By Larry Krantz
Greetings everyone. We have the opportunity now to allow something radiant to emerge from our combined presence.
I see two major inflection points on the road to spiritual understanding. The first one is simply to turn in the right direction, toward Source, which is not all that common in the world. For most people, it’s not even a conscious choice. The world is accepted as it is, with its messiness and wars and hypocrisy and anger and dishonesty and hurt hearts from failed relationships or inadequate parents, as well as a disregard for the natural world. Such people often do the best they can to succeed in this odd and bizarre world. Some do well, after a fashion, while many others struggle mightily.
As a young person, I looked at the world and thought something must be wrong. It was madness, including my classmates who were sent to fight and die in a jungle the other side of the world in a war no one understood, so I looked for meaning, an explanation beyond the surface appearance of things. After some missteps, I was fortunate to find answers. I stumbled upon the writings of Uranda and Martin and the world began to make sense. What I read, I already knew in my heart to be true but had never articulated clearly: Real spiritual education is an uncovering of what is already present, not something piled on from outside and memorized or believed. At the time, I had a very close friend, and in my excitement, I sent him some literature. He just didn’t get it. What’s more, from that point on, he wanted nothing to do with me, despite how close we had been. Perhaps he thought I had fallen victim to a cult or had lost my mind. His rejection was not just of me, but what I represented. He had chosen to turn away from what would have lifted him to spiritual understanding.
Let’s talk about the second inflection point. To ease into it, let me tell you about a few automobiles I have owned. As a young man, I had a little, red Italian sports car. Like most Italian sports cars of that vintage, it broke down quite a bit. But when it worked, it was great fun. I drove it to the beach with the convertible top down and rode it around New York City weaving in and out of traffic. It was the right car at the time. I loved that little car. Some years later, my needs changed. I traveled across the country in a Volkswagen van. It was used and rusted and had a hole in the floor, which I covered with a steel plate. I put carpet over that and then a foam rubber mattress to sleep on and added cabinets to put granola and water in. It got me out to Colorado and back to New York again. It wasn’t very powerful, to say the least. In fact, when I visited a friend who lived on a hill, the van only made it partway. I had to park and walk the rest of the way up. I loved that van. It was my home for two years. Fast forward a couple of decades to when I took my young family skiing in a white Subaru hatchback with a turbocharged engine and four-wheel drive. It was a great vehicle for going up and down the mountains and through snow. Just what was needed at the time.
You’re probably wondering why I’m talking about cars. It leads in to our consideration, which I’ll get to shortly, but I am also having a little fun with you, approaching an important matter in an odd way. As an aside, in the world of religion, spiritual figures are often somber and stern, even dour. They may dress in dark clothing; black seems to be a favorite color. Some of them think that forced celibacy will make them more spiritual, when the opposite is true. We need to be free in all areas of our creative potential if we are to be full spiritual beings. We’re allowed to have fun, as I am doing now, and to have a sense of humor. Life is to be enjoyed. I wrote something once, as a reminder of this. It is a take on the beginning of Genesis: In the beginning, God created a cosmic playground for the enjoyment of spiritually conscious beings to experience the wonder and magic of creation. We may enjoy the ever-changing wonder of creation through our personal experience, and be full of life.
Okay, back to automobiles, I have used them as an analogy for the magic of incarnation. Put simply: we are not the vehicles; we are the drivers. Perhaps we have had many incarnations—who knows—all different, reflective of the needs at different times and the forms available, each held in sacred love. We are the ones who enter the vehicles. All of us are incarnate now; we are alive in our human forms. “Incarnation” literally means “into the flesh.” Who is it that enters these human forms? It is the eternal God-Being. This is who we are.
In the Bible, mention is made that after the Fall, women brought forth their children in suffering. This was a downward change, necessitated by a lower vibration. Previously, a different means of incarnation occurred, perhaps something more direct—one that did not require women to suffer in childbirth. Such forms in the state of oneness with the divine were not what we know today. Perhaps, one day, if ascension continues, we might transform out of these less-flexible bodies into something else, perhaps more light-filled. As with the analogy of cars, we may love and appreciate the forms we occupy, knowing we are the drivers, not the forms. We are the Ones who dwell. This is the second inflection point—the change from identifying solely as the human form and into divine identity. We are the drivers, eternal Beings, aware of a larger purpose, not just the vehicle.
These days, some cars drive themselves; they have a measure of intelligence and make choices. Recently, Joyce and I passed a Robotaxi on the Interstate in Phoenix; it was in the next lane going 70 miles an hour. A woman was in the back seat. No one was up front. It was disconcerting to see, but I expect self-driving cars will become more commonplace. One can imagine a glitch in the programming so a person who asked to go home is brought instead to a sketchy part of the city where a drug deal is going down: wrong place at the wrong time. That is the state of affairs now. The angelic Being sees creative options for the person, but the human often ignores divine input and makes poor decisions that end up having harmful consequences—out of sync, in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The human mind and heart were designed not to analyze the external world and make decisions on that basis, but to focus what’s true in spirit, to act in concert with the inner guidance of love, to live creatively. The One Who Dwells is you. This is the essential shift in identity necessary for spiritual maturity. The human part of us always has this internal guidance available, a kind of inner, divine GPS, felt through mind and heart, intuitively.
We may be aware of the limitations and foibles of the human self, as I am of this one speaking now, called Larry. It is not who I am, but I am visible through him. We work with what we have, with humor and creativity. We accept the flaws and shortcomings of a somewhat-limited form and adapt, just as we did with our cars, to make the best use of what we have. Nothing can stop us from expressing a noble spirit through the form into which we have incarnated.
To emphasize this theme of becoming aware of our inner reality, let us consider some historical examples, such as the experience of Moses. You recall, he saw a burning bush. It revealed a world behind the outer world, visible to him as substance we call pneumaplasm. Some people see auras and even fine details of pneumaplasm, others sense this subtle substance through other means of perception. Moses realized he was more than just the outer man. He was Being: I AM THAT I AM. His experience is recorded as if he had a conversation with God, but it really took place within his own consciousness. It took some convincing for him to take responsibility and accept the job at hand. The timing was right to free the Israelites. He had grown up in the house of Pharoah and had unique access to the court.
He said to his inner Self, “I don’t think I’m the right man for this job.” The reply was, “Fear not. I am with you. I will help show you the way.” He said to his inner Self, “I’m not very good at speaking to people. I can’t face Pharaoh.” His inner reality said, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll put words in your mouth. I’ll be with you.” Moses needed more convincing, so some bargaining took place. Moses thought, “Maybe my brother Aaron would do a better job. He’s good at speaking to people.” The inner reality was creative and flexible, and said, “OK, I can work with that.” Moses finally accepted his destiny and grew into his role, and into oneness with the Being within. All the factors lined up for him to be successful. And he helped free the Israelites.
Another example is the prophet Daniel. He became aware of the inner reality of who he was. It, too, is written as though he was having a conversation with God, but it was in his own consciousness. This is from Daniel 10:11: “And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee and stand upright. For unto thee am I now sent, and when he has spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that thou did set thine heart to understand and to chasten thyself before God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy word.” Daniel realized he was more than just the outer person he had thought himself to be.
Another example is the disciple, John. He became aware of his true Self, described as an angel, but it was himself. He wrote (in Rev. 22), “And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets….” This was an invitation to oneness, to function as brethren, as it is put—a shared love and union.
Each of us has our own story of coming into identity with the inner Self, who is eternal and divine, to whatever extent it is true for us. The inner reality breathes life into our forms. It keeps blood circulating and our lungs breathing even when we’re asleep, and also a trillion things right now in our bodies. Every cell is doing something to keep the outer form alive as long as possible or needed. The divine being comprehends factors way beyond what the human mind is capable of understanding. He/She is aware of the universal flow of spirit, the movement of all earthly forces and people, and what creative opportunities are open before us. Being is here to guide, to help, to give our outer selves the opportunity to do what is right, offered in love. Our job is to choose creatively within the flow of spirit. If we trust the guidance of our inner Selves, we live in the shadow of the Almighty and know true accomplishment and fulfilment. Even those who do not consciously acknowledge their inner Self, may sense what is right, usually thought of as a conscience. Some choose to override this inner sensing and stray far from what is right and true, and suffer consequences. Let us become more sensitive, more perceptive to what is absolutely trustworthy, guided from within—what “feels” right—that we may move with assurance and live creatively in the tone of life.
The Master said the great commandment was to love the Lord, thy God with all thy heart and soul and mind. He didn’t say love some God over there because he needs to be worshipped to feel better about himself like a human ego. He said, love the Lord, thy God. That’s very personal. Thy God is thy inner being, and is one with the Lord of Lords.
Uranda said this about the vision of our inner presence: “God has planted in the days of our tomorrows, the seed for every needful thing with far greater wisdom than you, the outer person, could display with respect to what should be planted there. A far greater understanding of all the interrelationships as they affect every human being on the face of the earth. God has planted it. It is for us to provide the right atmosphere for its growing. It is for us to dress it and give it form and keep it.” That is our responsibility.
I have thought recently about the day of Pentecost, which shows the potential of what may come as we move toward the true state, and also pitfalls to avoid. At the time of the Master, Pentecost was a celebration of the first harvest, 50 days after Passover, which was His last supper. The disciples scattered for a time, fearful of what might happen to them. Pentecost was when people came back to Jerusalem, a kind of holiday. The Master’s followers convened in an upper room—perhaps meant more metaphorical than physical. Judas had been replaced by Matthias. Many followers gathered that day. I suspect that number included twelve women who balanced out the twelve men. That made four and twenty elders, a representation of the aspects of mankind. They were in agreement, and there was sufficient fine substance lingering from the Master so something remarkable took place.
It is said they spoke in tongues, so that even those who knew only other languages understood them. In the energized substance present, they communed at a level above words, as was common before the Tower of Babel, a more direct means of communication understood without words as we use them now. Remarkable!
The mistake the disciples and followers made was to think they needed to run off and tell everyone about it, to seek greater numbers. That led to backlash and it did not go well for many of them. John was exiled to an island; others were beheaded or came to very unpleasant ends.
Let us learn from their mistakes. We have the wisdom to keep what is sacred protected, and to let our own spiritual understanding fill out, to not rush things. Radiation engenders response. There is no need to shout from the rooftops to those who are not in position to understand. Let it work out naturally and organically. As the radiation increases, it will have its effect, in time. Judgment of results is not needed. It will be whatever it will be.
For us, we, the outer person, may surrender to our divine Selves, the inner knowing. We are not the vehicle but the driver—a significant shift in identity. Radiation goes forth from right living. For Joyce and me, part of a returning cycle was spending two days with the Korean group that came to Colorado recently—twenty-four of them, an interesting number. They are young, full of zeal, and under the wise guidance of Yujin Pak and Marsha Bogolin. It was very special having time with these forever-friends, a continuation of the one generation of substance, that all might awaken to the truth of themselves.
This emergence is a glimpse into the Government of God on earth. No campaigning needed, no rivalry, no ego. Each person finds his or her place in the pattern of divine design, doing what they were born to do. Each has responsibility for a creative field, yet are part of a more encompassing creative field, which ultimately leads to our King, who is responsible for everything on this planetary home, and perhaps more. He, too, is part of a yet larger creative field. It is a perfect design, a many-faceted jewel, fit together precisely. It is natural and easy. Intricate and beautiful. No stress, no strain. All parts function together for cosmic achievement and everyone is exactly where they belong, held in place by the Tone.
Let us be a stable force amid the storms and chaos of the world, to represent true home and divine identity. It is why we have incarnated at this time. The job is ours to do, with all awakening ones, in oneness.