Elyon Group 11/8/98

[Rick P. Giles]

Coeur d'ALene Teaching Mission Group
Topics:My Voice and Help, Healing, Teaching, Faith Muscles
Teachers: Michael, Jessona, Elyon, Malvantra

November 8, 1998
*	Michael (Ginnie TR):  My beloved children, it is refreshing to see you so
firm in your own beliefs and yet so willing to admit others who have a different
path.  There are many paths to God; there are many ways to enter the
kingdom.  It
is love that unites you all, not the particular characteristic of your service. 
If one's heart is open to my voice and earnestly seeks to respond to that voice,
then indeed it is done in my name and in the Father's name no matter the
particular from form of that service.
	I have come into your hearts and I came to your planet for one reason only,
and that is to open your minds and hearts to the awareness of the love that our
Father has for you and continues to dwell within you.  It is my legacy to you to
have this input, to have this intimate connection.  There are many, many others
who are, indeed, ready to speak and share their convictions and their beliefs if
you  but open the door and open your hearts and open your minds.
	May your energy and your enthusiasm continue, and may you be convinced and
take to heart that I am with you when you interact with your friends.  Remember
to ask for my assistance, and I will help you.  But when you speak to another in
love, you are speaking to me, and we can have a fine conversation.  Be not
anxious about temporal vicissitudes that may weaken your enthusiasm now and
then,
for indeed the body and the mind and the spirit lag now and then.  I am
immensely
pleased at all your efforts at reaching out and being willing to release the
stranglehold on your own beliefs and to allow others to express and share.  You
have my blessings, and you have my assistance and my great love.  I bless you
all.  Peace.
*	Jessona (Jonathan):   This is Jessona and I say hi to you all.  I would
like to address the topic of healing for a moment.
	You have all done your studies and realize that healing is coupled
intimately with faith.  I would like to elaborate upon this faith.  There
are two
aspects to faith, one is hope, the other is help.  You know when the sky is
cloudy that the sun is still present.  This is because of your faith in its
constancy in spite of the appearance to your senses of its lack.  You may hope
that the clouds part to reveal the sun, however, this hope must be coupled
with a
desire to help.  Though the extent to which you are capable of helping is far
less than the ability to part the clouds, you are capable of turning on a light
in the room to bring illumination.  Hope is an extension of prayer.  Your
help is
the extension of your faith in healing and in the powers that exist beyond your
control.  In the course of lengthy illness or injury, hope and help are the
greatest supports for your faith. Hope places your trust in the divine; help
alleviates your sense of hopelessness, powerlessness, to accomplish some
ministry
for another.
	These are my words for you to reflect upon.  I thank you for receiving me
today.
	Ginnie:  Do any of the teachers have any advice for us on ways we could be
better teachers?
*	Elyon:  This is Elyon, and I am willing to address this question of yours. 
I begin by reminding you that we teachers have taken effort to make ourselves
common to you, in a sense, familiar.  We have sought your recognition of us as
associates, as pals, my friends.  This was deliberate, for we have been cautious
about the human tendency towards veneration and, through this veneration, to
remove from the student the sense of the ability to attain the abilities of the
teacher.  You have responded well even while you do realize that we are quite
different in status and standing in the universe ascent.  In your role as
teachers this is my advice: that you befriend the student, that you take one
another's hand and go together into the lesson.  You know full well the end from
the beginning.  However, it is the partnership that bears upon the soul of the
hungry truth seeker, it is that brotherhood that infuses one with the spirit
qualities of the lesson to be gained.  Association speaks louder than verbosity.
	The master taught us all that, when you seek the Father, you must seek
friendship with God.  His absolute qualities are unfathomable; I doubt we ever
will really understand Him, but we each are coming to know Him continually.
	So, I guess in summary I would say to approach your teaching as a peer. 
This removes a sense of a gulf between the teacher and the student which the
student may react to wrongly as unattainable.  Bridge that gap first and they
will readily cross the gap to the level that the teacher hopes to convey. 
	Does this help?
	Ginnie:  Oh, yes, thank you, those were beautiful words.  Is it our job to
correct what we think may be wrong, or is that open for discussion, too?
*	Elyon:  I will illustrate for you.  You instruct young aspiring musicians
regarding piano playing.  In a particular song there are appropriate notes which
must be played to execute the piece properly.  In the course of training you
need
at times to show where the wrong note is and what the right notes are.  You do
this without condemning the individual attempting to play that piece.  It is
well
to point out errors if you can remove from the correction a sense of fault
in the
receiver personally.  But you also know that simply pointing out all the wrong
notes is a far greater task than to show which ones are right.  It is a case of
discernment which tack to take based upon which personality type you are working
with.  This applies to spiritual teaching, as well.  
	Ginnie:  Thank you.  That is a very good analogy because when I am teaching
is it really worth it if this kid plays the right note or not?  Sometimes
for the
sake of another quality I respect, I don't dwell on the wrong notes but focus on
the right ones.
*	Elyon:  Yes, you illustrate another principle and that is that one can be
technically right and yet remain wrong in the execution, for a dimension of
learning is the attempt to attain which, of nature, requires that one fail
periodically in the striving.  There is great pleasure to be derived from
performing a piece even with its errors, for the enjoyment of the practice
sweetens the time when the execution is flawless.  There is no experiential
happiness gained from executing rightly the first time.  There is far deeper
pleasure to be received from the struggle to accomplish repeatedly.  I know for
all of us mortal origin creatures that this is not often a well received truth,
for impatience coupled with a hunger to be perfect causes the desire to get
there
and be there instantly.  But you have enough years behind you in your unfoldment
to realize how much more rewarding the incremental process to attainment is.
	Ginnie:  It is also a hard concept in our society to perceive  that the
qualities of spirit, happiness, and enjoyment are just as important as correct
timing and notes.  Thank you.
*	Elyon:  You are welcome, and again thank you for bringing this topic up for
discussion.
*	Malvantra (Mark):  This is Malvantra and I would take a different approach
this morning.  I would borrow an analogy and some conceptual framework from my
students to offer to the group here today as it pertains to the lesson
delivered.
	I would encourage you all to see this world, this existence, as one giant
gymnasium in which your purpose here as individuals is to exercise your faith
muscles.  This gymnasium is equipped with many and varied opportunities which
provide the necessary tools for you to exercise these faith muscles and to grow
them in your lives.  You all are aware, albeit partially, of the significance of
the development of this faith.  It is a significant aspect of your challenge as
teachers to bring those around you into the recognition of the significance of
faith in their own lives.  Many suffer from self-demotion and are unfamiliar
with
their own ability to exercise this faith muscle.  Many are unaware of the use of
this muscle, and yet most individuals possess this muscle; they even use it,
although infrequently.  It is important to point out to these individuals that
they do indeed possess faith in their lives.  It may not be directed in a
spiritual nature, but they are familiar with this muscle and its uses in common
everyday occurrences.
	When an individual states that they are not sure that they possess faith or
that they use faith, it is incumbent upon you to point out that they have faith
about many different things in their lives.  They have faith that each day the
sun will rise.  They have faith that they will make it through another day,
another week.  They have faith in the goodness that they perceive around them. 
The yearning for this goodness around them is their faith propelling them
forward.  Point this out to them in their lives, that this is their
exercising of
this muscle.  When they strive for something better in their lives, when they
seek and reach out for that which is more than they are, they are exercising
faith.  If you point out to them that this is, indeed, what they are doing, they
will come to recognize not only the existence of this force but the method
whereby to strengthen it, to exercise it.  
	This I offer you as another tool as missionaries of this new mission and
hope that this tool comes in handy from time to time when you befriend
individuals and determine what their motivations are and what propels them
forward.  You can then point out how faith is responsible for their
yearnings and
their leadings and help them to identify this aspect of their being, for you
have
developed strong faith muscles.  Share your personal techniques for having
developed these muscles to the strength that they now possess.  Relate your
individual stories to them, as this is more potent teaching force than simply
expressing the truths.
	That is all I have to offer today in coordination with the daily lesson.  I
thank you for your time.
	Ginnie:  It reminds me of that line in The Urantia Book that if we truly
understood people's motivations we would love them.
*	Malvantra:  I would point out you would have far greater insight into how
to be of assistance to these individuals as well.  
	Tom:  We discussed the triangle of worship being faith, feelings, and
focus.  Could you review the elements that we might consider when developing
exercises concerning our faith muscle?
*	Malvantra:  When exercising these faith muscles avail yourselves of any and
all of the tools available in this vast gymnasium.  The very purpose of this
existence is to provide you with this gymnasium in which you may exercise these
muscles.  The effective qualities will be different for every individual just as
every individual would be drawn toward different tools within the gymnasium. 
Some may feel it important to work on tools which strengthen the upper body, so
to speak.  Some may choose to develop the lower body.  All aspects are
significant in contribution to the whole, and none is more necessary than any
others.  It is largely a matter of personal interest as to what exercises you
perform.  Once you determine your area of interest, then focus on this area and
concentrate on deriving maximum benefit from the particular exercise.  You may
determine that you tire of a given exercise and desire a change and move to
exercise a different set of muscles in this group.   Be alert and aware of the
effect these exercises have on the various aspects of your faith and seek to
accept and embrace the changes brought on by your efforts.  There is no energy
wasted or lost in this process.
	For those who have learned the use of these tools and developed significant
muscle mass, is it your job and, indeed, privilege, to instruct those who are
just discovering the gymnasium as to the use of the tools and the effect the
tools have on the muscles.  As an instructor you realize the value of
strengthening the group, the whole set of muscles, not just one single aspect. 
Therefore, you would be of assistance to others in expressing as many facets and
aspects of this process as you are capable so that those around you can pick and
choose what is most acceptable to them.  But within the gymnasium there are no
tools that are useless.  All have a particular benefit and are worthy of their
use in the benefit to be derived.
	Does this enlarge the picture for you?
	Tom:  Yes, it does.  The word faith is still huge.  We've strayed away from
the triangles due to the literal interpretation.  Jessona mentioned that faith
involves health, healing.  I can see how hope would be a set of
instructions.  If
I were lifting weights I wouldn't want to put too much weight, so I would have a
guideline of hope, say.  Then we have health.  I see a pyramid here.  I
never got
the faith pyramid clearly.  What is the faith triangle?  What are the
elements as
would be instructed on a morontia school?
*	Malvantra:  I would ask you first for your definition.
	Tom:  Hope and desire would be in there.
	Jonathan:  Maybe trust.
	Tom:  Belief.
	Jonathan:  Seems like action would be a factor of faith.
	Ginnie:  Knowledge.  I get the image of a crystal.  One thing with many
facets; each facet may be a triangle.  Depending on how you look at it you see
different aspects.
*	Malvantra:  I would say exactly, precisely, correct.  Each and every aspect
correct.  We do not have a simple triangle.  The image of a many-faceted
prism is
far more accurate, and you would come to see that all the above mentioned are
indeed aspects of this prism.  I would encourage you to adopt the idea of not
limiting yourself to a simple triangular relationship.  As you have been
discovering about these triangles, the one fits next to the other one, which
fits
next to the one from before, which all seem to somehow tie together.  This is in
a more multi-dimensional fashion than you have been comfortable to see this
model
to this time, but it is more appropriately pictured in these multi-dimensions. 
It is not possible except for the purposes of brief illustration to separate
these relationships the one from the other.  It is as seen the one surface
of the
marble as flat and complete.  You know this to be inaccurate, as when you rotate
the marble you see the larger picture, but at no time do you see the entire
marble, as it is not turned to your view.  Much the same is true of these
pattern
relationships.  At any given time you may be squarely looking at a pattern which
could be defined as having a certain few aspects, but the slight tip of the
prism
immediately illuminates many other facets all of which are touching your single
face.  So, I would spur you on to see in your mind's eye the back side and to
link the unseen aspects to the seen, as you know they should be, and to not
limit
yourself to simply the appearance of things on the surface.
	Has this been sufficiently confusing?
	Tom:  Any gifts you can throw our way regarding faith we gladly accept.
	Mary:  I'm getting a few insights on faith.  Faith has been spoken of as
something that can be weak of strong, that its range can be developed.  You
might
think of faith in its beginning phases as belief in something.  You usually have
faith about things that are intangible, unprovable in a logical way.  You can
start with belief and as you develop faith moves from a mere belief to something
that is strong enough to elicit commitment.  Further development can bring not
only commitment to this belief but action in the real world based on your belief
and your commitment to the belief.