Elyon and Lantarnek 02/02/97

[Rick P. Giles]

February 2, 1997
*       Elyon (Mark TR):  Greetings once again, my beloved ones.  It
is I, Elyon.  I wish to express my joy at witnessing your
exchanges of learning amongst yourselves.  This self-generated
sharing between your like minds is of extreme value and
importance in that it increases the connection in the circuits,
both in your individual minds and between your individual minds. 
Your entire mind is comprised of vast numbers of tiny circuits. 
Likewise your collective knowledge is also a series of many
circuits or pathways which you develop through your own ex-
ercises.  There is something extremely special about your coming
to conclusions and awarenesses of your own accord and reaching
out to those around you to expand, confirm, and share these expe-
riences.  It is truly an example of each one of you reaching
first together and then upward.  Few things are as beautiful to
witness as the striving and reaching upward of individual minds
and of collective groups.  Indeed, there are many times when
greater advances are made individually and collectively between
and among the members of this group than contact with the
teachers has provided.  We rejoice at all steps forward in
spiritual progression and are always more than happy to take our
lead from your discussions and interests.  I would therefore
touch on some points involved in your discussion.
        You are no doubt aware of the value and importance of the
stillness practice, specifically at this time the specific
donated time for this practice.  There is no real substitute at
your level of evolution for the practice time necessary for you
to establish the proper attitude and patterns that will later
enable you to frequent these attitudes and patterns you have
previously instilled.  True it is that the better you get at
attaining the stillness, the easier this will be and the less
overall demanding this will seem.  However, just as with any
artist or musician, you must first learn to familiarize yourself
with the instrument before beautiful music can be made on
command.  This is the phase you are at now, the practicing of
your scales, the devoted time spent in practicing your
techniques.  This will enable you later at any moment to pick up
your instrument of faith and instantly make beautiful sounds.  It
is also true that throughout your daily existence you may as
frequently, as often as you please, on your way by, pick up your
instrument and indulge yourself.  You will find the desire to do
this more and more frequently.  This again will be made all the
more possible by your diligent practice of your technique at this
point.  
        It may appear to you at times as though you tire of hearing
that practice makes perfect, that surely if enough time passes
you will become perfect.  However, a certain amount of energy
must be applied before all the benefits may be derived from your
technique.  I am more or less bound to bring this issue re-
peatedly back to the forefront as we have not all yet gained all
that is to be gained from this particular lesson.  Therefore, I
in good conscience cannot move ahead and ignore this lesson on
which so much rides in your futures.  
        I would also encourage your discussion of prayer and
worship, that these avenues to the Father be more fully explored. 
This is another soul enriching experience for which there is no
substitute.  You do well to seek discrimination between various
aspects of communion with the Father as a means whereby to more
effectively commune.  I have given past lessons on prayer and
worship; perhaps it would serve some to review these lessons, and
always it is beneficial to self-evaluate what these distinctions
mean for you as an individual.  On the whole I am very pleased,
and you should be very pleased, with your spiritual progress. 
Your attainments are many.  Your progress bears much fruit.  I am
fully aware of those time restraints placed upon you.  You should
never waste the energy to regret what you haven't done at any
particular time.  Rather, I encourage you to rechannel this feel-
ing to act now, at any given time, to redirect and refocus what
available time and energy you do have to its best effect.  Every-
day that you awake and arise, your blackboard is completely
clean.  It is you who marks it up with your plans for the day,
your goals, your direction, your purpose.  I would encourage you
to take a freer hand as director of your own destiny and to feel
justified and correct in scheduling in and assigning yourself the
task of being with the Father more, of developing your soul-being
more, of simply sharing your life with the Father.  You are,
after all, your own schedule directors.  Much of your life is
under your own control.  Therefore, why not have more fun with
it?
        I would most gladly entertain any observations or
suggestions or comments, and there are, as always, others avail-
able to speak or to interact with.                                  Mary:  When I sit down to
commune with the Father and exercise what I call prayer, trying
to work with spirit to achieve a task or exercise a circuit, does
that fulfill what you tell us is so important as stillness?  I
think there may be a difference.  Maybe I should spend time more
in absorption of something rather than in trying to accomplish
something.  
*       Elyon:  When one goes to practice an instrument, at times
one may practice scales, at another time one may practice
fingering techniques, at another time entire pieces.  All of this
is under the umbrella of practice.  When you have your stillness,
some of your stillness may be of prayer.  Some may be of worship,
and some may be an attempt on your part to engage in an attitude
of exchange with the Father, of sharing your life with the Father
and desiring to share what the Father has to share with you.  All
of these may be considered the umbrella of stillness as all of
these require a certain overall attitude to occur.  Never feel
that at any time, because you are practicing scales, for
instance, that you are not practicing.  All aspects are important
and very often one aspect leads naturally into another and into
another,  The important thing is the time you have set aside to
practice.  Never feel that any of it is wasted or misdirected. 
It is simply your attempt to return to this attitude once again. 
You will become in time more disciplined in how you will direct
your stillness.  But never feel as though your stillness has been
ineffective, because it takes many mistakes before one can learn
to smoothly play your scales.
        Does this help?
        Mary:  Yes, it does.  I was concerned I might not be
understanding what you meant by stillness: I was feeling so
active in prayer. 
*       Elyon:  We as teachers have fallen back on the term
"stillness" as the umbrella term for the attitude which you seek
of devotion.  This may take form, as I said, in many different
ways.  Once you have entered this attitude of stillness, you may
direct in many different ways.  
        Mary:  In stillness, seeking God, you can seek to dance with
Him, you can seek to talk with Him, or you can seek to just be
with Him.  It's all seeking. *                              Elyon:  Well said, as well
said as I could have done.  You have indeed grasped the meaning
of the overall term stillness.  
        Jonathan:  You have spoken before of taking inventory.  I
see stillness practice as in consumerism.  A lot of transactions
are being made, a big flurry of activity, life.  Stillness is
like taking inventory, giving the store a chance to settle down
and account what has happened, what you are in need of, what you
have plenty of.  
*       Elyon:  It is indeed heart warming to hear such
understanding coming from my beloved students.  It is all that a
teacher might hope for that the nuggets that are cast about are
then picked up by the students and are planted and become such
beautiful flowering plants.  I thank you all for your efforts in
this regard.  
        Jonathan:  You are a major catalyst in our pursuit of these
insights.                Mary:  Forget not your title:  Guide to
Understanding. 
*       Elyon:  It seems at many times my efforts, as you say, are
one and the same with my rewards.  Indeed, it seems as though
many times I am rewarded tenfold for my efforts with this group. 
I can't thank you enough for this.   You are an apex in my
experience at this point.  I will treasure our encounters always.

*       Lantarnek:  This is Lantarnek, and I would continue making
comments from last week.  
        I closed by saying, "That is all", but I was just kidding. 
I spoke of the eyes being the windows to the soul, today I would
like to consider the condensation of this phrase into "soul eyes"
and reflect upon the soul as a window, itself.  Your pursuit of
the Father through worship is an embrace.  You perceive the
Father through the soul.  It is the word soul that gives meaning
to the word Father, for it is the interface of the created with
the Creator.  It is a personalized link to the divine.  But I
would ask you to not only look through the soul to the Father,
but in your stillness make practice to be seen by the Father Him-
self.  Let the window of the soul be open.  Sit and accept that
you are in His complete view.  It is good to seek the Father, but
it is equally important to be sought by Him, that is, to be aware
of His overshadowing.  By practicing this perspective, you can
attend your activities as one who knows the Father.  You may
provide Him the "soul eyes" to express through your life.  Where
you perceive the truth of the line that "the eyes are the window
to the soul", you may see that the soul is the eyes for the
Thought Adjuster.  
        You are taught about the relationship of love and mercy and
ministry.  You are fond of the phrase, "Love is the desire to do
good to others."  The desire is the decree of love.  Good is the
mercy that is expressed in service to others as ministry.  It is
the work of the divine.  It is the manner in which the Father
experiences life as you, not simply through you.  When you feel
compassion for another, affection, understand this to be an
expression that is a reflection of the qualities you have
attained that is your very soul.  This compassion may be felt
emotionally, may be entertained intellectually, but to use your
computer analogy, the mind and emotions are merely the soul
qualities placed into RAM for you to utilize during the instant
of giving.  But deep within you resides the eternal value that
is, itself, a reflection of the eternal presence.  
        Eyes are wonderful organs in that they receive, but they are
valuable as well in projection.  Your soul is not only a receptor
for your growth, but it is a projector of the Father uniquely as
you.  
        Having said that, I would ask you to pause for a moment and
perceive the Father looking upon you.  Receive His view of you.  
        (long pause)
        Thank you.  
        unidentified  (Mary):  Now while the Father is working
within you, celebrate with Him the joy of your relationship, the
wonderful experience of having a Father who loves you so com-
pletely, desires only good for you, will do anything He can to
help you; and the exquisite pleasure of a parent who has a child
to look upon, to experience through, and to help up.  Develop
your trust in God, in your heavenly Parent, by exercising your
relationship with Him. 
        Mary:  I would like to express my joy and the satisfaction
that I feel from our experience as a group and from my endeavors
as an individual guided by our group guidance.  The meaning and
value and happiness that I experience through these endeavors is
very deep and very satisfying.