Observation of the outworking of life in the
world proves that a conscious understanding
of the One Law is not absolutely essential to a reasonable degree of
happiness in the successful living of life.
There are many homes where harmony proves that
love reigns. In such cases the individuals unconsciously or naturally harmonize
with the One Law to a high degree.
The individuals who begin to have a conscious
understanding of the One Law are very much
inclined to make the same mistake that is natural to students in high school.
They begin to think that they know more
than they do. When such a mistake is made by individuals
who carry responsibility in life the results very often are either tragic
or border on the tragic. As Emissaries
we must remember that we not only have the responsibilities that
are natural to our positions in life, in the home, in the social structure
or in the business world, but we also
have the responsibility natural to our position in the Third Sacred
School, and in that position we are supposed to be examples for others. We
are
supposed to be letting our light shine. We are supposed
to be channels through whom that
which is of the Christ kingdom can come into manifestation here and now. In
recognition of this it is well for each one
to examine himself and his own record. If that which
is found through honest and forthright examination is not altogether pleasing
we have that much greater reason to
carefully examine the fundamental principles that are involved
in the life that we live, and we have that much greater impetus in dedicating
ourselves anew to the successful expression
of that which is of divine origin.
In consideration of the negative phase of
the One Law our first point of recognition must
be that the most important, the most vital, immediate application of that
Law, whether to man or to woman, relates
to the individual response to the Father within. For instance
if a man seeks to be positive before he is properly negative to the Lord his
so- called positive expression will
be a manifestation that is of human origin, carrying the fruit of
human deficiencies; therefore a true positive expression in the realm of human
activity must result from a true negative
response to the divine source. It is only as the positive
expression in life springs from the Father within through
the properly negative human being
that there is a manifestation toward which there can be any true negative
response. If there is to be a true and
effective negative response on the part of the feminine phase of the
human family there must be something in active expression through the masculine
phase to which that negative response can become
attuned. You may have the best radio that
is available but unless there is a broadcasting station it is of little value.
The radio receiving set cannot pick
up and express beautiful music unless it is first broadcast from the
positive sending station.
It is recognized of course that the positive
expression of life manifests through both men
and women in the ideal outworking of reality. No one is to assume that the
positive expression is limited to man
alone. Actually, from the standpoint of marriage, where two individuals
have been drawn together in divine attunement they two are one, and being
one flesh or one being, that is, the two halves
of one whole, their expression into life is a unified
manifestation that springs from the whole. In this connection we see widely
evident the same failure of comprehension and
understanding with which we have dealt extensively
in connection with the relationship of the individual to his own Lord. As
long
as the human being functions separately from the Father
within the results of his function are
inadequate. As long as there is a division between the human being and the
divine being there can be no ideal expression
of life through the individual. It is only when the human
being so responds that the outer and the inner can begin to function and manifest
as one unit that the true satisfaction
in life can be experienced. Considering this same principle,
then, in relationship to marriage we see at once that as long as there is
a separateness or a division between
the two phases of the one being the ideal expression of life
in the marital sense is impossible. It is only as the two halves become blended
into one unit, so that actually, in
a practical sense and not in theory only, they two are one, that the
true beauty of life and experience in the life
of a man and a woman together can be realized.
It is obvious, as we examine these principles,
that the positive phase of the unit which has
to try to be positive is not expressing anything that is truly positive, and
the negative phase of the unit which
has to try arbitrarily to be negative is not expressing that which is
natural to negative response. The important
thing, then, is for each one to remember that he
must be natural; he must be himself and not try to be an imaginary expression
of himself. In the natural expression
of individual character and nature that which is lovely, noble
and true needs to be cultivated and encouraged in development.To
the degree that the attention is focalized on the ill things, with attitudes
of condemnation present, it is the ill
things which are caused to grow, and in the eyes of the individuals
involved they seem to be greater than they actually are.
That which an individual arbitrarily assumes
in position and expression is never natural, for
that which is a natural expression appears of its own nature, being a true
and consistent expression that is characteristic
of the individual. All of this makes it evident that each one,
whether married or single, should give first consideration to the point of
his own individual attunement in reality,
in the assurance that to the degree that he or she permits the
true manifestation of the divine from within to appear, by reason of proper
negative response to the Lord, each
one will be drawn, step by step, in due season into the experiences
and expressions of relationship which are in harmony with the outworking of
the cosmic plan. Only thus can the individual hope to
experience enduring satisfaction in the
process of living.
The original point of the fall of man was
reached when man tried, of his own volition and
in his own strength, to be as God. Human beings tried to arbitrarily assume,
according to arbitrary concepts, the position
and nature and expression of the divine without
being attuned to the divine. Those who ponder carefully this basic truth will
readily see how it relates to every phase of
life, and particularly the manner in which it relates
to the proper expression of life through those who are attuned in marriage.
When human beings attempted to be that
which they were not, they failed and brought upon
themselves all the miseries that have been experienced
in this old world. In this you will begin
to have a deeper realization of the reason for the repeated emphasis that
is given to the point of naturalness
in individual expression. Being natural does not mean that the individual
should feel free to give way to the destructive impulses that spring from
the human expression, for such things
are not natural to those who are attuned to the divine. The
evil tendencies in human beings spring from the unnatural fallen state. Naturalness,
then, involves a willingness to let the divine
expression that springs from within produce in season
a natural recognition of itself; for that which springs naturally from the
Lord finds no need to arbitrarily demand
recognition of itself. This being true, it follows that attitudes
on the part of the individual, in any circumstance of life, and particularly
in relationship to married couples,
which are constantly demanding recognition from others in
an arbitrary sense do not spring from the true source. Therefore when such
attitudes are present for instance on
the part of the man, it indicates that there is no true or natural
expression of the positive current which would
naturally engender true negative response; or
on the other hand, if the woman is constantly demanding recognition of supposed
negative response, then that attitude in itself
provides evidence that the expression is not
natural to the true source. Negative response to be
effective, whether from the individual to
his Lord or from the standpoint of the wife in the marital union, must spring
from the current of love which must
be actually flowing through the individuals involved, and its natural
expression produces that which is conducive to serenity and to the happy
assurance that, gradually perhaps but nevertheless
surely, the outworking of events will reveal
the fruit of true coordination. Since this is the case, every individual,
whether man or woman, recognizes properly
that no one can predetermine the exact point of fruition or
harvest as the result of any given degree of harmonization
under the One Law. This means
that the wife in the marital relationship, for instance, does not arbitrarily
expect the full and perfect fruitage
of the true positive expression to arbitrarily appear in her husband
at any given point, and the husband does not
arbitrarily expect his wife to show forth the perfect
fruits of the ideal expression at any given point of time; but, rather, each
is considerate of the natural outworkings
in development in the other, and each lends encouragement,
in an atmosphere of assurance, to the other in a true companionship
which shares the experience of progress along
the Central Way. If they two are one, then each
should rejoice in the opportunity of sharing in the process of progressive
development together. If either party arbitrarily
expects the other to have already arrived then
that very attitude is a rejection of the opportunities of companionship, of
the opportunities of sharing the privileges
and responsibilities incidental to unified accomplishment
in the process of living life.
This same principle applies to each individual
in relationship to his own Lord. The Father
within does not arbitrarily demand that the individual shall suddenly permit
the full and adequate expression of
reality in the earth; for your Lord offers to share your experiences
as you move forward toward that ultimate oneness, and in that sharing the
human phase of the unit comes to have a vivid
realization of the privileges, opportunities and
responsibilities incidental to companionship in the divine sense. The Lord
is your companion whether you recognize
it or not, and as you become aware of His
companionship you abide in the peace of His presence.
This should open new realizations of
the possibilities inherent in the opportunity of life, but it should also
emphasize the fact that has already
been mentioned, and that is: a little knowledge is a dangerous thing when
the individual stops learning.
All of this should bring a vivid realization
that the process of gaining understanding of the
One Law is as limitless as life itself. As you move forward in letting harmonization
with and in the One Law produce the fruitage
of divine expression in your own life, you find
that a part of that fruitage appears as an understanding of others and as
a tolerance toward others, because you
recognize that they are in the process of attunement and advancement.
You should no more carry the attitude of arbitrarily requiring others to
function from the standpoint of perfection
than your Lord arbitrarily requires perfection of
you in this present instant. As you gain understanding of yourself so that
you can have
increased understanding of others, and as there is an
increased tolerance so that your attitudes
become less critical and you are more inclined to think on the things that
are lovely and pure and of good report,
you see the fulfilment of another phase in which the One
Law operates. If you respond to ill things you are drawn toward them. When
you select the things to which you give
your primary attention on the basis of responding to those
things which spring from the divine; you find in such things basic attunements
with the divine which permit an increased expression
of that which is natural to your own Lord,
so that it becomes natural to you.
