dissolving the karmic chains and shackles we created for ourselves and each other, in the course of many lifetimes, and of setting each other free. Holding onto anger is a way of trying to compensate for the powerlessness we feel when someone hurts us. It is important to find a way of letting go of anger, by talking with the person who hurt us, without attacking or blaming them, but by describing the effect their behaviour had on us and the world of our feelings. Listening to another’s point of view helps us to see things from a different perspective. It makes us more tolerant and shows us the way to true and lasting forgiveness that comes from our heart, instead of our head.

If, for any reason, it is impossible to communicate with the people who have hurt us, writing down what happened the way we experienced it can be a good release. Talking the matter over with a friend or a counsellor is another way of letting go. In my view, forgiving does not necessarily mean forgetting. It is not easy to forget hurts, but even partial forgiveness is beneficial because re-living past painful incidents time and again is bad for our health; it increases our susceptibility to illness. Forgiving is good for our body, as well as our soul. If it is more than we can manage on our own, God and the Angels are waiting to be called upon for their assistance. After all, to err is human and to forgive is Divine. And forgiveness brings inner peace; meditation and prayers are the best ways of finding both.

Forgiveness is the most important ingredient in our quest for more harmonious relationships. It grows from and is a natural consequence of a growing understanding of the true purpose of our present existence and human relationships in particular. Though this can be an extremely arduous task, being merciful is essential for becoming whole – meaning healed – through the integration of all the qualities that are our Divine inheritance. We are here to take possession of each one of them and the most important one of them is learning how to love God’s way and acquiring the ability of a love that understands all, forgives all and heals all. This kind of love isn’t blind, but because it understands it forgives. Loving this way opens our heart’s and soul’s willingness for doing so. Understanding opens our inner vision to the necessity for forgiving and we perceive with great clarity that without it, we shall remain stuck in the past and cannot move on.

The trouble with life is, as the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard put it: ‘Life must be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.’ How very true! The best thing about this life is that we are all allowed to make mistakes – nay, maybe we are even encouraged to make them. As long as we learn from them, we are allowed to move on.

MOVING ON
As every flower fades and youth must give way to old age,
So all wisdom and each virtue may be valid only in its day.
Nothing but our Highest Self stays with us forever.
At life’s calling the human soul must say farewell
And be ready for a new beginning.
Bravely and without sadness we need to
Enter into ever new learning, safe in the knowledge that
In the background of all life dwells the power of the Unseen,
To guide and protect us and help us to live,
Wherever our destiny may take us one day.

We are meant to move happily through space and time,
Without making our home in any one of them,
Because we know that our true home lies elsewhere.
The Spirit of the Divine never aims
To tie and restrict any of us; quite the opposite is true!
Step by step the Universe tries to lift us
Beyond the horizons of our present understanding.
If we are in danger of staying with one particular way of living
For too long, our spirit and soul stagnate and start to yearn for
Fresh learning through new adventures and further explorations.

The awareness that there is no death, that life is eternal,
Without beginning or end, helps us to
Give in more readily to the demands of life
When the time for moving on has come.
The hour of departure from the physical plane of life is eased and
We can enjoy our rebirth onto a different level of life,
Because we know that all it means is learning of a different kind.

The realisation that life’s call to the human soul
Will never end fills our heart and soul with good cheer.
It enables us to say good-bye willingly and happily,
Whenever the need arises, and go forward peacefully
To find rest and healing in the oneness with God.

‘Stufen’ by Hermann Hesse
Translated & adapted by Aquarius

OF FALSE PROPHETS AND MESSIAHS

Finally, for those on the spiritual pathway a word of warning may not come amiss and that is: ‘Whatever you do, beware of false prophets and messiahs!’ They are sure to be encountered by all of us by people who, to this day, are trying to take us in. The only one hundred percent reliable teacher in the whole wide world dwells inside everybody’s innermost heart and is waiting to be called upon, to come fully alive. Yet, even in these communications with our inner guide and Master, it is essential to use our discriminatory faculties to the fullest, so they can develop to their highest potential/

Sorting the wheat from the chaff is at present more important than it has ever been before. Do not believe anything or anyone, including me – not that I would to call myself a prophet or a messiah, but you get the drift – without verifying any information before you with your inner guidance first. In order to do this, whatever you hear or read anywhere, let it flow through the filter of the world of your feelings and especially your heart, as that is the only place in the world where truth can be found.

The inner guru is the living God within, who has full access to all the wisdom and knowledge that was ever gathered anywhere in the whole of Creation. S/He is the final authority on recognising and telling us the difference between right and wrong, truths and lies. Learn to listen to this teacher carefully, with love and respect. Test and try it, time and again, and it will amaze you how much it can and will tell and help you, even down to tackling your most mundane tasks. And this authority is the only one who can help us understand what is happening all around us, as well as within us, and that at ever increasing speed. It is waiting to be called upon to help us overcome all our fears and the feelings that are considered to be negative.

A MESSAGE OF HOPE

When it comes to this theme, there is never anything new under the Sun. The eminent German poet, philosopher, historian and playwright, Friedrich von Schiller, 1759–1805, brought the following message to our troubled world with his poem ‘Hoffnung’ – hope, of which three different versions are presented here. The first one is a masterly translation that was given to me as a special gift by my best friend, B.M. Thanks and God bless to you.

We speak and dream so very much
Of a future in the Sun.
Towards that happy golden goal
We struggle and we run.
The world gets old, then young again –
Still hope is humankind’s refrain.

Hope guides us into life’s great flow
And flutters over cheerful youth,
Enthuses us with magic glow,
In old age too remains our truth
And in the grave that ends our ways
We plant fresh hope for other days.

No vague or empty promise here,
By a foolish mind begot
The heart proclaims it loud and clear:
‘We’re born for a better lot!’
And what the inner voice makes plain
The hopeful heart does not disdain.

Friedrich von Schiller

The second part came into being with the help of my inner teacher and Highest Self. It is how I imagine Schiller would formulate his message if he was here with us and writing it, now.

Oh, how much talking and dreaming
Of better days yet to come.
Just watch them all running and chasing
Visions of happier days, maybe a golden age of plenty,
A world without suffering and pain,
Where hunger and thirst, sickness and wars,
Violence and crime have long been forgotten.
Our world grows old and constantly renews itself,
But throughout the ages humankind
Steadfast held onto its dream.

Hope guides us into life on the Earth.
Happily surrounding us in youthful days,
It bewitches us with its magical shine.
And no matter how old and weary we get,
Because hope is firmly in our hearts,
It never leaves us and dies.
Alas, each earthly sojourn must end in the grave.
Yet, hope stays with us and accompanies us into the beyond.

For it is much more than a flattering delusion
And an elixir that flows only from the brains of fools.
If we but listen, we can hear the small still voice of the living God,
Who dwells in everybody’s heart and whispers:
‘For something greater than Earth life your race was born –
A high and holy destiny is waiting to be fulfilled by each one of you!’
The things that are thus revealed to humankind
Never misleads or betrays the trust we place in it.

Friedrich von Schiller
Freely translated by Aquarius

Last but by no means least, for those who can understand it, here is the original:

HOFFNUNG
Es reden und träumen die Menschen viel
Von bessern künftigen Tagen,
Nach einem glücklichen goldenen Ziel
Sieht man sie rennen und jagen.
Die Welt wird alt und wird wieder jung,
Doch der Mensch hofft immer Verbesserung!

Die Hoffnung führt ihn ins Leben ein,
Sie umflattert den fröhlichen Knaben,
Den Jüngling begeistert ihr Zauberschein,
Sie wird mit dem Greis nicht begraben,
Denn beschließt er im Grabe den müden Lauf,
Noch am Grabe pflanzt er die Hoffnung auf.

Es ist kein leerer schmeichelnder Wahn,
Erzeugt im Gehirne des Toren;
Im Herzen kündet es laut sich an,
Zu was Besser’m sind wir geboren!
Und was die innere Stimme spricht,
Das täuscht die hoffende Seele nicht.

Friedrich von Schiller

FINDING PEACE OF MIND

1. Do not interfere in other people’s business unless asked:

Most of us create our own problems by interfering too much in other people’s affairs. We do so to our detriment because somehow we have convinced ourselves that our way is better than somebody else’s and that our logic is a perfect one, and that those who do not conform to our thinking must be criticised and steered to the right direction, ours! This kind of thinking shows no respect for the other’s individuality and their intuition, through which the living God within each one of us tells us what is right or wrong, in any given situation. There is no way that someone else can reliable know what that is!

God created each one of us to unique and special. That is why no two human beings can think or act exactly the same way. Showing love and compassion to someone else’s suffering, whilst carefully minding our own business at the same time, does wonders for finding inner peace.

Recommended Reading:
• ‘You Are Special’

2. Forgive:

Love can only flourish in relationships where there is an equal measure of giving and taking, as well as for the willingness of those involved in them to forgive. Forgiveness is the most powerful tool for finding peace of mind. There is no point in developing ill feelings for and nurturing grievances against those who insult or harm us. These things may result in loss of sleep, development of stomach ulcers and also high blood pressure.

Once an insult or injury has been done, unless we forgive the perpetrator, nourishing grievances may go on until we finally do so, because our inner self is likely to remind us that an unresolved issue is waiting to be attended to. It is more constructive by far not to waste our precious time on such trifles, but to learn something from every experience, then to forgive, as that frees us to move on to different ones.

3. Do not crave recognition:

The selfishness that is inherent in the character make-up of every human soul is a natural part of the Divine gift of the survival instinct. The older and more experienced the soul becomes, i.e. the more times it has travelled round the zodiac and taken part in the whole gamut of human experiences that are the essential ingredient of our earthly education, the more this selfishness is shed. Until the soul’s enthusiasm is increasingly fired by altruistic and higher motifs for the good of all humankind, instead for the glorification of the self, takes many lifetimes. So, don’t be disappointed when many still react in overly selfish ways.

Don’t be too harsh on anyone, but give thanks and praise to God and the Angels that you have left behind that particular educational phase. Refuse to sit in judgement because you know better! Instead, diligently attend to the lesson that now is your most one and that is practising how to show love and tolerance towards everyone who crosses your path. Each one is meant to teach you something, especially those who behave in unpleasant ways towards you. Because we all have everything within, we all have to experience every single one of the expressions of our lower earthly nature, before the ascent into developing the higher and highest aspects of our nature can begin. The blatant selfishness, greed, jealousy and cruelty that some are displaying show those who are already climbing up the spiritual mountain how they no longer want to be.

Don’t kill yourself by striving for any kind of recognition; when you have worked hard enough and therefore deserve it, it will come on its own. Patiently, willingly and lovingly do what you have to do to the best of your ability, with honesty and integrity, then hand your work over to God and the Angels and let them do the rest.

4. Let’s forget about being jealous of other people’s achievements:

Nothing disturbs our peace of mind as much as jealousy, when in truth there is never any need for it. Any success that crowns someone’s efforts on the Earth plane has to be worked for very hard at some stage. No success ever falls into anyone’s lap, although on the surface of earthly life this may often appear to be the case, there is no such thing spiritually. Accomplishments have to earned, if this did not happen during someone’s present lifetime, then it is due to the credits its soul has brought with it into this lifetime in the spiritual ledger that accompanies each one of us during the whole course of our evolution. Peace of mind comes through knowing and accepting that all things on our present level of life can only happen for karmic reasons. So, make your peace with the Universe and say: ‘Thy will be done, not mine! Success will come to me, but in Thy time, not mine!’

From the all-important spiritual point of view, the outcome of all our efforts in the final analysis depends not only on the karmic aspect of what we have brought across from other lifetimes in our spiritual ledger on the credit as well as the debit side. Our inner motivations are of equal importance. Are we hoping for material gains and that our enterprise turns into a money-spinning one? Or are we looking towards our inner guidance to be shown how we can do our share of being about the Father’s business by altruistically serving life on the Earth plane and the One who created it? For example, the suffering of humankind can be alleviated by releasing ever more of us from the dungeon of ignorance and false beliefs, to get us all that bit nearer to the end to the suffering that these things have created for us and our world? As long as we pay attention to what rises from within by doing the things we naturally feel drawn to, we are sure to find what is rightfully ours.

5. Don’t expect the world to change to accommodate you; make character changes so you fit better into our world instead.

If you try to change the environment single-handedly, the chances are you will fail. Peace of mind comes through changing ourselves and finding a different perception of our world and our place in it. Through learning to love and accept our world the way it is, an environment we previously perceived to be unfriendly and hostile, can mysteriously change and become more congenial and harmonious.

6. Change the things you can and accept and endure with patience the ones you cannot:

In this way a disadvantage can be turned into an advantage. Every day we all have to tackle inconveniences, ailments, irritations and accidents that are beyond our control. If we cannot control such things or change them, we need to cheerfully and patiently endure them. Proving to ourselves and our world that this is possible helps us to grow in patience, inner strength and willpower, as well as wisdom and understanding.

7. Know and accept your limitations:

Many take on more responsibilities than they are capable of carrying out. It is essential to know our limitations and refuse to take on additional loads that create nothing but stress for us.

8. Meditate regularly:

Peace of mind can only be gained through reducing our engagements in the material world and spending more time in our inner world. Prayers, meditations, quiet reflections and inner dialogues with our Highest Self, the living God within, soothe and calm the mind. Let Him/Her be your teacher and guide. This is the only place in the whole wide world where truth can be found and where you can safely put all the questions you have always wanted to ask and to which no-one ever seemed to know the right and full answers. Learn to pay attention to the responses that rise from the very core of your own being at all times. Be patient because this hardly ever happens straight away; yet, the answers you are seeking are sure to come. I am one of those who do this by writing down the impressions and ideas that come forth. Try it and amaze yourself at all the things you know or rather the knowledge that rises this way into your consciousness from within your own being.

Recommended Reading:
• ‘Chatting with the Christ’
• ‘The Inner Teacher’

Meditation calms the mind and diminishes the amount of thoughts that makes it restless. The less cluttered our minds are with everyday thoughts and inner chatter, the greater peace of mind can be achieved. If you meditate earnestly for half an hour every day, your mind is likely to be more peaceful and not as easily disturbed for the rest of that day. Even if you can only spare five or ten minutes each day, benefits can be reaped; it is helpful to gradually increase these periods. Meditation does not interfere with our daily work. On the contrary, it increases our efficiency and we can produce better results in less time.

9. Find the right food for your earthly mind:

It would be all too simplistic to say that an empty mind is the devil’s workshop and that all evil actions start in vacant minds. The earthly mind was given to us for good purpose and we are responsible for what we allow our minds to be filled with. Concentrate on that which is positive and worthwhile. Take up an interesting hobby and do things that hold your attention.

Regularly take stock of your life and decide what you truly value and what is worth more to you: money or peace of mind. Some work and hobbies, for example that of the social or spiritual kind may not always earn you more money, but it will bring you a sense of fulfilment and achievement.

Recommended Reading:
• ‘The Earthly Mind’
• ‘The Earthly Mind and Astrology’
• ‘Positive Thinking’
• ‘The Power of Thought’

10. Stop procrastinating and never regret anything; instead learn!

Too much time is wasted by endlessly wondering: ‘Should I or shouldn’t I?’ Days, weeks, months, and years may elapse fruitlessly through this kind of futile mental debating. Learn to go with the flow of your life and respond to the promptings you receive from your inner teacher and guide. Accept that the future is not ours to see and that what will be, will be. Forget about planning everything and use affirmations like: ‘That which is for my highest good and my greatest joy is now drawn to me, in perfect ways!’ Then step back to see what the Universe may wish to bring you. Follow Its guidance and seize the opportunities when they come your way. One step at a time, go forwards and give of your best, resting safely in the knowledge that the Universal laws will ensure that only the best can return to you.

Whenever you try something new, it does not matter if you fail. So long as you learn something and make another attempt, if need be many times over, you will succeed in the end. Sitting back and worrying will get you nowhere. Learn from your mistakes, but do not brood over the past and spend no time on regrets! Why cry over spilt milk?

Created by Anon.
Edited by Aquarius

AFFIRMATIONS

Be creative and as you move through your life, make new ones up in accordance with your needs. Here are a few examples to help you on the way:

Thy will be done this day and always. Today is a day of completion and healing and I give thanks for this perfect day. Miracle now follows miracle and wonders shall never cease.

Divine love floods my consciousness with perfect health, happiness and wellbeing. Every cell and atom in my whole being is filled with light and heals in perfect ways.

I cast all my burdens on the Christ within and I go free to love and serve the Great White Spirit in this day and always.

And I am surrounded by and filled with the White Light of the Christ; no negativity can penetrate my consciousness.

And I walk in the Light of the Christ and all my fears melt away and nothing opposes my highest good and my greatest joy.

There is no loss of memory in the Divine Mind; therefore, I recollect everything I should remember and forget the things that no longer serve my highest good and my greatest joy.

I see clearly the perfect plan of my life. Divine enthusiasm fires me now and helps me to fulfil my destiny.

With the crystal clear vision of the Spirit I see the open road. There are no obstacles on my pathway and I see miracles and wonders come to pass at all times.

The walls of all my fears and anxieties are crumbling away and I enter into my Promised Land of total and unconditional faith, trust and love, and re-enter the state of Paradise, of oneness with God and all life, that is my birthright.

And my lamps are filled with the oil of total faith, trust and fulfilment.

My ears are the ears of the Great Spirit. The Light of the Christ streams through my hearing and is restoring it to normal and healthy functioning. I clearly hear the voice of my intuition and follow it without hesitation. I clearly hear the glad tidings of great joy, peace on Earth and healing of all life.

Thou in me art Inspiration, Revelation and Illumination.
Nothing is too good to be true;
Nothing is too wonderful to happen;
And nothing is too good to last.
Amen

Inspired by ‘Your Word is your Wand’
Florence Scovel Shinn

ALL OF LIFE IS FLOWINGNESS
All of life is flowingness
And in this flowing, there is meaning and law.
I cannot lose, what is my own;
I need not seek, what is my own,
For what belongs to me, will come.
Whatever goes does not belong to me.
Only what I am has power.
I now give up all personal struggle and ambition,
Knowing that all that is rightfully mine
Will then be drawn to me.

So, I now let go,
And trust my Highest Self and the Universe,
To run my life for me
And to always show me the way.

Amen

• Does not mean being uncaring, but stepping back and allowing others to do, live and experience for themselves.

• Is not cutting ourselves off, but the realisation that we cannot and have no right to control others.

• Is the realisation that I cannot enable others, because each has the right to learn from the consequences of their actions.

• Is admitting our powerlessness, namely that the outcome of something is not in our hands.

• Is not trying to change or blame others, but making the most of ourselves and helping them to do the same for themselves.

• Is not carrying others, but caring about them.

• Is not fixing things for them, but supporting them unflinchingly in their times of need.

• Is not judging others, but allowing them their humanness.

• Is not muddling and interfering with others and trying to arrange the outcome of events in their lives. This allows them to learn from and grown through their own experiences and in this way steering them into taking their destiny into their own hands.

• Is not being protective, but permitting others to face their own realities and life lessons.

• Is not denying, but an acceptance that we and our own life and that of everybody else at all times rest securely in the Universe’s loving hands.

• Is not adjusting and steering everything to my desires, but going with the flow of my life and taking each day as it comes and whatever it may bring, whilst cherishing my own existence within it.

• Letting go means having no regrets about the past, because it taught as a great many things. It sets us free to live, grow and learn – each through their own experiences – ever more for the future. And that spells fearing less and loving more.

Created by Anon.
Edited by Aquarius

POSTSCRIPT

White Eagle teachings throughout my writings are used by kind permission of the White Eagle Lodge, Liss, Hampshire, United Kingdom. To further clarify the meaning of some quotes square brackets have occasionally been added by me. Bible texts are from ‘The Holy Bible – translated by The Reverend Dr. George M. Lamsa from the Peshitta. In the booklist on my website, you can find out more about this very special version of the Bible. Please note that it is never my intention to speak on behalf of any person or organisation.

To benefit as much as possible from what is now before you, I recommend that you download and print out whatever is to your liking – hopefully all of it. You might later like to re-read what you have found and contemplate on it. You could then go into in the peace and quiet of your inner sanctuary to seek the help of your inner guide and the Angels, so that they can show you whether any of it is of value to you.

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With Love and Light,
Aquarius