1993-11-05-Our Own Self Enemy

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Topic: Our Own Self Enemy

Group: Pocatello TeaM

Facilitators

Teacher: Daniel

TR: Unknown

Session

Opening

Opening prayer

Daniel: "Good evening, my friends. I am Daniel, your teacher and guide. I am happy to have you here tonight as well as the guests whom I consider to be an extended part of this group.

Lesson

God-consciousness

The last few weeks I have been observing and noting that the lessons that have been given are being contemplated, are being looked at by you and thought about as a means of bringing the essence of the lessons into your life. You are looking at these ideas as guideposts by which you can lead your life and thereby be in tune with the will of the First Source and Center. This is what we as teachers are hoping for. For it is through our words and the reading you do in the Urantia Book, the other areas in which you find truth; all of these things are necessary in order for you to transcend the temporal life; to see beyond the trials of your mortal existence to a greater life, the one that is your divine life. And so, my friends, it is my joy to see you each taking those steps necessary in order for you to reach your potential.

It is necessary that you begin to have this God consciousness as part of your whole life, not something that is done once or twice during the week or only during the quiet time that you set aside. Living the will of the Father takes a real commitment, a real desire on your part. The desire propels you into that search of the First Source and Center. That search is to expand your knowledge of God. Certainly you are beginning to realize that you cannot as a finite being understand the totality of God. But by your experiences in life and by your desire to understand you are beginning to know God, to know Him as a finite creature can. As with any knowledge that you learn about in life you are able to take the very simple and work to the very complex. That is, what you understand when you first begin, is not even recognizable compared to your knowledge and understanding as you complete a course of study or become versed in a certain area.

Think, if you will, of the young child wanting to read. The first attempt at reading is just looking at pictures and making up a story to go with the pictures. But as the child grows into that knowledge of what reading entails, of being able to see that each word represents a certain idea; that each letter within the word is represented by a sound, and often there are various letters that go together to make a sound; each layer of knowledge builds and that child at some point can take on reading. By the time he has completed his or her education, reading is a part of his life. Yet what he is able to read and gain knowledge from is certainly different from where he first started, i.e., looking at pictures.

And so it is with your lives. As you take that desire to know God into your heart, as you continue to sit in the silence, then step by step you are growing into a God consciousness, a consciousness that will take you through all your days. Through becoming aware of God's presence at all times, you will know that which is important in following His will.

Balance

The Master, Christ Michael, has said that it is important for you to realize that the enemies of anyone are within their own household. Take a look at this word 'household' and transfer it to the meaning of your own body, your own mind, your own being. If you are an enemy of your own being than you will not be able to access your divine nature. It is important, therefor, my friends, that each of you continue to come into that reality of who you are, what you are, what makes you tick, and why you do the things you do. As you come into that reality, you will begin to see that as you have spoken tonight about balance, you will begin to see how necessary it is for you to balance the various areas of your life, so that they do not become the enemy of your household which you must defend against. Rather take the knowledge you have regarding the aspect of keeping body, mind, and spirit in balance and utilize this as a way to work for you, and not against you. The enemies of a household can, as I have said, short circuit any avenue for the divine flow.

This being able to balance one's life often has many difficulties in a material existence when there are certain commitments that must be made to work, to family, etc., etc. The lesson I give tonight in this regard is in no way stating that you must feel guilty if your life is not in balance. My intent is only to bring to your mind again the necessary steps that are helpful for you in accessing your divine nature.

As you keep a harmonious balance, then, the life flow of the divine nature will be easy for you to follow, to learn and to grow from. It is through your commitment to knowing the Father that you will in time discover ways in which you can balance your life so that it is more harmonious. From that step, then, you are able to accept the challenges that are asked of you when you are seeking to follow the Father's will.

Commitment

Whenever you make that commitment there will be times when you must face challenges. You must be prepared to take that next step. The next step is generally not an easy one. As you have spoken earlier this evening regarding comfort zones, there are times in your life when you need that time for rest, time to prepare for the next step. The caterpillar works so hard at eating and feasting on everything he can find. If you are like the caterpillar the bits and pieces of knowledge and the truth that you can muster at some point become overwhelming and you must take a rest, as does the caterpillar as he spins his chrysalis. As the chrysalis rests, then, through a season, so, too, do you rest. And when the chrysalis opens up there is a beautiful transformation as you will see in yourselves. What you have taken in, what you have nourished, what you have desired will someday spring forth. And again, then, like the butterfly, as your wings dry you must take to flight and discover another adventure, learning and growing anew. The difficulty in all of this, however, is being able to take that step, to be able to make that commitment, to be able to withstand the pressures and the challenges of each new step. The beauty that you know, however, is that with each step you are not alone. There is help and you are being supported. Therefor I ask each of you to let go of fear. Let go of anything that is holding you back from taking that next step. Allow the presence of the Father, that God consciousness of which we spoke to be there for you, that when you are ready to take that step you will be so filled with the understanding and knowledge of the Father's presence that you can boldly take the step without hesitation. There is no ascending being who at one point or another has not stopped and gotten what you would call, 'cold feet', second thoughts. How easy it is to sit in the comfort of that which is secure, that which is already known. How hard it is to take that step!

Progress

Interestingly enough you will find out that once you have made that commitment, have the desire to change and grow, then the worst part is essentially over! Often it is that mindal thought process that is more difficult to overcome than the actual work of doing. Therefor I ask each of you to take time this week to consider any barriers, anything in your mind that is hampering you. True, you have come a long way. True, you have made great gains. True, you have all taken steps. However, as you well know that for every step that is taken a new and greater adventure lies with the next step. As you have made commitments to yourselves and to the First Source and Center, as you have made that commitment to follow His will, then you will wait anxiously, fearfully, doubtfully for the next step. You will also wait with that sense of unexpectedness, that sense of adventure, that sense of the human spirit that keeps you going forward. Utilize this as your courage to help you take the steps.

Realize that even as you are taking those steps, there will be within you times of doubt, times of wondering 'should I have done this or should I have done that?' 'Am I taking the right step, going down the right path?' Doubting is normal. Allowing doubt to hold you back, however, is detrimental. When the doubts arise, when the fear comes up seek that Inner Guide, for in doing so will you not only be given the necessary tools to continue on the path, but you will also be fortified with the strength to follow that path. Let not the enemies of any household pull you down. Face the enemy. There is a saying on your plane, 'I saw the enemy, and he was I'. Do not be your own worst enemy. Be your best friend. Give yourself that time each day to go into the silence that you may know. In the silence you will find God; you will know the path; you will alleviate doubts. I will now accept a few questions."

Dialogue

Fear

V1: "Hello, Daniel, this is V1. I can't help but think in terms of the Course in Miracles. We talk about fear and I think that it is just really true that when I am afraid then I am lacking love for either myself or that other person, or whatever the situation might be. It is such a simple question and I know there may be a simple answer, but how do you get rid of that fear? You recognize it and don't have just a trite answer or saying because many times I am afraid of people or situations. How do you get rid of that fear?"

Daniel: "As with many questions this can be answered from various avenues, various trains of thought, and can be answered in various layers. The basic thing is to remember that fear is a part of the defense mechanism that is built into your electrical/chemical nature; that it is from this aspect of fear that man has often survived, has been able to grow and progress. The fear of hunger led man to learn how to preserve food, to maintain food during times when it was scarce. So you see, fear does have its good side. However during times when it is not about survival, when it comes from an emotional aspect, then it often does cause harm, is detrimental, does not allow one to grow or progress, but rather to regress. The basis of your question then is, 'How do I take emotional fear that I am feeling and how do I let go of it that I can be able to tackle the unfoldings of life or to tackle any given personal relationship, etc.?'

The best way to tackle a fear is to know where the fear stems from. Why am I frightful? What am I fearing? What is the root cause? If this can be ascertained then it puts the context in which the fear is enveloped in perspective that the person can then be able to break apart the barriers, and bit by bit tackle them and grow out of the fear. If the root cause cannot be found then it is more difficult.

With any kind of problem one must first of all turn it over to the Father that you can be guided and directed in being able to solve the problem. Yes, you see while the First Source and Center is always available for you and willing to help and aid, He cannot do anything for you unless you are ready and willing to work with Him. It is important that you all understand that. It is through you that God can do this work. It is through you that the work that needs to be done can be done. And so as you turn this problem over and you have a true and genuine desire to solve this problem, if your motive is good, then, in time and over time, you will find a lessening of the fear; you will find ways in which it is dissolving or working itself out. Turning over to the Father is an essential step. Being a willing partner in working through the problem is an essential step.

Having that courage, then, to tackle the problem is the next step. All the while this is going on you continue to pray for the tools to solve the problem. There is no easy solution, no magic wand to wave, no pill to take and have it go away. As with any problem, emotional or relationship wise, it takes effort and time for there to be a completion. As you will find, most of you, in your life, there are days when you feel you could tackle the world. Nothing seems to get in your way. There are days when there are roadblocks every which way you turn. This is part of life. Part of it is in your own body makeup, your own attitude, your own feelings. This, again, ties into my aspect of saying that there must be harmony in all three areas. As there is this harmony then the body is more complete, more whole. With that there is confidence, there is a feeling that, yes, you can do, you can overcome, you can conquer. And with that, then, the problem ceases to exist. You will find that on days when you are feeling low that the old habits, the old fears, the old things of the past will crop up. And, there again, you say, 'what do I need to do to get past this again?' Harmony in body, mind, and spirit, turning over to the Father, being there in that silence, all of these things will help to rectify any and all problems, will help to lay to rest those fears. Does this help?"

V1: "Yes, Daniel. Thank you very much."

Balance

N2: "Hello, Daniel. This is N2. I have wanted to relay a message from T4. She wants to express her gratefulness for contact with her some time ago. I have just now got around to relaying the message. I am sorry I was late on it. Also thinking of T4 brought to mind another thing related to fear. It seems to me there are certain individuals in this world that could use a little fear. Is there a way of harmonizing the balance between, is there any such thing as a useful fear to keep someone from plunging off into the unknown for the simple sake of doing it?"

Daniel: "Please convey to T4 my love and that I, again, will be with her; that she should keep her circuits open that I can speak with her.

Indeed, there are those fearless individuals on this earth, this plane. Their fear is not always within normal bounds. It is, as with everything, a balance, a space where there is harmony. And on either end is the extreme. Mostly we have spoken about the extreme of having too much fear and not of the other, but it does exist as well. Those who have this lack of fear are subject to the same parameters as those who have too much fear. They need, also, to come into that balance, to harmonize, to understand that what is dangerous, that which is careless, that which is so headstrong, can lead to no good. They, too, need to have time with the First Source and Center, with that Indwelling Spirit, to understand that the path that is correct for them may not be the path of fearlessness in the sense that you speak of. They need to know that there are certain parameters. For you to be able to give an answer or word of caution to these people is often most difficult, often falls on deaf ears, often is not even listened to.

The best way to work with people who have extremes about fear is to see them as whole. And in seeing them as whole work with your Indwelling Spirit and with the collective consciousness to bring that about. It is much like what the Master said, not to cast your pearls before swine in that often the words spoken are in vain. Rather you must work in an underlying way of visualizing and seeing this person as being whole, praying that that which is needed in their life to bring about balance and harmony may be provided; that they have the knowledge and wisdom to act upon that; that they see the opportunities presented to them as a way to bring about change. Does this help?"

N2: "Yes, it does. Thank you Daniel.

Harmony, Free will

T3: "Good evening, Daniel. This is T3. I am glad to hear your last statement there on fear because I think we confuse it when we are working toward perfection or on our ascending; that we feel so much of the time that we are not to have any negative feelings. Fear is something that my husband and I talk about because I think he fears too much for me at all times. It has almost been a hindrance and that's been interesting. One of the things that I want to ask about is..it seems to me that there is almost like a split second before something happens that actually we have the choice to make as to which direction we are going to choose to go, whether that is a life threatening situation or just on a day to day basis of just making a small choice, but especially in those life threatening situations where something could happen. I guess I would like for you to expand more on what exactly is happening at that time and where we are getting that message or something. I just always feel like there is something that comes that we know that we have the ability to make a choice but it happens so quickly."

Daniel: "Being able to have choice is a very definite part of your life. You are given this special gift from the First Source and Center, that of making choices. You have brought up an instance in which you are saying that in emergency type situations, these are situations where you are suddenly brought into a greater state of awareness. If you will think about your nature, remember that you are body mind and spirit. The body immediately kicks into a mode of defense and the adrenalin begins to flow. The mind, likewise, kicks into an expanded mode of awareness, a time when the chemicals for reacting are heightened and the messages sent to the body to react are heightened. The mind is in action. The body, the physical is in action. But you also have your spiritual component. It, too, has become more aware and there is that excitement there. If there is harmony in mind, body, and spirit, then the choice made will be one that will bring about the better of the two choices. If there is not that harmony and synchrony together in this particular instance then the choice made may not be one that is for the best. This is not to say that a person who is harmonious, body, mind, and spirit throughout most of their life will at a time of emergency make the right choice. I am saying that if the three things at that moment of choice are in harmony, then the choice that is made will be for the best. This is all that I feel can be said regarding that. Know that you are body, mind, and spirit. All of these are part of choice and decision making. Does this help?"

Transcendence

T3: "I guess it definitely helps. The one thing that I wonder about, if you can say a little about it is...are there times when the spiritual part of us is ahead of the physical?"

Daniel: "Most definitely. I think I have witnessed this happening in most of your lives already, that at certain moments, certain times, indeed, the spiritual presence, your spiritual growth transcends that of the physical. You have made choices that are made on spiritual insight, spiritual knowledge, and this definitely transcends the physical."

T3: "Thank you very much."

Ascension

N1: "Daniel, I don't have a question. I just wanted to thank you for that lesson. It was really intense, and I saw a lot of pictures that answered a lot of things for me that I will be mulling over. So I just wanted to thank you, that's all."

Daniel: "I am most thankful, myself, to all of you and to the experiences that I have had, to the teachers that I have had. For, indeed, many are the lessons I have heard in my ascension. Many are the lessons that have finally been the key to open up another area, to open up my perspective, my vision, my understanding. This is the exciting aspect of ascension, always breaking through to a new idea, a new understanding. It is so true that God is the completeness of everything. We are such little tiny parts that we must on a time continuum and through evolution open up to that which has always been. Indeed, God never changes. It is only your perception, your understanding that changes. Indeed, as you are ready to take that next step that which you have done in the past has prepared you for it. And as you take that step there will be help, there will always be someone ahead of you reaching back and saying, 'come on, this is the way'. Christ Michael was the example for all of us to follow in this regard. Through Him we have visual knowledge of looking at God. And then through our experiences we can feel God. Christ Michael was to this plane and all of those within this local universe the example of what it means to be able to look upon God, for Michael said, 'He who has seen me has seen the Father'.[1] And so as you and all ascending beings within this local universe look to Michael we then see the Father. And as you become closer and closer to Michael you begin to see and understand more. This is part of the Teaching Mission, then, to help you to see with more clarity; to know and to let that faith of knowing carry you on throughout life. The greatest gift you will have is being able to just know that God is always there for you! To know at all times and take by faith that which is not presented like a movie picture ahead of you, in front of you, but only to know by watching a blank screen ahead of you. That faith is a great gift. Cherish it!

Transmitting, Doubt

N1: "Daniel, thank you. Your closing phrases there reminded me of the experience of attempting to transmit/receive. That was helpful for me because I have been feeling somewhat stuck. And it certainly takes that same faith, I think, to transmit/receive that it does, perhaps to live a life with a faith as a blank screen, to not know what those words are going to be, even as we don't know what is going to come up next in our life. I thank you for that. It is linked to me. Part of the value in practicing that really does deepen faith. So I just wanted to say to D2, I am just beginning to be now blown away by what she does for us every week! It is phenomenal. I thank her and you as well."

Daniel: "Thank you, N1, for your comments. And let me be somewhat bold here. I know that D3 would allow me to say this: that, indeed, even this morning there were doubts as she woke up, as she had her quiet time, as she realized that it was Friday and again there would be the blank screen! And so know that all of you are asked to daily take that blank screen and use it to put on your life experiences, to know that, yes, in the course of saying, 'Yes, Father, I turn myself over to you. Thy will be done.', that in the course of that there will be those times of doubt. This is natural. It is, however, those of you who say, 'Father I know that I do not know the way. Please guide me.', and those who turn over who are able to live that life of faith. At the end of your life on this plane there will be a movie, and that movie will show that you were a person, that despite the doubts said, 'Thy will be done.' and took off following that path being laid out before you, making those choices based on that inner intuition, that Inner Guide. All of you are sensing that Inner Guide, following that Inner Guide. When doubts arise, turn over. Give your doubts to the Father, for in doing so you free yourself to become a channel through which the divine images of what needs to be done can be presented.

Closing

My friends this week I ask you to look at your lives. Are there fears, doubts in disharmony that are preventing you taking your next step? Are you at a time where the next step is very important in your understanding of the First Source and Center? This week turn your fears, your doubts over. Ask for guidance, direction, that you will begin to incorporate the real consciousness of God into the whole of your life, not just this mindal aspect, or this spiritual aspect, but the bodily aspect as well. As you take your body, mind, and spirit out into the world, carry the presence of God with you. My peace and love to you all. Good evening."

Group: "Good evening, Daniel. Thank you."