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<P>March 20, 2005 – First Day of Spring – Palm Sunday</P>
<P align=center><U><FONT size=5></FONT></U> </P>
<P align=center><U><FONT size=5><STRONG>Lesson on
Forgiveness</STRONG></P></U></FONT>
<P> </P>
<P><STRONG>TEACHER TOMAS: </STRONG>This is Thomas. Good afternoon. Many of us
are here invisibly but energetically, adding to your gathering of light, and it
impresses our "heart" that we are part of the pulse of eternity as we join
together in trumpeting the good news of His arrival in the consciousness of all.
</P>
<P>Welcome, Miriam. </P>
<P>I would like to speak with you today of forgiveness, for it is a part of His
coming. In anticipation of the celebration of the resurrection, immanent in your
land – soon – it would behoove us to look at what that means to us, this
resurrection wherewith so much importance is placed, and certainly not only upon
death of the body but also death of those fallacies of the mind which hold
captive those who have a mortal base. </P>
<P>Forgiveness is part of resurrection. Letting go of the hurts and ills of
mortal existence allow you to be liberated therefrom. And thus you are risen.
And in your resurrection, in these superconscious realms, you are the more
likely to radiate the love of the divine Giver of all that is, including many of
life’s vicissitudes, for they are a part of the experiential field in which you
play, and work, and live.</P>
<P>A theory among you testifies to the position that there is nothing to
forgive, that there is no offense taken, that misunderstandings are a matter of
the mortal condition and not to be taken seriously. But there is also the
position that judgment upon your fellows is based on a refusal to forgive
qualities about your neighbor or yourself which are, to your programming,
unacceptable. </P>
<P>Impatience also is a form of refusal to forgive, for impatience demands you
behave rightly according to he or she who is manifesting impatience. Only
through forgiveness of the human condition is this troublesome character defect
appeased and put to rest. </P>
<P>Human preference is almost a right of passage into adulthood on this world.
If you have no preference, you often get nothing, and so, in self interest,
people adopt points of view and attitudes, tastes and opinions, which bespeak
only that they have one, but not with any conviction of the Spirit of Truth
behind these character colorations, and this is a part of the character of the
drama you all face as actors on the stage of life itself.</P>
<P>If you had no frame of reference, you would find yourself quite at odds with
your environment, and so the modifications of adaptation are a part of your
make-up, as it is the part of the makeup of everyone else, whether they are
across the continent, across the globe, across the valley, across the room or
across the consciousness gap that resides between two separate and individual
organisms, but which are bonded in intimate and fraternal community of spirit
when abridged through the grace of forgiveness. </P>
<P>It could be said, then, if I forgive everything and everyone, even those
little particularities of vocabulary or dialect which, even among like-minded
people can be so troublesome, like nettles or briars that cling to your
clothing, catching you up, as if you were the arbiter of all creation, one might
ask: doesn’t this indicate a total lack of caring … about other people, about
their attitudes, their speculations, their experiences, their conditioning or
their frame of reference? Isn’t it so detached as to be completely removed from
whether the person comes or goes, lives or dies, wins or loses? </P>
<P>When your heart is "in the right place," when it is nestled firmly in the
Mother’s breast of compassion and care for all Her creation, what’s not to love?
Every flaw can be overlooked, every maladjustment can be understood. Every
willful act can be seen as a study in human character and every action can be
seen as a method wherewith any individual may, through free will – the gift of
the Father -- give according to his or her understanding. </P>
<P>Within this perspective of divine affection it is easier to forgive, not only
others but yourself, for those quirks of character you are unable to see because
you are too close to yourself but, through your interactions with others, are
given a chance to see yourself reflected in their eyes and in their behaviors,
[in] their adaptations to you, and their modifications to those circumstances
which will render you willing to allow another greater than us to make those
determinations and judge those behaviors as will be judged in terms of the
eternal and not so limiting as the mortal perspective, which would just as soon
slam the door on the offending view, blame it on the other guy, and go off in
their self-imposed exile of isolation in common with most of humanity, without
having to deal with the captivity that your spirit feels when it has to
subserviently abide by your stubborn will choice to live without the light. </P>
<P>Jesus came to set the spiritual captives free. … not only from the fear of
death, but from the fear of life. </P>
<P>And therein is our work at hand – the embracing of the life, the light, the
way, the truth and the love that is ours for the taking. Be about the Father’s
business, then, of forgiveness, and learn godlikeness in this. </P>
<P>Thus ends my message for this afternoon. I am willing, of course, to
entertain your questions as they relate to the lesson or to your confusion
regarding your involvement in the process of forgiveness or in any of the many
and myriad ways you like to divert yourself from the work of soul-making.
</P><B>
<P>Commencing Q&A:</P></B>
<P>And that was not a judgment! That was a fact. All of us have necessary and
delightful diversions and interactions that compel questions and deserve
answers. (Pause) When you address the floor, my friends, in anticipation of the
transcription of these words to your fellows beyond, I would request you direct
your question not only to those of us who hear with ears to hear, but to the
tape recorder, which has problems in discerning.</P><B>
<P>Esmarelda:</B> Tomas, your lesson was simply beautiful today, and thank you
for it. Tomas, today I was – while you were talking about forgiveness – I can’t
think of a solitary person that I need to forgive anything for. This week I am
flowing with love for everyone. It’s a wonderful place to be – on this earth and
a part of your Kingdom.</P>
<P>I wanted to thank all the celestial beings who I feel were with me this week.
Not to mention the mortals, who were my two daughters, our friends, good
doctors, and I feel like a new person. I was thinking also about – to borrow a
little phrase from Bill Clinton’s speech in John Kerry’s campaign. He was
talking about Kerry and he said that Kerry always said, "Send me" and I feel
like I have been given new time and new life and Send Me. </P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Bless you for your song, Daughter, that you sing, and whose Spirit
is heard on high, harmonizing, no doubt, with the Divine will. </P>
<P>How poignant it is, this material life, when its fragility is shown to be in
existence - in the face of its ability to have held up [for] so long and through
so much. Life is in many ways very fragile, and when the mortal comes
face-to-face with how fragile, in fact, it is (this life in the flesh) there is
a new-found appreciation for life itself … that overreaches the limits of the
mere mortal appreciation and embraces the greatness of life in the bigger
picture, adding new dimension to your appreciation for life and new-found
vigor.</P>
<P>This is why many experiences (many of which are a normal part of life) are
often the trigger to the upreach of the mortal for the Divine Hand to downreach
and give greater depth, breadth and glory to the reality that will let you be
forever. Like many of life’s seeming difficulties and painful areas, such as in
the marital relationship or in the birthing of children, perspective is greatly
enlarged when the recognition comes that the flesh is in many ways a mere
illustration of the reality which is your inheritance, a mere shadow of the
reality that is potentially yours forever, a mere fleck of dust in the eye of
the eternal. </P>
<P>And so, looking back on these seeming vicissitudes, and allowing the mind to
reflect on the inherent value of the experience without the accompanying pain
and distress, the greater picture is made more visible and the finite falls away
in a ready embrace of the infinite. </P>
<P>In this way also, for those of you who take the time to reflect on your
experiences, and find the value inherent therein, you have begun to learn the
key to your own advancement and your own soul’s growth, for you begin to realize
the value of striving for yet more of these experiences which may seem somewhat
painful on the surface, but which hold such quality of divinity, the nourishment
and substance derived from the experience, far over-shadows the mere
inconvenience—</P><B>
<P>Esmarelda:</B> They are blessings, Tomas.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> -- of the interim pain. Just as Jesus willingly experienced the
crucifixion in order to reap the reward of his experience and come into His own,
allowing Him then to radiate the light there where it had not been, and which
you enjoy in your lives today through the Spirit of Truth.</P>
<P>Yes, these experiences are indeed blessings. They are the opportunities to
reach for. When they say you will fatten upon disappointment, and eagerly run to
difficult growing experiences as if you knew what you were getting into – like
marriage and childbearing – you will learn to love the effects of the cause as
much or more than the cause itself. </P>
<P>As for myself, my dear, I am simply glad you are still with us, and with
renewed application to your greater life’s purpose and the capacities inherent
within you to deliver the goods as God would direct your will. </P><B>
<P>Esmarelda:</B> Thank you, Tomas. </P><B>
<P>Miriam: </B>Tomas, I loved your lesson. I’m… We’ve had an exceptional week
and knowing that our birthright and Father’s love is with us at all times, and
that we are provided for and care was given … if we did but reach for it, and
we’re all quite happy with the – to the best of our ability tried to reach for –
we were blessed with the abundance of Father’s love as He came to us in the
doctors, the nurses and tests and people in the right place at the right time
and it was great to have the strength of our love for each other and Father and
Mother with us as much as we could use them. It was, you know, if you gotta go
through a ride like that, it’s the only way to go. And mother’s childlike
approach to life in Father and His blessings. It was an honor be witness to
that. And, you know, we’ll forever be grateful to all of the celestials who were
helping us this week. </P>
<P>But … so there’s that, but your lesson about forgiveness and this mortal
striving really hit home to me because I’ve walked through fire before and I’m a
good walker, but that doesn’t mean we do it gracefully at all times. And the
brambles that you were talking about, I got caught up in some brambles this week
that I wish I couldn’t not have gotten caught up in and forgiveness that my
sister showed me when I wasn’t at my best a couple times, it’s so appreciated.
And it just blew me away; I just felt like I don’t deserve this blessing of
forgiveness, and it was given so freely. So it’s inspiring to me to be aware
that I have growth to do, and I want to know more about it. </P>
<P>I’m glad I can do what I do as far as it went, but there were times when I
just thought, "I don’t want to say this. This thing that I know I’m going to
blurt out. I just don’t want to say it." You know. "Please?" I know. Just be
quiet. Just don’t … and then out it would come. The toad would pop out, and it
was received with love, but, you know, your lesson’s just right on the money. So
thank you.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> The outpouring you have shared with all of us is welcome to our
ears. I heard you say you were forgiven and did not feel deserving of
forgiveness. I point out to you that you are not qualified to judge and that you
must relinquish your hold on mercy, that it may flow to you as well as from you,
for this is a part of the song we seek to sing that allows harmony to
reverberate all the way to paradise and then back to you and through you, out
into the field where you have been diligently working. We regard you as a
trooper. </P>
<P>Do remember, when toads emit from your mouth, you need but kiss them with the
balm of forgiveness for them to reflect as the Prince of Peace. Let yourself be
yourself. Allow your own childlike nature to run rampant through the fields of
joy and toil provided for you. You have given yourself to God. Your heart is
good. Condemn not your heart’s manifestation of itself, for as is said, in your
axiom, "God isn’t finished with you yet." </P>
<P>And this is where we benefit from his not being finished with you yet,
because you are still here, with your loved ones, and in our company. And if
anyone has to have any review of what importance each other plays in each
other’s lives, it ought not take but a moment’s reflection to know how cold and
dark and lonely the world can be without love in it. Even relative love,
relatively perfect and relatively imperfect, is far better than no love at all.
And this is also true: "Love is more contageous than hate" or anger or
resentment or reptiles. </P><B>
<P>Paula:</B> You are all very lucky to have been born into a family where you
had brothers and sisters. I was an only child and didn’t have that experience. I
did have a lifelong best friend, but I lost her three years ago. And now Mary Jo
and I have gotten to be very close. She is as close to a sister as I’ll ever
have, so she means a lot to me. We talk on the phone very day. She’s one
terrific lady.</P><B>
<P>Elena:</B> Well, Tomas, I have to beg your forgiveness because I slept
through the whole lesson. I’m really sorry. So I hope that forgiveness is
extended – I’m assuming that that’s going to be extended to me, too. </P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> I am not your spiritual captor, Elena. I hold you not as a
prisoner to my ministrations, trusting that even in your sleep, in your rest,
you are finding the necessary nourishment to survive and persist and progress.
Our Eternal Parents are ever watchful, even when mortal men and women fall short
of their ability to notice everything about everyone or occasionally anything or
anyone. It is always a reminder to note that when you sleep, you are acting in
trust that the world will be here when your eyes open, as the light will shine
in the morning after the long night, and as the resurrection will occur after
the death.</P>
<P>Unrelated to the lesson or the issue of forgiveness, Elena, have you a
question or a concern?</P><B>
<P>Elena:</B> Well, I’m just grateful for this week. And I really didn’t worry
this week because I really knew that we were in God’s hands, so I didn’t worry
about that. And if I really apply that to everything else, then I guess I really
don’t have anything else to worry about either. I am concerned about energy
levels and going back to work next week, but that if I really apply that same
kind of thinking, then really, what do I have to worry about? So, I guess with
that, that’s basically it. And grateful for that, too.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> It always boils down to a question of intent and motivation. And I
cannot see your heart; and you cannot see your heart. Only God can see your
heart in the way that will assure your personal fusion, and not everyone opts to
go that route, and so, yes, there is the element of essential reality that will
assure that all things good will be assimilated into the Evolving Supreme, and
thus the contribution to God has been made. </P>
<P>This, however, is not the same as paying passage; it is something the Supreme
takes unto itself as freely as humans take what they need to survive. </P>
<P>A conscious commitment to survive involves the supreme decision, the
consecrated choice. This is that which constitutes the lever by which you are
able to turn on your own light and by which the Father knows you. The testimony
that it is your will to do His will may be a commitment and it may be a
diversion. But only the individual in still, quiet reflection with his or her
inner life can discern the relative truth content of his or her reflections, and
this is a lesson similar to thatwhich comes when one ponders whether or not he
is humble. It seems the more one wonders how humble he is, the less humble he
appears. </P>
<P>To the extent that you forgive yourself, you must forgive others; and to the
extent that you forgive others, you must forgive yourself. </P><B>
<P>Elena: </B>I feel like I didn’t miss very much. I think you’ve caught me up
on that very nicely. Thank you, Tomas.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> This is what the Sabbath is created for, as I understand it, and
so, then, there are matters of mortal concern to deal with having to do with
resting and recreating as we did at the Retreat that was so enjoyed by all of
us, mortal and divine and morontial. Let us recess, then, for you to have
another taste of retreat from life in the joy of our association and fellowship
in the spirit as siblings in the Family of God, the Father and Mother combined.
I look forward to your next gathering. And in the interim, be of good cheer.
Amen and farewell.</P><B>
<P>Group: </B>Thank you. Tomas.</P>
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