As a general rule, the Ascended Masters do not form personal relationships with their students, at least not for many years.

     What I mean by a personal relationship, is that you can enter the person's presence at will, communicate with them at will, interact with them at will. You can see them smile, you can see them frown. You can hear them speak, and you know they can hear you speak by their instant reaction to what you say. In a personal relationship, you can enter into real conversations, and you can get them to tell you their opinion on most anything.

      Of course, the Masters are real persons. But they keep their relationships with their embodied students, for the most part, impersonal and indirect. There is a reason for this. The student's progress on the path would be significantly disrupted if the Ascended Masters allowed their divine personages to be wrapped up, within the mind of the student, with too many layers of misconception and error.

     At a certain point on the path, it will be imperitive that the student be able to conceive of the Master as the Master really is. The purity of the student's vision in this regard will actually help to boost the student into an expanded perception of divine reality. If the Master's person becomes wrapped up, again, within the mind of the student, with too many layers of misconception and error, the student will not be able to see the Master for who he or she is, and progress on the path for that student would be prematurely arrested.

     The problem has to do with the existence of a huge gap in contextual perception capabilities.

     The Ascended Masters reside completely within the context of divine priorities. They know what is important to God, what his plans and purposes are, and that is the only thing that their activities are designed to fulfill. To see them as they are, the consciousness of the student must reside within exactly the same context of divine priorities.

     But when the student first discovers the Teachings, and the Path, and places his feet thereupon, there is no capacity to actually identify with divine priority, at least not to any significant degree. For quite an extended period of time, the mind of the student will perceive the Masters through the lense of human priorities. And the Masters will do everything they can to make sure that as few of those human priorities are attached to their persons as possible. The Masters will keep their distance during this phase of growth.

     It takes time and effort to clear the mind, spiritualize it, and for it to grow in its capacity to anchor the substance of divine priority. As the student's consciousness become more and more able to reflect real divine priorities, that is when the Masters begin to become really personal.

     In our search for that context of perception in which we can commune with the Masters in a more personal manner, we might consider posing this question, "What is the ultimate divine priority?", and then we might well look for an answer to it.

     Question: What is the ultimate divine priority? Answer: The attention of the soul must be placed into orbit around the Divine Parents once again.

     Now, this may sound simple. But in practice it is not so simple. Allow me the opportunity, please, to illustrate the hidden complexity somewhat.

     Let's imagine that the consciousness of the divine soul consists of a cloud of electrons only. That the consciousness consists only of a uniform field of these electrons. And that all of these electrons orbit around the reality of God, like the rings of Saturn for example. Now this is a metaphor for the ways things were, for all of us, at one time. All of our electrons did orbit around the Reality of God only. And because our attention was unified in this regard, and properly targeted, our awareness could easily absorb all the facets of God's infinite beauty. And thus we were aware of, and lived in, a paradise of infinite dimensions.

     But, in the Great Rebellion, which was a very long time ago, the soul was tempted into the practice of dividing its attention. The leaders of the rebellion taught the soul how to create its own little centers of attention, its own little planets as it were, and many souls went overboard in this regard, creating, in great abandon, these false centers of attention in very great abundance. And the soul sent some electrons into orbit around this planet, and others into orbit around that planet, and yet others into orbit around yet another planet, and so forth, until all the electrons of consciousness were withdrawn from the central divine orbit around God, and were scattered in various orbits around hundreds, thousands, millions, and billions of false planets. Over time, the being of man became as it is today, composed of billions upons billions of independent centers around which all the electrons of consciousness orbit. The problem is, that none of them are of divine origin, and none of them transfer to the soul any life energy. They actually absorb the life energy of the soul, causing it to shrivel up and eventually die, i.e. if it were not for the life support that God our Father, and God our Mother moved quickly to provide surreptitiously, behind the scenes.

     Now, this is the lesson built into the atomic structure of the physical body that God has given the soul to wear in its fallen state. Our bodies are composed of vast galaxies of atoms, around each of which electrons whirl. Each atomic nucleus is a metaphor for an independent center of attention. And around each independent center of attention, there are some electrons in orbit. These orbiting electrons are again, a metphor for the component parts of our attention.

     Of course, there is nothing evil about an atom. An atom is purely divine. God created every one of them, and he created every electron that whirls around them, and all of the intelligence and forces of nature that coalesce to hold them all in those galactic structures that allow for our bodies to exist. But they are structured just so, and they combine to compose the warp and woof of our physical vehicles, so that we might have a good solid represenation of the challenge that we face, in principle.

     And what is that challenge? We have created millions of false planets, centers of fear, or of pride, or of resentment, or of envy, or of greed, or of whatever. And we have sent a certain number of electrons into orbit around each one of them. And that is where our attention is. We are orbiting around our fears. We are orbiting around our resentments. We are orbiting around our dislikes. We are orbiting around all manner of very negative creations, none of which transfer life force into the soul fabric, but rather, only suck it out. The great challenge is to surrender each false nucleus, one at a time, and to bring the electrons that were in orbit around those false nuclei, into orbit around God our Father, and God our Mother, once again.

     And so, this can be a very time consuming process, because the soul must learn what a false planet is, learn to identify it, and learn to cast it out, while, at the same time, retaining the electrons of consciousness, and sending those in orbit around God. You see, it is a two part process. You have to walk and chew gum at the same time. Casting out the false planets is one part. Placing the freed electrons of consciosuness in orbit around God is the other part. If you leave out the second part, the only place for the freed electrons to go, would be in orbit around another existing false planet, that has yet to be identified as a false planet. What does that mean? That means that there is a very real possibility that a student on the path can get intensely fixated on a point of illusion, when it is not consciously putting its freed electrons in orbit around God. And we see examples of this. So, from the very beginning, it is very important for the soul to learn how to place those free electrons in orbit around God.

     But one of the things that slows this process down all the more, is that all of this must be done by freewill choice, and that is not so easy, because there is this thing called pride, which is very resistant to this very ncessary part of the process, which is admitting that one has made a mistake by creating this or that false planet, and sending the electrons of consciousness in orbit around it. In many cases there is a very stubborn resistance to admitting that one has created a false planet. The soul likes to think, in these cases, that the existence of these false planets are justified. And so, when the soul confronts one of these planets, and these are planets which have huge fields of electrons orbiting around them, progress slows down to a crawl, and in some cases completely stops, and many lifetimes go by before the soul is ready to face the decision again to keep, or to cast away the false planet, and allow the electrons of consciousness to return to their orbit around God.

     Each one of these false planets represents a misconception, an error, of one kind or another, and all the electrons that orbit around them, form an aggregate lense through which the soul sees the world, and the Masters themselves. Isn't that interesting? Looking through that lense, the soul cannot conceive, in any accurate way, who or what the Master is, so the Master does not present himself, or herself, within the context of that lense. The Master stands outside of that lense of error, and sends his or her light rays into the consciousness of the student in a manner that will encourage the soul forward in this great work of identifying and casting out false planets, and placing those freed electrons of consciousness in orbit around God again.

     There is a technical term for this tendency of the fallen soul to create false planets, and to send the electrons of consciousness in orbit around them. This term is called idolatry. It is the creation of false gods, within the consciousness of the soul. And so, if the Master came too close, the propensity of the student would be to make a god out of the master, another idol, competing with the One Real God for the attention of the soul.

     And so, the Master will not approach the student in any way that would allow his or her person to become another false planet around which the student sends into orbit the electrons of consciousness. Such a cloud of electrons, again, a metaphor for a certain field of consciousness, in this case representing yet another dark lense of error, could do nothing but present to the soul a false picture of the soul's relationship with the Master. Remember, and this is something that we should never forget, the student is, at first, completely incapable of comprehending where the Master is coming from. The student has no basis upon which to form any kind of accurate conception in this regard. So, any conception in this regard will be in error. The Masters will not want to add any additional energy to such errors by making personal appearances that would have the effect of puffing up the soul's sense of superiority only.

     That is where the mind of the not-self is at. It is looking for various things that it can use to prop up its sense of self-worth. That's the context within which it views the world. If the Master appears within that context, the ego will automatically feel like the Master has placed his stamp of approval upon it. But the Master will not appear within that context, which means that all contact between the soul and the Master will be in the realm of the impersonal and the indirect.

     And therefore, at first, the students know the Master's individually through the Teaching they have delivered through the Messenger. This is how the Master's want to be known. They want to be known in this way, because this is what will assist the student to make the most progress on the path. For a very long time on the path, the Master is known by the student, far more by the principles the Master advocates, rather than what the student will know of the Master's personality.

     Of course, the ultimate goal is to see the totality of the student's attention revolve around God. Now, it will take some time for the student's awareness to be cleansed and expanded to the degree where this is possible. In the mean time, and as necessary points of progress to this ultimate end, the Masters will help the student's attention form appropriate orbits of appreciation around important principles, and facets of the law. And this is one of the most important purposes of the written Teaching. It provides an exposition of the necessary principles. Here we should note, that every divine principle, and every facet of the Divine Law, is God the Father (and God the Mother) in miniature. And so the student learns to place his attention in orbit around God in miniature, before he or she can learn to orbit around God in the macro conception. And again, during this process, the Master will stand back, and not manifest himself to the person, in a manner that would cause the student's attention to orbit around him, more than the attention would orbit around Divine Principle or the Divine Law.

     I would just point out, that in those cases where we have people claiming close contact with the Masters, but exhibit very little strength when it comes to orbiting around the Divine Law, i.e. very little allegiance to the Divine Law, and to God as the Divine Parent, you have an example of someone whose imagination has gotten out of control. They have fallen into the trap, and use their (imagined) association with the Master as an adornment of the ego, a point of spiritual pride, that will help others think of them as quite advanced and superior. They are the name droppers, just like in upper crust society. Well, I was talking with so and so (of great stature and importance) the other day, and he said this, or that or that other thing. And those listening are supposed to drool with envy. Notwithstanding the sincerity of their delusions, the prerequisite for personal contact with the Master is always the proven capacity to keep the attention in an orbit of appreciation around the Divine Law, and ultimately around God as the Divine Parent.

     Now, when the student has learned to place his attention in an orbit of appreciation, which is an orbit of allegiance, and an orbit of honor, around the Divine Law, the student is ready to begin to form an orbit of appreciation around God the Father, and God the Mother, as Divine Parents.

     But let me just say, that the strength of this orbit around the divine law is tested many times. The Masters must be quite certain that the orbit of awareness around the divine law is absolutely unassailable. I believe it is true, that this orbiting cloud of electrons, which comprises the souls awareness of, and allegience to the divine law, is actually what is translated by the Master to a higher frequency, giving the soul the capacity to perceive the nature of God in the macro sense. It is, after all, YOU who have to perceive God. What part of you is able to perceive God? It is that part of you that has already acclimitated itself to an awareness of God in the form of the Divine Law. How deep, solid, and substantial is your orbit around the Divine Law? If the orbit is not solid, if it is weak in some places, or fragmented, when it is translated to a higher frequency rate, it will not be able to hold up. It would simply fly apart. Your awareness will not be able to contain the perception of divine beauty that the Master desires for you to see.

     I am using the term Divine Law here, both in the sense of a code of behavior, in relationship to other people, and in terms of the Law of Being itself, in terms of the soul's divine mission, or reason for being.

     The Master will begin this larger orbit forming process, by revealing the truth of the Real Divine Relationship to the soul. At this point, as the soul receives these revelations, the soul becomes very interested in coming into a more and more tangible possession of this relationship. Again, this is not a Master centered relationship. It is a God-Centered relationship. The soul's primary interest, and growing passion, is to come into the genuine Father/Son, or Father/Daughter relationship that it once knew so well. And still, from the behind a veil of impersonality, the Master will continue to work with the student, revealing more and more of the nature of God as Father, and God as Mother, helping the soul's feeling world, to form a more and more solid orbit around the conception of the Divine Parents.

     Here is where it gets interesting.

     As the soul becomes aware of the implications associated with its relationship with God as Father, and God as Mother, these implications are absolutely awesome, and astounding. This isn't like anything the soul has every experienced within its material mind. This is true, even though everything that is revealed is experienced as something absolutely natural, i.e. when the soul is in the very midst of it, it is the most naturally wonderful place to be. But the soul cannot stay in the midst of this Divine Reality for very long. It will always drop back into its material frame of reference. And from within this material frame of reference, where it is forced to deal with all previous momentums of doubt and fear, the upward rising path ahead of it appears to be of such a precipitous incline, that it will dispair of ever being able to climb further.

     And here is where the path appears to become Master centric. The soul sees clearly, that the only way it will ever be able to rise into these regions of Divine Reality, is by placing its absolute trust in the Master. And here, the Master gives everything to the soul, according to divine time-tables of course. This is because, the agenda of the Master, and the agenda of the soul have become one. Again, the Master desires only one thing, and that is to raise the soul into a permanent orbit of recognition, appreciation, and love, around its Divine Parents, God the Father, and God the Mother. And this is what the soul has come to desire. It has come to that place on the path where it has successfully placed itself in a certain lower orbit, which is wide, and somewhat loose orbit, around the Divine Parents, and it desires to rise into a higher orbit, and a closer orbit. And to get to that higher orbit, the soul must place itself in the hands of the sponsoring Master completely.

     And as the soul does this, even as the Master stays behind the veil of impersonality, the soul is raised, through succesive revelation, into a more intense oribit of appreciation, gratitude, adoration, and love, around the Divine Parents.

     And as the Master reveals more and more of the nature of the Divine Parents, still working from behind the veil of impersonality, because of the glorious nature of what is revealed, the level of gratitude the soul has for the Master increases greatly as well.

     And here is another place where it gets very interesting.

     Here is where the Masters actually begin to become personal. And the reason for this is very precious.

     Here, I stress the word "begin". The process of the Masters becoming actually personal, is a lot like the rising of the sun in the morning. Now, the sky, in terms of the light of personal contact has been completely dark up to this point. Sure, there are stars in the night sky. But how personal can a star be? Stars can suggest much to the imaginiation, but they are at a very long distance away. They touch the soul with the light of personal contact only very faintly. No, the soul is waiting for the rising of the actual sun of personal contact. And when the time for the sun rise comes, you will see the light of the sun, and quite faintly, a long time before you actually see the sun itself. And thus, the outlines of the personal relationship are established faintly at first, though no less profoundly. Actually, when these first rays of personal contact appear, it is the most profound experience the soul has ever had to date.

     The actual bond of divine brotherhood that exists between the golden hearts of the Children of God, in their divine estate, is something that is so precious, to be so deeply cherished, that it is seen and experienced by the Children of God as one of the greatest gifts of God the Father, and God the Mother, to their children. Do you see?

     What is revealed within the first faint rays of personal contact, is the actual divine bond that exists between your person, and the persons of your heavenly brothers and sisters collectively. And when this treasure is revealed, it is something that increases your appreciation, gratitude, and love for your Divine Parents exponentially. Isn't that interesting. This is the truth. God our Father, and God our Mother are so great, and worthy of our appreciation, gratitude, and love in so many wonderous ways. But the single greatest thing that causes the greatest wave of love for our Divine Parents to well up from within us, is this golden bond of brotherhood that they have established between all of their children. Here the soul rests in an awareness of the most blessed and kind regard of his brothers and sisters, a kind regard that will never be broken. This is the kind regard of hearts that cherish God the Father and God the Mother above all else, and out of that cherishment, they can actually see, and experience this truth, that the bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood are as veins of the purest gold which run through the entire cosmos, heart to heart.

     This is, of course, how the Masters desire to be seen, i.e. as they are. They are in the mode of absolute cherishment when it comes to the blessed treasures that God their Father, and their Mother, bestow upon them in such gracious abundance. And the single greatest treasure, is the treasure of their brothers and sisters.

     And the student gets to perceive his brothers and sisters looking in his direction, as if they were looking at a precious jewel. Your heavenly brothers and sisters will lend you their eyes for a moment, and allow you to see through their eyes, how they perceive you. You are as a piece of precious gold to them. And this perception will never change, no, not for all of eternity. Imagine what you would feel like, if you found out, that these precious brothers and sisters would perceive you as a precious piece of gold forever and forever.

     For the student on the path, this treasure is not without many dimensions of profound purpose. You must have the support of this community of golden hearts, your brothers and sisters. You cannot make it without it. You cannot stand in the presence of the Father without that support. And so, God your Father will extend this great treasure to you at the appropriate time.

     Now, we must understand that a soul is being asked to step out of a state of awarness which is characterized by ignorance of these blessed things, into the full acceptance of the reality of these blessed things. In other words, at one point you do not know anything about being a Child of God. You are self-defined according to the relationships you have with your body, your thoughts and feelings, and the people around you. You have certain base of knowledge and experience in this world, and your sense of identity does not extend very far beyond these things. One thing you don't have, is a sense of identity based on your relationship with God. This is because you don't have such a relationship. But, you are lifted into that relationship by the Masters. But at first glance, the relationship is far too awesome for the soul to swallow and assimilate in one gulp. Or perhaps even a hundred gulps. It's just way too much. And of course, God our Father understands this. It is here that the golden treasure of our heavenly brothers and sisters is revealed. We feel in the most profound manner, their precious regard for our souls, they are real people, and as we contemplate the currents of affection along these veins of gold, we are contemplating as well, their perfect and clear experience of God as Father, and God as Mother, our mutual Divine Parents, and they communicate to us, to their precious little brother, to their precious little sister, like the mother bird feeding her chicks, insights into the Reality of God, which will serve as the ladder of divine familiarity that we climb into the very presence of our Heavenly Parents.

     What they reveal, are impressions of divine beauty, for that is what they know. They communicate to us impression of divine paradise, for that is what they know. This is the language they speak. They speak in great masterpieces of divine beauty in fact. And everything they show us increases our love and affection for God our Father, and God our Mother, and as our affection grows, the reality of their closeness becomes ever more tangible, and as we come into a closer and closer orbit around their realtiy, our sense of divine childhood progressively increases. I believe that this is an eternal childhood. You will never want to leave this sphere of absolute truth, that God your Father, and God your Mother, are your Divine Parents, and it will always be so.

     Words of course, could never do this subject any amount of justice. And perhaps I have gone too far in trying to convey this blessed truth. What the reader needs to take away from this, is that even admist all the glorious treasures that the Sons and Daughter of God are heir to, that God our Father, and God our Mother, will remain at the very center of everything. Everything glows, and eternally so, with a profound appreciation for God our Father, and God our Mother.

     And as we make concerted efforts every day to establish our attention in orbits of appreciation around God our Father, and God our Mother, be assured that these treasures will come to every student of the Ascended Masters in due course. It is the full and only desire of their ascended hearts to see to it that we receive the treasures that God our Father, and God our Mother so much desire to give us.
 
 

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