1992-11-18-Feeling God's Love

Session

Opening

WELMEK: Good evening everyone. I cannot begin to explain the joy that we feel when we witness such a group of people coming together in behalf of our Father and trying to learn more of His nature and His love. You truly set the example for what is needed on this planet at this time. You do not realize how fortunate you are to have each other to draw from and to have the experience of love within yourselves and your relationship with our Father. Once again, there are many gathered here with me who wish to make themselves known to you. However, since I am in charge (laughter) it is my prerogative and I wish to begin our lesson first. There will be time for discussion afterwards. As I promised, we will engage in a deeper understanding of feeling God's love. I wish to have our brother Marty express a few of his thoughts in relation to our discussion, after which we will open the floor and as usual, share with each other.

Lesson

MARTY: Welmek has given me a certain amount of artistic liberty. As he said, he's in charge; but he told me in my session that I could do this however I want to, so I guess now I'm in charge. I must say that I have spoken to groups on many occasions. I find myself more nervous on this occasion than many other times when I have made presentations. For seven years I was on the faculty at the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada, where I taught judges; but I find that I'm more nervous now in speaking to you people who I think I have a lot more in common with than many of the judges I spoke to. Let me tell you what my agenda is, or at least, how I want to organize what I'd like to do here. I have prepared some thoughts which I assembled based upon a two-hour session which I had with Welmek, which I found to be utterly fascinating. Before that I'd like to say a few things about the significance of this subject. I've given a lot of thought to this over a number of weeks since Welmek indicated to me what my topic was going to be. Originally he told me that I could select my own topic, but he changed those rules at one of our sessions and told me what my topic would be and later said "I hope I didn't put you on the spot."

Feeling, Emotion

Actually, I think the topic that's been suggested and that we're going to discuss tonight is very significant. As a general disclaimer, what I have to say are my own thoughts; and if you find yourself in a position where you have some disagreement with anything that I have to say, I don't think that puts you into a category of being spiritually unworthy in any way. In fact, I think that it would be very fruitful for us to discuss whatever differences that anybody has with whatever I have to say. Whatever I have to say are my own thoughts. This topic, feeling God's love in everyday life, appears to me to be part of what has been taking place in this group since we first began meeting in July in this context. We have discussed, generally, a number of topics. In recent sessions we have discussed more specific topics.

For instance, we've discussed impatience. We've discussed prayer, effective prayer. Connected with much of what we've talked about, it seems to me, and specifically the last several sessions, is this topic of feeling God's love. Welmek has dropped hints, he's implied, he's in fact stated flat out it seems to me, the significance of this particular subject as it relates to effectiveness in prayer. He speaks of sincerity and being able to focus on God's love and project that out in order to have an effective prayer. It makes worship more meaningful. It assists in communication with the spirit fragment. It assists in the manipulation and redirection of God's love for the purpose of healing.

More recently, we've heard from Welmek that being able to experience God's love and feeling God's love in our everyday life will raise our vibrational levels to a position which we may find it possible to visualize our teachers, Melchizedek at some point in time, and ultimately Michael himself. In my opinion, this particular topic is quite significant to where all of us find ourselves at this particular point in time, at least where I find myself. In beginning to address this subject, I think it's useful to talk about, first of all, definitions; and let's start with God.

Our text tells us that God should not be perceived as some sort of cosmic bookkeeper who spends His time making endless ledger entries on the failings of all of us in preparation of our standing before Him on Judgment Day. Rather, God may more appropriately be perceived as a loving parent of everlasting goodness and mercy, a parent who loves us unconditionally, a parent who has given us everything we have and everything we need to live eternally and explore the wonder and beauty of His infinite creation.

God is the bestower of all personality and has provided each of us with a unique personality which will be recognized as ours alone throughout eternity. Our eternal parent so loves us that He has provided each of us individually with a fragment of Himself in order to guide each of us back to Paradise which is our eternal goal. The spirit fragment which indwells each of us contains the perfect plan for our journey back to Paradise. In short, God has made a complete provision for each of us in order that we may successfully traverse the Paradise journey, and He longs to experience the joy that only a parent can experience when we, His children, return His love in a perfect way by having made the choice of our own free will to do His will. Thus, we may perceive God as a perfect parent who loves each of us perfectly and unconditionally, and also a parent who has established a perfect and just universe within which each of us has the opportunity to fully and completely and freely express our love, and by doing so, define ourselves.

Love.

In our session Welmek assisted me in defining in a much broader sense, this particular term as I had previously understood. Love should be perceived as much more than a mere human emotion. Love is a powerful and ever-present energy force which upholds and surrounds us all, and even more importantly, it is contained within our very selves in the presence of our Thought Adjuster or spirit fragment. Love is a form of energy, and as such, can be manipulated and directed. It is a manifestation of eternal and divine affection and is available for each of us to experience wholly and completely.

The third word, feeling, which I found this particular definition in my session with Welmek was the focus for me for much thought; and it was as Welmek indicated, a mind-blowing experience. There is a basic distinction to be made between what we humans call feelings and what we call emotion. In fact, it is this basic distinction which clarifies much about the function of the spirit fragment in its role in our ability to actually feel God's love. Feeling is an experience which originates within ourself. Emotion originates external to ourself. While this is easy to say, it isn't necessarily easy to understand and appreciate. However, the implications of what I just said are significant and I think profound. For instance, emotions are the reaction which we have to external events. Hate, anger, and envy are therefore reactions which we have to external events.

They originate outside ourselves. Thus, they are subject to control by ourselves. Once we understand that emotions arise as the reaction to an external event, such as behavior of another human being, we can see how it is that we can learn to control our reaction and thus begin to exercise what we had talked about as self-control, because it is we who are deciding whether or not to experience the emotion or not to experience the emotion. Feeling, on the other hand, originates within our Self, capital S, in our spirit fragment. Feeling is the experience of that energy force which we call love. When we experience that energy force within ourselves, we call the by-products of that feeling, joy, happiness, contentment, and peace of mind. Putting all three of these terms together, in order to experience the feeling of God's love, our Self must be in harmony; that is, we must be in electro-chemical harmony as well as psychologically in harmony. Achieving this state of harmony will enable us to experience this feeling of God's love. Feeling God's love will result in a feeling of ourselves physically as well as psychologically and spiritually. Feeling God's love in this matter also means that we experience joy, happiness, contentment, and peace of mind.

Experiencing God's love means that we can learn to manipulate and re-direct this energy force in order to heal others by raising their vibrational levels to that of a person in a state of physical harmony. Feeling God's love will assist us in making all of our prayers more effective and our worship more pleasing. Actually, feeling God's love is, in my opinion, the next important, crucial step of our spiritual development. While there are other subjects that we might discuss at this time, I think that I said quite a few things, and at this time I would like to open up the floor for anyone who has a response.

Dialogue

Q: Marty, I'm curious about your mentioning on raising the vibrational level. What do you mean by this?

A: By experiencing God's love you're raising your vibrational levels? Does anybody else have a comment? An idea on that?

Q: Well, I think each of us, our body makeup has a vibrational level for ourselves, a vibrational level for our organs, our whole being. I think what you're saying is by feeling God's love you'll change that frequency.

A: Any more comments?

Q: Becoming more spiritized because of the higher vibrational level of spiritual beings. The more you increasingly change the rate to a higher vibrational frequency, you are increasingly spiritizing your own physical vibrational levels. So when he was alluding to being able to visualize our teachers, I think that that would be widening the spectrum of your sensory perception because you're more spiritizing or more morontia-izing your perspective.

Q: Also, I think too that what happens when our bodies are in dis-ease, there's a breakdown of the vibrations and the energy flow within you and by changing that vibrational level, I'm sure that that's going to create the flow to move more the way it's supposed to without any breakdown to help your body be physically and mentally and spiritually in tune.

Q: Isn't it also as we let go of the anger and the hate and whatever else we have in our body, then the love of Christ or the love of God or whatever you want to call it comes in and just fills that void and keeps filling it and keeps filling it, which is also vibrational.

Q: Those are key points of the breakdown in the flow a lot of times, those things that we feel, those emotions.

Q: It's kind of a product of our dysfunction in this world, I think, that those who are more knowledgeable about The Course in Miracles..I think that kind of ties in the fact that you change your way of living and your way of thinking..We progress or evolve to a higher spiritual level. You change the reality of what (?)..

A: What about this idea of the distinction between feeling and emotion?

Q: I think that's a key, and I guess something that comes up for me is a question that has a lot to do with our vocabulary and the way we use the words. We say "I feel anger" or "I feel sad" and the way that I heard you use and define your "feel" is that feelings were associated with joy, peace, love, those attributes that we discern as manifesting from the Father. So what I'm hearing you say is that in order to really fully express it means changing our vocabulary or changing the way we use the words in relationship...

Q: Well, we simply need to recognize the source of these emotions. If the source is external, some sort of external stimulus, then it's an emotion. But if it's internal, something that occurs in thought or contemplation maybe or habitual practice that causes you to formulate a sense of well-being, I think that's more feeling in the way that Marty was talking about.

Q: Well, in knowing that definition I think makes it easier to recognize the feelings that are inside of you and distinguish, because as you notice, there was not one feeling that was negative. So those things that are within us, we're born with those feelings, we're born with the ability to have all of those feelings which is all of the goodness, and we're trained in our life, if you will, to express those emotions that are anger and sadness and depression, you know, all of those kinds of things that are something that we learn, then.

Q: I think the distinction is slightly different than what you're describing. Emotion, we feel an emotion, but you don't emote a feeling. The emotion can cause a feeling, positive or negative, but it's not the other way around.

A: Does everybody agree with what Scott said?

Q: I see it exactly opposite.

A: Do you want to comment? Why do you see it opposite?

Q: It's just probably saying the same thing. I would just phrase it differently. You emote the feeling, you could appear happy, you could express joy, you know, but you can emote that feeling...

Q: Whether you feel that way or not.

Q: Well, you could have an affected behavior where you're faking it or something, but we're assuming that's genuine. But you don't..but feeling doesn't come from the emotions.

Q: I think it's a matter of being caused by.. say I carry an emotion of joy, or an emotion of goodness, a positive emotion, maybe love for somebody, and I express the feeling of that emotion to that person.

Q: By his definition, the love and the joy would not be an emotion, they would be a feeling if it came from within you. But an emotion is something that it caused by something external; so if I said that somebody made me angry and you call that an emotion, you allow that to happen to you. If you become angry, you cause that emotion; but that's not a feeling by this definition.

Q: You're putting a negative cast on emotions, and I don't think that that's the correct thing to do.

Q: But they're redefining that, they're redefining that. Anything that's a good emotion, what you're thinking of is a good emotion is a feeling, okay, something that's originating from within you as a good feeling of joy, love, caring, that type of thing is a feeling rather than...

Q: Can anyone think of a verb for the expression of emotion?

Q: That's what we need to come up with, something to shade the difference when we use "I feel some positive things.. I ______ some negative things."

Q: I "react" with anger?

Q: "React" is good. The reaction to the external environment equals emotion. That's the definition. Reaction to an external environment.

Q: Can I just ask a question for clarification? Am I to understand from what the definition was that "feeling" is not going to have a negative connotation to it? "Feeling" is not going to be negative.

Q: I think it could be. Look at people who have this particular chemical imbalance that requires lithium. These people are very depressed. This is something that does come from within their own physical thing and has nothing to do with the outside world making them depressed or them choosing to be depressed. It is a physical, chemical problem.

A: Then we've got to a new level here. What we're talking about originates within our Self, Self with a capital S. What composes the Self?

Q: Are you talking about the soul?

Q: But one of the things that you said was that the physical, electro- chemical coordination or harmony was necessary for proper feeling.

Q: That's the feeling of God's love, wasn't it?

Q: That's being able to kind of quiet down the animal side of ourselves, which is also the source of the negative emotions.

Q: Marty, I've got some thoughts on this line. I think the feeling may perhaps be a warning signal. I feel uncomfortable, not in a physical sense, but there's a warning. I'm not comfortable with the way this conversation's going, I'm not comfortable with this situation, I sense danger." So in that sense, it's all reaction. But the emotion and Emmanuel's Book says this quite clearly. It says "Your emotions are the pyrotechnics that you associate to your feelings." It's the way we feel. Let's say I'm uncomfortable, and so I overreact. And so I act out, in a (?) way. And so I'm taking what my spirit fragment has given me as a warning sign, but then I add all my "stuff" to that and become perhaps dysfunctional with it.

Q: But now, does the spirit fragment work that way? I understand the Adjuster to, first of all, He doesn't interfere with our will. So everything He does, in fact the latest thing I read, if I can get the terminology right, the Adjuster works to help us to upstep our thinking but not necessarily by putting thoughts in our heads. He kind of leads us if we choose to follow, instead of pushing us or pulling us along. You know what I mean. So I get the feeling (laughter) I get the impression that if we are reaching for or looking for love or peace or joy, then the source that we go to for those feelings are the Thought Adjuster or God the Father. And it's internal because really you can't feel God any other way. If we're looking for a source, I guess, is the difference in the definitions. If we're looking for the source of anger, or even feeling uncomfortable, that's something that is either external or it's something that comes from our more basic.

Q: Intuition, animal intuition.

Q: I don't know where intuition fits in.

Q: You said "I was feeling.." and you corrected the way you used the word, but perhaps that was right. That was your intuition, your inner sense. Where did it come from?

Q: If something is positive, this is just off the top of my head, if something is positive and it's feeling from within, you don't generally try to change it. But if you feel something negative, a lot of times I think people will look for a way to change it, which therefore, if you do change it, it makes it a reaction and not a feeling any longer because you've changed it from something within and something personal to something negative or opposite. Do you understand what I'm saying?

A: I understand the difficulty in being able to separate the idea of emotion from the idea of feeling. It took me a long time with Welmek before I finally could come to an understanding.

Q: It would seem that depth of the experience is a major difference in the two, in other words, an experience in and of itself. Something positive you experience and it becomes an experience of itself, whereas if you experience some negative thing we talk about, it doesn't remain an experience in those terms, if you will.

Q: Where does pleasure fit into all of this? We're talking about these negative emotions. Pleasure is an emotion triggered by external things.

Q: Yes, so I guess we don't have to distinguish between negative and positive, it's more external and internal.

A: That's my understanding. We have a source here if somebody wants to ask.

Q: That's right. Maybe Welmek can tell us. How hard is it, can you choose how you feel to given external stimuli? Your emotions may be one thing; your emotion, say, may be to be angry, but you can choose.

Q: Exactly.

Q: And you can choose to feel happy, to feel whatever feeling it is you want to feel. How can you do that, or what is the process of that?

A: You're interested in learning techniques by which to...

Q; I wouldn't say techniques, just a matter of attitude.

Q: Well, now, if we think of the Adjuster as being the source for I guess spiritual feelings, and we've read that in the human being in our state of existence, there are basically three minds. There is the animal mind, the instinctive type mind. Then there's the evolving type mind of the soul. Then there's the mind of the Adjuster. And I guess the human mind is always, so to speak, working out differences and trying to find a way of living between the basic animal instincts and the higher realities of the Adjuster. So some of these feelings or emotions come from the animal or the base; and some of our emotions come from the Adjuster. And I guess our dilemma is to choose how we want to respond, either with feeling or emotion or if we want to respond to the leadings of the Adjuster as we understand them to be or if we want to respond according to an external stimulus.

Q: It's just the same. When you define those differences there, when she says pleasure, there's pleasures that can be experienced on all three levels. So you can't just say pleasure. I think you have to define the pleasure or the feeling and then figure out where it fits in.

Q: So there are negative emotions, but there are also positive emotions; because if we deny our basic instincts and emotions, then we pretty much deny ourselves as we are right now. But I don't think there are any negative things that come from the Thought Adjuster.

Q: I just had another thought that I've been going through some real trials the last couple of weeks, probably really in the heart of all of this; and I have been supported I think by an awareness and feeling of God's love. And what I'm experiencing in these couple of weeks is that when I'm struggling with the opportunity to get caught up in the emotions, as I'm feeling more of God's love, it's washing those away from me. It doesn't take the danger out of the situation I'm in, but it allows me to act versus react and to stay centered in myself and maintain my energy where it needs to be. I can't say I've succeeded a hundred percent, but it made a huge difference in my life. So I think I know what you're saying. Maybe there is a sense of, as you strive for that higher sense of awareness if God and you have that with you, you can more easily choose or not let those other things become such a big part of you. And I think that's where some of our psychology gets us into bad directions and gets us lost.

Q: Yes, because I thought in answer to what Scott was saying and Welmek said last week, that when we are having these negative times and we are all human and we're all going to experience these negative times, that the important thing is to get that negative feeling out of you as quickly as possible. He said that kind of went against some of the things that were taught in our psychology and so forth. But he said no matter what method you find to get that out, whether it be prayer or meditation or getting away from the situation or whatever it takes for you, the important thing is to find that and to get those negative feelings out of you as soon as you possibly can.

Q: Well, and for me it's a point of where they're not even really entering me like they used to. I'm in a situation where all my peers are so angry and hostile and I can at times not even feel those things.

Q: It's a calmness.

Q: It's getting to that sense of faith and trust in God and not having a fear because the feeling of that love is so strong and so intense that there's a sense of companionship and support; and it helps me not feel a sense of fear.

Q: Even fear for tomorrow, you know, because you don't worry about it like you used to because when you start to give your life to the Father and you say "I'll do His will" you kind of let each day progress to see what happens instead of saying "Oh gosh, I've got to know what tomorrow's going to be." It really gives a calmness to situations like that, I think.

Q: Well, isn't this how we heal each other with love, why we're called to work in groups? Because when those negative feelings hit me, what I do is call somebody and we just keep giving it back to each other.

A: You project God's love to whoever needs it?

Q: Right. And that's what Welmek has certainly encouraged us to do in the time that we're not together here is to contact each other if we're feeling down or whatever, just to contact each other to keep that going, to keep that strength among us going.

Q: I was thinking about pleasure versus the inner feeling of well- being, and pleasure seems to be inherently unstable.

A: It's a reaction to an external event.

Q: It seems to lose its energy charge very quickly, so the inner joy is much more valid and enduring.

A: What helps me in being able to sift this out in my mind is the source of the particular ailment. If I think of emotion as being a reaction to an external event, then that helps me to differentiate that from feeling which originates with the Thought Adjuster and is located then within the Self. That's how I was able to distinguish between those two.

Q: How are you defining Self, Marty. You're capitalizing it. What is the Self?

A: How would you define it? What composes Self, the real us, the real you? What is that?

Q: I wish I knew. I suppose...

A: Any ideas.

Q: Thought Adjuster, soul, body, mind, identity, personality,..

A: What do you mean by identity?

Q: Your uniqueness.

A: Would that be personality? No it wouldn't.

Q: Personality and identity are two different things.

Q: Each of us is the Gestalt of all those parts. The whole is larger than the Self.

Q: Another thought that's come to my mind is when you think about living your life with this as a focus, there's a component of wisdom and I don't feel I have it under control or understand, to choose situations or avoid situations or establish a life style that's more compatible and doesn't put you in as much conflict with some of the aspects of our life here.

A: So, do you have a question then as to what's the source of wisdom?

Q: Or how to put those pieces together.

A: Does anyone want to respond to that? The source of wisdom?

Q: I can offer maybe how to use the intuition that we were talking about before. You could have some intuition, but do you follow it; does that work in everybody, that type thing?

Q: How do you sort out a negative reaction? How do you sort out that intuition from its functional..from what's a negative emotion.

Q: From a reaction, I understand. Distinguish between the two, maybe.

Q: You know they had that ad campaign about being childish. When you get mad at your boss, what do you do? You count to ten. All that stuff just gives you a little delay to give you an opportunity to think about your reaction before you make it. They talk about children in the commercial, of course, but it applies with all situations that you deal with. Some people may be more quick-witted than others; but in any situation, especially one where the outcome could be negative, you have to think about what it is you're going to do and what your consequences are going to be before you do it. And that's what pulls it away from reaction into wisdom.

Q: But you know, we only have a limited source of energy at that point in time; and I think that it takes energy to do what you're talking about. If you're in a situation where it demands it constantly, that's not a very healthy place in terms of growth. It takes your energy from what else you need to do.

Q: Except that it says in the book that the way you recharge yourself when you've been devitalized is through prayer and communion and worship.

Q: And maybe also choosing wisdom as to what situation to be in.

Q: But it just takes time. You have to give yourself time, I guess, to handle situations as you can. Your muscles can't be expected to lift 400 pounds all at once, you have to build up to it.

Q: But unfortunately, life doesn't always give us opportunities...

Q: That's where patience comes in.

Q: You always come back to patience.

Q: It works so well. (laughter)

Q: Can I say something here that might help her? When I was able to work, I had a boss I just absolutely could not get along with. I mean, he was a royal pain in the neck. At that time I was praying a lot more and probably a better person than I am now; and I found that if he made some sort of smart remark that just set me off, I would just sit and not say anything for about 60 seconds. In my own mind I would (and this is probably not the best thing in the world, but it worked for me) and in those 60 seconds I called him everything I could think of, and then after that 60 seconds I would treat him with the biggest smile I could and the sweetest voice. It used to irritate the (?) him; and finally, after about two months, he learned to leave me alone, because he couldn't rile me.

Q: But I also can add to that that if you continuously every day find yourself counting to ten all day long, that maybe that's fine; but you need to make a move and get out of that situation. The door is closing in on you.

Q: There's something in the book too in the Jesus papers, if you have a problem with a person, get a friend and go and talk to that person. You and that friend deal with that person. If that person still doesn't listen, then get two or three friends to go and talk to that person. I think so often we forget to do that. I think that we do have the responsibility to confront people sometimes when they aren't doing the right thing, when they're stepping on our toes. Just to not react sometimes...

Q: Not to lay down and die.

Q: Yes, doesn't change, doesn't get any kind of change done. I think there's a power in a group. And I think if a person is behaving badly, and if everybody in the group gets together with kindness and says, "Hey, this is the way we feel about this." sometimes that can bring about a lot of change.

Q: What I see in the discussion is the issue of control. For those that don't like the term control, we'll use the book term "self- mastery". And to me, the words "feeling" and "emotion" is not so much the issue. What they're trying to do is help us, I think, realize when you're in control and out of control. When you feel the presence of God's love, you are in control. The apostles looked at the Master and called him "Master" unbidden. Why? Because they couldn't believe that he could always have such composure, such control. How did he get that control? Constant communion, the constant feeling of the presence of God's love. When we're approached by another individual, and we react with anger or any of those negative emotions, you give up that feeling, you give up that control; and you release that control to that emotion. And what happens is that, as we've been told, it drains you. It devitalizes you. It's as if you just put a big hole in the dike and you're letting that feeling of God's love just go flowing out. And so what happens is after you go through all those negative emotions and after you lose control, you have to go through a process of prayer, worship, gaining back control to recontact, to regain that feeling of God's love. It's not feeling and emotion, it's like keeping the feeling of God's love there; and if we lose control of that, that's when it can react in what are being described as those negative emotions. We're just allowing those to control, we're losing control of that feeling of love.

Q: I like that description, and I also like it because it leaves the door open; because we're all human and we're all going to at some time in our lives let the emotion take over and lose our control. But you can get it back if you realize what's happening, it makes it much easier to then say "Okay, I know what just happened to me. So now I need to concentrate on getting that love flowing inside of me again." And not being so hard on ourselves and forgiving ourselves for losing that control or whatever, but getting it back as soon as we can.

Q: I think another aspect that we have to look at, though, is that we have control of ourselves and we don't have control of other people; and if you can express love and joy but the other person doesn't have to receive it. That's their choice. To think that just by expressing it that's going to change a circumstance or situation, I think that's too great an expectation at times.

Q: Well, but the important thing is within yourself, and that you did that, and that you yourself expressed that, and like you say, you don't have any control over whether somebody accepts it. By you doing that, it's building you.

Q: I think on a spiritual level, on a character-building level, in terms of some of our daily life experiences, there's another component there.

Q: Which is more positive in a situation? It seems that reacting, or I should say responding with feelings, and they have to be mature, and they have to be thought out and they have to be logical (you can't just go to somebody who wants to knife you, of course) but responding with mature, logical feelings directed, as far as you understand, by God, is always more positive than reacting negatively. That's sometimes all you can hope for is that.

Q: It's more positive from your side, but there's no guarantee

Q: Well, even in a situation, though..

Q: I think that's not always the case.

Q: Oh, I can't really think of a situation where...

Q: Come walk in my shoes.,

Q: . ..a negative response, though, would that make the situation better?

Q: I didn't say that. I guess what I'm saying is that your behavior and your choice of expression may or may not affect another person.

Q; We've gone through a lot of changes experiencing this, we all have; and I think there's a great expectation that when we relay these feelings and these ideas and concepts to other people, there's a great expectation on our part that they're going to change, that they're going to...and it's simply not the case. The highest percentage of that is that there's not going to be a change on those people's part, and that probably causes ourselves more frustration because we have a hard time comprehending why those people are not responding to that type of . ..

Q: And you have to express that, and if that person continually, continually, continually, does not accept it and everything that you're giving is not being accepted by the other person, then it's time to just move away from that person and realize that that person is not ready for this. Even Jesus, at times, said that person's not ready and did not waste his breath, if you will, on that person, trying to change that person's life because it was to no avail.

Q: And that's not negative.

Q: No. And that's the thing. We have to give it 110% and try and try and try; but if you find that it's getting nowhere, then you simply have to remove yourself from that and go to somebody that's more ready to accept.

Q: But you can't always remove yourself from that person.

Q: That's true, but you can, you don't have to keep trying. You see what I'm saying. You don't have to continually try and you have to within yourself be happy with your attempts and realize that that person may not accept it.

Q: You can simply not respond or react to that person.

Q: Well, I still think you need to keep trying.

Q: One example that comes to mind is the experience that the young carpenter had working with the ship rudder in the Urantia Book, and he was complaining that he was associated with this foreman that had a bad temper or whatever. Jesus suggested that perhaps he was put in that person's presence in order to help uplift that individual; and once he looked at it that way, it became a very positive...

Q: Can I make a suggestion here. Sometimes, I have wondered frequently in these discussions, about changing other people. Isn't that spiritual arrogance sometimes? I mean we can meet a person that is different from us, and I can say I don't approve of what that person does and maybe that person is more spiritually advanced than I think I am. And to me it seems like spiritual arrogance to assume I have a right to try to change someone. There are situations that are very obvious that you...

Q: That's true. The only thing is that when you find something good, you know, you want to share it.

Q: Well, right, of course, but this is how I interpret it. And who is to say that I am always right. Maybe I am not. And maybe that person is a good deal more spiritually advanced than I am and maybe I don't have the spiritual insight to see it. So, you know, I can't just say "Well I'm going to go out and change everybody to make them like I am" because I can't judge that.

Q: Well, the angels say, put you in a position where you're with someone that is a little cantankerous, they may see that just the very presence of a person on a different mindset would have an effect. So we may not know whether who's changing who and sometimes there are some reciprocal things going on.....

Q: I'm not saying "Don't try or don't help the person".

Q: We're also pawns on a chess board to some extent.

Q: And even though sometimes you may think that your words are falling on deaf ears, and even though you try and try and the person never changes, you don't know what that person is feeling on the inside and what leadings he is getting from his Thought Adjuster or whatever, and it may be weeks, months, years later that he says "Hey! You know so and so said that" you know and it might sink in. So, I mean, I guess what I'm saying is not necessarily give up, but don't do it to the point that you're exhausting yourself. You see what I'm saying. I mean, you know, don't continually get so upset that because you're trying, that this person isn't accepting it. Don't upset yourself. Don't react.

Q: I think you have to love yourself enough to look at your priorities in terms of your energy and your time and your effort and when you can put yourself in a circumstance that is more suitable for you.

Q: You know, I mean, you have to look at, I think, from a standpoint that, okay, how does God feel when all of us reject him? Most people on this planet walk around every day; they don't think about God. Now here's God who loves us more than anyone's ever going to love us, surrounds them with all this love; yet every day, constantly, they don't think, they don't pray, worship, they don't do anything but constantly reject Him.

Q: Except to blame Him.

Q: Right. But the point is, that's not His choice. His choice is to constantly just give that love. And I think that's what each of us have to do. We simply try to be in control, we try to do the best that we can. If I encounter someone, my job is to stay in control and to treat them as best that I can. If they don't accept that, I'm not walking away from them; they're walking away from the best that I can offer. If they don't want that, or that's not good enough, it's their choice, just as we are rejecting God's love. That's our choice to accept it or reject it. So I don't feel..I mean I feel bad in the sense I might say "Well, gee, I thought that was something interesting. I know there's a good thing here. Do you want to share it with people. I wish they would have accepted it. I don't feel responsible. That's their choice to accept it just as each of us makes a choice every day to accept or reject God's love.

Q: I like that definition as far as whether it's feelings or an emotion. I realize from the discussion that maybe it can be for when we talk about self being in full reciprocation, but it's a matter of if, for myself anyway, if one can say "Well, this is feelings and it should be something good so it's internal or then something comes at them and they feel anger and they can go "Well, it's an external thing". And they think "Well, I can control this". So it's at least a beginning and I realize that it may not fit every situation, but it's a matter of like, you know, there's A-E-I-O-U sometimes Y, sometimes W, over here, so there are exceptions to about everything. While it may not fit every situation, I think it's a beginning we can use to help maybe let some of the other go.

Q: And that's kind of a key, too, to where if somebody else is emoting, that they have to change that from within.

Q: There's a lot of people that you cannot change. And therefore, you have to do what you think, sometimes, is best for you. You don't always run from that. Then you try to ask God to help you to understand it. And let me tell you sometimes, it's hard to.

Q: I would go so far as to say "You can't change anybody." They have to change themselves.

Q: Yeah, I know, but a lot of people, I think, are braised with so many emotions and things they have like the hate and the prejudice. You cannot change those and so you have to do.......

Q: Unless that person is willing to change.

Q: Then you run across someone else with the same emotions and then you go "Well, maybe since this way didn't work, maybe I'll try this way. Maybe it will work this time." So you learn from each person that you come across.

Q: Try a new method, you know. If you can't make one work, then try something else for that person?

Q: Yeah. Maybe instead of saying A, B, and C that you may try B, C, and D. You say it different or......

Q: I'll have to think about this.

Q: I think it's just like what Mom said, that you don't necessarily give up trying to have someone understand. But I hear a lot of this approaching the point of self-destruction, and that seems to me to be pushing it way too far.

Q: Always look for the opening to get a little something in...

Q: But don't keep banging yourself against the wall.

Q: That person's going nowhere and you're going backwards because you're beating your head against the wall continually making an effort where there's not going to be any reciprocation.

Q: If you remain open, you're still available, making yourself available, willing to be a source or a resource for that person spiritually, I guess, but at the same time, you're able to move on.

Q: But at that point, it becomes their responsibility.

Q: Isn't that where the curiosity factor comes in? If you say just enough to prick their curiosity and leave it at that, if they want to know more, they will come back. Isn't that the best way to handle that rather than to every day constantly try to pump something into them? Isn't the change in you and the attitude change in yourself and the way you handle things, isn't that enough to prick their conscience, their own curiosity to come to you and say "Hey, what's happened to you?"

Q: I think that's sometimes the best approach.

Q: If we truly are feeling and experiencing God's love and have that joy and happiness and peace of mind and contentment, then Welmek tells us that people will be drawn to us wanting to know "What is it that you have?"

Q: Speaking of "Welmek tells us.."...(laughter) . .let's get some feedback from him.

Action, Control

WELMEK: First I wish to thank Marty for the discussion. Second, I wish to share with all of you how stimulated we are by your conversation. Once again, if you can only imagine the peoples of your planet thinking and talking in these terms, much would be done overnight. In response to the most recent part of your discussion about interactions with others and trying to help them help themselves, I would ask you this question. What does it mean in your morontia mota when it says "The act is yours, and the consequence is God's"? (48:7.13)

Q: Is that a rhetorical question?

W: No.

Q: Well, it means basically you leave it up to God after you do whatever you understand His will to be in that situation. After that, if a person responds immediately or ten years from now, you have to have a faith in God and in the Adjuster in that person to work things out with that person's cooperation. W: Let us look perhaps a little deeper at those few words. First, what do you think the word "act" means? Where does the real act stem from?

Q: Your feelings. W: And as we have discussed, where do our feelings stem from?

Q: The Adjuster?

W: Indeed. So when we act in God-consciousness, we are doing the best that we can, are we not?

Q: Yes.

W: Then if we allow the individual to perceive our actions, we have done all that we can do. There is no changing, as some have suggested, another individual. This must come from their own actions. Do you understand this? If you are engaged in situations where you feel that your actions are not being understood or received, in no way whatsoever change your actions. This is the part of your real self. Do not concern yourself with the other's reactions to you. If you are engaged in a situation that you find yourself incompatible with the individual, and they exert authority, pressure, over you, then you have a decision to make. You must prioritize and decide what is most important. If seeking the Father and doing His will is most important, and if in your situation you find it is difficult or impossible to do this, then you do have the ability to change this situation. For as you all know, it really does not matter what you do on this planet as far as maintaining your material existence, as long as you do it.

What matters, in reality, is your relationship with the Father and your relationship with your brothers and sisters. This is the message of Jesus, and is that simple. However, as suggested this evening, it is not as simple to practice. It takes time, it takes work. The spiritual path to the Father is not easy. It is made to be this way. Let's talk a moment about Self. What is Self, in my opinion, for ascending mortals on native planets? The Self is basically your soul with personality overlay. The soul is an evolution of the inner association between the spirit fragment and your level of mind. You may consider the body a part of the Self if you wish, but we do not, since the body is temporary. As your soul evolves, what is forming? You are forming your morontial self. It is this morontial self that has the higher vibrational level that was referred to earlier. In regards to feeling and origination, I feel intensely, as all of my associates feel.

We feel the love of the Father come from within our very being. It is the spirit within that originates this love. It is the spirit that is the love itself. Emotions are, as suggested, reactions to outside stimuli. When as associate does something that you find displeasing, you must decide how you will respond. If your decision is to lose your God-consciousness and respond negatively with anger, with pride, with jealousy, with envy, with hatred, then as said earlier, you do give up the spirit momentarily. This is obviously not what we want. (tape turned, words lost)...how to achieve feeling God's love. You already have most of the answers to this question.

Worship

You simply must continue to practice it. Worship will do the most to attune yourself to this feeling. I would add to what Marty said about God with this additional thought. Our Father, while indeed being a perfect parent, is also a good friend. As we have discussed previously, in worship, talk to the Father, commune with Him, as one who stands by you each day. For does not your text tell you that the spirit fragment literally goes through each experience with you? Since the spirit fragment is of God, therefore God experiences life with you. Always remember this, my friends. When you worship, never lose sight of the fact that the Father is indeed, just as our Creator Son, right with you. Turn to Him. Learn to lean more on Him. His love abounds. There is more than you can possibly consume at this point in your existence. The Father desires this. It is, frankly, all that He wishes for you to recognize. For if you recognize His love and you feel it from within yourself, you have done much in doing the will of God. For how else will you behave? You will look at your brothers and sisters with love and compassion and with understanding. As we have discussed earlier, this is doing the will of the Father. You will look at yourself in the same light; and by doing that, you will forgive yourself for the imperfections and frailties that you manifest in your daily existence. This, too, is doing the will of the Father. Why don't we now open this discussion to questions. There are several teachers present. I wish to advise you that Ham and Rayson are present and the three of us will engage your questions regarding feeling God's love.

Feeling

Q: I want to get a point of reference. It was never determined whether a feeling can be negative. Or is it always positive, and the negative aspect of it is the emotion?

A: This is Rayson. I can assure you that all feeling is from the Father. Since it originates from the Father, it is not negative. Emotions are the reactions which, as you experience them, we would consider them to be negative. The confusion in your minds stems from the fact that you "feel" these things inside of yourself. You do understand and you do sense these things. If you wish to continue to use the word "feeling", so be it; but I can assure you, from my perspective, I "feel" the love of the Father. I do not feel anger, feel hate or any of these what we consider your negative emotions. Does that answer your question?

Q: Yes, it does. Welmek, last week, and Karla alluded to this, you made reference to the fact that we have a problem with our negative feelings and that we should get rid of these. It takes a long time for us to get rid of our negative feelings. Should you have used the word "emotions" instead, or were you using the dictionary term?

A: At that point in time, I used the word that I felt you would best understand, given the definitions at that point. However, this is one of the reasons why I feel this lesson has worked as it is. For in understanding what we perceive as the difference between feeling and emotion, or as one suggested, self-mastery or the lack thereof, you begin to discern your ability to do these things somewhat differently. When you feel or you sense or intuit, perhaps, although your definition is not quite as the same as mine, what we are encouraging you to do, is to recognize what is beginning to surface within yourself and allow it not to express itself. Allow the feeling of love, God's love, to always manifest itself. Remember this, my friends, neither you nor I have achieved perfection. We are far from it. Therefore, you will not always feel or be able to maintain this in your daily life. As a matter of fact, since you are all just starting out in your experience, it will take you quite a while on a regular, consistent basis, to feel this all the time. But that does not take away from the fact that one, the love is always there and there is more than enough energy to draw from, and that two, you should continue to try; for in trying, you are indeed doing the will of the Father, if that is a priority for you.

Q: Teachers, when we meditate and find the stillness and we can begin to feel the love, especially with some of the focusing techniques that we've been give in the past few weeks, that's really a wonderful feeling. We can begin to feel what that love is like, but yet it's very hard; and you just alluded to that. It's very difficult for us to stay in that state of love constantly. Are there any hints or suggestions that you can give us to help us feel that love when we're not in that meditative stillness state?

A: First, I would suggest that you think about your reaction, for hopefully the goal is that the thought will trigger the mechanism that will eliminate the negative reaction. In other words, if you feel yourself getting angry, think about what it is you are doing. You are taking away from the consciousness which you wish to achieve. If you then want the consciousness that you are seeking, hopefully this thought recognition will then re-engage the feeling. It may not be complete, and most certainly won't in the initial phases; but again, you must understand, your nature is such that you want everything immediately, without much effort. It is not like this in universe ascension career experience. These things do take much hard work and practice. "Do not become discouraged when you realize you are human."(156:5.8)This phrase has been quoted in your text time and time again. It is part of your understanding that you must be patient, you must be persistent, you must always put the will of the Father first and foremost. Do you understand what I am saying?

Q: I understand, but that wasn't really what I was speaking to specifically. I wasn't talking about when we're in a negative emotional state. I was more or less referring to the times when we're just going about our daily business, but yet we don't feel that love burning in our soul that Welmek's referring to, that there would come a time that we should feel this love just permeate our being. Are there any steps that we can get to get to that point, just to feel that intensity that we feel in our meditation, to feel that intensity of love in our usual waking moments as we go about our daily business.

A: As your faith grows and as you live your faith, this feeling within yourself will continue to grow; and your conscious awareness of it will also. Do you not feel more of the Father's love in your life now than you did a year ago?

Q: Absolutely.

A: And this is what I mean. As you continue to practice that which we have suggested to you, this is what you can do to "feel" more of the love that's there. There are no short-cuts, my friends. There is nothing that I can tell you that will automatically generate this feeling from within yourself from one day to the next. It is something that is a slow progression.

Q: A smoldering fire that will eventually start to burn?

A: As you say, where there is smoke, there is fire. (laughter)

Q: How much does biochemistry affect our ability to do that?

A: Unfortunately for you, it has somewhat of a significant effect. Your existence in the material flesh is somewhat inhibiting as far as the inner association between you and the spirit fragment. This does not, in any way whatsoever, preclude you from being able, however, to establish communication, whether you are aware of it or not, and also to begin to experience this feeling of the love of the Father. Nor, I will add, does it preclude you from your soul evolution. You are literally beginning to develop your morontial self. Most humans, however, will not realize this until resurrection.

Q: Teachers, I have a question about trying to understand, on the one hand you have feeling God's love and the anger and these emotions are at the other end of the spectrum and so on. I'm trying to understand something like when the text would say that Jesus drank deeply from the cup of human sorrow. You know, that's not a really negative emotion, like anger or those kinds of things; but, and I know that he would have kept the presence or the feeling of God's love, is it that God's love can change faces, manifest itself differently somehow? We could experience joy and experience sorrow at times, yet still be connected with this love?

A: This is Ham. I wish to respond. First, let me ask you how would you define "sorrow"?

Q: Well, when I look at it in that text (100:7.12), I suppose it would be to see things in their reality in an objective way and wish perhaps that they were different, they were better.

A: Given that explanation, can you all project within your mind how our Master thought of sorrow when he was being nailed to the beam and asked the Father to forgive them for they did not know what they were doing? This, I tell you, is drinking from the cup of sorrow. For our Creator was able to see within each individual, their evolving soul, as well as the spirit of the Father. He knows of the potential as well as the reality, how it is so sorrow that all of the children of the Father turn away. They reject the message, they reject the gospel of everlasting and loving faith. This is such as it is as far as the cup of sorrow. Sorrow is not a negative emotion. It is a recognition and a heart-felt feeling of that which should be but is not. It brings us all sorrow to witness you struggle sometimes, for you do not realize the help that you have and the love that is available. As a result, you tend to punish yourself. You tend to criticize yourself. You tend to devitalize yourself and you tend to turn away from the Father. Does that answer your question?

Q: Yes. A follow-up then. So in terms of understanding feelings and one's life sorrow or others as we experience life, as long as we, in whatever feeling it might be, as long as we can still sense or feel that sort of connectedness to God's love, I mean there's nothing necessarily wrong with that. It's just a part of human experience; it's a part of life as long as we can still feel that connectedness.

A: Let's look at it in perhaps some more understanding. When we and you look at certain situations that currently exist on your planet, we are deeply sorrowed. As we watch the children on your world starve to death for no reason whatsoever other than greed and hate and malice and ignorance, we are all deeply moved. We are deeply sorrowed. So it is with the Master when he looked upon this planet at the time of his crucifixion and saw more or less the same devastation that is taking place now. Do you not feel within your being the love of the Father reach out to these starving children? If your hearts are so cold you cannot, then I suggest that you pray for yourself, that the love of the Father may truly flow through you more fully. When you feel sorrow for these little ones, this is not a negative emotion. It is actually love expressed. Does that help?

Q: Yes.

Q: As we become more God-knowing, will that feeling of God and that warmth and energy that we feel increase in intensity? That would be my guess.

A: I promise you this is true. It is interesting, for when we say, you must have faith in the Father, yet through your faith you come to know God, does this not perplex you somewhat? How is it that you can know something when it requires faith? Faith, by definition, is that which, as some of you would say, cannot see or taste or touch or hear or smell, that which is beyond your full capability of understanding. Yet we say to you that through your faith, you will know of the reality of the Father. Indeed, it is through your faith, your dedicated practice, your desire and will to do His, that these things, these feelings, this love will be added to you. And as your teacher has suggested, much more will come.

Q: Is our awareness in feeling God's love now supplemented by the love that you all are sharing with us?

A: Feeling the Father's love is a conscious recognition on each individual's part. Since it originates from within, we can only encourage you to turn in. We hope that by our presence you do this, that you feel the love that surrounds you and that you look within and allow this feeling to manifest itself. I would suggest to you not to look for feelings of euphoria. This is not what we are suggesting that will come into your experience at this time. I believe someone suggested or hinted upon this earlier. What was it that drew people like a magnet to Jesus when he walked this planet? It was not so much his words as it was his attitude, his poise. This is what you all wish to achieve in your life, is it not? Then I can encourage you to follow your teacher's instruction. Each day, pray. Each day, do the very best that you possibly can. If you falter, then so be it. Do not be overly critical about this. You do get "on" yourselves, as you say, so much. Just simply recognize that you're not perfect. Recognize that you are of a dual nature and move forward. In time, you will not be as you are now. You will have access to a different mind. You will have access to a different sensing mechanism, and much will be added to you. However, as we have suggested to you, these things may become possible yet even in your lifetime to some degree. Much of doing the will of the Father is totally up to you.

Q: Are you suggesting that we take ourselves too seriously? (laughter) I say that in jest, but actually it leads to my real question. That is, what about joy and happiness? On this planet, as we look around and as you see, life is not so easy. To the extent that each of us wishes to feel more joy and happiness, what is blocking us from that? Is it our perception, our lack of true faith? What would you say primarily prevents us from experiencing more joy and happiness and cheerfulness on a daily basis?

A: I would say, and this is Welmek speaking, that what inhibits you from experiencing joy and happiness is this lack of feeling the Father's love and your ability to maintain it. Love dominates all time and space existence. Wherever you go, there is always love. Your inability to recognize this in your particular state of awareness is directly related to your inability to maintain feelings of joy and happiness. I can assure you that our Master was indeed joyful and happy, even in times of sorrow. That may seem paradoxical, but it is not, to us. You make a reference, as we have made references, to the fact that life as you experience it, is difficult. I am here to tell you also that as you continue to grow in God-consciousness, life becomes easier, not in the sense that you experience less trials and tribulations, but you have a greater perspective. You also have a greater recognition of the help that you have. It therefore makes life's tasks, life's difficulties, life's problems become more of life's privileges, life's opportunities and life's duties. Once you all become fully aware, more or less, that you are citizens, not only within the particular system of Satania, but within the local universe of Nebadon, your attitudes about your existence on this planet will radically change. You will see yourselves in a much greater role. You will see yourselves as brothers and sisters of all people, not just a select few. In regards to the response of taking yourself too seriously, I could not agree more. You tend to exaggerate situations. Most of you, I have observed, worry about that which never comes to pass. This is also expressed in your mota. It might be most interesting if we were to take one meeting or two three and discuss mota. Perhaps I could give you more insight, more depth, as well as breadth, of understanding, although my limitations are more or less based on your experience and your integration.

Q: I'd like to say something about being happy. Just add something. I see us all, that we're all creators. At least happiness to me has come more about when I give to someone else, when I create happiness for that person it creates a greater happiness in me. Being happy within myself has happened because I've learned how to forgive myself and release some of the cares that I have. I don't blame myself. I take responsibility for them, and I release them. And it's gone. And I'm okay with that. That's led to a greater happiness in myself in the past 6 or 8 years since I've really discovered God's love and my own spirituality.

A: There are several important aspects to what our sister has just expressed. What I wish to speak of is this idea of self-less service. How many of you, and this is a rhetorical question, when asked to do something for another respond with a feeling of self-less service? Or why are you asking me to do this? This is another burden on me? Think about this. I believe in one of the meetings it was said that if an old man walked across the street, being crippled, and dropped something, if you perceived that this person was Michael himself, you would not hesitate for a second to run over and help this person. Why do you hesitate to help others who are in need? We are indeed somewhat perplexed by this. This is part of what we mean when we say you do not live the full faith that you have. Jesus washed the feet in the den before his death. What does this say to you? It is a perfect example of the willingness to serve without ego recognition, without anticipation of anything in response. But it is, in our universe, it is with our Father, that if you so act in this way, much is given to you.

You may not inherit your fortune because you've lived a good life. You may not drive the kind of car, have the kind of clothes that you may wish to have because you have served as such. But where is the true treasure? The treasure is in the soul growth.

I perceive that you all believe this in your mind. Now the call is to action. Each day, if you try, you will at first unconsciously, grow. As time goes on, you will begin to more consciously recognize what is happening to you at the time that it happens. It is quite a remarkable experience.

Q: Do I understand you to say that there is a balance here, that as we are material beings, we need to act, we need to act out this feeling of love. When you mentioned the children who are starving and all of the things that cause such great sorrow, is part of love then, doing something to alleviate the sorrow, to right some of the wrongs without feeling that we're doing this out of a sense of love, even though there is great sorrow involved. Is that what you're saying?

A: Do you not all recognize that these little ones who are starving are your brothers and sisters? Do not become dispassionate, my friends. I am not suggesting that you board the next plane and jeopardize your life to try and help them, necessarily.

What I am suggesting is within each of your own minds, decide what you can do to help. If it is financial, then so be it. If it is by sending clothes or food, then so be it. If it is by effective prayer, which is what I encourage, then so be it. But, when will you awake to the fact that you are all brothers and sisters?

I do not mean these words harshly. I mean them very lovingly. But you have come to the Father and asked for guidance. You have asked to feel His love. You have asked us "What can we do to help feel this love on a regular, consistent basis?" I tell you that one of the ways is your perception of your brothers and sisters.

You cannot solve the problems of your planet. Do not think that this is what I imply. Just simply recognize that you are all part of this place, that you do, to an extent, have a responsibility as to what transpires on this planet. Prayer, effective prayer, does help. If this is the course of action that you wish to take, then take it.

Q: Welmek, on another note, last week you gave us an assignment about finding ten characteristics that constitute strong character? Are we going to discuss that at all tonight? Or is it getting too late for that?

A: This is not the time.

Q: Teachers, I want to ask a question about the feeling of God's love. Some of us have experienced sensation in forms of tingling, some reported a warm feeling. Is this truly the Father's love that the person is feeling, or is this a trigger of some stimuli reaction to something within the body?

A: That is not a simple question to answer, for it truly depends on the source. There are psychological phenomena, there are psychic phenomena, that do take place that, as you say, trigger this tingling or feeling from within. However, I will tell you that when you do feel God's love, and you all have to some extent, it does send a vibration through your whole being. So if you feel this, as you say, tingling, if you are in the proper mindset and of the proper attitude, you will feel a certain sensation.

Q: When we go into prayer and meditation, as preparation it's been discussed that we, of course, let go of all of our thoughts and emotions and everything. It seems to me that that better prepares us to seek God's love and not have it tarnished by our own personal feelings or emotions of anger or frustration or stress or unhappiness, all those negative things. I'm trying to clarify in my mind how this discussion applies to meditation.

A: Your question is, how does feeling the Father's love apply in worship and prayer?

Q: Yes.

A: Let's address worship first. Worship, as you know, is a communion with the Father. When you speak with your parents, does not the communication become more effective if it is dominated by a feeling of reciprocal love? So will your communication with the Father in heaven improve as this feeling of love grows within yourself.

In prayer, effective praying, when we address the issue of sincerity, it is by the feeling of the Father's love that sincerity is made real. If you are motivated and dominated by this feeling of love, you can be nothing but sincere, honest, truthful, loyal, dependable, faithful, and I'll leave the other characteristics of character up to you for now. (laughter)

There will be no copying. (laughter)

Q: They're on the transcript now...I just lost half my list...it's not fair...

A; Does that help you?

Q: Yes, it does. . .. Who was that?

A: This is Ham. I wish, by the way, to extend my greeting to all of you. It has been a few days, as I reckon time, (laughter) since I have been with you. As your teacher says, you cannot imagine how we feel when we see so many gathered in His name. We are deeply moved. We feel intensely when so many gather as you have gathered here this evening.

We recognize your attempt, and I tell you this attempt is doing the will of the Father. You are little children, in a sense, and what would you expect of your little children? You would not expect mastery, you would not expect complete understanding, you would not expect perfection.

But you would hope that the child would grow in love and understanding, that the child would become an upright and responsible citizen. You would hope that the child would come to know you fully, would come to want to be with you and would grow in their love for you. So it is, not only with us, your brothers and sisters, but with our Father.

Q: Well, teachers I would hope that never again would I look at a little child that keeps asking the same question over and over again (laughter) and be impatient.

Q: Usually, the question is "Why..why?"

Q: That's what we ask too.

A: Why don't we, over the course of the next few weeks, begin to more faithfully rededicate ourselves to continue to worship, to pray, not to force anything, but simply to allow it to be felt. We will readdress this issue again, for it is, as Marty suggests, most imperative if you wish a more full and complete relationship, not only with the Father but with your spirit.

We have not touched upon something tonight that I believe is conducive to helping you develop in your meditative state, your worship state, and even prayer state, a better attitude in which to allow this feeling to take root and to blossom. Music is most effective. When I am on another world, in particular I recall one experience on Jerusem, I was listening to our celestial musicians. The music is most stimulating, for it does harmonize certain vibrational levels on the physical plane that are conducive and inducive to spiritual harmony within the being.

Experiment. Do not be afraid. Do not be rigid in your attempts to communicate with the Father. Find some music that is pleasing, that you find harmonious. I encourage you to listen to melody, for the words might tend to dominate your thinking. Listen to the melody, allow the state of mind to be developed; and then, with full consciousness, talk to the Father.

Pray to Michael, speak to your spirit fragment, talk to your angels. This is an aspect that many times is lost. You do not realize fully yet how hard and lovingly your angels work for you. In time you will recognize and appreciate this relationship.

Do whatever you can, through whatever technique you find beneficial to reach a better feeling as well as understanding of the Father. As stated last week and before, we do not encourage a type of so-called mystical experience where you believe that you see God; for I tell you, this is impossible. You could not, I could not, in our physical states of being, accomplish something such as this.

But what you can do is set the stage. If you wish to visualize the diamond, as Andrea suggested, if you wish to use the music, if you wish to use art, if you wish to read a passage in your text before you go into a stage of worship or prayer, whatever it takes to help you achieve a greater appreciation, then do it. You are all creative, but many times you do not use these skills and talents that you have.

Share with one another your personal religious experiences. That is part of what these meetings should be for in the after-discussion.

Are there any other questions?

Has anything been made clear to you tonight that has been beneficial?

Group: Yes,..thank you teachers..

WELMEK: I find it curious about human natures, and I'm not suggesting that it is at this time, but I find it most curious that at times you respond that you do understand and things are clear when they are not. Sometimes you are reluctant to speak out. Sometimes you do not wish to appear foolish or ignorant; but I tell you, how would you counsel your children if they responded the same way. You would encourage them to speak out, to express themselves over and over until they understood what it is you are saying or asking of them. Is this not so? So it is in our meetings.

For those of you who have children, feeling God's love could also be most comparable and compatible with how you feel when you looked at your child, your baby, sleeping soundly in the crib. There is this little angel-like face. Your heart goes out, for indeed, it is quite a miracle in a sense.

You also have relationships with husbands and wives or with good friends, with fathers and mothers or brothers and sisters. You all have a fair understanding of what love is. Now allow yourselves in your quiet times, first to feel that love, and then see what happens; for in time, that love will begin to be transcended by a deeper, more innate feeling. That feeling is the spirit itself reaching down to you and you reaching back to the spirit in a conscious state.

This is Welmek. Once again, there are many lined up who would speak. Our discussions tend to not allow for this to always take place. I want you to know on behalf of all gathered here with me that we will pray for you. We will pray that you will be able to feel the Father's love more fully in your daily experiences. We will make this petition to the Creator Son himself.

I hope you all recognize and understand that Michael himself is aware of each and every one of you gathered in this room. He is aware of each and every one in his universe. Think about, as you enter your sleep tonight, what does that mean to you, that a Creator Son, as you understand him, is consciously aware of you? Feel his love, feel your love for him. Be aware of these things in your life, and they will help to make you whole.

Closing

Go in peace, my friends. Enjoy your holiday of Thanksgiving. We will talk about thanksgiving in our next meeting. Good night.

GROUP: Good night.