Willing to learn, or not?

[Geoff]

Michigan, US of A, June 23, 2013.
Teacher Ophelius.
Subject: “Tap Into Your Inherent Potential.”

Received by Chris.

Teacher Ophelius: “The message for today is about being open minded and willing to learn and consider that which is new, for without this innate childlike curiosity, the mind remains locked in the past—stuck on old ideas, and has no room to grow. Jesus said that to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, you must become like a child and be reborn of the spirit. This statement by the Master is asking us to have that childlike curiosity and openness, for even those who have entered into the kingdom must continue to grow (here and hereafter) and move along the ascended path to perfection.

“You students on the path who consider yourselves ‘awakened’ must realize that you have much to learn and just because you discovered some truth that has helped you to break out of your material slumber doesn’t mean that you can only know that truth and nothing else. Awakening is the beginning just like waking up in the morning; you have your whole day ahead of you, and likewise ‘awakening’ means you have your whole ascension before you – to become perfect and godlike.

“There are many strange and fantastic things out in the universe to discover, my friends, things you cannot even begin to fathom or wrap your minds around at this present stage of your development. However, you need to prepare your minds to learn and understand all these things if you are to grow and ascend. The one small piece of truth you know now may not serve you throughout eternity, for it may only be a bridge or scaffolding to greater truths. Being open, curious, and having a willingness to learn will serve you well and is the beginning of wisdom – to live those experiences that embrace truth, beauty, and goodness.

“Those faithful souls who adhere strictly to the tenants of their religious practices and shun all outside influences and teachings believe they know everything necessary to bring them into the presence of the Father. This ‘faithfulness’ as they see it, may indeed bridge them over into the mansion worlds, but will eventually become a stumbling block as they have become rigid in their thinking and will be slow to grow into the new paradigms of ascended life in the universe.

“Prepare your minds now, my friends, for the grand adventure ahead and always remain a learner. The circuit of the Spirit of Truth is here for you to use – ask for the Christ consciousness to guide you and help you discern new truths and you will always feel confident that you are being guided in the right direction toward growth and progress.

“The Father has so much of Himself to reveal to you, for He is infinite, and you being a child of this infinite God, have the inherent potential to be like Him. Think about that for a moment. Do you really believe that what you know now will be enough to realize the untapped potential you possess? You, being the experiential child of this infinite God, have been given the opportunity to experience the grandness and vastness of the universe. Can you grow having the same experiences over and over – never peering over the walls of static truths? God’s Spirit continually points the way forward. Will you follow the Spirit, or will you stay safe and warm in your cozy slumber clutching the sliver of truth you found along the way? Consider the possibilities.

“Peace to you,
“The Circle of Seven.”

© The 11:11 Progress Group.
“The giving of self, the illumination of truth, and the relief of suffering
are the noblest paths to higher consciousness.” – Teacher Ophelius, 2009.

[Joseph]

Dear Geoff,

Thank you for posting this wonderful message from the 11:11 Group, the teacher Orphelius. While I was reading it I was reminded of something that Jesus wrote through James Padgett:

Message from Jesus:

"Just here I want to say that while the great vital truth of the new birth is already known to you and can be made known to men, yet, you, in your day, will not receive all the truths of the Infinite. Always new ones will come to the knowledge of men, and the revelations of truth will never have a finality - and no man or spirit can ever be able to say that his knowledge is complete. Progress is the one law of the universe that exists always, and man, when he gets in condition, will always be the object and subject of that law."

Date: June 1st, 1920
True Gospel Revealed Anew by Jesus, Vol. III, page 207

The message from Orphelius amplifies and enlarges the message from Jesus, don't you think this is so? I highlighted the phrase where Jesus writes: when he gets in condition. For we will not see the truth of what Jesus and Orphelius are saying until we are developed in our soul perceptions. Stagnation is an awful place to be in. I am also reminded of a place in the Bible that says something like this: "You have started well, but what hinders you now?"

With love and a hug,

Joseph

[AlFike]

Great subject Geoff and appropriate response Joseph. Our celestial teachers call us children which we are. Just beginning our path and journey to atonement. There is indeed a universe of knowledge and experience to uncover and isn't it exciting that we are on our way with the power of Divine Love within. I agree with Joseph's comment regarding having the soul perceptions in order to fully understand the spiritual universe. Rather than book learning and mental agility, we are asked to pray for more of the Divine Essence so that those deeper and more powerful soul atributes and abilities can come into play to facilitate our understanding. It's an eternal path and I'm sure with the openess of a soul filled with God's Love, all of the diversity and wonderment of God's creation will, in time, come into our conciousness. Love will always propel us forward as long as we remain open to it's influence within. And some day we will find that atonement with God that all our souls seek.

We are so blessed with the drop of knowledge that we have because it is a crucial and vital piece that will allow us to flourish exponentially. When we are all in those heavenly realms and look back upon our spiritual progression, I'm sure we will fully understand all the aspects of our earthly journey in a way that we will see how we have been carried by God and his angels all our lives. We set the pace and the angels patiently support, protect and teach us and what we receive is exactly what we need. Sometimes the pace is slow and sometimes fast. That rythm is different for everyone. As are the needs of each soul. So God provides according to our desires and His limitless capacity to nurture and to guide us. Everything needed is available given our openess and faith that we are carried by God's loving care. Knowledge comes with the Love in our souls and yes, that never ends. Thank you God for the gift of life. Thank you for the gift of your Love. Thank you for creating such an awsome and diverse universe where every soul is unique and all your creations posses layer upon layer of incredible beauty.

There can never be stagnation where Your dynamic and transformative Love abides.With love.........Al

[lizaduff]

Thank you, Geoff, for bringing up and highlighting this wonderful topic, how important it is to continue to grow in our soul perceptions, how important to understand that the insights we may conceive of now will be expanded, that some current understandings will not necessarily serve us further down the road, and that clinging to something can stop us from further growth. thank you Joseph and Al for your beautiful words.

love and gratitude,
elizabeth

[Doles]

Thank you God for the gift of life. Thank you for the gift of your Love. Thank you for creating such an awsome and diverse universe where every soul is unique and all your creations posses layer upon layer of incredible beauty.

AMEN!
These little nuggets go a long way into stirring up one's soul! I don't want to add anything to what's being said already, lest I distract such a wonderful flow of words started by Geoff's post. Because just the other day I was listening to one favorite artist of mine singing a wonderful hymn and at the end of the song, he said something along the lines of "man thinks he's so smart that he knows everything..." I'm poorly paraphrasing it, but what came to my mind is, yes, he was probably right to dismiss men thinking they're smart...but it also came to my mind that what he really meant is that men think they're so smart that they don't want to listen to what HE had to offer them. So I'll just say my amen to what's already been said and simply add these lines I read a couple of days ago, courtesy of Victor Zammit's "Friday Afterlife Report" (July 12th 2013)

"I hate to burst the balloon of the Big Bang theorists ... but there was no big bang, and there will be no contraction of matter as your scientists have postulated. The truth is, there is a continuation of evolution, with growth and change. The universe will continue to expand into eternity." (an afterlife intelligence called 'Af' see Judy Laddon's Beyond the Veil).

Oh brother Al, if only I could borrow a word or two from you! Thank you, Oh Great Creator, for the privilege of being part of your great existence! Thank you for each and everyone of us! Thank you for these great people with different backgrounds and yet expressing their love for you in their own ways.

[Kristy]

Geoff, I absolutely love your post and the subsequent posts have really moved me as well. Thank you. I found the following so interesting -

“Prepare your minds now, my friends, for the grand adventure ahead and always remain a learner.....

Over the course of the year, I have been "preparing my mind" (if I may call it that), by emptying it of my own thoughts. That has been my approach to eliminating my inhibitors to receiving the Love. Also to allow my soul to take precedence over my mind as my soul perceptions develop. I do believe that being naive like a child welcomes the Love where "over thinking" can be a barrier. At the same time, I am so anxious to know more truth. Through the discussions on another thread, I now understand that the Spirit of Truth will bring more truth as we pray for and receive more Divine Love. So is this enough ? Simply pray and pray and pray ? No thinking required (so to speak) ? This is why I have been almost silent through the discussions here on our forum. I share my experiences but rarely do I share my thoughts. Am I balanced ? I have to meditate more on this and welcome your input.

With love and gratitude, Kristy

[brother dave k.]

Thank you Geoff for sharing this message. It contains a message of Truth about the mental practices that facilitate greater and greater souls realizations of Love and Truth. i have recieved several messages, and many inspirations and impressions over the years in exactly the same vein, and i'm sure that i will continue to, when i need to keep my thoughts of a higher order. i find the Celestials continue to re-enforce the Truth(s) with repetition.

i am reminded of the message from the Master to James, which has been a favorite for me. "The Father has assured me that never in All Eternity will I ceased to progress towards the Fountainhead of His (Divine) Love, Knowledge and Wisdom." (paraphrase).

i do find that when i meditate after prayer for the Divine Love that over the years, that desire to re-attain that state of awe and wonder experienced as a little child seeing many things for the first time has grown ever stronger, but it has only come with a re-education, so to speak, of the mind (intellectual faculties) that the more that i have thought that i think i should know as the result of research and investigation, in truth come to the realizations of how little i really do know. i do think, based upon a considerable number of years of experiences, that at some time in progression that there has to be an acceptance that we do not know what we think we know. i do not hold that the information of the mind is true knowledge, but when particular information is applied as an inspiration, the result may be the obtaining of a souls Knowledge of Truth (Spiritual or Divine) leading to the next, should we say, level.
As George Stokes used to say; "Pray for a burning desire (soul) to know the Truth (of all things, including all of our own thoughts and beliefs. Become willing to question the Truth of everything.)."

much love to all,
brother dave k.

[Terry Adler]

Another great thread, thanks to Geoff!

Many wise thoughts to respond to, but I have to be selective since it is so late here now, so would like to pick up on what you say, Kirstie because you voice my strategy! When I first began on this path, I realized my mind and its stored information was not going to be of much use to me, that I had to develop my soul and my awareness of that special aspect of myself. In fact, my mind was so sceptical, it was not an ally at all in the beginning, instead it tried to distract and undermine me in my pursuit of the Love.

So I declared a "truce" with my mind while I deliberately built strength in my soul-centeredness. It was like spending time investing in an undeveloped part of myself until it became strong enough to be a resource to me, which it has become. I am learning over the years, how to check-in with my soul around the truth of anything, for guidance as to whether to proceed on a plan or not, whether to trust a person or not, whether something is for my greatest good or not. It gets tricky at times, because my will interferes since it has its own agenda, and my mind gets in there with its job of ensuring my survival, so sometimes the voice of my soul gets lost or subdued. It is through prayer that I strengthen the connection with the Creator that has brought my soul alive and continues to "grow it", and allows it to be a guide in my daily life. It is still a "work-in-progress" with lots of effort, lots of prayer still required. I know my soul will never stop growing because I will never stop seeking the Love which is my soul's nourishment.

The ways our souls signal to us is a whole topic in itself! I know it is different for each of us, and would love to hear others' experiences of their souls talking to them, especially those who like me, do not have awakened pychic gifts to rely on, nor spirits giving them crucial guidance that they can hear or see! My soul tells me with feelings, "go-ahead" or "dig-its-heels-in-put-on-the-brakes" kinds of feelings. Or sometimes, with the sense of my guides overshadowing me and the Love being present. I will have to think further about what some of the other subtle signals are....

Looking forward to reading more on this thread!
Love,
Terry

[AlFike]

Hi Terry, I suppose I'm one of those who are able to connect with spirit but this gift does not distract or interfere with the all important soul awareness's that you refer to. I think that this topic circles back to the spirit of truth discussed in a different thread. That knowing within our souls goes a long way to verifying our experience of soul perception. It often comes as a feeling of rightness strong and clear. Rather than a reasoned assessment, there is a knowing thought that emerges from seemingly nowhere. Some of this thinking can come from spirit as they seek to influence and reinforce a perception but those gut feelings are all soul. That knowing that comes when we meet someone often called first impressions can come from the soul rather than a mental projection. It may not be a complex thing just a feeling of attraction or repulsion. These instructive inner responses can be very crucial in our lives because I think more than anything else, they often determine the important decisions we make in our lives. I know that if I ignore those gut feelings I do so at my peril. It has happened more often than I would like to admit with disastrous consequences.

There is also the soul longing which in my experience feels like a pulling towards God. A feeling like when a toddler reaches up towards their parent to be picked up. You can see the yearning in their face. That yearning in ourselves to be enveloped by God's Love comes from the soul. And the joy and peace and rightness that one feels in that embrace is all soul. So in conclusion, I think that knowing your soul is knowing the feelings that come from the soul. It is very often wordless and if paid attention to, powerful. The mind will of course fill in the feelings with many thoughts and assessments. That's its job. I believe that the kernel of truth in the experience comes from the soul . Communicating with spirit is done from the mind as they convey words and pictures . This may change as my soul faculties and soul mind emerge with more Divine Love but as it stands, it is a different experience from a true soul perception. Of course the condition of the soul determines the quality of the communication. My experience so far indicates that a soul perception and spirit communication are like two different rooms in the same house. They feel different and the mode of communication is different. I hope this contributes to your inquiries Terry. Much love .......Al

[Terry Adler]

Hi Al,
Your last comments especially help me to sort this out. What I understand you to be saying is that soul perceptions/soul communications are different from spirit communications which are received through the mind (whatever that is). So what we call psychic abilities are abilites that are filtered through the mind, and as our souls grow, our minds become more capable of receiving from sources whose souls are also more evolved. Only with soul growth can we be of such a resonance that we can get the guidance given by higher spirits as it is intended without distortion. Does that sound accurate?

I can relate to this. The few times I have received guidance claraudiently it was like another compartment of my brain was being accessed and I was hearing without my physical ears, in some part of my inner being. I did not pursue development of my psychic abilities because I didn't want the challenges of dealing with all the spirit out there. I instead wanted to access the Great Spirit. Why aspire to any but the Highest, was my reasoning.

I guess soul guidance is also facilitated by our Creator and the Celestials, in that they can "talk'" to our souls using the "wavelength" of Love. Do some receive this in words, I wonder? My experience is that of receiving soul guidance in feelings of resonance or dissonance, a drawing to or a replusion from, accompanied by degrees of Love or the absence of Love.

When I look again at the Topic Title, "Willing to learn or not?", I realize my priority is to learn the lessons my soul wishes to teach, to experience life with an active, finely tuned soul, like an additional sense but one that transcends all the others in capacity to know truth and grasp the "whole" of things, the "essence" of things.

I keep praying for my soul perceptions to grow, because I have grown to trust them more than the directives of my mind.

Thanks for the topic and contributions, which have stimulated my thinking about "how we know". I would appreciate thoughts others have about any aspect of this!

Love,
Terry