A.R.E. Meeting for 10/5/20

Leader: Sylvia

Early on in our meeting of seven Jesus seeking searchers this week past, it was said; paraphrasing Cayce, ....a group of people with many different ideas but one Ideal can achieve oneness. That’s how our meeting ended: With three suggestions for an experiment, but no decision on “one experiment.” Swept offline suddenly, we went electronically out of Zoom before discussion was complete.

Opening prayer, then leader read The ARE Vision/Ideal: “Global manifestation of Oneness, and the Love of God and All People.”

ARE Mission Statement: “To create opportunities for profound personal change in body, mind, and spirit through the wisdom found in the Edgar Cayce material”.

It was stated when suggested for consideration, “This proposed protocol would represent the ARE and ASFG material with the DIVINE INTEGRITY from which they were created.” “...If practiced, ASFG meetings could have wider and deeper focus on the quality of internal spiritual work and growth of attending members.”

ARE’s Vision/Ideal & Mission Statement were read aloud for the purpose of inquiring. Leader suggested we ask ourselves this month: How does this affect me? Reaction? Did Group members realize enhanced or greater focus on the quality of inner spiritual work & resulting personal growth?

The realization later came to me, “I quickly dismissed it with no serious thought. Our group itself wasn’t present, though individual members were. Avoiding the discomfort of any change at any cost of personal discomfort for me may not be what’s best for everyone in group.” So that’s why I’m suggesting we questioningly experiment this month.

We had our group meditation, too, and reported results of “...taking Jesus with us this week”. Five of seven appreciated Jesus, whereas two invited him along just to cooperate with our experiment. One’s trying week of challenges came with gratitude “Jesus was there with me” when really needed; and gratitude for a negative family member's Covid-19 test result!!!

Another saw Jesus back here among us today doing his work. Only this time He was doing healings on television, as he had done before—with same the polar opposite embracing acceptance or skeptical disbelief in his healings of people, and identical scorn and ridicule.

One seeker wanted to know and investigated why “Uncle Tom” had become an all time name-calling label judging someone as “weak”: “Oh, you are just an “Uncle Tom.” Untrue according to the read of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin." Words in this story painted a picture of anything but weakness. Turns out, Uncle Tom was a “Christ-like man” advocating for love and behaving and living as Jesus had done. He forgave his all his owners and their mean, mistreatment of him.

Someone else recognized Jesus in the actions of President Trump. Just as Jesus threw the money changers out of the Temple, our President has been as busy throwing out the undesirable and cleaning up our country.

“See Christ in All,” softly spoke the still, small voice accompanied by an inner vision of white light of blinding brilliance, in meditation some years ago. This directive came in response to the intention to find out “how to bring Peace on Earth.” The previous reports above triggered this unspoken treasured memory of your typist. 

One appreciated a delayed wedding anniversary trip and celebration despite Covid-19's Safer at Home. Appreciating Jesus also came with an insight about highly charged, potentially dangerous, risky topics of conversation, “I don’t have to take the bait to get in a conversation when I don’t want to be in.  

Of the two present without a current personal relationship with Jesus, one did realize an unidentified block now, in contrast to a joyous secure dependence and closeness to Jesus in childhood. A possibility for its removal. Put another way—awareness of a need to know self. But a week didn’t rekindle that intimate trust in the Jesus of their childhood.

We finished reading about Jesus who became the Christ and began the final Chapter, “Knowing Thyself.” Considering the implications of reincarnation and living lifetime after lifetime, the magnitude of spiritual work to attain “at-one-ment" or Oneness is vastly hard work.

Knowing the self is made more difficult by control of habits, addictions, compulsions. Additionally the powers of thoughts, fears, prejudices of others over us, do not allow us as ourselves to become wholly who we really are.

There is a oneness of all Force, stated in scripture, “Know Oh, Israel, The Lord Thy God is One.” We are asked "... to Love the Lord Thy God, with all thy heart, all thy mind, all thy Soul, and thy neighbor as thyself."

In experiences shared on getting to know oneself, a participant had used astrology, prayer, and free will to manage strengths and overcome personal weaknesses. This led to self acceptance by facing self, and sidestepping commonly used defenses of rejection or projection of ones weaknesses.

Another had worked previously at knowing self thru meditating on self for months. Seeing past mistakes became transformational with the realization that given the opportunity, “I would not make that same mistake again.”

EXPERIMENT:

With none chosen, can we in the “Oneness of our spiritual ideal, choose one of several ideas suggested to experiment? As Cayce said, ” ...it's possible to attain oneness among many people of different ideas with “one Ideal.”

In July we chose “Oneness” as a spiritual study group ideal. Which choice below might best led us individually to know ourselves better?

1. Practice “loving God with all our hearts, minds, and souls, and our neighbor as ourselves?”

2. Could we do something kind for someone this week that is out of the ordinary?

3. Learning to know ourselves from meditating upon self revelations found in the Akashic records? (Get answer to question about self this way)

Can we maintain our “Oneness” ideal experimentally if we are experimenting in different ways in knowing Self?

In Oneness,

Sylvia Raye