A.R.E. Meeting for 6/21/21

Leader: Greg

ARE Ideal/Goal: 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.

ASFG Monday Night Study Group Ideal: Oneness

Action:  Affirm daily our oneness with each other.

Lesson VII Patience, section-- "Means Through Which Patience Is Gained"

Experiment:  pg. 79.

     At the end of the day, write down one experience from the day which, at the time it happened, was CONFUSING, FRUSTRATING or DIFFICULT for you to deal with. Then have a moment of quiet to center yourself and get in touch with your REAL SELF. Listen for an answer as to the purpose for your having that particular situation arise. Write down your understanding of that purpose. 

Example:  

situation: I ran out of money at the store. I had to borrow money from a friend and I was somewhat embarrassed.

purpose: I needed to remember that I needed the love and help of others and they need mine. 

At midsummer, just slightly past Summer Solstice (the single day of the year  holding an extra 5 hours, 38 minutes daylight in Colorado, as compared to sun lit hours of the December solstice) five serious seekers of knowledge on developing a personal relationship to the Divine Sweet Spirit, the all knowing, everywhere present, omnipotent Creative Forces, zoomed into a sacred space and read about, reported on, and discussed how one develops patience. A virtue also referenced as a fruit of the spirit, patience is so necessary for our spiritual growth.

A constant, prayerful attitude toward living purposefully leads to patience: in frequent, deep introspection, we may forget ourselves, awaken our inner selves to be in perfect attunement with our Ideal, so that our soul's expression is beauty--love expressed in our every word and act. Breath by breath, step by step, issue by issue, and in every test of patience that we ourselves created with our thoughts earlier, we must stay on guard, maintaining awareness of his promise--there is no need to fear, no risk of failure or an angry response because--God's strength adequately protects us from the slip-ups of "our selfish temptations to just let them have it."

Quite a lively discussion ensued when the groups ears heard the lesson being read aloud:  Corruption must be burned up, it may not inherit eternal life; every one the Lord loves is purged and scolded, is tested and tried; trials overcome in patience with the strength provided while attuned to Ideals and Universal Forces increases expansively a soul's capacity to express even more patience in the next test.

Discussion was something like this: "God is not a punishing God." God does not express vengeance. God doesn't test us for patience, to develop patience in a soul.

"No, we do that ourselves." (Whatever we cast upon the waters of Spirit returns to us, did He say, tenfold?)

Understanding the purpose underlying events we meet in our material world is a 3rd aspect awakened by our active patience practiced in attunement with the I AM from Creative Forces. Cayce's reading 581- 2 reminded us we are actively patient in simpleness, gentleness, humbleness, faithfulness, and long-suffering.

Selfishness, grudges, anger, separate us from our Higher Self, the I AM, our Comforter, our source of strength to overcome each trial in active patience. So growing our patience in meeting self-created challenges while maintaining our connection to our Higher Self also reveals to us the reason we experience the events we do as well as Universal Laws. 

We must continuously analyze self and know our motives and  the purpose  for which we incarnated in this life. From this position, Cayce told Ms. 1336-1, living in the fruits of the spirit, long-suffering, patience, mercy, brotherly love, kindness, gentleness in her daily experiences with others makes life worthwhile

Last Week's Experiment:  No one complained they lacked an opportunity to actively live the Fruits of the Spirit, i.e., long suffering. Being awakened quite late at night and kept awake for hours again this year by the loud muffler and revved-up motorcycle racing up and down the street was at the top of the most trying tests of length. Hours of late night wide awake noise is a high leap to see as "actually in the past."

Another member resolved her patience trying situation spiritually by asking her guide for help. Three home improvement projects for new air conditioning, upgraded  lawn sprinklers, and painting involving bids from contractors was a good test of another person's patience. There was a happy outcome for one whose test of patience involved different perspectives between two employees at work. And lastly, another caught self overdoing and needing to recommit to preciseness twice, and times of allowing thoughts of "limited time" to create separation as well, and then later, re-centering self.

In Loving Oneness,

Sylvia Raye