Christmas Time

Christmas comes but once a year

To light our life and stir our soul

It brings great joy and peace within

To sing of Christmas all year long

This is a special time of year and one that is especially meaningful for me. I was born in December and enjoy the season a lot. Christmas has always been a special time with all the colored lights, the decorated houses with their Christmas trees all lit up, the snow and the trains my Dad put under the tree each year. Yes, special because it is the time when we celebrate, not only the birth of Christ, but the spirit of giving. To sing all the special song of the season and a time for celebrating life and the birth of all in creation. December 21st is the shortest day of the year (Winter solstice). Winter solstice was celebrated for thousands of year as a “pagan” holiday with music, dancing, and drinking. It was a time to celebrate the fact that each day will become longer as we look forward to spring. Spring, the time of reborn that brings forth its abundance and fills us with hope.
As we look at this time of year, we can’t help thinking about all of the people who have so much and all those who have so little. We all share in this time. We all think about family, friends and giving. We give to those who are in need, and we give to each other as an expression of love that says “you’re special to me”. As you think about this time, I hope you will think about all the people in your life now and all those who were part of your life in time past. Send each one a special blessing and a prayer of love for the New Year.

A Friendly Reminder

Sometimes it is difficult for me to understand why it is that we need to be reminded that we are Spiritualists or Christians.

Far too many of us forget the seven principles of Spiritualism the teaching of Christ, that we repeat and take part in each time we attend a church service. We seem to forget the one principle that governs our lives more than any other.  That principle is "We believe in Personal Responsibility". This doesn't mean that we only believe in this principle when it is convenient for us. It means that we believe in it 24/7.  We are to practice what we believe and preach and not like so many other people in this world who only practice what they preach when it is convenient.

In part, it is one of our responsibility to allow each individual to be who and what they are without judging them in any way.  However, I know that it is almost impossible for us to not judge others.  We learned how to judge other from the time we are born.  Judging others is within us and we as Spiritualists/Christians must start doing something about this in our lives.  I know that it is sometime impossible to for us, but it is a must done.

How many time have you had to prove to others that you are very much qualified for the position you applied for whether that position be on the job or at church?  Why is it that there are so many independent churches in this world?  Why aren't they affiliated with a national association or national union?  Is it because of there beliefs or money, or is there more to it than that?  Yes, there is more to it than that it boils down to the personalities of those who are running things.  You are not me and I am not you but some how you may believe that I should think and act exactly like you do.  That I should have the same personality as yours and do what you do. Could you accept me if I was?  What a boring world this would be.

In this world there are wars going on all the time and those wars are nothing more than the result of certain persons personalities and there outlook on life that gets in the way of common sense and logic.  When we use common sense and logic we look at all the possibilities of a situation and not what our narrow views dictate.  We consult with others and get there views on a subject so that we can make informed decisions.  Informed of the consequences of a wrong decision.

You and I have to think. Make informed decisions and give others the benefit of any doubt.  Way the pros and cons and think of how our decision(s) may affect others.  Thinking is something we all do but do we do it with others and the end results in mind?  You say yes.  OK but do you really?

Do you need to be reminded that of the principle of personal responsibility every time you are confronted with another person or a situation in your life that could potentially affect the lives of others?  Can you give others the benefit of the doubt and even help them to see your point of view if it differs from theirs?  Are you sure that your decision was the correct one?  \kind of makes you think...

Rights and Wrongs of Killing

Recently, two female police officers were killed in a gun and grenade attack in Greater Manchester. Various MPs and other leading figures have called for the return of the death penalty for such crimes.*

I wondered if you are willing to give your view on this matter and whether the spirit world has given guidance on the rights and wrongs of executing those found guilty of murder – Marcus Mackenzie, by e-mail.

All spirit teachings state that the taking of life, for whatever reason, is wrong. Thrusting a person convicted of murder into the next world creates more problems than it solves, as spirit people constantly tell us.

What is spiritually wrong cannot be physically or morally right. Murder by a citizen or the state can never be justified. Forming judgments when all the facts can never be known is an extremely dangerous step to take. As Lord Birkenhead, a former Lord Chancellor of Britain explained, his eyes were opened when he saw the effects in the spirit world.

It is worth studying his communication which came through the direct voice mediumship of Leslie Flint. In his excellent book, “Voices in the Dark,” he states that Lord Birkenhead, who passed on in 1930, manifested in his séance room and spoke eloquently and urgently for almost an hour on the necessity for total abolition of the death penalty.

He quotes him as saying: “This is an aspect of criminal law most in need of change; whether it is through the hangman’s noose or whether it is done by some other supposedly more humane method, nothing justifies the taking of life outside the law or inside it.”

Admitting the views he now expressed were quite opposed to those held on earth, Lord Birkenhead explained this by saying: “I have seen the effects on this side of life when the law sends here souls who are unprepared and unready, their minds in turmoil, filled with thoughts of hate, revenge and fear.

“These souls linger near the earth. Often what are known as carbon-copy murders are due to such earthbound revengeful entities who impinge their thoughts on individuals in your world who may already be mentally unstable and cause them to commit the same kind of crime for which the entity forfeited his life under the law.”

As an alternative to capital punishment, Lord Birkenhead suggested that “the unfortunate people who commit murder could be put to useful work.

“They should be made to serve society in some way and given the opportunity to work out their own salvation and repentance.”

Towards the end of his impressive speech, he declared: “There is no death. We live and try constantly to inspire you. I ask you, I beg of you, I plead with you to do all in your power to bring this truth to all humanity.”

This may be a “How long is a piece of string?” question, but how much free will do you think we have in our lives? I really cannot work out how much is preordained or due to fate and our own decisions – Susan Simpson, Manchester.

In answer to a question about this subject, Silver Birch once stated: “You have free will. You may make your choice. Life is not chance, accident or even coincidence. The whole of life is governed by immutable natural law.

“Whatever aspect of being you examine, it is due to natural law. Human beings are not outside the operation of natural law. They are integral parts of it.

“There is a limitation placed by natural law on what man can do to the planet on which he lives. He cannot destroy the whole of the planet and all that it contains. Now this is part of man’s free will, his choice as to whether he will rise to the divinity within him or whether he will fail.

“In that case, he will not fulfill himself. He will pass to our world unequipped and unready, and have to learn all over again.

“No man, and no combination of men, have the power to thwart divine will. They can delay, they can harass and they can impede.”

The guide continued: “Infinite wisdom and love rule the universe. These will prevail because that is the law. The whole of life is regulated by natural laws. Nothing is left to freakishness, to miracles or to chance.

“All is cause and effect, sowing and reaping, otherwise the universe would be chaotic. You have evidence of the  infinite plan of an infinite intelligence in the operation of natural laws wherever you look.

“It is to be seen in the sequence of the seasons, the movement of planets and galaxies, the ebb and flow of tides and the growth of a myriad forms of floral life, where natural law reigns supreme.

“So there is the limit which the divine power has placed because nothing can occur beyond the framework of natural law. But there are laws within laws. There are not only physical laws; there are mental and spiritual ones.

“You live, you breathe, you exist. You have your being because from the moment of conception spirit begins to associate with matter in individual form and gradually that individuality unfolds.

“It is part of the plan that you should have an element of free will, the power and the ability to make choices in certain circumstances.

“Used for its best and highest, you can play your part in the spiritual unfoldment and evolution of the race, the world, the universe and the cosmos because your spirit is part of the Great Spirit.

“You share in the divinity that is responsible for all that exists everywhere. You are the Great Spirit in microcosm. All that the Great Spirit has of that infinity you have. You will have eternity in which to unfold it.

“Your free will is limited because your choice is restricted. There is another limitation placed on your free will. It is the mental and spiritual stage which you have reached in your development.”

Silver Birch added: “You are free to kill, but your character will ensure that you refrain. So even when you have choices these are limited by who and what you are at the time. Like many things in the universe you have a paradox. You have free will within limitation all the time.

“Now I must go a stage further because you introduced the question of karma. This, too, is a very important consideration because many of those who have work to do in your world chose to do it beforehand. Though awareness may not come immediately, the choice imposes another restriction in free will.

“Nobody has perfect free will. It is free will within a restricted range. Your will is subject to circumstances which you cannot control. The soul knows before it reincarnates what it has to achieve.”

* From Two Worlds Magazine. Founded in 1887

How Much Free Will Do We Have?

In answer to a question about free will, Silver Birch once stated: “You have free will. You may make your choice. Life is not chance, accident or even coincidence. The whole of life is governed by immutable natural law.*

“Whatever aspect of being you examine, it is due to natural law. Human beings are not outside the operation of natural law. They are integral parts of it.

“There is a limitation placed by natural law on what man can do to the planet on which he lives. He cannot destroy the whole of the planet and all that it contains. Now this is part of man’s free will, his choice as to whether he will rise to the divinity within him or whether he will fail.

“In that case, he will not fulfill himself. He will pass to our world unequipped and unready, and have to learn all over again.

“No man, and no combination of men, have the power to thwart divine will. They can delay, they can harass and they can impede.”

The guide continued: “Infinite wisdom and love rule the universe. These will prevail because that is the law. The whole of life is regulated by natural laws. Nothing is left to freakishness, to miracles or to chance.

“All is cause and effect, sowing and reaping, otherwise the universe would be chaotic. You have evidence of the infinite plan of an infinite intelligence in the operation of natural laws wherever you look.

“It is to be seen in the sequence of the seasons, the movement of planets and galaxies, the ebb and flow of tides and the growth of a myriad forms of floral life, where natural law reigns supreme.

“So there is the limit which the divine power has placed because nothing can occur beyond the framework of natural law. But there are laws within laws. There are not only physical laws; there are mental and spiritual ones.

“You live, you breathe, you exist. You have your being because from the moment of conception spirit begins to associate with matter in individual form and gradually that individuality unfolds.

“It is part of the plan that you should have an element of free will, the power and the ability to make choices in certain circumstances.

“Used for its best and highest, you can play your part in the spiritual unfoldment and evolution of the race, the world, the universe and the cosmos because your spirit is part of the Great Spirit.

“You share in the divinity that is responsible for all that exists everywhere. You are the Great Spirit in microcosm. All that the Great Spirit has of that infinity you have. You will have eternity in which to unfold it.

“Your free will is limited because your choice is restricted. There is another limitation placed on your free will. It is the mental and spiritual stage which you have reached in your development.”

Silver Birch added: “You are free to kill, but your character will ensure that you refrain. So even when you have choices these are limited by who and what you are at the time. Like many things in the universe you have a paradox. You have free will within limitation all the time.

“Now I must go a stage further because you introduced the question of karma. This, too, is a very important consideration because many of those who have work to do in your world chose to do it beforehand. Though awareness may not come immediately, the choice imposes another restriction in free will.

“Nobody has perfect free will. It is free will within a restricted range. Your will is subject to circumstances which you cannot control. The soul knows before it reincarnates what it has to achieve.”

* From Two Worlds Magazine. Founded in 1887

Programmed from Birth

Can you sense that at times "you are a man/woman, son/daughter, worker, student, husband/wife, teacher, tax payer, healer, patient, citizen, rebel, member of a particular tribe, ethnic group or religion? All are roles. Each due to circumstances and conditions".

We see things not as they are, but as we are. We are a product of life's programming where we play a role that we believe we were meant to play. However, in spite of who we think we are it is not the real person we are. In many cases we put blinders on ourselves that we wear with little knowledge of and through fear we are far too often blinded as to who we can really be.

Through life's programming we are the product of our parents training, our schools and society.

Programming of our minds started while we were still in the womb. We adopted the programming of our mothers. We then adopted the programming of our fathers shortly after our birth. As time went on, we adopted the programming of others we came into contact with. We even adopted parts of the programming of our teachers, the radio and television programs we listened to or watched over the years.

There is no such thing as independent thinking. Thoughts are products of our minds in light of all the programming up to the present moment.

Yes we believe that we are inspired by something other than what we believe came from that programming, but how can we be sure? Is it possible for us to be anything other than what we have been programmed to be?

I question the influencing of the people I come in contact with as to how it affects my programming. Are those people trying to make me into another them? Is it possible that in spite of my own programming that I am incorporating some of their programming into me? Believe it or not, I am. Yes, I can't help it. I try very hard to discriminate between what I'll accept into my programming and just what I'll discard, do I have free will?

In the past I have written on the subject of how others try to influence us into adopting their ideas of how we should act, think and work. For example, when we were in grade school, we were taught to study the text books we were given and answer questions on what we read. At the end of the day, the teacher would give us a text that required a text book answer, if we gave a different answer than the book, are answer was marked as wrong. To me, this was a type of control where I was required to comply or I would fail the course - programming.

Other people can help us get out of a rut where we had been doing the same old things day after day that prevents us from progressing. We need to be jolted into progressing through taking a new look at the place we're at, where we're going, the things we play at, the way we perform our daily work, just about everything in our life. Sometimes what others were trying to do was to help us take a closer look at ourselves and for us to better understand our way of thinking and working. We need to develop new objectives for ourselves that will make our life more interesting, worth while, and being more independent of our programming while keeping us happy and enjoying life.

Other peoples ideas can help us in many ways to better ourselves, but they can hurt us as well. Those hurtful ideas of others are to be reject without question. We are free thinkers and need to develop and redevelop our personal programming to brings us true happiness, individuality that is independent of our programming.

"As we can see, nobody has a complete vision of (him/herself) everything and never will. That is why we are so different. Even so, every human being egotistically thinks that his is the utmost, maximum knowledge and information. Each believes he owns the absolute, naked, total truth, the best and only perception of the universe around him, when in reality he grasps just an insignificant fraction of a bigger whole. This situation prevents us from not only having a more intimate, deeper relationship with other human beings, but also from having a better comprehension of ourselves and of our role in this small planet and the Universe". (Sorrows of Life, Pg. 5)

Up Until Now

When I attended Pastoral Skills classes at Temple Heights Spiritualist Camp in Maine in 2005 my teacher, Rev. Pamla Aslay, had an answer for people in the class who would say, "I can't do that."  Her answer was "Up until now". It seems that none of us can perform certain tasks until we learn from others what is necessary.  We invariably say "I can't do that" and we're right, we can't up until now.

When I was in school learning math for the first time, I had to learn about certain mathematical principles and how to apply them to various math problems. By the same token, when I started Junior College to study electronics, I knew very little about all the various aspects of electronics that was already well known to other technicians and engineers.  As time went on, I learned and through the application of what I learned I was able to test and repair electronic equipment.

You may ask "Isn't it true for all people in this world"?  Yes, but how many of us have the courage to admit that we just don't have what it takes to perform a specific task - up until now?  If you're honest with yourself, you will admit that up until now you were unable to perform.  There is no pride lost in admitting you don't have certain skills or knowledge - you are normal.

When I was growing up, my mother used to cook breakfast, lunch and dinner for the seven of us.  Today, from what I learned from her, I can cook various types of meals for myself.  Yes, I learned what was necessary from a skilled person who knew more than I did. I am still learning 70+ years later.  I will continue to learn.  This will continue up until the day I leave this world.

So up until now, you really couldn’t perform certain tasks. Maybe you didn’t have the knowledge you needed, but now you do and are able to apply it where necessary. Up until now you are the best at what you do and will continue to obtain greater knowledge you may require. Remember, what seemed to be unachievable up until now falls away as you obtain the knowledge and skills you do require, nothing is impossible to you.

We were all mistaken

Through automatic writing Charlotte Elizabeth Dresser in the late 1800s wrote the following: "We were all mistaken on earth, ministers and laymen alike. Lawyers are not just; merchants not honest; business men forgetting their honor while grasping greater gains; ministers allowing creeds to outweigh service. Why do clergymen emphasize creed instead of service? Why do they mourn over death, instead of telling of the wonderful opportunities beyond? Why do judges punish crime instead of educating the criminal? Why does the world spend its care and thought on the fleeting shadows of earth life, rather than study the conditions of the heavenly one which is to last forever?"

I’m sure that you and I find Charlotte’s description of various people still rings true even today and yet, it also describes the common person and his actions at one time or another in his life. How many of you have known the truth especially about ministers, lawyers, merchants and businessmen?  How have you been able to deal with them in your own life? Were you able to understand what was happening? However, It is true, not all of people involved in the various professions can be described as being dishonest or corrupt.

When we enter into this world as infants our minds are pure and without blemish.  Then as children we grow up learning from our parents and society what life is all about and what is expected of us and what we should accomplish in life.  We do our best to cope with life’s challenges, but sometimes along the way something happens that changes our outlook on life and we begin to do the things that are wrong in the sight of society.  We begin to take advantage of others, steal, rob banks, kill and destroy anything that we don’t like, directly or indirectly.  We are able to do these things because we are all given total freedom of choice, the ability to choose between right from wrong, as we perceived it.

A very long time ago a man said “there is nothing new under the sun.”  Yes that man was King Solomon who wrote about the same things that Charlotte wrote about.  We think that we are unique and different in that we live in a “modern” world with computers, rockets, space stations and satellites that have been sent to the moon and the planets beyond. We believe that in these modern times that we have the best that man can produce, and yet we continuously look for something new to occupy our minds and bodies.  The search for something new gives many a reason to try for some excitement by breaking the laws of the land.  Why?  Is it our nature to do so?  Not, but we do it anyhow.

Spiritual Law teaches through the law of cause and effect that a person cannot get away with anything.  If lawyers, merchants, minister, judges, you and I understood this law would we continue to do the things they do? Would we treat each other with so much disrespect if we new what was in store for us when we physically die? Would it really matter?  Would the minister continue to preach their churches creeds instead of a truer more meaningful theology based on the truths taught by the Master Jesus?

Far too many of us here in this physical world think that we know it all and that there is nothing beyond our physical life.  What is it that can hurt us or have any real meaning for us believing this physical life is all that is, the now.

So what does it truly matter if lawyers, merchants, minister and judges continue to do as they please?  Will there ever be a time when they come to their senses and learn that there is more to life than the physical experience?

In time past, many have written about and the Spirit World through automatic writing and through the descriptions given by disincarnate individuals to mediums. Few physical human beings have gone to the Spirit World directly and those who have; have done so via a “near death experience” or “out of body experience”.  We only have their word as to what it is really like in the Spirit World.  If we could all experience the Spirit World as it is perhaps we would have a much different attitude about life in the physical and how we fit into it.  Maybe we would be more honest, just and provide the right way of rehabilitate criminals and those who break our physical laws.  Perhaps we would learn how to love our neighbors as our selves and do unto others, as we would have them do unto us.  Maybe…