December 9, 2013

• The value and purpose of light

• Why souls share the experience of human life

• Humans progress because light is attracted to light

• How to truly embrace life

God radiates light in all directions for the benefit of everything, not merely everyone, but all that exists. We want to speak with you in more detail about light.

You pray for light. You pray that your paths are illuminated. You pray for clarity of purpose, clarity of vision, clarity of direction, clarity of relationships, clarity of faith, clarity of action, of understanding, clarity of health. All these things are subject to your many prayers, for in truth this clarity that is the basis for all you pray for is essentially an openness to the Light. God’s presence for us is light. Your presence to us is light. But we want to direct your thoughts toward the light that comes from within and the light that comes from those who surround you.

The light within is a response to the light on the outside. The light within is actually the response of your spirits to all that surrounds them. When you receive the love we have spoken of, the light within is intensified, and the energy of that light is an energy of warmth, an energy that is directed outward, an energy that gives, and an energy that in itself opens shutters. But that energy from within is fueled by what happens around you.

Your soul shares in the experience of human life, not for the purpose of exerting it own influence, but rather for what it can gain in nourishment from what comes from the outside of its existence. In other words, your soul shares your life because of what it learns from your interactions, not for the purpose of telling each of you what’s to be done.

We see you through the light of your soul, your spirit. We are aware of life’s impact on you, but your true light is the light of your own spirit center. As you reach out, as you become open to life around you, your inner light, your spirit, is warmed and nourished and flourishes. It is that growth that is the purpose of its sharing your own human journey.

You’re all aware of the presence of your spirit center. You’re all aware of the connection of the spirit center to the God that is. It is too easy to step away from what you can teach your own soul and to regard life as just being directed from that soul. The soul is what is permanent. The soul is the pure essence of who you are, but the soul’s purpose is to grow and be strengthened so that it may become an even greater part of All That Is. That inner light, therefore, is given energy from your own interaction with life around you.

There are many levels to spiritual growth. The human level is only one of countless others, but the human level is characterized by its growth through human interaction. The most effective way of nurturing your soul is through your awareness of the spiritual presence of all that you encounter, human or otherwise. It is easier for you to feel in sympathy with other human beings than it is to find a bond with what you refer to as an inanimate object. Humans and nonhumans are of equal value, but the fact that other human beings contain the same inner light is easier and more immediate to grasp, to hold onto, and to build with.

How does this opening of the shutters to others function from the perspective of light? Just as you have an inner light, others have an equal light of different colors but equal beauty. Being open to the light of others first means being aware of the light that is within another. You are constantly being asked not to judge because in being judgmental you close your own shutters to the light in another human being. Denying judgment and encountering another with open arms in spirit is a kind of welcoming that you offer to another light.

Being open to that light means being open to how that light is manifested in the life of another. Sometimes that light reflects great pain or great anxiety. Being aware by listening, being aware of simply being present is an affirmation of that light. It is an allowing of that light to shine through your own windows.

You cannot proceed on your path with blinders on your own vision of that path. You move forward on your path because you are drawn to move forward, but that is not a route that is downhill and therefore of little challenge. The path has its own challenge, and when it is steeply rising, you are still drawn forward.

Why is it that you move forward on your path at all times, sometimes faster, sometimes slower, but never in reverse? It is because light is attracted to light. You move forward because your light is being drawn toward another light. There is a connection, light to light, for light contains energy even when that light may reflect sadness or worry or anxiety. When you are open to the light of whatever color, the natural response is to move toward it. Your vision in spirit is always forward. You never truly look back in spirit. What is past on your path is past. You cannot be somehow restricted because of the past, for there is no past. It is all now, and the movement of light draws you forward. It keeps you in the now. It does not pull you into what you perceive to be the past.

As your vision is clarified, you become more aware of the light ahead of you. That is the light that illuminates your way. It is not a light that comes from your back.

You pray always for vision. You pray to be guided toward where the next step is to be taken. But that light is not a light from behind or immediately above. The illumination of your path is always in front, and just as you move toward the light when you are in a dark forest, of which we have spoken, you are equally pulled to move forward. Your path, the way, is always the way forward.

The source of that light is not some kind of figurative light coming from the heavens, from God. It is truly the light created by All That Is, everything, every human being, all that represents what it is you truly seek: peace, a sense of justice, compassion, love. These are all contained in the lights of those around you.

There is therefore only one response to life around you, and that is a true embrace. The embrace is never offered from side to side. An embrace is a surrounding of another. Embracing life is encompassing life. Embracing a neighbor is encompassing, is surrounding a neighbor. This embrace is a spiritual embrace that accepts, welcomes all that another is, not just what you perceive to be appropriate or what you perceive to be deserving, but fully embracing another. When you fully embrace another, there is no distance between your light and the light of another. The lights are combined. Both burn more brightly with greater colors and an energy that serves to illuminate both paths.

Love is really the full embrace of something that is seemingly beyond yourselves. You may experience that love as directed toward thoughts, ideas, concepts, a commitment to being open. There are many ways of combining your lights. But when those spirit shutters that are a part of human life are partly closed, you are unable to fully welcome the light that is actually embracing you. Your relationships to life must acknowledge the mutual benefit that is achieved through the sharing of light. It is that light that you welcome into your own life that serves in part to illuminate and provide spirit energy to your own souls.

Human life is life to be shared. It is not to be experienced in total isolation. Your souls, your spirits, flourish. They are nurtured by that light that you allow to shine inward. Allowing your spiritual shutters to be open requires a kind of personal vulnerability. You cannot be fully receptive of light around you if your human lives are characterized as defensive or fearful, for such an approach essentially puts a filter between you and all that surrounds you, effectively reducing the energy of that light, that nourishment for your own spirit.

If you could see human life as we see human life, you would be astounded at the colors. You would be astounded at the energy. You would be astounded at the brilliance that is present. It is not an exaggeration when we characterize your spiritual energy as this intense and colorful light. We see all forms of light, but the light we see is not one of physical characteristics. It is one of spiritual presence.

We are always aware of those moments when your windows are clouded over. We’re aware of what it means to be discouraged, to be fearful, to be filled with anxiety, filled with doubt, for the condition of that window is always in flux. Our purpose in your lives is to help you to renew a commitment to keeping that space open to receive that light, for that light that belongs to all of creation is in truth God’s Light, and by welcoming and acknowledging the lights around you, you are welcoming and acknowledging God’s Light. When you close off the light of the one next to you, you are closing off a portion of God’s Light.

Your search for peace and health and balance is really a search for the light that is and not for the light that may be. You are in the light. You are shaped by the light. You are nurtured by the light. Rejoice and allow that light to wash through each of you!

Amen.