Reading 262-62

TEXT OF READING 262-62

Text

Date: 5/6/1934 Sex: M ReadingID: 1442

This psychic reading given by Edgar Cayce at the Barrett home, 301 - 42nd St., in Riverview, Norfolk, Va., this 6th day of May, 1934, in accordance with request by those present.

[Edgar Cayce; Gertrude Cayce, Conductor; Gladys Davis, Steno. Minnie and C. A. Barrett, Esther Wynne, Frances Y. Morrow, Hugh Lynn Cayce, Mildred Mary Davis, Helen Storey and Ruth LeNoir.]

Time of Reading 4:00 to 4:20 P. M.

1. GC: You will have before you the Norfolk Study Group #1, members of which are present in this room, and their work on the lesson, “God, the Father, and His Manifestations in the Earth,” a copy of which I hold in my hand. You will go over this lesson as I call the number of each paragraph and suggest such changes or additions as will make this lesson a more complete expression of the truths we are attempting to convey. You will then answer the questions on our work which we will present.

2. EC: Yes, we have the group gathered here, as a group, as individuals; and their work on the lesson, “God, the Father, and His Manifestations in the Earth.” Ready for questions.

3. (Answer, “Very good” to each paragraph, and in addition on 8 & 9, “Some things to be changed here.”)

4. (Q) What should be our approach to the lesson on Desire? (A) First the outline of that which is physical desire. Then an outline of that which is mental desire. And divide the questions in the various groups that may make for the presenting of this so that all may be a part of this lesson.

5. (Q) Where does desire originate? (A) Will.

6. (Q) Define spiritual, mental and physical desires. (A) Let’s commence at the first! Make the questions first! We will get to the spiritual part when we know what is spiritual and what is material!

7. (Q) What should comprise the highest spiritual desire of a soul-entity? (A) Let’s get to the first things first. Either begin at the beginning or commence backwards, if you choose, and then know how to put them together! Begin with the questions - first make a list of the questions respecting the outlines on physical, and then on mental. Then the next approach will be the difference, or how these are spiritualized.

8. (Q) How long should the group spend in preparing each lesson? (A) How long is it necessary for giving that which is worth while of themselves? Whether it’s a week, month or a year! Have something to give!

9. (Q) Why should one develop organic trouble while praying for his fellow man? (A) A natural consequence of being in organic matter. There are laws in organic influences that are seen through the natural chemical reaction, and those that pertain to the natural forces or environs; for under whatever environ an individual is it is subject to the laws of that!

10. (Q) How does that fit in with the promise of Jesus that whatsoever we desire shall be given to us? (A) In their proper time, in their proper place. He was not unreasonable. We are!

11. (Q) Will you help [560] overcome this physical inharmony? (A) In Him is strength, if the self will be made in accord with that which will produce harmonious coordination in the physical, the mental well-being of this body.

12. (Q) Is Mary, the mother of Jesus, on the earth plane? (A) No.

13. (Q) Please give the group a spiritual message at this time. (A) Let that mind be in each of you that was in Him, who went about doing good to those that were seeking to know the manifestations and whose desires were that His will be manifested in the earth.

For, as you each make your lives a channel of blessing to some one, so may those promises, those influences of the spiritual life affect and produce that in our material world that will make for the glorifying of Him ye would name as thine ideal.

14. (Q) Anything else on the lesson on Desire that could or should be given the group at this time? (A) Ye have asked how to approach. Approach it through that way. Then we may give as ye really desire.

15. We are through for the present.

Reports

Reports & Follow-up

R1. GD’s Memo: When lying down on the couch to give above reading, EC said: “There’s something peculiar about this couch.” Mrs. Barrett said, “You gave your first reading for the group on that couch [262-1]. What kind of vibrations does it have?” He answered, “Good.”

There seemed to be a general air of depression in the group, and impatience on the part of EC during the reading, perhaps because of visiting [560] beforehand and being concerned about her illness. EC’s voice seemed rather weak and disinterested.

Later EC told [295] that immediately after he awoke from the reading he saw the Master and Satan contending for the mastery over her soul, just as he had also seen the night before during a group discussion of 262-61 when she [295] had voiced some negative thoughts.

R2. 5/34 The following is the original mimeographed lesson SFG Book II - Lesson 3 - GOD, THE FATHER, AND HIS MANIFESTATIONS IN THE EARTH (Second Series), compiled by the NORFOLK STUDY GROUP NO. 1 of the ASSOCIATION FOR RESEARCH AND ENLIGHTENMENT, INC., Virginia Beach, Virginia. Until Book I was published in 1942 and Book II in 1950, the individual lessons were mimeographed in this form and used by each member of the Study Groups.

“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.” [I John 4:9]

HOW TO STUDY A LESSON

1. Read the lesson as a whole.
2. Memorize the PRAYER given.
3. Study the lesson by topics.
4. Study the lesson by questions.
5. Meditate upon it.
6. Listen in meditation for the truth you need, for it will come to all who seek.
7. Apply that learned in everyday life.

GOD, THE FATHER, AND HIS MANIFESTATIONS IN THE EARTH

AFFIRMATION

MAY THE DESIRE OF MY HEART BE SUCH THAT I MAY BECOME MORE AND MORE AWARE OF THE SPIRIT OF THE FATHER, THROUGH THE CHRIST, MANIFESTING IN ME.

INTRODUCTION - There are few who recognize no God. The question we should ask ourselves is, “Do I know God as a loving Father?” Perhaps the most beautiful of Jesus’ teachings are built about this sustaining concept of God as a loving Father. As we seek to understand this relationship, there will come the awareness of being possible channels for His manifestations in the earth, day by day.

From the study and application of this lesson, each individual should become aware as to how, when and in what manner he may be conscious of the spirit manifesting through him in material things. The achievement of this purpose in a great measure depends upon the preparation resulting from the application of the truths set forth in previous lessons.

QUESTIONS - In beginning the study of this lesson, certain questions arise that require explanation before the development of the thoughts to be presented may be undertaken. What is the difference in the concepts of God, and God as the Father? “God is an all-wise, all-inclusive, all-manifesting force in the experience of man. The Father is that loving influence in the experience of THOSE THAT SEEK HIM. God is a fact. The Father - those who seek may know.” In simple words, how may an individual come to understand and know God as the Father? “As He has given from the beginning, ‘if ye will be my children, I will be your God.’ So, as individuals, in the application of that known in their experience as to what is the will of the Father, go about thinking, and thinking it in such a manner that the words of the mouth and the activity of the hand bespeak the will of the Father; then this activity, this thought, makes the individual the channel through which the manifestations are in the earth. For, who may know in the earth the heart of the mother save a mother? Who may know the will of the Father, God, save those that put into the acts of their hands, in the thoughts of their minds, those things that He has given and as He shows forth in the experience of all men from day to day? So simple, then, is it to know the Father that all stumble in that they think of themselves more highly than they ought to think. Be rather as a channel through which the Father may make His love, His glory, manifest in the earth. Listen to the voice from within. For, He is very nigh unto each to you, if ye will but look within; and that thou experienceth with the desire that thy self be nothing, that the Father, the Christ, may be glorified in the earth, brings to the experience of all the consciousness of being a manifestation of the love of the Father to the sons of men.” What are the manifestations of the Father? The fruits of the spirit are the manifestations of the Father in the earth - gentleness, kindness, the loving word, patience, hope, persistence, and, above all, consistency in thy acts and in thy speech. Be ye glorious in thine activity. Be ye joyous in thy words. For, happy is the man that knoweth that his life bespeaks that the Son and the Spirit of Truth direct the words and the activities of his body! A question which naturally follows is, “How can we interpret some of the words and acts of others as manifestations of God when they hurt us so much?” Condemn not in word, in thought, or activity, that ye be not condemned. See in every expression of activity the attempt of that soul to express or manifest that soul’s concept to Divine reality. For, each soul, as it gives expression in thought, in act, shows by the fruits of that done as to what is the impelling influence in that soul’s experience. Then, not as a judge, not as a faultfinder, but rather as He gave, be merciful to those that err, for they know not what they do - unless they be guided by the spirit of truth that cleanseth all from that of selfishness that makes of them as one with the influence of the Christ Consciousness in their lives. Let us hold these thoughts in mind as we turn now to an expansion of our subject.

GOD IS - There is no scientist so materialistic who does not recognize a Force outside of self that is greater than he can explain. This Force is certainly all-wise in that all creation is perfectly planned. There is no hitch in any movement of the planets or stars. The comets make their rounds and again make their appearance on scheduled time. The seasons come and go, carrying with them their host of beauties, changes and experiences, all marching in and out in perfect time, on and on forever and forever.

The Force, to the materialist, is all- inclusive. He sees nothing else to make a perfect haven than it supplies. What need is there that another state of consciousness be sought, for the Force that supplies the wants of all richly rewards those who toil and spin. It is truly all-inclusive.

Too, the Force is all manifesting. He manifests in all things, not only for a day, but always. All nature declares this truth. God is, in truth, to all men, a FACT.

GOD, THE FATHER - We must come to understand the concept of God the loving Father. As has already been pointed out, this is only for those who seek, those who truly desire a personal relation with God. We are afraid. We are lazy. We do not wish to give up our own desires. We are too willing to accept and use all that is set before us in the abundance of the earth, too anxious to enjoy the pleasures and beauties of a divinely created world, without thought of the Great Force behind and in all things. This daily overlooking, this constant neglect of the real essence of life, leads us into paths of self-indulgence and self-gratification. In the final results we increase the misery of our fellowmen and bring turmoil and suffering to ourselves.

“I had suffered for sometime with a malady from which I did not seem to be able to get any permanent relief. One night I awoke in such a condition that I was not able to call for help from my family.

“Suddenly, this thought came to me, ‘Why do you lie here and suffer when you know that your Redeemer lives?’ I immediately stilled myself and began praying to my heavenly Father. A mighty force swept through my body again and again, from foot to head I was baptized, body and soul. I knew that I had contacted the very source of Good and that His wonderful healing spirit had filled me. There was no more pain that night, nor has there been any since; but there has remained with me that praise and thanksgiving within me that had never been experienced before. There came also a peace that passed understanding, making me happy and grateful that I am counted worthy of the manifestation of His presence within.”

It is so simple to know God as the Father. Only self stands in the way. In the smallest flower, in the majestic mountain, the restless sea, the warm glow of the sun, the vivid flash of lightning, we see the power and the might, the love and the mercy of Him who doeth all things well, and as children feel a great peace and understanding of the Father, ever ready to protect us.

Our greatest example of the Father’s love is before us in the knowledge of Jesus, the Christ. He gave His Son that the world might have an example manifested in this material plane of the forgiveness and tender care of the Father. Through such a plan, in the teachings presented by the Son, God has shown an understanding of each heart, a willingness to bring peace to each soul that will turn toward Him. There is no problem too hard to solve, no burden too great to bear, if we will only turn within and realize that God, the Father is within, that He is a real and personal Father to those who seek His face. We are His own. We must fully understand and believe this. We show that we understand and believe by our thoughts, words and actions, day by day, for these are our manifestations of our God in the earth.

THE MANIFESTATIONS OF THE FATHER IN THE EARTH - We are each as a corpuscle in the body of God, performing our individual function. Just as the blood is the life flow in a physical body, so is the spirit the life flow of the universe and all that is in it.

The children of the Father seek to manifest His Spirit in the earth by becoming as channels through which His blessings may flow to others. This was exemplified in the life of the Master, just so we, as we come more and more into the Christ Consciousness, find ourselves becoming more and more aware of the Spirit of the Father moving in and through us.

It is no unusual thing for us to class one as good, simply because he is kind and gentle; for, during all the ages the really great are those with the Spirit of Love, never those who marched to power through the blood of their fellow mortals. Compare the saint with the tyrant, the crusader with the missionary. The one for self in glory, the other self-less in glory.

As we study the lives of those who have expressed in their lives the fruits of the Spirit, and note how the world has been made better by their lives, it gives us courage and a desire to so pattern our lives accordingly.

Spirituality is the result of being full of the Spirit, and when we are full of the Spirit we manifest the fruits of the Spirit. The letter of the law kills, but the Spirit maketh alive. Let us be spiritually alive in what we do and say, not minding the things that destroy the body, but those that destroy the soul. Let our downsittings be the uprising of our brother. When we are prevented from expressing what we deem in our conscious mind as an expression of the will of the Father, wait; perhaps it is our opportunity to let another whom we would help do for themselves the thing that would best help themselves. Let us prefer others above self.

Indeed, it is not easy to hold self constantly in line to the highest urges from within; yet, God the Father, is the Creator of all things, and knows what is in the heart and pities us, His children in our struggles to manifest Him. Just how we may reflect Him, the Father, was shown by the Christ. “If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also. He that has seen me has seen the Father. I and my Father are one.” If we hear His voice, we are His sheep and may with Him say, “I and my Father are one.” “My Father worketh hitherto and I work,” and this we may manifest to our fellow man through selfless service, and only through selfless service.

The following experience points the way to a realization of being a channel for God’s manifestations in the earth.

“In a healing meditation, I really comprehended, it seemed in a flash, what it means to become conscious of God manifesting in and through me. It seemed as if the God within became attuned with the God without and with it there came a wonderful peace. There seemed to be a voice that spoke within saying, ‘This is the meaning of God and His manifestations in the earth.’ As we make our attunement, God, the Father, cannot any longer be simply a fact, but becomes the loving Father and through such channels He will make greater and greater His manifestations.”

Is it not true that we find that though the burdens of material things may weigh heavily upon us at times, that the manifesting of gentleness, kindliness and patience toward our neighbors, our household, have brought and do bring those contentments that make for the greater peace and harmony that may be had in our experiences as a soul in the earth’s environs?

The experience of another individual shows just how much the little thoughtful deeds mean, and what an impression the simple kindnesses manifesting the Father’s care mean to children. “When a very young girl, my sister and I decided to visit relatives in a distant city. We had never visited so far from home before, so the experience was both an exciting and fearful one. Upon arriving in a large city, where it was necessary for us to change trains, we found no one to meet us. We went to the telegraph office to send a telegram and there learned that a strike was on and it would be impossible to get a message to those who were to have met us. A more mature mind could not conceive of the fear and turmoil we experienced. We were about ready to return home when a friend of the family came to our assistance. We felt that God had really sent him. Upon arriving at our destination, again we felt very much forsaken, when for the second time no one was at the station to meet us. Again friends came to our rescue and brought us to the very door of the house we were seeking. Our loved ones were surprised to see us, as no notice of our arrival had reached them. We felt that this whole experience was an example of God’s goodness.” God, the Father, is the tender, watchful Father in the little cares of life as much as in the great demonstration of His wonderful plan for the redemption of mankind; for, we build line by line, here a little, there a little. It is God’s way for the strongest foundation.

Only those of us may “enter in” who do the will of the Father in their lives, day by day, being ever ready and willing to be used as a channel to manifest the love of the Christ in the earth. Even so did the man, Jesus, come into the world, the Christ, who thought it not robbery to make Himself equal with God, but made Himself of no estate that He might thereby save the more.

In righteousness, we may become more and more conscious of those periods of probation or experience through which we may have passed in the earth. But if that knowledge does not make of us individuals that use the same to the benefit of our fellow man, without any laudation for ourselves, then it has failed.

The Master has told us He has gone to the Father, and that what we ask in His name the Father will give unto us, that He, the Savior, the Christ, may be glorified in the earth, that He may be glorified in us; and while results may not come as we expect, it is because all the trials and turmoils we find in the earth today are from the seeking for power, wealth, fame, fortune - these we have set up as gods. True, they are no longer stone images; but they are just as material, and we see these temporal things, that may at any time take wings and fly away, being magnified in our lives.

He has not willed that any should perish, but we shall all be tried so as by fire. The fires of the body, the fires of desire, the fires of the flesh, the fires of the carnal forces, must be burned up.

So, we can carry on in the ways and manners that we find before us, day by day, doing with a might what our hands find to do. For, the greatest thing we can do is just being kind to the other fellow, even though he misunderstands and abuses us in our trying. If we do it in His name, and for His glory, His blessings will be upon us. For, in every case, GOD giveth the increase. Man may only desire, but God can fulfil. And we should all be willing to let Him do it in His own way. Not by standing idle, but even as He, who “went about doing good.”

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God.”

When conditions and circumstances have brought to us experiences that try our souls from within and from without, and we have the desire to cry out in anguish to our souls in an endeavor to find out the reason for all, as did the Psalmist, then it is we should stop, turn within and affirm to ourselves, “Be still and know I am God,” realizing that Jesus, the Christ, is the same yesterday, today and forever in His manifestations in the earth, and that He can still the tempest and bring peace and comfort to our souls.

That pain in the heart which was so hard to bear will be melted away, and in its place will come the sensation of a deep and abiding joy which will radiate from our countenance, shining forth like a light in a darkened world, cheering those about us and bringing out the best in those we contact.

PERFECT MANIFESTATION REQUIRES A PERFECT CLEANSING - When there are those activities in a material world that bring about the forces or influences wherein there may be the action of a soul in its development, that which is often counted as sin or error is for the mercy to a soul from an all-wise and beneficent Father that is directing, planning, giving the soul an opportunity for the use of that which may come into the experience of that soul in the material plane. And what the soul, through its body and mind and attributes of same, does about the knowledge and consciousness of the indwelling of the spirit of life through the Christ in the earth is the opportunity for the soul to develop.

For, when a soul, a body-mind, a consciousness, condemns, it is but a selfish manifestation - and is the attempt, as of the first errors, to BLAME that self has to do upon another.

But if the soul will but know the love of the Father (that has been manifested through His Son, who overcame sin, error, dis-ease, DISEASE and even death itself in the material plane), it may bring healing in His wings - through the consciousness of that life of the Christ awakening within us, as the consciousness of His indwelling presence; and that which had apparently been a hindrance may come to be the measure through which others may come to have the greater knowledge, the greater understanding of the Christ Consciousness, the Christ Life, in the own experience.

And, rather than shutting self away from associates or companionship, if the consciousness will but make for the fruits of the Spirit of the Christ being manifest, there will be the seeking on the part of others to BE NEAR, to be in the light of that which may be shed abroad by such a soul, in such a body making manifest in this mundane sphere that love, that life, that graciousness of the Christ spirit in the life.

Hence, as we would find, if the body will thus find in self and in self’s experience, there may come that CLEANSING within the physical forces of the body that will MAKE the body-SOUL whole indeed!

Hence, SEEK to know HIS ways with thee. Not alone by denying that sin or error exists. TRUE, sin and error are not of GOD - save through His sons that BROUGHT error, through selfishness, into the experience of the souls of men, the body by which angels and archangels are separate from the fullness of the Father. For, in His mercy He has given to all that which is the desire of every heart in a material plane - to seek companionship in a manner that there may be the exchange of experiences in whatsoever sphere the body- soul may find self. And in so doing, if there is the manifestation of greed, avarice, hate, selfishness, unkindliness, ungodliness, it makes for the harkenings that bring their fruit - contention, strife, hate, avarice, and separation from the light. For, those that have turned their face FROM the light of God can only see shadow or darkness

• and that light is only for those far away. Yet, if the soul will but turn to the Father of love as manifested in the earth through the Christ, in this life also may there be seen the light and the glory of a NEW birth.

That all have been conceived in sin, is only a partial truth; hence often makes a whole lie to those that in the physical body find that which to their own consciousness they can condemn in another. But to condemn - even as the Master taught when the moral laws, or when the physical laws or spiritual laws were being broken, and were presented to Him as examples whereunto they would question Him, He always answered: “Thou hast no power over me save it be given thee from the Father, who has not left His children alone, but ever seeks that they should know that the Redeemer liveth. And His light, His life, His love, CLEANSETH every WHIT! As He said unto the woman, “Neither do I condemn thee, but sin no more.” He did not set for her any moral law, but that which was conscious within her own soul as to the acts in the physical that would tend to separate or to turn the light into darkness in the life of that soul. And as she came to be known among those that had sought the light, her life became that which led many to an understanding - and still will bring life, light and comprehension to many.

So, in thine own self, know that THEREIN lies the Spirit of God, the SOUL of thine self. The Spirit will quicken, if the soul will but acknowledge His power, His divine right within thee!

Then, let the acts of thine body, the temple of thine soul, be kept clean in thine own consciousness - even as the presence of the Master cleansed every body that sought aid from physical disease or corruption and made for the manifesting of the fruits of the Spirit, or truth in their lives. Not that it saved the body from the grave, not that it saved a body from its transition from one sphere to another, but quickened rather the soul and its mind to such a degree that it would ever cry as did the Master in His message of old to His peoples that had been led through the trials and tribulations, “Others may do as they may, but as for me, I - my soul, my body, my mind - will serve the LIVING God!”

Blessed is he whom the Lord chasteneth, for He loveth every one - and will quicken those that call on His name and act in accordance with the directions that are given every soul to know to do good and to do it not becomes sin, but to know that He - the Christ - will stand within thy stead and will cleanse the soul-body every whit, that it may stand before the throne of grace every whit CLEAN!

Then, make thy prayers unto Him, giving glory, power and praise unto Him - and in this manner may that which has SEEMED to be to thee a hindrance become a stepping-stone to the glory of thine own soul!

THE RESULT OF BEING MANIFESTATIONS OF GOD

How long has been the cry of those that have manifested in the earth the glory of the Father through the Son, “Hasten, O Lord, the day of thy kingdom in the earth!” How have the promises read that the Son has given? “I go to prepare a place that where I am there ye may be also. I will come again and receive you unto myself.” Then, as the individual heart attunes its mind and its body-activity into that consciousness, the desire hastens that day. Yet the merciful kindness of the Father has, in the eyes of many, delayed the coming, and many have cried even as the parable He gave, “We know not what has become of this man. Show us other gods that may lead us in this day.” Yet the cry in the heart and the soul of those that seek His way is to hasten that day. As He has given, in patience, in listening, in being still, may ye know that that the Lord doeth all things well. Be not weary that He, apparently, prolongs His time, for - as the Master has given, “As to the day, no man knoweth, not even the Son, but the Father and they to whom the Father may reveal it. The Son prepareth the way that all men may know the love of the Father in the earth. For, into thy keeping, and to His children and to His sons, has He committed the keeping of the saving of, the world, of the souls of men. “I leave thee, but I will come again and receive as many as ye have quickened through the manifesting in thy life the will of the Father in the earth.” Hence, know that, as thine mind, thine activities, long more and more for the glorifying of the Son in the earth for the coming of the day of the Lord, He draws very nigh unto thee.”

“LEAD ME, O FATHER, JUST FOR TODAY, THAT I MAY BE USED AS A CHANNEL OF BLESSING, THAT I MAY TODAY MANIFEST THY LOVE THROUGH MY ASSOCIATION WITH THOSE I CONTACT: FOR, AS I SHOW FORTH THY LOVE IN THE EARTH TO MY FELLOW MAN, THE PROMISE COMES TO ME THAT THOU WILT GUIDE, GUARD, PROTECT, AND COMFORT ME IN THE WAYS THAT I GO.”

“KEEP YE ALL IN THE WAY. BE HAPPY. BE JOYOUS. AND MAY LOVE AND MERCY AND PEACE, THAT COMETH FROM THE FATHER TO THOSE WHO USE THEMSELVES IN HIS SERVICE IN HIS SERVICE, BE WITH THEE. AMEN.”

QUESTIONS [Test ques. by Esther Wynne]

1. Compare the concept of God held by Adam, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Samuel, David, Isaiah, Daniel, Johan and Malachi, with Jesus, John, Paul.

2. What alone may bring into the experience of all the consciousness of being a manifestations of the Father?

3. Explain the statement, “God is.”

4. How may we come to an understanding of the truth that God is a loving Father?

5. Discuss, “We are the manifestations of God in the earth.”

6. Show how Christ was the perfect manifestation of the Father.

7. What constitutes a perfect cleansing?

8. Explain, “I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am, there ye may be also.”

Background

Background

B1. Subject of Reading 262-62 - “Norfolk Study Group No #1”.

Mentioned Entities

Soul, Jesus Christ, Free Will, Prayer, Healing, Meditation, John (Apostle), Throne of God, Virgin Mary, A.R.E. (Association for Research and Enlightenment), Adam and Eve, Angels, Baptism, Daniel, Fallen Angels, Gertrude Cayce, Gladys Davis, Grace, Holy Spirit, Hugh Lynn Cayce

Source: The Complete Edgar Cayce Readings, A.R.E. CD-ROM (2006). Reading 262-62, ReadingID 1442.