Nuevo Arenal, Costa Rica
Teachers: Alana, Legion, Devina

Change,

Welcoming Change with Love,

Joy of Practice

T/R : S. Butterfield

January 20, 2001

Group opened with a thanks giving to the teachers, a service of music picked out by Sandy to which we listened as in the stillness practice. A bit of the conversation after this service was caught on the tape:

David :We are on a walk together. We have reached a level where we are so committed to this path that we don¹t feel ashamed taking our pants down, once in awhile, saying "This is how I stumbled this week, etc." I am also saying thank you to our teachers for their watch care over us. I am very thankful for this experience today, including the worship service, the thanks giving service you brought to us, Sandy. I really appreciate that. Shall we go into the stillness practice now?

Group stillness practice.

David : I would like to put E in the heart room and send him our love.

Alana : Yes, this is Alana.

David : Welcome.

Alana : Every human being goes through change. Yes? Although the outward appearances might convince one that each change is unique, uniquely different, uniquely frightening, uniquely wonderful, it is the element of change which is the same for all. We have spoken about the discipline of love, including the discipline of the tongue, the management of the emotions, the mastery of the mind and your thoughts, for it is these disciplines that allow the human being to enter into change increasingly with an attitude of welcome, a perspective of love, and the ability to understand you are not alone. All human beings undergo change, experience fear and doubt as a human response to entering into change. Yet all human beings have within them the capacity to reach deep within where they discover the power of love to comfort and to guide, and to allow change of any kind to become the pathway to God.

Each of you is proceeding, I might say progressing, into change. Sometimes with certainty of the joyful outcome. Sometimes with a certainty of uncertainty of the joyful outcome. Always you notice the shadows of fear and doubt available should you wish to explore them. All of you aware of the opportunity to go through change with guilt or shame. So, I shall speak to you once again about the power of love to bless change with joy.

Each of you likes your story. Stories have been the past-time of human beings upon your planet, Urantia, as a means of incorporating change with humor, or dread, or warnings, or prophecies, but, of course, your favorite story is your own, be that as an individual, or as a group, a nation, a religion. As you think of the story of Alana coming to speak to you, slowly you begin to comprehend that the greatest story, the most beautiful story, the story packed with goodness, you might say, the true story is now and ever shall be the story of love. The key to understanding is to look for the story line, the stage props, of love. Love leads the way. Love leads the way to understanding. Love leads the way to truth. Love leads the way to the embrace of our Mother, and to that love that embraces all love, that love that feeds the stream of all love, the love that permeates creation, our Father¹s love for you.

When you stand alone, turn to our Father-Mother¹s love. When you stand joined with others, turn to our Father-Mother¹s love. That love is in every chapter of change, every sentence, every word. Allow love to inform you, to be your story teller, to be your magnificent work of art that is your life upon your planet.

Do not fear your fear, embrace it. Do not hide your doubt, reveal it. Love fears no truth. Love can take a limited truth, embrace it, hold it, you might say within the arms of the heart room, and change it. Change it into the truth of love.

So, are we gathered here together

Oliver : I feel connected to each and every one here, and to you.

Alana : Yes. We are here, as are you, to allow the communion of love to bring forth the communion of understanding; to create the change of the communication of love among you and beyond you. Yes? Is there anyone with a story to tell? Briefly, I might add. A story that you would change with love?

David : Hmmm, that¹s a challenging one.

Sandy : Before you started to speak, Alana, I had this image in my mind, sometimes that happens, I get thoughts that I really don¹t think are originating from me. This one was that outside our limitations of space and time that love is actually almost like a physical thing, and it is accumulative. And at the moment this image came into my mind, I began to see how it would work that our tapping into love could make some significant change, here, on this planet. But it is not like a momentary feeling, but that every time we tap into it we are adding to the body of love, the totality on the planet and elsewhere. That is a very encouraging thought. That is not necessarily the story you were looking for, but it is something that I was feeling, and I was feeling so hopeful and peaceful with that idea. Thank you.

David : If I may tailgate on that, Sandy, while you were speaking your revelation, the thought occurred to me that not only that hope justified as hope, but it has manifested already in the changes of love that have taken place in this group. This group has been through some difficult times, and what I am saying is that I have begun to have an appreciation of the power that we are dealing with for change, and the changes in our own lives. I like to tell the story of the teachers, this is a little off your instruction, Alana, of a story that I would like to change with love, but it came to me, before you said that, that the story of the teachers is a wonderful story. I have an immense amount of pleasure at the amount of joy and ease that is being expressed in this group today. And my story line is to commend you teachers for work well done. Thank you, kindly.

Alana : Thank you. Yes, the story you tell, beloved Sandy, is one in which you have recognized accurately the power for peace and comfort to be brought to the planet by those who choose to open their hearts and their minds and allow the story line of love to be true. That every step you take to granting the truth of the reality of love, empowers you, as you say, to add to the body of love, as you said, let us say, to add to the knowing of love, the knowledge of love, the experience of love, the living of love upon the planet. And so, you experience peace and calm, this too contributing to the body of love, the knowing of love upon your planet, for love spreads peace wherever love is allowed.

And so, as your beloved Sir Boisterous has said, each of you has experienced your story changing as you continue to participate, to commit, to be devoted to Alana¹s story. Yes? And you are learning to embrace those old bug-a-boos, you might say, allowing those dark turns of fear and doubt, to become the opportunity to create a new sentence; not one of condemnation, but one of hope, faith, and trust in God¹s love for you as real and having the power to change all toward the fullest realization of love: love for yourself, for your beloveds, for your fellow human beings, for your planet.

Sandy : Thank you, Alana. I think I had the feeling too, when I had that image in my mind, that every loving thought expressed, every gratitude expressed, every divine joy expressed, that we are contributing to peace on earth. That gives me great joy.

Alana : Thank you.

Sandy : I am being impressed by the great work that we are about.

Alana : It is difficult to imagine the oceans being filled drop by drop by drop, but when you lend your imaginations to love, you give the mind the power to create loving change. Sometimes the pathway must clear out the flotsam and jetsam of your history, shall we say, for the clear living waters of love to flow. Again I say, do not fear the dark, allow love to bring light into the darkness and reveal truth-joy.

We, too, are pleased with the ease with which this group has welcomed change, smack dab into its midst, you might say, every single part shifted and shaped by love. And more to come. (laughter)

Sandy : Well it is hard to imagine being any happier than we are at this moment, Alana.

Oliver : More change to come, or more love to come? (Sandy : Both.) If there is more love to come, we can take the change.

David : I am intrigued with the idea of making these changes with joy. I would be very interested in more lessons on that. I would like to be able to make my changes with less pain, is another way of saying that. (laughter)

Alana : Yes. I will remind you at the very next opportunity. Remember joy. Remember love. Remember Alana¹s story: Love is here. Love awaits your turning to love. Love is real. Love accompanies you through every change.

D : Wonderful assurance.

Alana : It is not so much, my friend, that more love must come. It is, rather, there need be more turning to love. Yes?

Oliver : Yes, the Father¹s love is always present, always coming to us, and it is our alignment to it that needs to be adjusted.

Sandy : I forget who first came up with this metaphor, but all we have to do is remember to pick up the phone.

David : I find it a joy in my interior experience, Alana, to just remember you. You have made that phrase available to our consciousness, remember me, breathe me, and I practice that quite a bit. I find myself turning to you more and more during the day, during the night, and I thank you for whatever it is that makes me so attracted to you, and easy to love, and to find a source of such easy access immediately when I need it. Thank you.

Alana : Thank you. You are turning a corner, you might say. You are, as you have said, learning and practicing the discipline of turning to my love, turning to the heart room, when you need to restore the story line of love to the story you are creating. Yes? And, as you become more adept, shall we say, without putting you on a pedestal, as you become more at ease with this turning to me, if you will, turning to love for the next line, for the increased understanding, you are learning to love Alana in everyone you see. To love Alana, without learning to love your fellow companions on your planet with that same devotion, that same commitment to love, that same certainty, that same intention to love, would leave Alana¹s story lacking. For it is my love for you, and your love for me, that must create the change of more love upon your planet, among your fellow human beings. Do you understand me?

David : I am willing to say yes, I do. That the love we have for you and that you have for us has the power to change our interpersonal relationships and make us fulfill the commandment of the Master to love one another even as he loves us. That is my understanding.

Alana : Yes. Thank you. I want to express my gratitude, as you have expressed yours to me. It is with all humility of respect for love that I say, Thank you.

In a field of flowers, some with ten petals, some with three petals, the beauty of flowers radiates from each one. This bouquet that I hold within the embrace of my heart room today is beautiful, and I thank each one.

Legion would remind you, the practice is never done.

Sandy : He won¹t let us feel good for five minutes, will he!! (laughter) I¹m sorry, that was uncalled for. We were going around feeling self-congratulatory, of course he isn¹t going to let us get away with that. David : As Wallace Stevens reminds us in Sunday Morning, "does ripe fruit never fall in Paradise" in other words, we get bored with certain forms of perfection so we need to move on, Sandy, all right? (laughter)

Sandy : OK, thank you Legion, wherever you are.

 Legion : Well, I will take that personally (laughter). Thank you. Yes, there is a certain joy, is there not, in my never letting go,? Yes? From the shaking and the rattling and the nudging and the poking and the reminding. For practice is for practice. Yes? You have on your planet the idea that practice makes perfect. I would shake, rattle and roll that one around in your mind a bit, so that you may see the pure joy in practice, and not allow the idea of perfection to rob you of this joy by relegating all joy to the perfection, and failing to allow the joy of practice.

Sandy : Legion, I think we have all begun to enjoy the practice. We know that we are far from perfect, that there is no perfection that we can possibly attain as human creatures.

Legion : Then, my beloved, enjoy your change. Yes? And yes, the discipline of strengthening the body, and the discipline of mastering wrapping your tongues with love, and the discipline of the humility of respect for love, the discipline of listening, the discipline of turning toward love, the discipline of remembering love, all, and more I might say, contribute to the discipline of love, which is the discipline of joy. Do you like my D word? (laughter)

Sandy : We are getting used to it.