A.R.E. Meeting for 10/4/21

Leader: Eric
 
With June attending, we had six special entities to finish the Cross and Crown chapter in the Experiments book.
 
Eric had two dreams he shared with the group. Afterwards, we had a long and satisfying meditation. We have many experiments to choose from this week:
 
Experiment 1: Meet each of your crosses as if your work were symbolic of all humanity’s attempt to deal with this specific type of difficulty. Record you experiences of working with this attitude in mind.
 
Experiment 2: Chose and write down an area of your life in which you feel burdened. List the ways you have to work to feel this way – the attitudes you have to work on holding, the behaviors you have to do to keep this feeling. Then select one item from your list and write a more constructive replacement attitude or behavior. Work each day for at least a week on expressing that replacement in this area of your life.
Example:
  Burdened by:  frequent arguments with Richard
  Attitudes and behaviors I work at:  (1) make an effort to recall past instances where I thought he was selfish (2) make an effort to feel resentful (3) make an effort to speak unkindly of him to others
  Replacement: begin to speak in a more positive way of him to others
 
Experiment 3: Meet your crosses with an attitude of humility. Do not defend yourself with retorts or argumentative statements, even if you feel you are right. Keep a record of situations in which you were able to bear a cross in this way.
 
Experiment 4: Look for joy in living. Express joy in dealing with others. Live with an attitude of enjoyment of being alive in this place and in this special time in man’s spiritual evolution.

A.R.E. Meeting for 9/27/21

Leader: Cindi
 
There were six seekers who finally reached the crown of the lesson. There was no shame in it taking so long. It is just who we are. Just let go and let God as John says.
 
We finished the chapter in the SFG book, and have the following experiment for the week.
 
Experiment: Select one area of your life in which you are suffering (physically, emotionally, or mentally). Write down the inner resources which might be available to you which would aid in overcoming this condition. Consider each day the possibility that you are suffering so that you will become obedient to the Christ’s awareness that these qualities are with you. Affirm each day in prayer and meditation that the needed inner resources are becoming available to you. 

A.R.E. Meeting for 9/20/21

Leader: Cindi
 
We continued to progress through this difficult Cross and Crown chapter, helped along by discussion points from the Step-by-Step book. The four of us read solely from the SFG book, starting with the second section “Why is it necessary to bear a cross…” and up to the section “Why do we, as individuals, necessarily bear much…”
 
Cindi asked us to choose one or more practices this week from the following six:

• Look for opportunities throughout the week to “bring spiritual harmony into physical vibration.” Each day make note of one example of how you were able to do this.
• Pretend you’re explaining this chapter to a non-Christian. Rather than focusing on the specifics of the Christian faith, try to specify two or three universal ideals that are demonstrated in the life and teachings of Jesus. Choose one of these ideals and try to express it daily for a week.
• Jesus accepted His cross and through that acceptance overcame it. Throughout the week, try to accept what happens to you as a way of moving toward the law of grace.
• The message Jesus proclaimed from the cross was “Forgive them.” Try to apply this ideal of forgiveness for one week, as you trust in the Spirit to give you strength. For one week choose the ideal of “long suffering,” which actually refers to patient and determined endurance. See if manifesting patience, both with yourself and with those around you, makes you more able to bear the stresses of your life.
• For one day truly practice all that you believe. If the opportunity arises to “preach” to someone else, try to do it through example rather than verbally.

A.R.E. Meeting for 9/13/21

 Leader: Cindi
 
After a late start (sorry to not have sent out the link beforehand), the same four devotees as last week met and listened to an audio clip on “The Cross and the Crown.” However, we cut it short because the quality was not too good. This was a night for discussion, beginning with experiments, and continuing with questions about whether only we contribute to our crosses, or can others create crosses for us.
 
We did not read from the SFG book, but we read one more experiment, and decided to keep the two from last week. So now there are three experiments you can work on.
 
Experiment 1:  Try the three-step approach described above (questions to ask that will lead us to freedom). Select and write down a situation in life in which you feel trapped. Determine and write down an illusory image of yourself or a misconception about life that may have created this situation. Finally, seek to understand and accept the reality or purposefulness that lies beneath this difficulty. Keep a record of your experiences which come from the acceptance of this cross.
Example:
   Situation: Having no friends
   Misconception: Having close friends mean that I will be burdened by responsibilities to them and it’s better to be without them.
   Purposefulness of situation: I am learning how much I really do want to have people that I care about and who care about me.
   Acceptance of this cross: I will not blame others for not having declared their friendship for me, but will work actively to be a friend to others.
 
Experiment 2: Select and write down one cross in your life. Then consider how the Master would take up that cross and move with it. How would He act out in materiality His acceptance of that situation? Write down your answers to this question. For at least a week try to live and act in a way He would towards this situation.
 
Experiment 3: Select a person with whom you feel you share a common ideal or a common spiritual perspective of life. Let this also be someone with whom you occasionally experience a difficulty in your relationship. Work on (1) accepting what you perceive as the shortcomings of that person, and (2) truly meeting that person as a soul. Keep a record of your experiences.

A.R.E. Meeting for 9/6/21

Leader: Cindi
 
Our leader put the four of us through a meditation reverie based on our experiment from the previous week. We all used our perfectly placed stones to build a temple. This was followed by a 13-minute video by David McMillan about “The Cross and the Crown.”
 
We did not read from the SFG book, but read through the first two experiments in the Experiments book:
 
Experiment 1:  Try the three-step approach described above (questions to ask that will lead us to freedom). Select and write down a situation in life in which you feel trapped. Determine and write down an illusory image of yourself or a misconception about life that may have created this situation. Finally, seek to understand and accept the reality or purposefulness that lies beneath this difficulty. Keep a record of your experiences which come from the acceptance of this cross.
Example:
   Situation: Having no friends
   Misconception: Having close friends mean that I will be burdened by responsibilities to them and it’s better to be without them.
   Purposefulness of situation: I am learning how much I really do want to have people that I care about and who care about me.
   Acceptance of this cross: I will not blame others for not having declared their friendship for me, but will work actively to be a friend to others.
 
Experiment 2: Select and write down one cross in your life. Then consider how the Master would take up that cross and move with it. How would He act out in materiality His acceptance of that situation? Write down your answers to this question. For at least a week try to live and act in a way He would towards this situation.

A.R.E. Meeting for 8/30/21

Leader: John

There were only three attending tonight but that enabled some good discussion on what we perceived as our destinies. We read the Introduction for the chapter on “The Cross and the Crown.” We also read the last experiment in the chapter “In His Presence.” The experiment is based on a reverie where everyone comes together to build a cathedral. Each cuts a stone and brings it to the building site and places it in the right spot. Everyone prays that God’s will shall direct this common effort for all mankind.
 
Experiment: Take a few moments each day to experience the reverie described above (or one similar to it). You may want to have a special time to do this or use a few minutes before or after your meditation. Allow it to awaken within you the awareness of truly being a part of the scheme of things, and try to hold that awareness in your daily activities.
 
Next week is Labor Day but those present made the decision to meet.

A.R.E. Meeting for 8/23/21

Leader: John
 
We had four meet to finish the chapter on “In His Presence,” in the SFG book, but we have one experiment left to read in the Experiments book. Many long discussions were held on the topics of whether the end justifies the means, our destiny, and segregation. The one experiment we will work on this week is:
 
Experiment: Be willing to share your awareness of God’s working in the earth, especially with those who don’t have this perspective. Express your feelings to others. Speak of your own experience, as opposed to lecturing to them about what they ought to believe. Brief statements are usually best. Don’t be attached to some expectation about how they should respond to your words. Simply be open and honest about your beliefs. Trust that a seed is planted by what you do. Record (1) situations in which you do this, and (2) situations which, in looking back, you realize would have been good opportunities for this kind of sharing.