Malvantra070697ExpandingYourInfluence

Malvantra

EXPANDING YOUR INFLUENCE

July 6, 1997

Malvantra (Jonathan TR): I welcome you today at this regular Sunday visit. I am Malvantra. I have some words for you; they are that you have been often asked to be bold, to be courageous, to push yourselves beyond comfort, and we recognize your degree of willingness and reluctance, both from inexperience and uncertainty, as well as your deeper desire to be an effective minister for Michael.

 As you continue to develop your abilities to share the light as you come to see it, as you develop your abilities to voice the truths of the kingdom, it becomes evident that you have a small sphere of action, of effectiveness, limited by the range of your ability to be mobile physically and the extent to which you have circuits of communication, as well as the opportunities that surround you wherein receptivity exists for the expression of the wisdom you have gained. I offer a tool for you that will broaden your range. It is the simple word encouragement, for as you encourage your fellows, you instill motivation. Where timidity may restrain one, you foster the drive to be active in one of your friends. The result is that you have enlarged your serviceability to all on your world, for you have become supporters of one another. This is teamwork. The more encouraging you become, the more courageous you will become in your own efforts, for encouragement is contagious. Once received it is a pleasurable response to give such encouragement in return.

 It is to the point I desire to convey that encouragement need not be merely to uplift the feeling of.... I begin again. It is not to be directed solely to instill good feeling, but in reality to provide the courage to act. Though a pep rally is uplifting to the emotional well being, true encouragement actually promotes engagement. This is how you are able to enlarge your efforts as a missionary for Michael. Just as he developed through encouragement the abilities of his twelve, they extended, through their encouragement of the many disciples, into a far reaching ministry in an age when travel as you know it was much more limited. The master could not have accomplished what he did if all was on his shoulders and enacted solely by himself.

 You have expressed today the value of being enlisted with others in efforts that provide the motivation and momentum to accomplish your goals. Such direct involvement is quite beneficial. This Teaching Mission is designed to be as such. But where you reach the boundaries of your abilities, do realize the indirect avenue of encouragement, that even when you are unable to effect a change, you can effect the effect of change. And I do remind you that we teachers often utilize this method, for it is not in our range of tasks to be transforming this world, but lies in your lap. Thus do we often encourage you. 

 Since often self esteem and worth can hinder budding efforts particularly in arenas where you are feeling unskilled, inexperienced, encouragement is an invigorating factor. I encourage you to focus, when offering advice to one another, on positive encouragement rather than on negative discouragement. Steer the attention of your fellows toward a progressive approach, instead of advising against activities that appear in your view to be ineffective. This is because of the human tendency to downplay worth through the evaluation of ability. It is not incorrect to discourage wrong behavior, wrong in mistaken action. My emphasis is to steer you toward helping the worth of your fellows to accomplish a goal or an ideal. That comes through the positive form of encouragement.

 I thank you for the opportunity to express today, as Elyon is away. I am also desirous of hearing from you.

 Evelyn: You have hit on what we were talking about. I sometimes chuckle at the sessions we call head pats because you do so much encouraging. But we do need it and appreciate it. We can apply it by taking it out and encouraging others. I appreciate what you're saying.

 Malvantra: Thank you for your response, and I would give the feedback that we take delight in your humorous view of our encouragement, as you term, head pats. I simply ask you to go beyond the feeling of pleasure from our encouragement to the activation of the content of our encouragement. In a sense, as we pat your head, we expect it to move forward.

 Evelyn: Is there a particular line of action, a direction that you would like to point out to those of us here, present now?

 Malvantra: You have as a collective team been undergoing individual projects, individual focusses, in this past interval of time. It is my encouragement to you to schedule a meeting for as many as you can to exchange in a sense through an update what your efforts individually have been. When you as a group worked on specific projects collectively, you had the immediate benefit of encouragement all along the way. During this phase of smaller groupings and individual projects, this feedback has not been readily present. It would be good to provide an opportunity to powwow, to provide for each a greater sense of group support. Is this helpful?

 Evelyn: Very much so. I hoped that would be a feature of the conference, and it was to some extent. It's more practical for encouragement and to form some new teams to meet with just our local group. Projects we undertook not so long ago were largely successful because we interacted so frequently and with a larger number of us. Thank you.

 Malvantra: When I was assigned to this group, I came at the episodes of your service meetings. This is one of the reasons I was assigned at the time, because of the interactive functions you were undertaking as a group. These exchanges have brought many good outcomes. Some stated goals at the time were not accomplished but evolved into perhaps more appropriate functions. Others have been accomplished. Some still need to be worked out, for they are today as valuable as they were conceived to be then. This loose-knit structure was beneficial for it did not require that all present join in any specific function but could choose that which was enticing. And, for the many who did not require several people to be involved, the voicing of and feedback toward their desired end greatly increased the application of effort to achieve that goal.

 So, I encourage you to not formally assemble yourselves in a structure that must maintain itself, but to casually meet as an association of like-minded ministers. But, the specific meeting itself would benefit from the formality of focus, for such applied efforts will draw greater input out of each individual than would an itinerary that is only a social ex-change. Is this understood?

 Evelyn: Yes. If I understand correctly, you are suggesting we get together not so much to have a potluck and chitchat as to have a project report like the service meetings we used to have. Back then we would each mention projects we would like to start, things we were undertaking, invite others to join in on projects, and offer feedback.

 Malvantra: Today even you as a group have expressed several ideas toward such ends and even have offered to help another not present to develop that project. In such a meeting this expression could meet its receiving end quickly.

 Would there be more comments from you today?

 Evelyn: We have our assignment.

 Tom: We encourage you to carry on.

 Evelyn: Yes, we offer you encouragement.

 Malvantra: I do convey to you that it is thoroughly understood by us that you are wholly dedicated, and that your struggles and frustrations are not from shortcomings and failures but from the passion to be about the Father's business. When you are feeling this frustration, pause to take delight in the knowledge that it is driven from such a desire to do the Father's will. This way even difficulties can become a driving force toward accomplishment.

 I will take my leave, if you desire, and you can be assured of Elyon's return soon. He is presently tending to tasks beyond this group, even outside of this corrective effort. Due to such long term engagement as he has chosen, there has been deemed certain need for recreation. But you know that this staff present in this locality is quite extensive. All things function uninterrupted. Thank you and farewell.

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