ABRAHAM

BALANCED LIVING

FEBRUARY 3, 2002

WOODS CROSS GROUP

I am ABRAHAM. There is quite a splendid light emanating from this room. Even though life's difficulties and turmoil may create confusion you are finding enough strength to return to your Spiritual foundation, yes. There is no doubt we have a bond with one another and have a great deal of influence over one another. In these times it is critical to find inner peace that leads to rational solutions and spiritual fruits, instead of irreparable damage and Spirit poisons.

It is wonderful to know that when the world seems to be falling down around you, you have your brothers and sisters to help lift your faith and hope. Around your family you need not make excuses for your personality makeup, no, because a real and solidified family loves you as you are. There is no need for hiding the true self, because all know that they are accepted as is.

You will have your lessons together, children, yes, but take full advantage of your training and incorporate those truths that you have learned to use with one another. You are not infants in the Kingdom, no. You have more responsibility as an apostles to settle your dealings with the highest truth and honor. Emotionalism is understandable, but your training goes far beyond the damage emotionalism can do.

Please take the opportunity to practice on one another your newly forming spiritual developments. Many of you will be instructing new Kingdom believers, yes, and your skills here in this group, socially and spiritually, will make all the difference whether you aid a fellow towards finding his inner light, or produce so much light that they are blinded.

I would take a few moments to discuss the purpose of restful worship. It has been some time since we have discussed this topic and worship is crucial in balanced living. In this incessant world of activity there is always one thing or another that pulls you from Spirit. It is not sinful, no, but really quite natural and to be expected as long as you possess a material body.

Lets talk about attachments. As mortals, you all need to fulfill certain satisfactions that bring balance to all aspects of living: physical, mental and spiritual. Everybody has longings, desires and needs. As young, and perhaps immature spirits, we strive for our desires and longings. We strived for temporary gratification that helped to suffice whatever craving we had at the time, never often giving much thought to a long-term outcome.

We, perhaps most all of us, can say that satisfying the present desire now is not always what is best in the long run. To have our needs and desires met we exhaust our human resources, doing what we have to to find contentment, or even at the least, a neutral feeling of non-pain. Many will search down various avenues of attachment. We have chemical addiction, food addiction, even addiction to money, and these attachments become our focus for what we strive for. These attachments become our first source and center -- yes, our God.

When you think of worship, would you outright display an affectionate worship for money? Would drugs and alcohol bring you the longing for love and acceptance you have within? Would you worship a meal in which you are hoping to be fulfilled emotionally from? No, of course not. When we worship we worship the Source of all there is. We worship the Source that can bring us the deeper, long term gratification's. We worship to show gratitude to a Caretaker for our own benefit of receiving awareness for His presence.

He needs not our praise, no. He cannot be manipulated with glorious flattery, no. We worship our First Source and Center, our Father of fathers, to bring our focus back to our Parent/child relationship with Him. In that relationship there is the really indescribable feelings of well being, knowledge that 'no matter what befalls me, I will ever be sustained.'

Children, when we can find a few moments every day to tell Father, 'I know you are here. I know you work for my good and the good of the whole. I know nothing is impossible with you. I recognize you as my Father and Source of all that is True, Beautiful and Good.' That is energy. That is power, my friends. That is live thoughts going out only to come back with beautiful repercussions. Can that happen with a material source like money or some other attachment? No. Where are your attachments? Where does your treasure lie? Can you find freedom from attachment in worship? Do you agree that there is tremendous peace in non-attachment? Yes, freedom and confidence to move in the world with purpose.

This Teaching Mission's participants have a great deal of responsibility to be ambassadors leading into the stages of Light and Life. Your best methods of teaching are to set good examples. You cannot go about dishonest deeds and expect to win souls for the Kingdom. You will have a difficult time being liberated from material attachments when you cannot put your focus on the Source of all there is.

Yes, material needs must be met, no doubt, but the best way to meet those material needs is to go first to Father and put Him as your focus, and watch your living thought-energy come back as wonderful divine repercussions. Allow not the worldly attachments to take you from your apostolic responsibility. Find time to have a quiet worship, a moment of gratitude to reclaim your focus, your freedom and your personal power. On worlds settled in Light and Life worship is as common as breathing or eating. It is not a chore to be dreaded, no. It is a connection to divine energy and solutions for living.

In this mortal life pain is inevitable, but you do possess the tools to become better by pain, not embittered. The good practice of worship dissects pain into pearls of wisdom. Through the practice of worship refocus' you on the values and meanings you need for new growth. A few questions.

CALVIN: We welcome our new guests this evening, Adam and Jackie. Pertaining to the lesson, Abraham, would our relationship-attachments be in the same category as material attachments? 

ABRAHAM: That is quite possibly dangerous territory right now. First of all, welcome to you, our new visitors. Yes, my son, you can include various relationships in with material attachments. There are indeed lessons to be learned from one another, and it is through interaction that you learn the most about who you really are. Even an abused child will cling to its source of abuse, because that is all he has known, that is his pattern, that is what he has become accustomed to. It would take a mighty upset to sever this bond to create new ones. This is difficult to speak on, for I had my own attachment to Sarah that proved to be seemingly all for nothing, except for the fact that I had learned all my worry and focus went towards her and I lost not only Father, but myself. In the practice of worship you can rally your focus back to a healthy standpoint, and know that all unhealthy attachment brings with it more pain than joy. Yes, a good question.

ANGIE: My daughter turned three today and lately she has been with my parents and she wants to pray the way my parents do the more formal set prayer. We don't want to teach her that, but what would you recommend?

ABRAHAM: Certainly. The traditional way of prayer is not really so harmful as it just loses meaning with time. The best way to teach a child to pray is to show her she can talk to Father just like she can talk to you, just as she can talk to a friend, a beloved companion, that Father is down on her level, in her heart--not on a great throne in the sky. Children of today have many role models, but the best role models are those that have a role that a child can have hope of attaining. You must make God reachable to the child.

BOB: Abraham, I just recently came back from a visit with my daughter in Florida. We attended a worship service and one of the things that takes place was a little puzzling to me. It was the situation where people are saying they are experiencing the Holy Spirit, collapsing to the floor. While standing there in the church I am sure everyone wanted me to experience that, and of course if that is something I need to experience, I would like to. If you could help me with a little understanding about that I would appreciate it.

ABRAHAM: Certainly. The religions down through the years have tried to make faith something you can see with your eyes. Just knowing through experience and spiritual practice was not satisfactory and special practices were developed, special signs, symbols, rituals. This is nothing more than an outward show of attempting to gain an inward feeling. It is not so much harmful, no, and everyone will receive out it their measure of faith that they put into it. Those that believe in that practice--it is real for them, but by far the long way to the Holy Spirit. This is acceptable, but hopefully with time each of us can learn that worship is not about manipulating yourself into Father's good graces or receiving gifts from the Holy Spirit because of your technique and ritualistic operations--but that we can know God is here without fanfare, without emotionalism, without drama. He is our Father and we are His children. It is that simple. You are a good Father, Harrison, for your way you remain open to your daughters, and yet find small openings to slip bits of wisdom to them. Well done.

With that I will take my leave. Know that if I had any more love for you each you would most certainly become an attachment, but nevertheless I love you each dearly. Until next week, shalom.

END