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| ISBN-13: | 9781936514311 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Mandeville Press |
| Publication date: | 12/01/2001 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 164 |
| File size: | 2 MB |
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Divine Essence (Baraka)
By John-Roger
Mandeville Press
Copyright © 2000 Peace Theological Seminary & College of PhilosophyAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-936514-31-1
CHAPTER 1
Divine Presence
Spirit is the force that gives you your life, energy, and power. It's that spark of the divine that is the source of your "godness" or goodness.
There are infinite levels of consciousness and dimensions of space and time within a multitude of universes. This planet Earth is in only one of the many realms of Light. All consciousness, on all realms of Light including earth, is part of a greater order and plan of spiritual evolvement.
The spiritual consciousness of humanity extends through all realms, reaching from its home in the Soul realm down to the physical realm. In that sense, it exists on all realms simultaneously. Your awareness of one realm may be greater than of others, however, depending on the evolvement of your individual consciousness.
Most people have a greater awareness of this physical earth and of the imagination, emotions, mind and subconscious, and very little or no awareness of the higher realms of the Soul and Spirit.
There are people whose consciousness is more highly developed, however. They are aware not only of this physical world, but also of the higher realms of Spirit. These people are the great teachers, gurus and masters who come forward to teach and show the way to those who are ready to walk the spiritual path.
There are great masters who come from the lower realms of Light. Their message can be uplifting and inspiring; the abilities they demonstrate can be miraculous.
Some masters are connected to a universal consciousness from the high, positive realms of pure Spirit. They are aware of all the levels of consciousness, and they have the ability to work with, teach, guide, and show the way "home" to those Souls who are ready to lift out of the cycle of the lower levels and return to the Soul realm.
Jesus the Christ was such a Master. Because he was so powerful and his impact on the Western world so great, people in Western culture usually relate to the Christ or the Christ consciousness as a manifestation of this higher level of spirit. Jews and Christians alike share in this tradition, for though Jews don't recognize Jesus as the Messiah, the concept of the Messiah is a very important part of their tradition.
The Christ is a universal consciousness that dwells within everyone, although some people are more awakened to and aware of it than others. The teachings of the Christ (not a church interpretation of Jesus' teachings, but the message He brought) are universal. They don't conflict with any other teachings; they encompass all other teachings through their universal approach.
The consciousness of the Christ is the consciousness of pure Spirit. It exists within each one of us through the Soul.
The individual Soul of man exists as the indwelling Christ. Because most people are imperfectly aware of the Christ within, there is always at least one person on the planet who manifests the Christ. They demonstrate this higher consciousness so that others can see and recognize it.
The Christ within one person can awaken the Christ within others. When you perceive the Christ consciousness, you begin to awaken to that greater expression in yourself.
There is a line of spiritual masters called "Mystical Travelers" who work directly through the line of the Christ. In other places where the Christ is not the focus of universal spiritual force, this line of spiritual masters comes through the All, the It of Itself, or the Supreme God for which there is no name. The Mystical Traveler consciousness, as an agent of God, draws its energy from the pure, spiritual realms.
The value of the Mystical Traveler is that it has traversed the realms of Light, extended itself into the physical form, and now uses the physical form to bring you the teachings on a verbal level. It explains to you that there is more to your existence than your body, mind, or emotions, that you are more than your physical expression.
The Mystical Traveler also has the ability to reach into the inner consciousness and strengthen your awareness of Soul until you start to feel that movement inside of you. When you sense that something's going on, you may run to the nearest book to read what it could be. The book won't give you the experience, though if it's by someone who knows what's going on, you can use it to clarify what your experience has been. Whatever you read, you must check the information out for yourself, in your own way, in the integrity of your own beingness.
Those who have held the keys to the Mystical Traveler Consciousness in the past have brought to humanity the message of love, harmony, balance, honesty and integrity. These spiritual messages have sometimes been given directly and openly, in a public way. At other times, the Mystical Travelers live private lives, quietly holding the spiritual energy like an anchor from Spirit into this world.
Some historical figures who have held the keys to the Traveler consciousness are Rama, Eli Hu, and Jesus the Christ. Someone is always holding the keys to this consciousness, though they don't always work openly with people. A great deal of the Traveler's work is done silently, in the inner consciousness.
Look at the message of each one of these Travelers of Light and Sound and you'll see that the message is always the same. The messengers who bear the Light and Sound bring forward the same message time and again, because people continue to either forget or corrupt it.
Only a few people stand out as pinnacles of this Light force, letting themselves be used as transformers to step down the high spiritual energy so that it can be used in this world. Each person who is divinely endowed with this knowledge comes to restate the ancient message, bring forward a particular dispensation for that time, and place it within the consciousness of humanity. This is the spiritual glory to which we are all heirs.
The universal message of Spirit is again being presented. Two thousand years ago, Jesus said, "He that believeth in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and even greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." (John 14:12) What was this message? Was he speaking of His physical form? No, He was speaking from the spiritual consciousness. He was speaking from the Christ consciousness when He said, "I am the Alpha and the Omega." (Revelations 1:8) That's the Christ Spirit that is in all of us.
Muhammad gave the message as the servant of God when he said that God is like all and God is among all. Then he proclaimed, "None exists but God." God constitutes the whole being, individually and collectively. Every Soul has the divine message within itself, not necessarily within the personality, mind or emotions, but within the Self, which is the same essence that Christians refer to as the Christ. The essence is the same, whatever tradition the words reflect.
"There is no God but God" is again the message in this time. That was and will always be the message. There is no other. You can be awakened to that realization when someone else speaks to you from the God-center, because that essence reaches in and stirs the same essence within you.
In this time, once again, the spiritual message of our oneness with God is being shared, and there is another gift being given as well. The message has been that in the latter days, God would pour His Spirit out upon humanity and would make the heart that was hard become tender and loving. That is the message now, for this time.
One era of consciousness is being brought to a close, and we are unlocking and flinging open the doors to a new era. The opportunity to transcend the lower levels and move directly into Soul Consciousness is again being offered to those Souls who can recognize it.
CHAPTER 2Divine Essence
Baraka ... a divine essence extended from the spirit to the human consciousness.
Part of the spiritual message rests on the frequency of certain words. I use two ancient words at the end of my seminars and Soul Awareness Discourses, "Baruch Bashan," which mean, "the blessings already are." It is a statement that all the blessings that will ever be present exist here and now; all you have to do is move into the realization of those blessings. The frequency of those Hebraic words inherently conveys the blessings to your consciousness.
Within a line of ancient Masters of the Sufi tradition, there is a word used mainly in an inner silence to invoke what could be called "virtue from heaven." The word, "Baraka," invokes a special protection and brings a special upliftment. It is not as powerful as the words Baruch Bashan, but it is powerful.
Baraka represents a divine essence extended from Spirit to the human consciousness. Those people who have ascended into the higher realms of Light receive of this essence, bring it forward into this level, and can bestow it upon others.
You can read book after book and gain tremendous levels of mental information. Until you can find someone who can bring Baraka to you, however, the information has little value without the experience.
If you receive Baraka and let it flow into you, it will flow through every center of your beingness and transform you as it uplifts you. Baraka is an essence of divine energy, divine love.
The experience of Baraka is described in many ways. It is called the "Holy Spirit," "grace," "seeing the Light," and "hearing the Sound." Baraka is a universal experience.
The symbology of the word Baraka is interesting. It means taking from above and giving to above, taking from below and giving to above, taking from above and giving to below, and taking from below and giving to below. So as you receive, you give; as you give, you receive. Both actions exist simultaneously in a constant flow.
Some people are busy just receiving. If this is what you do, the Baraka within you goes stale and stagnant. It is much like a river or stream flowing into a lake from which there is no outlet: the lake becomes brackish and dead. But if the stream flows into that which is continuously giving outward, then it always remains fresh and alive. When you do good works, Spirit continually delivers Baraka to you. When you feel you've "got it," "reached it," or "don't need it any more," it will no longer be delivered to you. Then you will either have to manufacture it (which is difficult) or make it up (which is deceitful).
I don't like to speak of spiritual deceit, but there are people who will try to deceive you regarding spiritual issues. There are methods to test the Spirit so that you won't be pulled into areas of deceit. Use them to test what I tell you. If you don't find an attunement ringing with you, then maybe this is not for you. You can find out pretty quickly if these spiritual teachings are something within which you can work and live.
The way to test Spirit is very simple. Wherever you go, ask for God's Light to surround you, protect you and fill you. Place it ahead of you wherever you are going so that you will always be well received. Every time you meet someone, ask this Light to be placed between you, not as a barrier, but for clarity. Ask for the highest good to be present.
When people speak to you, ask yourself, "Is this true for me?" You can't ask if it's true for everyone because there is no real truth for everyone — except God. Once you have found God, you have indeed found the universal truth.
When you hear information being presented to you, place the Light between you and the speaker, as a channel for clear communication. Close your eyes for just a second and ask, "If the information I am hearing is not true for me, I would like to be shown this in a clear way. And if this information is right for me, I would like to experience the presence of the Light and Spirit within me in an uplifting way." You will get feedback from Spirit if you ask for clarification in this way. You may feel goose bumps, warmth, or a chill around the top of your head. You may feel a lift in energy. You may feel a sensation or pulsation in your forehead. There are many ways that Spirit might signal you of its presence. If the situation is not right for you, you may get very restless and feel compelled to leave, or get sleepy and drift off for a few minutes. You will have your answer, and you will know it. This is one way to decide the validity — for you — of what you hear.
Keep in mind that what may be valid for one person may not be valid for another. There's truth in the old saying that "one man's medicine is another man's poison." We all must participate in life according to where we come from and where we are going, according to our own life destinies. You can't ask for the truth for a group; you can only ask for truth for yourself. You have a right to ask for the truth for yourself; you don't have the right to inflict your truth or preferences on others.
Some people faithfully believe everything they hear or read. That's not the most beneficial way to run your life. That's not practical spirituality. When you hear any information, go home and contemplate it. See if there is a logic in it that works for you. Then see how or if it can work in your life.
You might say, "I have a feeling this information wasn't meant for me because it doesn't apply to any of my situations." That may be a valid point of view for now. In a week, however, someone may come to you and say, "I have this problem and don't know how to handle it." You'll remember the information that "wasn't for you," and share it with them. The other person may thank you and tell you that's exactly what they needed to hear.
We call these experiences the "miracles" of working with the Light. You allow the Light to flow through you to others. Information that might not do anything for you in a given moment may be appropriate for someone else in the future, allowing you to be of service and assistance. The Baraka you receive is then extended out to someone else, and the flow is continued.
There are many parts to the work that can be done with you through the spiritual master. Strangely enough, one part of that work is to teach you to more effectively handle this physical level, describing and demonstrating techniques to help you overcome the traps of the mind, emotions, and body.
A greater part of the work is to extend Baraka to you, giving you the energy, force, and strength to overcome negativity and lift your consciousness into the positive.
And an even greater part is to work with you to establish you in Soul consciousness, in the realms of pure Spirit, freeing you from recycling endlessly in the lower levels. The greatest joy you will ever experience is when you develop the ability to consciously transcend this physical form through Soul transcendence.
Mental knowledge of these higher realms is not enough. You can "know" a lot of information without really knowing it. You can read what someone else has experienced and "know" it on an intellectual level, but until you have had the experience, the process is like that of a child who sees a flashlight beam on a wall and goes to the wall to get the light. That beam is only a reflection of the light, not its source. Yet many people do a similar thing, going out into the world to see who will reflect Light back to them. They are searching for a form of Light, but aren't going to the source to find it.
You can continually fool yourself by gratifying your own illusion, which causes pessimism and doubt. Then you miss the Baraka that is being continually extended to you. You gain confidence when you use your experience as your teacher.
There is a kind of knowing that doesn't necessarily come through experience, but through the inner conviction that just knows. Those of you who are men know you are men, and those of you who are women know you are women. You don't need verification from any source outside of yourself to know this. You are what you are. That type of self-evident knowing sometimes appears inside of you when you are presented with spiritual teachings. You know the truth of them.
Everything being brought to you is Baraka; it is up to you to make all things Baruch Bashan. It is not up to anyone else to change your attitude toward these things; that is something you must change if you choose to. That is your responsibility.
The spiritual masters of Light and Sound can extend to you a love that no one else can give you, a love that will not possess you or allow anything to harm you; this is also Baraka. This ancient Sufi word defies description and goes beyond vocabulary. It is the pure essence of Spirit. It is the Source, not the reflection.
The spiritual form represented by a spiritual master gets its power from the Source. It is an agent of the Supreme God. It is not reflection, though the physical body of the master is a reflection.
When you see a spiritual master or read or listen to their words, you are experiencing reflections of the consciousness of Baraka, the Baruch Bashan. This essence resides perfectly protected within each individual Soul. The physical manifestations are a mirror image of the greater spiritual reality, and may be distorted, yet they are still part of the spiritual expression.
A spiritual master is in contact with both the world and the Spirit simultaneously. Most people are like apples that have fallen from the tree (the Source) onto the ground. The spiritual master is like an apple still connected to the tree, on a branch that has bent over and touched all the way to the ground. The apple is both on the ground with the other apples and still connected to the tree.
The Silent Ones, who are spiritual forces issuing forth out of God, the Lord of the positive realms of Spirit, work directly in line with the energy of the Mystical Travelers. They are very difficult to find and identify for the simple reason that they are silent. To find them, you must be silent, also.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Divine Essence (Baraka) by John-Roger. Copyright © 2000 Peace Theological Seminary & College of Philosophy. Excerpted by permission of Mandeville Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Contents
Introduction,1 Divine Presence,
2 Divine Essence,
3 The Gaze of God: Twaji,
4 Living Divine Essence,
5 An Agent of God,