The 5756 Readings

Posted on Facebook by Samoa Lualima

Part Two: Spirit as the Creative Source of All Life

As the 5756 series develops, it moves beyond communication with departed souls and asks a much greater question: What is Spirit itself? Reading 5756-10 says that the subject must be approached from its beginning: “How did the influence known as Spirit move upon the various matters that came into existence?” (5756-10). This question changes the direction of the series. Spirit is no longer considered only in relation to death. It is presented as the creative influence behind all matter, life, consciousness, and existence.

The readings teach that Spirit is not one force among many. Spirit is the source of every force. The same divine influence operates through the sun, the planets, the elements, living cells, human beings, and the soul. Reading 5756-10 explains that the proper understanding of Spirit must apply both to “the gaseous forces that constitute the Sun” and to “the single cell” in the waters of the earth (5756-10). Nothing is completely outside the activity of Spirit.

Reading 5756-11 describes matter being acted upon by “the Spirit of God.” Through this divine movement, matter began to share in the force and purpose assigned to it by the Creator. The reading concludes, “Hence we see all become impregnated with the spirit of the Creator; hence are of the one source or power” (5756-11). Creation is therefore not spiritually empty. Every part of creation carries something of the life, energy, and order of its Source.

This does not mean that a stone, plant, animal, and human being possess the same degree of consciousness. It means that the one creative power works through all levels of existence. Spirit expresses itself differently according to the form through which it operates. Just as electricity may produce light, heat, sound, or movement through different instruments, the one Spirit may produce different forms of life and awareness.

Reading 5756-4 uses a similar illustration. It compares spiritual force to the power coming from a central powerhouse and lighting many individual lamps. Each lamp has its own connection, form, and capacity, but the energy comes from the same source. “Each apply, manifest, according to that as is builded in the individual,” the reading explains (5756-4). Each soul expresses the one spiritual power according to what it has developed.

The soul is therefore both individual and connected to the whole. We remain responsible for our choices, yet our life comes from the same divine Source as every other soul. Spiritual growth is the process through which the individual gradually becomes conscious of this unity. The reading describes development as continuing “until each is made one in the Great Whole—the Creative Energy of the Universal Forces” (5756-4). This oneness does not necessarily mean the destruction of individuality. It means that the soul brings its will, purpose, and desire into harmony with God.

According to the readings, the central spiritual problem began when souls turned away from this harmony. Reading 5756-11 speaks of spirits that “rebelled against that law of love” and “turned in self upon self,” separating themselves from their first companionship with God (5756-11). This is a powerful description of selfishness. Separation begins when the soul uses spiritual power only for itself rather than in harmony with divine love.

Matter then becomes part of the soul’s opportunity to return. Physical life allows the soul to experience the results of its choices and to change its direction. It can become trapped in selfish desire, or it can use the material world as a place of learning, service, love, patience, and cooperation. The entry of spirit into matter could therefore produce both good and bad, depending upon how each soul applied the influences around it (5756-11).

The purpose of life is not to reject the material world as evil. It is to spiritualize our use of it. Money, possessions, relationships, work, knowledge, and physical abilities may all serve selfish desire or divine purpose. The important question is whether we worship the created thing or recognize the Spirit that gives it life.

The reading illustrates this through the worship of the sun. Some people worshipped what the sun produced instead of worshipping “that which produced the sun” (5756-11). The reading says, “There’s a difference!” (5756-11). The visible result should lead us toward the invisible Source, but human beings often become absorbed in the result and forget the Creator.

This distinction is used to explain Spiritism and Spiritualism in the special language of this reading. “Spiritism” is described as that which “acknowledges, that acts, that comprehends, the source of the activity,” while “Spiritualism” is described as that which understands “only the result, than the source” (5756-11). Whatever terms we use today, the central lesson is clear: spiritual phenomena are not the final goal. The soul should seek the divine Source behind them.

This is why the 5756 readings should not be understood mainly as instructions for contacting the dead. Their greater purpose is to teach us how Spirit operates through life. Psychic experiences, visions, voices, and communications are secondary. They are results or signs. The most important question is whether they help the soul become more loving, truthful, unselfish, and aware of God.

Thought has an important part in this spiritual process. The readings teach that “thoughts are things and may be miracles or crimes” (5756-8). Thought is not presented as something powerless or private. Thoughts help form character, influence other people, strengthen movements, and build the soul’s future condition. Reading 5756-9 explains that an idea may continue gathering strength even after its human leader has passed from physical life. Souls who share that idea may add their influence to its momentum.

This gives every person a serious responsibility. Our thoughts contribute either to constructive or destructive forces in the world. A thought of love, hope, forgiveness, courage, or service may strengthen those qualities in others. A thought of hatred, fear, revenge, or selfishness may strengthen the opposite forces. Spirit supplies life and power, but the individual chooses how that power will be directed.

The 5756 readings therefore connect true spirituality with daily conduct. Reading 5756-12 gives a brief but meaningful statement: “Mental man, spirit man, is the sum of that he does in the light of the Lamb” (5756-12). We are not made spiritual merely by what we claim to believe or by the unusual experiences we have. Our spiritual condition is revealed through what we do in the light of divine love.

The final emphasis is upon constructive living. Reading 5756-14 says that a person becomes more spiritually minded by dwelling upon “those things that build for CONSTRUCTIVE forces in the experience of others” (5756-14). This is Spirit made practical. We draw nearer to God when we become a source of encouragement, healing, patience, understanding, and hope in the lives of others.

The 5756 readings are therefore deeply focused on Spirit. They begin with the survival and communication of the soul, but they lead to a much larger teaching. Spirit is the one divine life behind creation. The soul is an individual expression of that life, developing through thought, desire, choice, and action. Matter is the field in which the soul learns to use spiritual power. Death changes the form of life but does not end it. Love continues beyond the grave, and every soul is ultimately being called away from selfish separation and back into conscious unity with its Creator.

The most important message is not that we can communicate with another world. It is that Spirit is already present in this world, within life, within the soul, and within every opportunity to love and serve. The spiritual path is to recognise that Source and allow it to become visible through the way we live.