2001-09-13-The Oliver Question

Session 1

Dialogue

Legion : Yes, this is Legion.

David : Welcome, Legion.

Legion : So, you are about to be tested. Yes?

David : I wouldn’t say “about to be.” I understand your point, but it feels to me like I’m being tested all along, the last couple of weeks, ever since we returned. Thank you, your point is well taken.

Legion : So, tell me, what is your complaint?

David : (laughter) (cough)

Legion : Yes, that urges you to think deeper into the tone of your approach. Yes?

David : Yes. I think my complaint is that I feel that I am being pushed to the limits of my patience, which has to do with the value I place on hearing from you teachers, and the value I place on our group, and the value I place on…

Legion : Practice. The value you place on practice is very high, is it not?

David : Yes. You’ve asked me to write about it. I don’t feel very qualified, but I’ve got the assignment.

Legion : If everyone waited until someone said, “Now! you are qualified!” your patience might be tried even further.

David : That is so.

Legion : You are qualified, my friend. Do not indulge in that self-doubt. Yes. So, as you might say, our friend Mr. Practice needs more practice. Yes?

David : I don’t know what is going on with our friend, Legion. I have come to you at this point asking for a handrail again, as I did before I went to visit my daughter. (Legion : Yes.) I feel humbled by my anger yesterday. However, I was able to read in one of the past lessons where you were urging us not to be afraid of our emotions, to accept and allow…

Legion : Yes. Humility of respect for love. Humility of respect for the emotions. Humility of respect.

David : Yes. I think I have a question forming. Before I went to see Brother Patrick, Devina gave me a very wonderful lesson. One of the things she expressed was the need for respect to be taught. I think that is a good surfing line.

Legion : Yes. And now you must learn to respect that past. Your anger comes from lack of respect being demonstrated toward you, or your beloved. But as well from your self-doubt. Your self-doubt is established on the yet to be completely surrendered hope, that you, indeed, can rescue someone. Do I come to rescue you?

David : I did not get that last. Would you repeat it?

Legion : Let us examine. Do I come to rescue you? No. Rescue takes place when the saver throws the life ring to the drowning man, and drags him in to safety. But the drowning man must reach for the ring, grab hold, hang on, be willing to be saved. Rescue takes place when the fireman climbs the ladder and grabs the frightened person and throws them to the net, or drags them kicking and screaming to safety. This example is a kind of rescue that may not even allow for the free will choice of the one being rescued. And if this person, having been caught in the fire once, chooses to return, must the fireman throw himself to the flames? No. The rescuer, to the best of his ability and training, must always respect his limits, his training, his ability, and respect as well the heat of the fire, the flame of the situation. No rescue requires, nay, no rescue demands the sacrifice of which you complain.

David : I think these metaphors would be much more poignant for me if I were to understand that you are placing me in the rescuer position? I know he is a rescuer. But are you saying that is my motivation with Mr. Practice, at this point?

Legion : I observe. I see the mirror reflecting back upon itself. Let go, my friend. Surrender. Surrender your complaint. Surrender your need to set your friend straight. And attend now, attend to the truth that is yours to speak. Speak only the truth with love. You do not need to engage upon a war, a tug of war with one who would not listen. Yes, that need to give, that need to save the broken hearted, the wounded, the ones who have fallen away, this little nugget of pride in the power of God’s love, yet rests within you. Surrender to God what is God’s. This is a time for you to speak clearly. Bring the comfort of your love, but speak with respect of the diminishing sense of mutual love, mutual respect, and enduring loyal relationship. These are the issues, as you say, that trouble you.

David : Would you speak them again, please?

Legion : I will continue, first. It is not to be of any concern, this group of yours. We will continue. We will continue with the growing co-operation of your beloved transmitter, growing co-operation growing from greater discipline and understanding. We will continue, my friend. Allow. Allow the group to find it’s true level. Respect your need to sustain friendships of loyalty, loyalty-love, loyalty of respect. This, my friend, is what first you throw away when you step into the shoes of the preacher’s son, trained to pass out the word and save. This, my friend, is why, even with Devina at your side, you endured the lack of respect for your request that one not speak ill of your neighbor, that one not beleaguer you with the woes of your own storm, that one not besmirch the reputation of those you know and love, those known by him to be your friend. Thus you did not speak. You did not speak to him of the respect required for relationship with you, for relationship with your beloved partner and wife, for relationship with your valued, and coveted, group, for relationship with me, your teacher, and others. I say this, not to criticize, my friend, but to bring your attention once again to that which you have hoped and prayed in your stillness to have surrendered, fully, completely, totally erased from the pattern of your mind, the automatic impulse of your behavior. It is true, what angers you in him, Mr. Practice, yet resides within you. Do not deny this. You would save your friend from dire straits, from the disaster you see him creating right before your eyes. Focus not upon the safety net you would provide for him, nor upon your desire to safely guide him back into the fold. Speak your truth, only, my friend. Speak your truth with love. It is your respect he must earn. It is respect for you he must learn. It is respect for your beloved you must demand. Yes?

David : (silent) Yes, I’m listening very carefully to you, Legion. I feel a little discouraged. I don’t know what to say to him, or how to begin. Could you give me a surfing line? You have used the word respect. I instinctively know the value of that…I…

Legion : My friend, let us suppose you are speaking to a child. A child of God, you would agree. (David : Yes.) My beloved child, you are behaving badly. I need for you to see. I need for you to learn. This is acceptable. This is behavior is not acceptable. Learn. Learn, now, my child. An apology will not cut out your tongue. Rather, you have cut your tongue to avoid the apology, and your tongue now speaks …what do you say, the two-forked tongue? (David : Forked tongue.) the forked tongue, thank you. This I trust you mean to say, might also be two-faced. Yes?

David : Yes. Legion, I didn’t get what you said…I cut my tongue to avoid an apology? I’m confused.

Legion : No, my friend. We were speaking to this child behaving badly. This child who needs to learn. He has the free-will choice to behave as he chooses. He has the free-will choice to follow his own direction, the guidance he believes to be true. Still, whatever path he may choose, he needs to hear from you. His choices relate to you. His behavior relates to you, and your friendship with him. He is not your child. You are not his father. You are his friend, and friendship, for you, requires…perhaps now it is time for you to say what friendship requires. Respect. Yes?

David : Yes.

Legion : Say it with me. Respect.

David : Respect.

Legion : Mutual respect.

David : Mutual respect.

Legion : Loyalty. Love. Respect of loyalty. Respect of love. You live in a world, a jungle, if you will, a world that has, that contains, harm. A jungle that harbors the killing snake. You do not need this in a friend. You need a friend to join with you, not to divide, even devour your loving care, and suck upon your hope that you can save him, change him, force him, if you will, by the power of your emotion. Thank you. Continue, if you will.

David : (silent)

Legion : Listen to this again. Once you have settled with your friend and spoken the truth in your heart, we will welcome an opportunity to return, if she, and he, and you are willing. You are not alone. Do not fear.

David : Thank you. (Legion : Thank you.) There is one thing I wanted to say…(Legion : Yes.)…you know, this quality that Mr. Practice has, is a quality that I have too, which is a compassion for what might be called “the downtrodden” on this planet. I’ve studied religion a bit on this planet, and one of my senses is..the fact that Christianity, in many of it’s expressions, is able to reach out to the poor, the downtrodden, is one of the good things about that religion, as I see it. It certainly does not escape my attention, in our textbook of record, that Jesus ministered to these people quite freely and openly and it spoke of the fact that Jesus had focused his ministry there.

Legon : My friend, your friend, Oliver, has great compassion, but lacks clarity of thought and communication. You have great compassion, but are reticent with your clarity of thought and communication. The reticence is the remainder of that emotional belief, taught to you when you were a child, the emotional belief that you, sometimes you alone, certainly you always must try to save those less fortunate, those who do not see clearly. Yes, Jesus, whose ability from early childhood on to shed the chains of the training of his religious instruction and superstitious parental culture was strong, Jesus who from early childhood on turned to his Father of love, listened, listened, listened, and communed until the clarity of his thought and communication was so infused with his Father’s love he could speak to thousands, he could minister to those far from sight. Christianity, religion as it is practiced, is always driven to demonstrate the compassion once witnessed, now written. Many truly surrender their pride in the power of God’s love, their pride in God’s miracle working, truly surrender this and effectively minister to those who cross their path, effectively enter the dens of iniquity, the smokehouses of tragedy and strife, and raise the wounded, leave light and love to diminish, even erase, the darkness. But, many harbor their secret pride and this creeps into the misunderstanding that only the truly great and godly, the truly giving, will hang upon the cross of sacrifice. You recognize, of course, that many good works are done by those who apparently sacrifice nothing at all, and stand upon their pulpits of gold, draped in satin, this pride, not secret, too often demands the sacrifice from others, that they give in order to receive, not receive in order to give. And they demand of many what so many have so little to give. Promising, empty promises.

Be not discouraged. God’s love seeps through, permeates the good, the bad, the indifferent. Continue, my friend, to walk steadily in the path you have chosen. The path I have come to teach to you, to guide you, to instruct you. You do not need to assign yourself impossible tasks, nor any tasks at all, I have enough to give you. Thank you.

David : Thank you, Legion. But may I go back a second? (Legion : Yes.) I thought I heard you say that in dealing with Oliver that I should not bring up stuff about the group, and I’m not sure I heard that correctly, and I feel I need to get clear about that.

Legion : Thank you. My counsel is this. Do not try to rescue the group, as you try to rescue Oliver. Speak to him your truth, your truth said with love. Allow him to speak his. The nature and direction of the group will become quite clear. You do not need to rescue him, nor do you need to protect your group, not even the transmitter, I might say, for should this disruption continue, she has every permission from me to protect herself, and discontinue in order to start again. Nothing of value will be lost, my friend. Nothing of value can be destroyed. Does this satisfy?

David : Yes, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Yes, I did take this task on myself, didn’t I?

Legion : Yes. Respect that your loyalty to your friends, and your human love for your partner and wife, triggered that old choice again, to carry the burdens of the world upon your fragile shoulders. You have the strength, my friend, and the courage, to speak your truth and let your friend consider what he will do.

David : He claims that he has instructions from you all to stay in the group.

Legion : And? You take this a written in steel?

David : No, I think there is some value to him staying in the group, because I don’t see anything around him that is going to give him either the reality of love, the reality of the truth of our perception of what is going on…and it isn’t our task to rescue Oliver…

Legion : There is value, my friend, to be found in everything. It is not your task to see where he will be brought to the truth. It is your task to give him your truth, only, spoken with love, spoken with courage. Stand tall, my friend. There is value, yes, in standing tall, and standing by, and standing with, but surely when you reflect upon your own life journey, your travels, your joys as well as your sorrows, surely you see there has been value, as well, in turning away, walking another direction. Even when at some future point you discovered, this is not where I wish to be, this no longer has the value I thought I would receive…still, the value of what you never once imagined you would receive, was yours in this discovery. Yes?

David : Yes.

Legion : Thank you. Even that which has been written in steel, can be scratched out.

Closing

David : I need to get down to a more pragmatic level. We are having the group meeting tomorrow, we expect Germann and possibly his daughter to be there…I have some concern about having Patrick at that meeting tomorrow, because he really hasn’t been formally asked into the group, by the group, only by Oliver…and I feel that the group, presently Patrick is creating so much distress in my partner’s psychic and emotional life that it will be exceedingly difficult for her to carry on in her usual fashion…

Legion : We will speak to this at a later time. We have been working with her to understand the possible ramifications of his presence, as well his absence. We understand your concern.

David : Thank you. We are about ten minutes before Oliver is to arrive. I wish to thank you for your presence here today…(Legion : Thank you.) and the lovingness of your concern…(Legion : Thank you.) and the wisdom and respect with which you treat us.

Session 2

Dialogue

Alana : Have the bandages been removed, and the wounds look clean?

Oliver : I think there is healing going on right now.

Alana : Yes. So much fear. (Oliver : Yes.) Such fear to reveal the self as less than you wish your preferred self to be. This is the difficulty. Human beings, are social animals, they desire to interact, to come together, to organize, yet they would have this organization be a group of…such lovely…such perfect…such gracious people. Yes? (laughter, Oliver : Yes.) And this, my beloveds, you can sustain only so long as there is nothing of consequence to achieve. But we, we are of consequence to you. Yes? And you are thoroughly embroiled in the consequences of welcoming us into your group. Yes?

This is a time of growth. It is wise to examine the values, the goals, and the consequences to surrendering your preferences, your preferred self. Surrendering your preferences to the task, the uncomfortable task of growing toward love, of fine tuning your abilities to transmit love, and transmit this love to all, to all those you meet along the way. Yet, remaining truthful. Speaking directly, without hiding behind that curtain of the preferred self, that curtain of graciousness without true grace.

I point my finger, not. I criticize, no. I speak to the daily challenges presented to the grown up child who has learned the practice of the presentation of what is preferred by the self, or preferred by the other. This, my beloveds, you have been told is how to get along. How to get along with each other. Smile. Bow down. Pour your love out. Even more, spill your milk across the land. Let them lap it up. And so, unlearning must take place. I do not say the ordinary graciousness that comes from loving hearts and goes no deeper than a pleasant time is to be considered false. No. I speak to the difficulties, the difficulties between human beings. This is when true grace…this is the time for true grace, when the difficulties scratch deeply to the multifaceted diamond wound each individual treasures within himself. Or herself, yes. Do you understand that I speak of the need for surrender, for discipline, and true grace, given by God, when you have entered into the deeply real, according to your belief, according to the many years of training you have received from your fellow human beings, by the way, in the same predicament.

This, my friend, is why we speak like a broken record. Every one of you has been wounded. Every one of you has fear to conquer. Every one of you will suffer from the consequences of doubt. And so, your favorite broken record, Legion, says…discipline. And your favorite broken record, Alana, says…do not fear. Do not doubt. And your delightfully broken record, Devina, flits about, fluttering her wings upon your turmoil, your mental disturbance, and she says…Surrender. It is, indeed, most difficult to surrender. Yes? You do it once. You do it twice. You do it three times. And you think you are out! But no, she returns, ever present, to say, once again, Surrender.

So, we have an opportunity, now. Yes? To learn. To grow. To deal with something so difficult it has turned brother against brother, brother against sister, sister against brother…the sisterhood, well, the sisters stayed together. This is not to be taken as feminine superiority. Yes? The potential is always there, to choose war, to choose argument, to choose one against another. But we are here to work with you, working together, to grow in love and how. How now to approach your brother, your brother who carries disturbance with him like a familiar cloak, so well know to him, the owner, that it bears no disturbance at all, but disturb it does, his cloak. One of you has said, “Out!” Another of you has said, A little bit out! One of you has said, “I have no disturbance, so I can say, Out! And speak the truth with love.” And the transmitter struggles to say, Out, or In. For her position has an additional complication; she recognizes her gift and knows her gift is to be given away, and yet she equally must respect her human need to grow in human ways. And so I will not put pressure upon her now…(long pause)…she is quite relieved and struggles with her inclination toward guilt, and recognizes that familiar screen will not work, for guilt has no room in her conversations with me, so thank you, we took a moment to relieve the need for a break.

I return to you, Sir Oliver. To you, Sir David. What shall we do with this brother? There is no harm in releasing this brother with love. There is no harm in releasing this group to regain its human confidence in one another. My question to you is this, can you release this brother with love? Or do you harbor secret fears, secret doubts, guilt or shame. For surely, now, you recognize surrender means to surrender all. And if you retain your private hesitations, you refrain from the full invitation and humble welcome of God’s grace. It is God’s grace that always wraps the tongue with love, around love, the tongue becomes love by God’s grace.

We welcome this brother. We can tell you, either way, our love will flow through to him. It is a human difficulty that, I must say, requires a human respect for a human solution. Do you intend to invite this person out for ever? Do you intend to invite this person out for a period of time? What in your time framed minds do you suggest is appropriate? Can you give this brother reason to choose? To choose either to wait, or to invite himself away? Now, Legion suggests that I have scrambled your minds well enough, and he would take a firm grip on things. So I give you a moment to reflect, do you have anything to say to me, to ask, to remonstrate, if you will, before I step aside for one whose discipline is eager to take hold.

Oliver : Alana, you said that you are welcoming our brother.

Alana : Yes.

Oliver : And can we not consider before we meet with him again before we have another meeting…particularly for me to have a talk with him about the topic of respect, and the purpose of our meetings, which is the contact with you and the other teachers. And remind him about the manners that the other group members have decided upon being in the group..the discipline that the other group members have shown. Might that not be a way of talking with our brother?

Alana : My beloved, I ask you…”the other members manners?”

Oliver : What I mean by that?

Alana : Do you speak with this brother of” others” or of you? That my friend, you must clarify in your mind. You have had some ambivalence. Yes? Ambivalence toward “others” in your compassion for this one. Yes?

Oliver : I don’t think I really understand. I have had some ambivalence with my other brothers about inviting this brother?

Alana : My friend, what I would communicate to you is this, speak from your heart to this man. Do not try to describe for him “the others.” Allow him to know the unique connection that you feel, that prompted your spontaneous, open-hearted reception to his entreaty to belong, to his pointed request, his single minded desire to join you in this group. Share with him the open-heartedness that responded in you, and with reservations to which you need not speak, welcomed him. Then, my friend, it will come time to acknowledge to him your open-hearted, compassionate, spontaneous, “Yes” to his desire, was true, and served him well to the extent that it was true for you. Yes?

Oliver : Yes.

Alana : The error, my friend…(long pause)…no, we shall not speak so much of error, as we shall speak to your greatest desire, which is to be of service. To be of service to God’s children. To be of service in God’s love. God’s love is no respecter of persons, yet God’s love respects all. What does this mean? You do not serve when the force of another’s desire disallows your ability to say No. Some of your human difficulties, my friends, and I speak, not alone, just to you, dear Oliver, although you are indeed my favorite little target right now.

Oliver : (laughter) I love that.

Alana : Yes. I love you too. You see, many of your difficulties, may I use the word, could have been avoided, but you still have much to learn, as do you, and you, and you. You need to be able to discern when the force of another’s desire has allowed you to ignore that which you already know. It came as no surprise to you that our beloved Sandy reared up upon her high horse and turned her face away, when you with a tender voice announced the beloved gift about to appear upon the very doorstep. Yes?

Oliver : Yes, right.

Alana : So, we learn. We learn by that to which we attend. We learn by that which we ignore. Yes?

Oliver : Yes.

Alana : Yes. This, by the way, is a lesson that can be learned by your friend. And if, my friend, you have the courage to speak the truth to him…and beloved Legion says, I will, I will give him the discipline of love…well, back to my nattering…if you have the courage to speak with your friend of that very moment in which your eyes looking into his eyes, saw through the eyes of God and welcomed him…as you then proceeded in this marvelous, indeed, experience of seeing through God’s eyes, even as if you were God himself…proceeded, unlike God, I might remind you, proceeded to ignore your human others, as you say, the others in your group. They have much to learn as well. And you, through a great deal of pain, my beloved, Oliver, so much pain, so much suffering…you have learned. This can be your gift to him. You did not need to suffer. He does not need to distribute distress and disturbance like so much confetti upon the street. You can not be a man of God and ignore man, or men, or women. For all men and women are God’s. Yes? And if one is tormented to believe God ignores me, he is mistaken. God is always, and ever will be, by your side. Just turn. Just stop, look, and listen.

Legion says that is enough. And you, Sir David, Sir Oliver, is this enough of Alana for now?

Oliver : (laughter) If Legion says it’s enough, it’s enough.

Alana : Very good. I agree.

Legion : Yes. I am here. (T/R coughs.) Immediately, her little tickle of fear. No, I am not here to tromp around. I am here to offer love. I am here to offer comfort. The discipline of love is not easy. But, yes, it will demand and require of each of you, your full attention, your loyalty to the work that has been done, your remembrance that truth always brings you to an understanding and recognition of love.

So, speak to me now of what you have understood Alana to say, and how you have begun to arrange, in your minds, the next step along this way that has been opened to you by the ever present guidance of those unseen, as well by your own learning (by that I mean the learning required as well as the learning, let us say, past, present, and future). OK? So speak to me. I am here to give you comfort. To hear your need.

Oliver : Yes, my friend, Legion. What I have come to understand that is in a moment of compassion, I did not consider the repercussions that I have now, let us say, suffered with ever since. I am willing to talk with this brother, and Alana has given me some aspects of how I can do this. My doubt is not that I can be loving with this brother, and also not that I have to speak with him, it is just what I will be able to say to him depends also upon a decision that the others make. I don’t see a reason to un-invite him. And I don’t see a reason to tell him my problems that have arisen through my spontaneous invitation if the group will embrace him longer. What I was asking Alana before was, would it not be helpful if I spoke to him one more time of what I cherish in this group, and how I behave and how important the message of the teachers is to me being there on Sundays. And to share from my own experience, because it seems to me that this brother’s behavior disturbed others. And I believe that by talking lovingly to him, his behavior might be able to be influenced. What do you think about that Legion?

Legion : I would always counsel you to speak from your experience, to share from your heart, to speak the truth to one another without fear. You must, of course, get clear with your fellow group members the parameters of their welcome. You recognize this one needs a friend. This one wants friendship. You have the opportunity to learn friendship with him.

Compassion does not require that you suffer. Suffering is a human desire. There is an attachment to suffering. The human mind, seeing the many possibilities, believes one should be his and not another. And in the refusal to surrender, becomes filled with anger, envy, pain, and suffering. A picture has been painted. Compassion welcomes all. But do not be too cavalier. You do not sacrifice your self to compassion. You do not sacrifice another to compassion. Compassion, like the discipline of love, is a compassion of joy. Joy resides in the very center of true compassion. When you suffer, it is better to examine the method by which you arrived at your suffering. Not to complain. Not to demand for information, for answers, for missing pieces to a puzzle you already have in your hand. When you suffer examine the method by which you released your joy in the name of compassion. You can not ignore your own needs, any more than you can ignore the needs of your fellow companions. This one would have you ignore your needs. This one would have you ignore the needs of your fellow companions. For his need is so very strong. You say you have no need to dis-invite him. You would place the burden of this need upon the others, and so, willingly carry the message to him from them. No, my friend. If the need is theirs, then they must express the dis-invitation. But if the need is theirs, is there no need in you? Let us examine. What is your need? What truth must you express to your fellow human being, a truth not to change him, but a truth that expresses what is true about him now, and true about you now, and true about the situation? My friend, I do not want to take you by the hand and fill in all the details, but it is a great enough task for you to acknowledge the very tiny lack of respect you secreted away in the glow of your compassion with him. And when you draw this little tiny lack of respect out in front between you, you will have an opportunity to allow him, perhaps, to reveal that little tiny lack of respect in him, which lack of respect has created the discussion of dis-invitation to one who was welcomed. You see, the dis-invitation is not an edict coming down from Rome. This group would welcome. Dis-invitation, just as the invitation, was created by the two of you from the very beginning. Do you see the discipline of love is a very strong task master with a scrutiny that misses not the little tiny disrespect here, the little tiny disrespect there. The discipline of love sees all. Yes? And speaks to it, the truth that it sees and once the truth is genuinely clear, like the fine point of the razor, all suffering goes away, and joy is here.

No, I can not advise you to carry the edict from Rome. I can only remind you that the discipline of love demands clarity of thought, clarity of communication. It is out of discipline that spontaneous joy is real, and can be trusted. Many spontaneous moments of what has been called “pure” love, “I feel your pain,” graciousness and welcome, comes up against the rocky shores, simply because somewhere one and the other secreted away a tiny moment of disrespect, a little bit of disrespect here, a little bit of disrespect there. God’s love is pure. Man arrives and becomes God;s love through discipline. God’s love is a gift, freely given, to be given away, but each of you must discipline the body, the mind, the tongue, that you may manifest this love truly.

Do you understand? Each of you? The invitation and the dis-invitation are one and the same, and reside in the very moment of invitation already within that open-hearted compassionate response to desire. Already the seeds of the dis-invitation resided. Do you understand this?

Oliver : Are you saying that in the moment of birth, death is filled in. Or are you saying that in this particular case, I invited him without considering others in the group at that moment, which I should have, and this caused a lot of upheaval. Or are you saying that in this one instance the dis-invitation was already included in my invitation?

Legion : The potential for suffering was there. My friend, I have heard your call. You do not understand, why is this happening to me? Take this little event and try to understand. To ignore the other is no different than to ignore the self. You are challenged either way. To reign in your desire and to pay attention to the discipline, always respect, respect others, respect your self. And when you see truth, speak it truly. When you see one has spoken rudely, do not try to explain it away. Say, quite clearly, this is rude speaking. Does it matter who your mother was? Does it matter who your father was? Yes, all of these things matter in the development of the human being,, but in the moment, my friend, “is this rude speaking” is the issue at hand…another example…if I have given you an instruction, “Strengthen your body.” (The transmitter is allowed to squirm, now.) If I give you an instruction to strengthen your body, and today you “slack off,” as you say. Do I come to you and say, “Hello, my fellow brother, sister, beloved one. I have no quarrel with you. I have nothing but joy to share. I love you so.” Or do I say, “You did not follow my instruction, beloved.” And do I say this to be cruel? (Let us say that is the opposite to “Hello brother and sister, I love you.”) And do I say this to create shame? (Let us say this is the opposite of “Hello, I love you. I share my joy.”) Or do I say this simply because it is the truth, you did not follow my instruction. Then, without excuse, shehas the option to examine the truth and speak the truth as well. “That is true, Legion. I did not follow your instruction. Oh it is so hard!’ Yes. “Oh I got distracted!” Yes. So, my beloved, transmitter, you did not follow my instruction. Do you wish another? “Oh yes, Legion, help me! Guide me! Tell me what to do!” Good, my beloved. So, every morning I want you to practice your stillness, to take care of your body, to strengthen your body at least 10 minutes a day. “Yes, Legion, I will.” This, of course, my friends, is an exercise in patience with our beloved. She has many reasons to avoid, to explain her lack of commitment to her body. I listen. And even, from time to time, in our discussions, I point it out to her. See? You were walking that way, and suddenly you went this way. Hmmm, is that familiar to you? A familiar pattern, you say! She knows her patterns as well as I; she observes herself following those old and useless patterns. Useless, I say, in terms of accomplishing her goal, which is the discipline of love, which is the discipline of joy. And I have said to her, and I will say it again, strengthen your body. You must strengthen your body to carry this great power of love. And so, she is loving here, she is loving there, but ever and always, when Legion arrives, he says, And so my friend, did you follow my instruction? “Oh, I was busy loving here. And I did so much love there. But no, I did not follow your instruction.” Good, my friend, you speak the truth. Do you want more? “Yes.” Good, my instruction now is, strengthen your body, strengthen your body at least ten minutes a day. Practice the stillness, at least ten minutes a day. “It looks rather simple minded,” she sometimes says, “And life is so complicated.” My friend, attend to your instruction. Strengthen your body. Practice the stillness. Respect your worthiness. Respect your intelligence, your powers of observation. And speak the truth.

There can not be an invitation that hides away those little facets of disrespect and have that invitation remain whole, sustained lovingly with welcome, for that little bit of disrespect will return to bite you on the ass, as you say. There can not be trust when trust has been broken. You can not stand tall until the truth is spoken. I wish to acknowledge that the three of you survived your discomfort and spoke the truth and restored the trust between you. Do not become lackadaisical in these matters. The transmitter is suffering some fatigue. It is not always noticeable that to genuinely solve a little problem, by the nature of the learning required, allows one to solve the greater problems. Arrogance, your beloved Devina suggested her wings needed to brush the dust off arrogance so that it could be seen. There is an arrogance so visible you have no difficulty recognizing, but with me, my friends, as your beloved Sir David may be willing to testify, even the smallest arrogance, the slightest pride, will suffer the scrutiny of my discipline of love. For there is not room for the self-deception of arrogant pride in the discipline of love, which is the discipline of joy, which allows the pride of joy to stand tall. Thank you. Yes…ask now, for she will wane shortly.

Closing

Oliver : Thank you, Legion. I have nothing more to ask. What I have heard and been taught is a lot to consider. I thank you for being with us. I thank you very much.

David : Yes, thank you.

Legion : And have you followed my instruction?

David : Which one, you have given me many.

Legion : Yes, the discipline of writing my discipline of love, which is the discipline of joy.

David : I take that to be a rhetorical question, Legion, because you know that I have. I take it so because I felt you helped me with what I have written, is that not so?

Legion : Yes.

David : Thank you for the help, by the way. There was a wonderful peace and ease that came over me as I did my last lesson. And I felt like I wrote it from the point of stillness, and I was conscious of my openess to you and to being led in what I said in that lesson. So thank you. As you know I have been following your strengthening advice, and I have been following the discipline of stillness. I would like to go to the beach right now, if I had my druthers.

Legion : Yes. Thank you. It gives me great pleasure to work with you. I will ask more.

David : Thank you. Thank you. I am feeling a little…I’m fatigued now, because the work we’ve been doing this afternoon has been intense…I don’t see how our transmitter keeps on going, she is like a mule in her endurance. But I am feeling badly about that whole scenario with P when I went over there to talk with him with Devina, and fell flat on my face. I am feeling naked shame for having booted that so badly. But I don’t want to keep the transmitter any longer at this point. Perhaps we could talk about it later when she is more refreshed. I just wanted to get it out. Thank you for your attention.

Legion : Yes.

David : The work you have set for us is very humbling and very difficult work. It’s not tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum.

Legion : And perhaps you and your brother, here, can support each other in cutting through the bull shit, as you say, to speaking what is upon your mind without hesitation or the need to allow bull shit to replace the discipline of love. Thank you.

David : Thank you.

Oliver : Thank you, Legion.