by Maureen Lakin and Joyce Krantz
Maureen Lakin: Hello everyone. Thank you, Tom, for always welcoming us with a bright spark. And thank you, Sanford, as well, for always choosing the most appropriate and lovely music every time we gather.
I would like to start by reading these words of Martin Exeter’s:
“It wasn’t long ago when there was a recognition of a battle for the minds of men, and women too, presumably. Human beings are taken up with this battle, both being attacked and attacking. I’m sure somebody wants your vote; he has to grab hold of your mind to get it. Somebody wants to sell you his wares; he has to grab hold of your mind to do that. So we see a battle raging constantly. This battle might be seen symbolically as occurring between the heads of the dragon. They are all vying for first place. There is another battle, which is described in the book of Revelation: ‘There was war in heaven.’ Well, these battles I have been describing are occurring in the first heaven. That, after all, is where the dragon with his heads resides.
“We may see it in terms of the human mind. What is it that shall characterize that facility? We are well aware that the prince of darkness has occupied this mental capacity in the world the way it is. His occupation involves a continuing battle. We have a recognition that this mental capacity should be filled with the light rather than the darkness. It is the same mental capacity whether it is occupied by the light or the darkness. In the first heaven, it is occupied by the darkness; in the new heaven it is occupied by the light.”
Every digital screen, every news broadcast and every social media feed today feels like a manifestation of this multi-headed dragon. The dragon of modern media bombards us all with a relentless torrent of horror: broadcasting war, systemic violence, financial ruin, economic collapse, and bitter, bitter political hatred. People are drawn into this constant negativity and hostility. Just about everybody seems to have an opposing opinion about everything. What should be media tools for connection have devolved into battlegrounds of anger and hatred. These toxic thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are high nutrition and fuel for the dragon. He is gleefully in a state of delighted bliss because he thrives on a currency of fear and outrage. His goal is to make humans feel isolated, helpless, and convinced that darkness has won, trapping humanity in a state of collective despair. You and I may pay attention to the current news, but we refuse to feed this beast. Rather than meeting him with outrage or opening our hearts to him, we neutralize him with the power of light. A louder raging voice does not equal a greater presence.
Instead, we take the road seemingly less traveled by. As it says in Philippians (4:8), “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, think on these things.” And THAT makes all the difference.
As I think we all recognize that underneath this layer of unceasing noise and chaos, a global awakening has been underway. An army of lightworkers unified by a shared radiant frequency is emerging in the north, the south, the east, and the west across this planet to anchor and focus divine light into our world. As the dragon screams its illusions of division, the light’s quiet army is paving the way for light to create the new. We and many other awake and awakening ones around the globe understand that the true battle isn’t physical, but a shift from fear to love. Every conscious breath, every love-filled word, every truth-filled word, every ray of light extended dissolves the dragon’s lies and transforms the earth around us.
There are all kinds of lightworkers on this planet from all walks of life. I’d like to share with you part of a presentation from one of them; hers is a name we may all recognize: Maria Shriver. She’s a journalist presently focusing on finding meaning and rising above daily noise, as featured in her weekly Sunday paper:
“This week I made a concerted effort to pay attention to the little things, to the way the grass moves when there is a slight breeze, to the sounds of birds in the early morning. I even started paying attention to the sound of the quiet in my home. It sounds like air breathing. It sounds like cracks in the wood floor. It sounds, well, like silence.
“Being curious about the little things this week made me feel deeply grateful for this wild and precious life. I’m grateful to be able to notice that the wind moves the grass to and fro. I’m grateful that the birds seem joyful in a world that feels so fearful. And I’m grateful that I can notice quiet when most people feel overwhelmed by how noisy our world has become.
“I know it’s noisy. I feel that too. But I’ve learned something recently. When the noise gets to be too much, when I find myself going down the rabbit hole of things I don’t understand, I must stop myself. Or more specifically, I must stop my mind from going there and return to my heart instead. It’s at these moments that I return to the slow sound of my breath, to the grass, to the birds, and to the quiet all around me and within. Gratitude does that for you. It brings you back to what is real and what really matters. It brings you back to the people and moments that remind you why you are here.
“This week, I am in Minneapolis at the Special Olympics USA Games. And I am grateful to be here. Picture it for a moment: thousands of athletes who have spent their lives being told what they cannot do are now proving that they can. They’re running, jumping, swimming, winning, losing, and trying again. They are surrounded by coaches and volunteers and families who show up not because they have to, but because they want to. Because love brings them here.”
I recently read the book, “Theo of Golden,” by Allen Levi. It’s another wonderful example that perfectly illustrates how light can flow through a single channel to bring profound blessings to the world. The past few years seem to have seen a surge in nonfiction books driven by a definite consciousness of light. Yet, to me, this awareness remains very rare in fiction. While many novels successfully deliver beautiful moral lessons, few of them truly reflect an author writing from a state of elevated spiritual perception. As an aside, what a delight it was for me two days ago to discover an article in the Wall Street Journal entitled, “Theo of Golden Broke Every Rule in Publishing. It’s an Unprecedented Bestseller!”
Mr. Levi’s book carries a light that I believe has the ability to rearrange something inside the reader, to rearrange something that opens a door to a new way of being. It’s a simple story about an elderly man named Theo who is empathetic and generous. He acts as a literal and figurative vessel of light, shining a spotlight on the unseen beauty in others. His spirituality is expressed through what becomes a sacred ritual of studying local pencil portraits and then, at a later date, guides each portrait subject into conversation, telling them what he sees when he studies their face in the frame and affirming that each person is capable of saintliness. Through his small, deliberate acts of grace, he hands them a piece of their own worth. As I see it, the story points to the transformative power found not in grand displays, but in the sacred and masterful expression of love expressed through the perfect alignment of a wise mind and a radiant heart.
As we know, love shining through the light is what gives power to the new heaven to make manifest the new earth. Along this line, Kabbalah, for example, teaches that our existence comprises two interconnected realms—the 1% realm and the 99% realm. The 1% world is the physical world that we perceive with our five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, which we navigate through daily. It’s the world governed by the appearance of separation from one another, from nature and separation from the divine. It’s the world of restriction and illusion. The 99% realm is the unseen spiritual realm of cause, of absolute fulfillment, order, and endless light. It’s the realm of the underlying energy of the Creator and unconditional love. I like to think of this 1% realm as the old heaven, the visible realm of chaos and suffering. The real world, the new heaven, is the 99% realm. Kabbalah also says that whenever we experience the slightest joy or happiness, it is because we have tiptoed into that 99% realm, even if only for a brief time. It is our job as Creator-Beings to see to it that our minds are not vessels occupied by the dragon and his henchmen at the 1%, but in fact are angelic vessels in the 99% world, consistently holding and stewarding the presence of the creative power of light.
We recently had some new overhead light bulbs installed in our home. If you’ve ever paused to look closely at the packaging of light bulbs, you’ll find a subtle number followed by a K, which indicates its subtle warmth or its brilliance. This is the Kelvin scale, which measures the color temperature of light. The lower numbers give a warm amber glow. The higher numbers bring a sharp, brilliant daylight.
Talking to the electrician who was in our home reminded me that different temperatures of light serve as a perfect analogy for how we let the light shine. Letting the light shine and being alert to what this means moment by moment is not a boring or mundane undertaking, but an exciting adventure. I think of the lower Kelvin numbers in terms of the soft golden light of a candle or a fireplace. This, to me, is the light of Presence, rest, and deep connection. It can hold space for someone’s grief. It’s gentle, it’s soothing, it’s safe. A little higher on the Kelvin scale presents a light that’s clean, neutral white. I see this as the light of creative conversations with friends or actions just moving through the day. And then there are high Kelvins, the blue-white light of high noon. This is the light of focused purpose, brilliant inspiration, clarity, and magnificent truth.
No Kelvin intensity is better than another. We keep the flame of light steady, fueled by a passionate heart and, through our steadiness, wisdom grows; wisdom that knows what intensity each moment needs. From here, we offer whatever light will heal, whatever brightness will lift. “The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.” (Leviticus 6:13)
We are Creator-Beings whose vessel of mind (not to exclude our hearts) is being restored from occupancy by the dragon to the state of the one who has been called Lucifer, Son of the morning. Lucifer’s name, as we know, means “light bearer.” We don’t have the experience of Lucifer without bearing the light! Lucifer is the one who carries the torch, perfect in beauty, radiant, illuminating and vanishing the darkness. If we’ve thought about it at all, Lucifer has been thought of in male or masculine terms, but I venture to say that Lucifer has a feminine complement. This feminine One has, until now, remained in the shadows, hidden, quietly waiting to be visible once again. Her name is Sophia. Her name means “intuitive, divine wisdom.” She is the one who understands what the light reveals. She sees, and she perceives deeply. And she transforms illumination into meaning. Together, Lucifer and Sophia are a perfect wholeness. Where Lucifer’s light shines, Sophia’s wisdom sees. And where Sophia yearns to understand, Lucifer’s radiance makes that possible. Two expressions, equal and inseparable as one in divine light. In closing, I wrote these final words:
Lucifer and Sophia
The morning star ignites the night, A male expanse of burning light.
He scorches heaven’s boundless height, And blinds the dark with sovereign might.
The feminine, a silent sea, Holds wisdom’s quiet mystery.
She weaves the truth in worlds so grand, And guides him with a gentle hand.
He is the fire that breaks the mold, She is the truth the fires unfold.
Joyce Krantz: Thank you, Maureen. That was so beautiful, so deep, so true.
We are here to live in the whole world, not just in the 1% realm, as you referenced from the Kabbalah—the world of space, time, and matter shaped by our five senses. The world of cause, the remaining 99%, or whatever amount it is, has been out of view. It is the non-physical, spiritual dimensions that underlie and generate everything. Mankind has had a very narrow view of the world. There is so much more that the mind and the soul have not seen that is right before our eyes.
The reality of man being seven-dimensional is something many of us have understood for a while. If we refer to the light spectrum in our three-dimensional world view, we see a rainbow of colors, the seven primary ones that we’ve learned in our youth. But we also know that there are waves of light that are invisible to our eyes, that are present and operational in our dimensional world: radio, microwave, infrared, ultraviolet, x-ray, gamma ray radiation, etc. We use infrared technology to look into the deep of space. Through the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have identified over one million distant galaxies not visible to the naked eye. Well, that certainly brings a different perspective to man’s place in the universe. Perhaps it can evoke awe and wonder and pose the question of why are we here? What is my relationship to all of that? Our beautiful blue marble planet seen from space certainly inspires an appreciation for the wonder and beauty of this home we call Earth.
If we agree that only a fraction of our capacity is being used, and in this context, know that the world of the “dragon” is a very untenable and unsustainable world, how do we see experience the 99% that is present? That is the question before us. The answer is not in adding anything, but in removing what blocks the perception we already have. The light is already present. What blocks it are the areas in our hearts and minds that resist it: Fear—I just want to stay in my little comfy bubble, which is really not that comfortable nor sustainable, but I’m going to try to hold on! Ego—the small self-will, which is all about me and my world, regardless of others and the planet I inhabit. Emotional reaction—anger, shame, guilt, et cetera, which distorts the field of perception with confusion, misinterpretation, worry, and separation. Mental certainty—Oh, yeah. Show me the evidence based on what I can perceive with my limited five senses, even though I know it is only a fraction of what is really going on. And judgment—I am certain that I am right and you are wrong! Are you sure about that?
Perception of light through an unblocked heart and still mind is beautifully pure, clear, transparent, stable, truthful, and illuminating. The Master said, “If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” (Matthew 6:22) This refers to one’s unwavering alignment in God. Here is purpose, direction, wisdom, a sense of lightness and joy, freedom, and connection with all things.
It is interesting to contemplate other dimensions of our being that have not fully come online, but are no less present in essence in our capacities to perceive: intuition—that sensing or compulsion in the moment to do or say something that, if ignored, circles back with a firmer nudge; telepathy; levitation (there are all sorts of speculation as to how the Great Pyramid was built); superhuman powers that show up in our movies and comic book heroes—perhaps a distant memory of what was and is possible. But it is only possible if trust is once again restored through man’s alignment in God and his universal laws.
In the cycles of awakening, there is a spiral effect. Our field of perception and understanding has the potential to widen and deepen with every rotation upwards. Take, for example, the universal law of life and the great commandment, “Love the Lord thy God with all and love thy neighbor as thyself.” Well, in the cycles of awakening, what we initially may have thought loving our neighbor meant was probably more like tolerance of their annoying behavior because I’m supposed to, and counting my blessings that I’m not like them, or in their boat! But coming into increased union with the Creator through expressing the qualities of divine being: compassion of the heart, understanding, appreciation, forgiveness, respect, and unconditional love, our neighbors are seen as part of ourselves, not separate.
We are aware that we are in a time of great change and transition. The old heaven is passing away, the light is intensifying, and the capacity of man to contain and release it constructively is ours to demonstrate. For those of us who have some understanding of this process—and that includes many more than any of us are aware of—we carry the greatest responsibility. With the world in such a state of confusion, turmoil, division, instability, and potential self-annihilation, our role as light bearers is to keep the portals of mind and heart open. We know how to do this, and we have a responsibility in our interactions with others to show the way.
A book recently came into my hands, written by Melinda French Gates, entitled, The Next Day: Transitions Change in Moving Forward. It is a personal account of how she has navigated recent major life changes, including career shifts, relationship endings, grief, and identity evolution. The part I wish to share here is a parable from Ram Dass that she quoted:
The story begins with two waves traveling together through the ocean, one big and the other small.
As they get closer to land, the big one sees what’s about to happen. One after another, the waves ahead of them are crashing into the shore—their force dissipating, their height collapsing, their imposing shape dissolving into foam. Devastated, the big wave tells the small one what is about to happen, warning in a grave voice that the end is near.
The small wave receives this warning with incredible equanimity. “Don’t worry,” it says. “We’ll all be fine.”
“You don’t understand, the tall wave insists. “This is it. We’re done for.”
The small wave is unmoved. “No,” it says,“we’re not. And I can explain why in just six words. You’re not a wave. You’re water.”
The story of the two waves is a story about possibilities. But equally important, it’s a story about the power of perspective.
As the two waves approach the shore, the tall wave can perceive what lies ahead only as a brutal ending. The small wave, though, can see the bigger picture. It understands that waves are just temporary manifestations of water’s deeper, truer identity. And that understanding helps the small wave reconceptualize its collision with the shore. Instead of an ending, the collision marks a new beginning.
In light of our consideration today, we can see that the small wave represents who we are in truth. This is our sense of self that is not narrowly defined by a temporary human form, but rather is realized as our true unchanging nature. I’m not a wave acted upon, but rather the force that is animating all things, the radiance of the light.
In this journey of return to wholeness, mankind’s stuck consciousness in the 1% world of form elicits a sense of incompleteness and yearning for something more. Is that not true? The “more” is not found in the world of effects, but in cause. There is a choice each one of us makes as to which world we want to live in. The phrase, “being in the world, but not of it,” is living fully engaged in human life while not letting one’s identity, orientation, or consciousness be shaped by the collective distortions, fears, or value systems that dominate the world of effects—the heads of the dragon. We can observe and hold space for each other, but we don’t get pulled into the drama and the to-ing and fro-ing that characterizes the human state. For myself, it is a joy when I see anyone articulating the truth, honoring the values of decency, respect, inclusiveness, and integrity among us. It is light illuminating the darkness of ignorance and insanity. May we light up our worlds so the choice for man becomes crystal clear.
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