Decisions And Tests

By The Pathwork Guide

Greetings in the name of God. I bring you God's blessings. My dear friends, God's love penetrates the entire creation. It is a living force, a beam that meets itself in an eternal round, as everything spiritual must be in circular completeness. All creatures search for this living force, consciously or unconsciously. The longing to feel this love drives, pulls, and spurs both man and spirit. He will understand this yearning according to his state of development and he will then either draw the right conclusions and follow them through with his will power and his thinking, or he will not interpret these feelings correctly and he will, in some way, allow this driving force to act through him and even to lead him into mistakes, since, not realizing the real nature of these feelings, of this search, he will look for false goals, and therefore he will find false fulfillments. However, he who has reached the stage of development where he already understands what these hitherto inexplicable feelings of longing really are has taken a great step forward, for he will also know into what direction to steer them, and thus there will be fewer errors and misunderstandings about the message coming from his soul.

The longing for the love of God is the driving force in every human being. Therefore, even those who have not yet found God or who believe that they do not believe in God harbor this strong energy current in their soul. Whoever experiences this complete turnabout in his spiritual development and recognizes God in consciousness enters into a new life, so to speak. This can happen within one and the same incarnation. He who has stepped through this door will already live in a much lighter world. Yet there are many more stages to pass through.

For most people life on this earth is incomprehensible. They cannot recognize its meaning and its purpose because they see only what they can take in through their physical eyes. The contact with their spiritual eyes has not yet been established. Therefore everything seems meaningless: their sorrows, their trials, their loneliness, and much more. Only he who has understood that this life is merely one of many learning periods, but one link in a long chain, will at first sense and then comprehend more and more fully the connections, so that his goal will then no longer be the immediate fulfillment of every single wish in this existence. Instead, he will direct his vision towards the whole. Thus he can bear the eventual deprivations of this life and, at the same time, also pass the tests and fulfill the conditions necessary to enter into a higher state of existence, into permanent happiness, one that cannot be taken away by any outside force.

Now I would like to talk about that group of people who have already passed through the first gates, who have already recognized these fundamental truths. Yet even with such people we can't help noticing that often they do not progress as well as they could. After all, it is up to the free will of each individual how fast he will proceed. One person may just drift along. Terefore, he may have to reincarnate many times in order to either overcome or fulfill the same thing, experiencing it all over again. Another person, who has recognized these basic truths, will draw the right conclusions and therefore will look for the answers within himself. As a result, he will direct his aim towards his spiritual progress -- which doesn't mean that he withdraws from his earthly problems. On the contrary. For earthly and spiritual problems are closely connected. An earthly problem is actually the expression of a specific spiritual problem. The difference is only that the solution of a problem will now be sought from another vantage point. Only he who solves the problem on the spiritual level can find its true earthly solution. However, we often see that people know this or that, but they still do not draw the connecting links within themselves. They still look for God and for recognitions somewhere outside of themselves, perhaps through increasing their outer knowledge, which in itself is all right. Yet it is not enough. There must be a continuous equalization: the knowledge acquired must always be applied on a personal level -- in other words, it must be digested and evaluated within -- so that harmony is established. In order to achieve true progress, you have to go about it from both sides: new outer knowledge has to be acquired to the degree the old knowledge has been integrated and assimilated within. This knowledge must never remain a theory, but it must be put into practice and it must take root in your personal life. Thus man needs to widen his knowledge of the nature of Creation and of the spiritual laws. But this is only one part, it must not be taken as the whole. Without the other part, the inner assimilation, there can be no harmony in your progress, no real fulfillment, and thus no actual progress.

Therefore, you have to get acquainted with yourself, you must work on yourself, you have to test yourself, and you have to acquire the discipline to overcome the resistance -- which is so difficult at the beginning. You have to revise all your notions about yourself which flatter you and with which it is so easy to deceive yourself. Then you have to cast them off. It is something special, something different for each one of you, yet much is similar, or even the same. When we talk about the spiritual progress of man we mean something very individual for each one of you. My dear ones, you should search yourselves by asking: "What hidden part of me still does not react according to the only reality, that of spiritual law, even if only on a subtle, inner level? Where do I lack clarity about certain things in myself?" Such self-search should go on at all times. Then you will be able to slowly eliminate that which is not yet all right within you so that you become happier. But for this you have to be clear about what the obstacles are in you. And for this you need to search in this direction; but you also need the will, the true inner will, as well as the effort. For if you lack happiness in this or that area, then you can be sure that this lack is in direct connection with such a specific inner block. Were your wishes just simply granted, without your first eliminating the inner obstacles, then they could never make you really happy. You could not build lasting happiness, it would have to dissolve. Only when you have established the inner harmony, when your relationship to God is truly harmonious, in that His laws are accomplished within you, is your soul mature enough to encompass both happiness and harmony.

People often wonder about communication with God's world. They say: "Yes, I can believe that such communication is possible, but what can it mean to me? What do I need it for?" To this I should like to answer that such a communication can give man one part that is necessary for his further development, namely intake from the outside. Furthermore, it gives hints, help, and the direction of the search: how to discover and how to apply the outer knowledge to the inner problems, which is the second part of development. For this man needs constant encouragement, strength, and blessings, apart from specific concrete help. And even that can be given here also. There have been a few rare people with great knowledge to whom others can be guided, but in such cases also, as with a medium, God's world is actively participating, and the person in question is more or less an instrument of God's world. In one case the influence is through inspiration, in the other it operates directly. But the help from the outside, in whichever way, is an important element, and you cannot do without it. You can regard it as material, as building blocks for your self-development in order to make the best possible use of your life.

In my last lecture I touched briefly upon the subject of decision making. I was asked how it is possible to always know what the right decision is. I should like to talk further about this. For this is one of the things that man has to learn, even though it appears difficult at times. Many people can make decisions on the outer level easily, though there are some who cannot even do that. However, a great number of people cannot make inner decisions. Their emotional currents -- their inner or emotional reactions -- make them completely incapable of deciding inwardly. But they do not know it since the process is still covered up. Only when they start weighing their innermost motivations and feelings will they come to realize what has been going on inside of them. Then they can begin to make inner decisions. This inability to make inner decisions doesn't manifest merely in problems that seem to affect other people, but even more importantly, in problems relating to inner attitudes, to feelings, and to reactions.

Often it is the person who is sincerely striving to follow his soul's yearning towards the Good who will not make a decision. He wants to do what is right. So he shies away from doing something that may not please God, for he is afraid of doing wrong -- and he doesn't do anything. He does not understand that by not making a decision he also makes a decision, since this must have some effects also. The world never stands still. Time never stands still. Everything continues in this flux of life. And whatever you do -- including not doing anything -- must have a consequence. When man shies away from making a decision, then it means that he hasn't yet found a certain key in his soul. He lives in fear, possibly without even being aware of it. He does not take command of his boat. He believes and hopes -- again, unconsciously -- that either God or fate will make the decision for him. And once in a while this may even happen. But in general God's world is not permitted to interfere, since this is one of the things that man has to learn. He has to learn to take responsibility for his decisions. He has to learn to pierce the dark cloud which obscures the truth and creates confusion. He must do so by his own effort. In other words, by his personal spiritual endeavor and by his increasing self-awareness. Striving and overcoming his resistance is the only way to sharpen his spiritual vision. Only in this way can he perceive what exists in his own soul, as well as around him. He must learn to size up the whole situation, no matter how complicated, and understand what is at stake, both for himself and for others. He must learn to achieve the utmost for his spiritual development and purification through solving hitherto unresolved problems. A problem needs to be tackled, instead of avoided by sticking your head in the sand. If after doing all this you come to the conclusion that you are not yet capable to make a decision -- perhaps because you are not yet able to perceive the situation correctly -- then you are in a totally different state. First you should ask God for inspiration to make the right recognition. Then you should be ready to receive it. Third you should be ready to act accordingly. God's answer can be given to you when you have prepared yourself through your own endeavors. So it is one thing to avoid making a decision, to cover up everything that relates to it and to turn away from the problem altogether, and it is quite another thing to strive for truth and then, knowingly and willingly, decide not to decide until, perhaps after more personal effort, you are ready to make the right decision. When the decision is truly the right one, then there will be no shadow of a doubt left in you. The result will be ever increasing inner peace and harmony of the soul. Only in this way can you become the captain of your own ship.

A person can recognize the pure truth of a situation and know what the right action must be for him only if he discards all self-flattering disguises, if he discards everything that nourishes his complacency, and if he discards everything that lures him towards the road of least resistance. Only he who has liberated himself in this way has overcome the obstacles to truth. This is what God expects of you. And you can do it, but not without effort, without real will, and without perseverance. When a person has lived an entire life avoiding making decisions, then reactions and chain reactions will ensue that create a spiritual form which will mark him and which will make it even more difficult for him to disentangle the knots and to learn to make decisions. Therefore, you who receive these words should contemplate them well. For even from your shortsighted human viewpoint, avoiding decisions will cause the greatest harm, not only spiritually but also on the purely earthly or egotistical level. You must build your happiness through following the spiritual laws to the full. Without making this decision, then you cannot reap a lasting benefit.

Now, are there any questions?

QUESTION: The souls in the lower spheres are supposed to suffer much pain. How it is that Lucifer, who is is the worst of all evil spirits, does not seem to suffer?

ANSWER: You human beings always think that there is nothing worse than pain. Yet there is something worse, namely the stage before before a soul is able to feel pain. When you feel pain, then you are already a step closer to God. I should like to explain this whole thing to you, so that you can sense the magnificence of Creation. Let me tell you how the dark forces must ultimately play into God's hands. I will give you this example. Lucifer has his henchmen. For in his realm there is also a hierarchy of very powerful beings. If such a powerful henchman fails to fulfill a task that has been assigned to him -- possibly to deter a human being from following his path to God (which means that such a human being has used his free will to contribute his part by resisting temptation) -- then he will lose more and more of his power, until he himself will be tortured by those evil beings. He who finds himself in extreme pain must come closer to God, since it is then that his need for God is greatest. Thus, the lower he sinks in the dark spheres, the higher he actually rises. The farther removed he is from pain, the greater the inner disharmony; and Lucifer is in the greatest disharmony. The greater the pain, the more the inner currents will have to harmonize, until such a being reaches the point where he can increase his inner harmony even without pain. Later, the overcoming of various resistances will replace the pain, until eventually not even this will be necessary. All of you can get an inkling of this process when you remember how much closer to inner harmony you are when you experience clean pain than when you are not in real pain, but feel upset and rebellious and torn in many directions, and therefore experience very disharmonious feelings. Therefore, the more the laws of God extend their influence, the fewer henchmen Lucifer will eventually have.

QUESTION: Why is it that one feels abandoned by God, that one finds onself without assistance from the higher spheres, just when one is going through the most difficult times?

ANSWER: This is often so. When you are tested, at first you learn how to attain your goal with the help of spiritual protection; then this protective influence must step aside and you are left to yourself, at an equal distance, so to speak, from the divine and from the dark forces. You have to stand your ground and you have to act right out of your free will. When you have withstood this test, then these dark forces will be periodically allowed to get close to you -- though divine love is always close by, watching that everything should go well -- so that you can learn to stand your ground even better. Only then are you strong enough that God can fully count on you. Only then can you be sure that you have attained mastery over your lower self. In other words, over your weaknesses that need precisely this kind of testing. This is the process. Then, in the so-called favorable periods, you gather new strength for the next period of testing and you enjoy the fruits of what you have already achieved as you ground yourself in this new place.

It is up to man to avail himself of the weapons of spiritual law and to fight with them. No evil spirit, not even the most powerful, can do anything to you if you do not allow it to come near you. The minute man fights his lower self, then he defends himself completely. This is what you must do. You must contribute your share to the battle! This is not too much to ask of you. The times when man feels alone come only when he is ready to use his will to stand up for himself without outside help. Man's inner will is always a most important factor. But never will more be expected of him than he is capable to accomplish.

QUESTION: But there are many people who suffer so much that they cannot summon up this strength. For instance, someone who has a disease of which he knows he must die. What should such a person do?

ANSWER: With such people one can perceive that they do meet their tests, more than people who just live an average life. Those who are marked especially heavily by destiny are often more capable of meeting their tests by accepting them for what they are and learning from them what is necessary, thereby taking up their cross willingly, instead of quarreling with their destiny. I have to emphasize again that God never gives anyone more than what he can or could handle and fulfill if only he wanted to. You human beings are not able to judge the inner reserves of someone else and what he does with them: whether he lets them them lie fallow or whether he directs them into the wrong channel. Moreover, you cling to the false belief that death and pain are the worst things that can happen to you. I refer here to physical death, which must not be considered as a punishment. Spiritual death is the worst. It stands at the end of the road of least resistance.

QUESTION: What is spiritual death?

ANSWER: Spiritual death is to sign yourself over to the forces of darkness, either consciously or unconsciously. That is, to cut yourself off from God's world. There are not only spirits who have separated themselves from God, but also people who will not join His ranks because they prefer the road of least resistance: to give in to their weaknesses. Thus they belong to the land of the dead. This is spiritual death. But in no way is this state eternal.

March 25, 1957