Acceptance: Right And Wrong Way -- Dignity In Humility

By The Pathwork Guide

Greetings in the name of the Highest Lord and God. I bring blessings for all of you, my friends. Blessed is this lecture. How happy is the person who has really and truly declared himself for God. But how few such people there are in your world! Some of my friends have reached this all-important point in the long road upwards. Others think that they have because they have made some half-hearted compromises. What is a wholehearted decision for God? It must always mean to give up something. It may mean to give up an opinion, to give up a desire, or perhaps to give up a way of life. Yet in truth and reality you do not give up anything. But the act of giving up has to be committed. After you have proven your willingness to do so, then you will find that not only do you receive a great deal more than you have apparently given up, but also that you have actually given up nothing. This is difficult to perceive as long as a person finds himself still in a cloud of unknowing. But this is a cloud that must automatically disappear after one has proven the willingness to sacrifice for God. Many people have misunderstood this law by giving up the world, by retiring from it and going into a cloister. Yet very often they have given up nothing. Others remain in the world and have truly given up, although this may not seem to be the case. Yet the wholehearted declaration that he has made for God and for His will must first be expressed in words -- in his intentions -- and then in deeds by following through on these intentions. It is natural that others around such a person may never know this. Perhaps this is due to the fact that God often gives you back what you have given up. If you have proven to Him that you are not attached to something more than you are to Him, then He will see to it that you receive it all over again, all anew and in a better way! That which you have to give up does not necessarily have to be bad, wrong, or wicked. It is sufficient that you hold on to something -- good and right as it may be in itself -- so strongly that you are incapable of letting it go for the sake of the Lord. That is the point.

How can you really be on the Path if you are not willing to let God take over entirely and in all respects? And how can you be a child of God if worldly considerations stand in the foreground and if considerations of your purification, of your development, and of your relationship to God become secondary? You cannot compromise with God in such a way. Yet this is often exactly what you want to do. You think that by praying and thinking a little bit about your mistakes this is sufficient, while at the same time you go on with your outer and inner life as though God and His call for you did not exist. You simply cannot stand with one foot on the Path and with the other foot on your old road. This is the one that has brought you nothing but trouble anyway. One of the most important tests of an entity -- either in the body or out of the body -- in the course of his development and all his incarnations is when the time has come that he is requested by the world of God to show whether his belief in God will be put into practice at long last. For a long while there is no belief and no sight of the truth. Then comes one turning point when the entity begins to see the light, senses the existence of God, and finally really believes in Him. But then the climax arrives when he has to prove it! Events will occur in such a way that God speaks clearly to him: "Do you really mean it? Are you serious in your belief that I matter more to you than anything else? Or are these just words to you?" Do you really think that an occasional prayer is enough? God wants the whole of you so that He can give you the whole of Him. Only in this way will you be at peace with yourself. The lack of peace is always a sign that you have witheld a part of your soul from your Father in Heaven. A part of you wants God, wants to consider itself a child of God, wants to develop, and wants to purify itself. Yet with another part you think that you know better. Thus you want to come nearer to God on your own terms, instead of on His terms. You believe that it would be a disadvantage for you to surrender yourself completely and wholly to God. Thus you project your own limitations on the Highest. Do not misunderstand these words to mean complete passivity on your part. I have said before that the act of sacrificing for God and the act of overcoming the small and selfwilled part of your nature -- that still wants to withold a part of your soul from your Father in Heaven -- is the right kind of activity -- instead of the wrong kind, which you used in order to struggle against your higher self. Think well on these words, my dear friends.

In the course of the Fall every divine aspect in creation has been perverted into its own opposite extreme. Love has become hatred and resentment; justice has become injustice; beauty has become ugliness; harmony has turned into disharmony; and so on and so on. For any child of God and for any created being who is not in the deepest darkness anymore these extremes represent no danger whatsoever. But there is something else. There is the distorted wrong extreme that is hidden, and which then is masked and covered by many coatings, and which is then presented as the good and the real. That is where many people are unable to discriminate. It is the same with the unit of the human personality. The higher self, the lower self, and the mask self are these units. The same exists with every divine force, aspect, or influx. One of the most misunderstood or misinterpreted divine currents is love. This is so obvious and so much has been said about it that I do not even want to discuss it here. So many other things that really have nothing to do with it pose as love. The yearning of the ego to break through the barrier of loneliness, its possessiveness, and much more poses as love. I will be more specific about this subject at a later time when I will be allowed to speak to you specifically about erotic love, the love between the sexes, its meaning, its perfect ideal, and its deviations. However, this is not my subject now. I just mentioned this because the distortion and the deviation of love poses so often as being real. There is also a great deal of confusion with every other divine attribute existing on this earth. Therefore, it has been planned for me to occasionally discuss in these lectures some of these attributes for your clarification.

Now we shall discuss first how to determine and then how to live up to the divine law of accepting life's adversities without becoming pessimistic and negative. There is a great deal of confusion about this subject generally in your world, and particularly among my friends. The acceptance of life with everything it brings -- both good and bad -- while retaining a positive attitude is the true and divine way. On the opposite and distorted side we find the selfwilled struggle against accepting anything that is hard. This can be either on the surface or it can be hidden, as is the case with almost everything. On the other hand, it is equally against divine law to be pessimistic and negative. The distortion of the forces of darkness is that you are made to believe -- and your lower nature likes to believe it -- that to be pessimistic and negative means to accept life's hardships. On the other hand, to deny the fact that hardships can exist is a distortion of a healthy and positive attitude.

It is not easy to find the right way. Only severe self-testing and a deep meditation will bring you the answer that you personally need: where and how you personally deviate from the right course. But let me show you in principle how this should be practiced within a person's soul. That is, within his thinking and within his feeling. To accept life's occasional adversities does not mean to take a dark view of everything. The contrary is true. The true and right course says: "I expect life to bring me unhappiness as well as happiness. Therefore, I will not flinch from life's clouds and the occasional necessary darkness. For I know that only by going through this courageously, without struggling and kicking inside, will I be able to bear happiness when the time is ripe, and thus to be a part in the Great Chain so that happiness will not find me at the end of the line. I want to be be able to actually give this happiness. In other words, I know that it is not enough to merely have the good will to do so, but I honestly want to be truly capable of giving happiness to others." And you can succeed only if you do not flinch from unhappiness out of distorted self-love, out of self-pity, and out of cowardice. If you learn from the hard times by asking in the darkest hour what it is that He wants you to learn and what is it in you that has caused this to happen, then you have the right attitude. And if in your dark hours you do not allow yourself to think that the sun will never shine again, then you accept the darkness constructively so as to find your inner causes for this darkness. Apart from all the hardships, there are certain general aspects to be learned by everyone alike in every hour of test and difficulty, such as the three main faults I talked about: pride, selfwill, and fear. He who kicks and struggles against unhappiness is he not acting so out of pride? Doesn't the personality -- often not in thought but in his emotional reactions -- declare this: "Why should I be unhappy? I do not want to be unhappy." Only he who is perfect could rightfully claim such a demand, as you often unconsciously do. Is it not selfwill if you struggle in your unhappiness? So that can be learned by all in any difficult time. Your fear can leave you only if you learn to embrace unhappiness as being a necessary medicine, but without thinking that you will always remain sick and, therefore, be in need of this medicine at all times. That is the acceptance of life.

Your unwillingness to accept life, or your inner struggle against it, may manifest itself in many ways. In this, as in any other respect, self-deception is easy. You may not openly think that you do not want to be unhappy because you have absorbed certain teachings with your intellect. However, by being defiant, by having self-pity, by wanting to flee or escape life or your trouble in one way or another, you prove that emotionally you have not yet fully accepted what life stands for. Any disharmonious feeling that you have in connection with the adversities of your personal life will prove to you that -- somehow and somewhere within yourself -- you have not accepted life's rules and that you are rejecting the personal responsibility for your hardships. This means that you are not willing to take your medicine. Try to translate your feelings in this respect. Learn what they say -- what they mean -- so that these emotions will gain a clearer form in your mind and thus help you to achieve a deeper consciousness about your person. Ask yourself: "What do I mean by feeling this way? Why am I struggling against this? Doesn't my struggle mean that I reject, through my pride and my selfwill, the lessons that life has to teach me? Is it not a fact that I am afraid of this lesson or of this sign that I love myself too much, and thus I am afraid of all the little hurts and disadvantages?" That is not being pessimistic, my friends. That is not being negative. Pessimism and negativity will say: "All I can expect is unhappiness. The sun will never shine for me any more." You may say that with your feelings, even though your intellect does not. But test these feelings. Often people think that by being negative and pessimistic they can prove that they are actually accepting life's necessary lessons. Yet, in reality this not only is not the case, but such a negative attitude is, in actuality, exactly the same in the last analysis as the kicking and struggling and the refusing of life's lessons.

Another distortion of a divine attribute is what happens with dignity in the course of its deviation. True dignity is a divine aspect. Its distortion is pride. We often notice that human beings are proud of their pride, misinterpreting it for dignity. Dignity can only exist hand in hand with humility. He whose ego currents are so strong that his selfwill speaks first or has the upper hand must -- by necessity and as a logical conclusion -- be proud. And that person cannot be dignified. In the measure that selfwill, pride, vanity, and egotism are present in the soul, bringing fear in their wake, to that extent dignity cannot exist. He who can humiliate himself at specific times, if there is a good reason and cause, has true dignity. Is there anything more dignified than a person going humbly to a fellow creature and saying: "I was wrong, forgive me?" There you have the proof that only humility has dignity. Admitting a wrong will never hurt your dignity, unlike what you may think. How often do you stubbornly persist in holding a point of view simply because you do not want to give in? Why not, I ask you? For the above-mentioned reason. Your misunderstood concept of dignity is nothing but pride. Therefore, it is the exact opposite of dignity. But spiritually unawakened people can easily mistake these two.

So be careful with all these masked -- and therefore misrepresented -- divine currents that pose for what is true, for what is good, and for what is right. I want to add that now in your world -- on your earth sphere -- the tendency to adhere to such distortions is very strong. In former times the forces of darkness did not need to resort to such means. Humanity was still so low in its development that the outright lie was a sufficient temptation to draw man away from the Divine. Today, humanity has progressed sufficiently that what is obviously wicked will not be a temptation for many. Only confusion and the misrepresentation of good will affect that which the forces of darkness constantly aim at. This does not make it more difficult, but you are obviously strong enough to overcome this difficulty first by selecting carefully and then by discovering the false posing for the true.

I will occasionally discuss such distorted divine aspects and if my friends wish to bring up one specific subject, then I will be glad to treat it here.

Before we turn to your questions, there are two things I should like to say to you. The first is that there is a great, great blessing on this group, as well as on my group in Switzerland. The spirit world has planned great things for you. Some of my friends can begin to sense this. We now have the joy of having two mediums who have begun their training, one here and one abroad. This will mean a great deal. It will serve many purposes, not only when the training will be terminated, but also while the training is still going on. It will enable purification simultaneously for all concerned, not only for the mediums and the manifesting spirits, but also for the attending human beings. The reason I announce this publicly now is, in the first place, that all friends following the teachings of this group should be aware of this, as well as of the great meaning that this holds. Furthermore, I have a practical reason that should be clearly understood by all concerned. I should like to make the following suggestion in this respect: all sessions in the training of our two mediums and, most important of all, the ensuing discussion that deals with the personal purification of the participants should be tape recorded and the tapes exchanged between the two groups. Thus you will learn from one another. There should be a constant and regular exchange. Once this has been established and properly organized, then it will run smoothly. It is just a question of organization. This is very important for both groups, particularly as far as the ensuing discussion is concerned. What has started in my little group here in this particular respect will be very helpful for my group across the ocean.

The second request I have to make is really a favor I want to ask of some of you. This group is very blessed, and blessed is every single one who is part of it. It would be a great joy for the world of God if all these little animosities and misunderstandings that are humanly unavoidable in a group of this size would be straightened out and treated in a very spiritual attitude. You have your free will, but if you are willing, then go to the person whom you do not like. Think carefully about why you do not like this or that particular person. Try to be objective and you will surely find out that somehow your view is subjective: perhaps your vanity was being hurt or you have unwittingly hurt the vanity of the other person who has then reacted emotionally towards you. One can always find rational reasons to explain one's dislike. If there was no particular incident, then it is sufficient if you just try to find the good in the other person and quietly try to find the objective reason for your reaction towards the other person. That will often be sufficient to establish a bond of love between the two people in question. Try to find the soul and the heart of the other and leave out your hurt pride. Try to find the common denominator. For there is a common denominator in all of you. Build on that and not on your thoughts and feelings, which are probably being influenced by a hurt pride. Show your good side in sincerity; show the generosity that must be in your heart, although sometimes and in some respects it seems to be hidden. In cases where there have been actual incidents, then consider them with discretion and with tact. When or if it should be discussed depends upon how free you are of resentment and of blindness. In some cases I would suggest that these incidents also be brought to the inner circle. This would be very beneficial. The time will come when you will be able to talk freely to the person, telling him where there exists a dislike. And both parties are always hurt. If you can be honest and detached from yourself at the same time, then listen quietly to the other person and try to understand his point of view without letting your so-called "dignity" stand in your way. You will see that there was no cause for it at all. For all misunderstandings and all hurts are merely imaginary, my friends. They are the byproduct of this earth sphere in which you live in darkness -- at least a part of you. So many times you think that you have reason to be hurt, but this is not true. You can purify all the better if you take your courage into your own hands and make the first step toward the very person you may misunderstand. You may see only that which you do not like or only that which you feel is directed against you in some way. Therefore, you cannot see clearly. Intellectually, you may say that he or she may have wonderful qualities and of that you are sure, but emotionally you really do not think so, or at least you do not want to find out. Although by practicing what I have suggested here you would do yourself a great deal of good and also to the other person involved, this is not the main reason for my request. The main reason is that it would be very important for the group as a whole and very beneficial if you were to give your heart to the person who you think has hurt you.

All bad feelings and all bad thoughts add to the destructive forces in the universe. If you could -- even vaguely -- realize that each one of these feelings and these emotions goes into a big and ugly pool and is ultimately responsible for -- and adds to -- all the wickedness of wars, of crime, of injustice, and all the hurts of this world! This should not lead you to deceive yourself or to force yourself to have thoughts that are not true because your feelings do not believe them. You know that this is never the right way. The right way must always be to first have the courage to say: "These are my feelings. I know that they are wrong, but that is the way they are now." If you can detachedly observe these feelings and acknowledge them, then you have taken the first step towards your proper purification. Then the wrong thoughts and the negative feelings -- that you cannot avoid having at the present time -- will be much less forceful. Therefore, they will do less harm both to yourself and to the universe. The fact that your courageous recognition and your good will start to change them lessens their impact. Their impact is strongest when you are unaware of their existence or when you try to justify them.