"THE PROTECTION OF THE SOUL"

"Father and Mother God, we approach Thee tonight with confidence, certain that Thou art always ready to listen to Thy children's petitions, certain that Thou hast provided for us all that which the spirit within desires...

"O Christ, grant that we - being made aware of what we are and to whom we belong - may take up our lives, in whatever sphere they may be, and joyfully continue the way, giving out of ourselves those gifts which Thou hast bestowed, and ever striving to make our own those possessions of the Spirit which Thou wouldst have us use and re-use.

"Grant tonight that we may feel that Thou art in our presence. Grant that that perfect confidence which Thou hast offered to all may be made our own now and for evermore. Give us of the instinct to love, to cheer, to comfort and to inspire others, so that we may feel that, in degree, we are doing Thy missionary work, that we are portraying to our fellows something of the wonder which Thy Love represents.

"Father, we thank Thee, and we ask Thee to bless us tonight in that which we do, in Thy Name... Amen...

"...Children, it has been said many times that where two or three are gathered together in the Name of the Saviour, there Christ gives of Himself, there Christ loves to linger, there Christ in Person bestows His blessing.

"This evening I want you to put aside the thought that these promises of the Most High were purely figurative and were never meant to be taken in a literal sense. I want you to feel within yourselves that because you wish to contact with Divine Love, that Love has come to you, and is helping you individually to understand something of the wonder of Spirit life...

"Yes, dear children, to some I know it seems that the physical things of the daily round press too close, that the irritations, that the sadness and the disappointments make barriers, which are impenetrable, between you and holy things. You long for that closer communion, you long to feel that Christ is indeed your own loving Companion; but again and again, in the whirl of physical things, the sweet Voice of the Spirit seems to have died away, and the regret adds to the burden of the life which you must live.

"But tonight, once more, by God's grace, I push back the clouds so that the light of understanding may shine upon you, and I tell you, instructed by the One who loves you best, that in God's sight you are His precious children, in Christ's sight you are numbered amongst the pilgrims who have not only heard His Voice, but have sought to follow Him...

"My little ones, having been drawn into my love, you should have known ere this that the word 'stranger' cannot exist between us; and, gifted with spiritual sight, away back in the long ago, I was shown that the need would arise in your lives for closer contact with The Master. And, again, in the long ago, I was shown for my great comfort, that I and the child I use, would be the instruments to bind you closer to the Father; aye, and to force upon the physical consciousness that, to God, you are His beloved children, and not one pang which you have experienced has been overlooked by Him...

"But tonight, dear children, we have work to do, and having given that little reassurance, I pass on to the subject of our discussion, and it is this: 'The Protection of the Soul'.

"And in that little sentence, there is a great responsibility implied, a wonderful hope, and a gigantic promise which you shall see ere we part.

"I have told you ever that you have three aspects, the trinity once more expressed. To yourselves, you seem as mind and body, but to those who are free, you are body, soul and spirit; and each portion of that which represents your real selves has a scope which, as yet, is hidden from you, has gifts, attributes, powers, and a multitude of different phases, which, at this stage, you are advancing or you are thwarting, according to your aspiration.

"You see, dear children that long before the physical existence, that which is within - Divine, spotless, even as God Himself - that has worn many coverings, that has been through a myriad of experiences. And for what? Little children, to learn, to make that wisdom - which the Father represents - to make that wisdom, in a measure, its own; to throw off and to take on, and, again, to take on and to throw off, during the many processes of growth; for though in that time long past, you started on the journey of experience, pure as God is pure, yet that Divinity within was a gift, and because your lessons all lay before you, you could not claim it as your own.

"The only road which brings to us that most precious gift of understanding is the road of experience, the road which holds much which perhaps causes the heart to ache, the road which is steep and difficult, and yet glorious, because every step means nearer to freedom, nearer to God.

"But, my little ones, you who are gathered here are more concerned with that portion of life which you are going through at this stage; and so it has been ordained that I tell you that which it is possible for you to assimilate regarding: 'The protection of the soul'.

"Keep the thought of the trinity clear in your minds. The physical body is a gift from God; it can bring you that gain which nothing else can, in so short a space of time, because of the sense of restriction, because of the not-knowing, because of the blindness to the glory and the beauty and the power which is all around.

"And as you strive now, as you seek to build - sometimes it seems to you, without tools, without the wherewithal, without even the necessities for construction - but as you try to live something of the life which Christ has shown is possible during the earth stage, so, my children, you are preparing that next garment which will clothe that which is lovely within...

"Can you not see that, from a practical point of view, each one is called upon to do their little best? Can you not see that, by following the second-best, by shrinking from the hard road, you are inflicting upon yourself something which must be worked through in the days to come?...

"The position of many is as this: Within their hearts and minds, there is that aspiration to rise higher, to keep close to God; yes, and to pass on to others something which represents Divine Love. And yet those in their surroundings are as adverse forces, unconsciously though it may be, they seem to erect barriers on every side; they have no wish for the difficult path themselves, and they give neither sympathy nor understanding to those who strive for better things.

"My children, I am referring to the conditions of many. As I speak thus, could you see things as they are, you would find in the little homes all over the world, that struggle between weakness and strength, that unending fight between those who wish to follow what they think is the easier course, and the others who, however dimly it may be, are conscious that the earthly life is not all, are conscious that in the by and by regret will assail them if they allow themselves to be kept back, to be thwarted in their spiritual desires...

"Children, it is a big question, yet, tonight I am instructed to make things quite clear, to show that which is the Christ path, that which is the path which each one - if not now, then when the body is discarded - that which each one must take because their end is God.

"The question of loyalty to those so attached to one, raises many doubts, and the aspiring pilgrim questions thus: 'Am I right to follow my own inclination, even if that inclination be towards Christ? Am I right when those connected with me are conscious of disharmony, are reluctant that I should, in this measure, separate myself from them?' Yes, and that word 'loyalty' looms large. The destructive forces argue so plausibly: 'How can it be right to do that which hurts another? How can it be right to cause disharmony in the home? How can it be right to cross the will of the one I have pledged myself to love?'

"To all these many I give my answer, that answer passed on from Christ Himself. I tell them that long before the physical body was donned they belonged to God, and their loyalty to Him comes first. I tell them moreover, that by sinking into the second-best, by hearkening to the counsels of others, they are not only hindering their own progress but they are thwarting that which is Divine within the other.

"Cannot you see, dear children, why it is that those with different desires come together? Is it not that the strong may help the weak? Yet, how often is it not that the one who is spiritually blind has the power to hinder the progress of the one who is partly awake? And this, as I have said, is directly the influence of the enemies of Christ, who use the very loyalty, the very purity which is within, to bar not only the progress of such as these, but the progress of those others who are linked to them by physical ties.

"You do not know - and, as yet, you scarce can understand - but during the daily round you are surrounded by companions who are linked to you, and have been linked to you over the past, by spiritual ties that are unbreakable. What of your allegiance to them? Yes, and who sent those helpers to you? Your Father and Mother God. What of your loyalty to your Creator?

"This thought, dear children, cannot be over emphasised. There are good men and there are good women all over the world, who, because they are good, because they wish to do God's will, have allowed themselves to be influenced by those others who have claims of relationship upon them, and who they regard as their personal responsibility.

"But there is no middle course. The children of God dare not dally by the way; the children of God, by being strong themselves, are creating strength which shall be used in time to come even for those weak ones in their own surroundings. But by giving way in order to preserve the harmony of the physical, you are destroying the harmony of the Spirit; you are using the strength, not giving of your portion to that mighty power which is needed, which is absolutely essential for the cleansing of the world.

"And this applies not only in the home in its biggest sense, it applies to all. There are many faithful servants of God, many who would give of their best, but they are brought up, again and again, by that word 'loyalty' - loyalty to their vows, loyalty to this institution and that organisation which has its place in the physical world.

"Oh, to them all I speak, for time is fleeting. I say: Get back to reality and face things as they are. The vows of the earth, they pass away with the earth; the vows of the Spirit, those vows are binding, those vows must take first place. When such as these pass hence, no comfort will come to them, because it was their loyalty to the rules of man which blinded them to their loyalty to the laws of God.

"It is a question which is of such importance that again and again I must go back upon it in the days to come; for the angels of the Lord wait and wait for a full response from such as these; but alas, they are diverted by that which has been built up by the physical minds of men, they cannot grasp the Truth, they cannot make their own that gigantic fact that their allegiance to God and to the Divine within comes first...

"Oh, my children, can I not understand your lives, your thoughts, your longings, and your disappointments? During the earth stage, there was much which came to me which could not be comprehended by you, for conditions, for forms of life, and the thinking processes of the physical mind, were entirely different from those which are your own.

"But, my little ones, for many years I sought for my God and was given stones instead of Bread. Many years I studied the Law (of Moses); I poured over the writings of the prophets, and I asked myself: 'Can this same reality of a Living God ever be made my own?' Around me I saw the servants of the Mighty One who had forgotten much; around me I saw that love had given place to hate, that service to servitude, that a desecration of holy things was regarded as admissible by all.

"Yes, there in the Temple so the Name of God was taken in vain again and again; in the outer courts that which was foul was not only overlooked, but indeed was used by those who were the custodians of the Truth...

"Here and there was one who wanted to know God; here and there there was one who was sore distressed at heart, but vows - inconceivable to the mind of man today - bound them all. Freedom? - they knew not the meaning of the word; they were chained to tradition, they were slaves to custom. And yet, dear children, there were the few, who, when the Master came, broke those chains and followed Him to that which you call 'death' but which we called life and joy - a gift indeed.

"So, little ones, remembering that, by the Love of God, I have been allowed to work over the centuries amongst His children in many parts of your little world, remembering that and my own physical experiences, you will believe that I can understand the conditions of life today, and, ten thousand times more, the environment of the children I love so well - my sacred charges, every one gifted to me by Love Himself.

"And now I bring you back to the protection of the soul, to that building up of the next condition in which - far more alive, far more intensely in touch with reality - you will function in another covering, which you name the soul. And, again, as you progress, so that which represents, in any degree, density, impediment or hindrance, will be thrown off; and by your work amongst the children of God, more beautiful will that soul of yours seem to you and others, yet so far off from the beauty of God, from the loveliness of that which is housed within, that you will redouble your efforts, seeking, striving, fighting for that perfect freedom which God so gladly will bestow...

"The protection of the soul-body, through every stage, is of first importance. It so represents the evolutionary processes of nature and of creation in its myriad forms, that you will understand when I say that by hesitating at any stage, by seeking that rest which is spiritual stagnation, you are not only hindering your own emancipation but you are keeping back creation as a whole. For each and every one needs strength and more strength. You draw your powers from those who are a little further on the road of experience, and, in turn, by your struggles now, you are putting into activity that strength which one day will enable another, who is weak indeed, to look up and find his God.

"Oh, my children, never forget that in protecting the soul-body, in thinking big thoughts, loving thoughts, constructive thoughts, so, in that measure, you are protecting the soul-bodies of others. When you are free, by choice you will penetrate into conditions where you will see for yourselves soul-bodies distorted, malformed, terrible to look upon, and you will realise that had you striven in greater measure, at your hand you would have that extra power to right the wrong.

"For oh, my children, those who love you well, those long since free from the body, they have worked on you, they have unclasped your fingers from the things of the earth, they have sought to release the mind of the body from ambition and the many deceptive temptations attached to it; those who love you, have fought many a battle of which you are entirely ignorant at this stage. Yet, oh, think not that you owe them a debt too great to be repaid, for, again, unconsciously to yourselves, you have fought the battles of others, and when the body is cast aside, so gladly will you go to the weak ones and seek to influence them, to ward off temptations, to train the mind to think of higher things; and, as they respond, so they are fighting the battles of others in turn...

"And this goes on, not only through human creation but through all creation. The evolutionary stage is, as it were, one point higher up by your individual struggles, by your holy aspirations. We are individual, yet we are all one. We are the children of God, yet the flowers and the insects, they are His creation as well.

"Oh, forget not this, forget not that it lies within your power to force on the evolution of the horse, the dog, the cat or the bird which belongs to you. By your love for them, so you bring to them acquaintance with love; by your thought for them and their response, so you are making it possible for them to get nearer to that perfection from whence they came...

"Yes, dear children, you see that in speaking of the protection of the soul, I am opening vistas of thought, I am showing you once more how great a thing is life, what power lies within your province, what joy, what peace, what similarity to God.

"It is of sacred things I speak, and that holiness which the spirit within you knows so well, that perfection, that completion, is what the Father intends all His creation shall have. But the way is long and the processes are manifold; yet let not dismay fill your minds, for God's ways are best, God's ways are sweetest, God's ways are so infinitely greater than you can understand.

"Once more I bring you back to the daily round, and I show you that your troubles, that your testings, the things that the physical mind would were absent, those deep losses which still cause the heart to ache - that all this is giving you your spirit's desire, is preparing for you, when this brief life is o'er, that free expression of your real self, which not only will compensate for the past, but will make the greatest blow seem as a precious gift, as a privilege, beyond all words to express.

"Little children, have no fear. Your Saviour is for ever watching and guarding, and even those little things which seem to go wrong, they are for a purpose. That pang one day will represent power; all the might-have-beens, ah, they have given you what shall remain forever. Cannot you see that the word 'loss' has never existed? Cannot you see that sorrow is only as a veil thrown over joy? Cannot you see that even the darkness of the physical experience is preparing you for the Light hereafter, which shall grow and expand and represent revelation in the days to come?

"And so, my children, I leave you for a space, yet I would remind you that from your first prayer to God, nay, even before that, from your first kind thought, so you sought to protect your soul; so you put in the first brick of that foundation which will enable you to grasp the things of the Spirit, which then and now, were beyond your reach...

"Go back in thought and see how marvellous are the ways of God. How, all unconsciously to yourself, guided by the Spirit, you have sought to protect that next garment which will be your own, until by effort it is made purer, when again, by effort, it is brought nearer still to that perfection which, one day, will be your own; and then as Spirit, with no barriers in between you and God, as part of God you will link up with Him, and the purpose of the Father will be fulfilled...

"And now, my children, I will leave you for a while. Oh, believe that I see and understand all those things appertaining to yourselves, and this night God's grace has been bestowed, to give you the spirit's desire, ignoring those desires which may linger in the physical mind, for the spirit knows best, the spirit knows best...

"...of the world, they are but hindrances, and they bar the way to progress. Christ did not go comfortable when He walked this plane. The greatest One of all knew what worry was, knew what it was to go without. But there are countless thousands who are so estranged from Truth that they think of nothing but their comfortable houses and finding excuses for pleasure. Pray for them, for we cannot reach them now...

"This is my privilege - to come into this simple home and claim myself as one of them. The time will come when you will see the value of the gift of trouble; and that boy of yours, well, he has done famously, and he is not far behind you. Yes, and he wants his dad to be sure that God is much more loving than he understands... It is not loss but gain. (The boy passing into Spirit Life). Sometimes when our children grow up, they bring us disappointment, they forget the home love-ties - and in our old age we are disconsolate. In your old age, you will not be disconsolate, for you have not lost, you have gained...

"And now, my dear friends all, I must take my departure, yet I thank you for all the love I feel I can draw from you... The pretty stones of the world, they may represent value to those who are ignorant; I have what is best of all - a welcome and the wish that I should come again.

"Goodnight, friends, and pray for those who have got everything that the world can give, for they are the bankrupts, and they must borrow even their first tools to get to work when the body is no more.

"God bless you all and give you cheerful hearts, for His plans are happiness itself... Thank you, my child (Dorrie). The writing has gone apace, for that old tongue of mine once more got out of control..."

"...It's Tom Clay, Mrs. Moyes, and I hope you won't mind my coming. It's an old promise, isn't it? I want you to tell little mother (Mrs. Goodwin) that her loving thoughts have built up round me such sunshine that I'm forgetting the clouds. You see, unselfish love is very hard to get. Oh yes, we talk about the unselfish love of others which doesn't come our way, but what about ourselves?

"I want, if you'll excuse me - the others, I mean - to speak a little about myself. You see, Mrs. Moyes, since I have been free, I've had time to think. Oh, I had time when I was on earth, but the conditions of my life were such that I didn't want to think of anything beyond the present. And I want to show you - and I've been told that my message is going to help others - I want to show you how, by thwarting spiritual laws, we punish ourselves.

"To the others present I'd better explain: I was an average man with comfortable means, and a wife and two children whom I adored.

"My parents thought - well, as parents will - they thought the world of me and they gave me more love than I deserved. From the world's aspect I was an extremely lucky man; I had an assured income and I thought my wife was perfection...

"You'll forgive these particulars, but I've got to get the ground-work in. Well, Mrs. Moyes, you know how things panned out. You know that, so unexpectedly, in what is called man's prime, I was cut off and, apparently, passed out into that curious condition of waiting or of nothingness, according to one's belief.

"It's rather hard to go back on those times, so happy they seemed to me then, so selfish as they seem to me now. And that's what I'm coming to. I wonder how many, when happiness comes, remember to be grateful. I wonder how many, who, when they get their heart's desire, remember the ones who did their best to lighten things before their happiness came along. I wonder how many there are, who, when they've got their homes - that which represents to them 'the best' - who ever remember the countless thousands who haven't got even the second or the third best...

"If you don't mind, I'll make a clean breast of things tonight, because I shan't be able to come again for some time. Mrs. Moyes, I told you before that I did remember to thank God for my wife and my children, but what I see now is that I was a coward - yes, a coward. A good many people are in the same position, unwillingly, unconsciously, in order to preserve the harmony between themselves and the one they love best, they purchase it at a price, and the price is conscience.

"Oh, don't think I'm claiming anything for myself - the only feeling I have is contempt for that self. But I want to help others - it's my chance. Yes, there are thousands - either the man or the woman - who purchase peace by giving way; who have certain principles, ideals - call them what you like - which don't meet with favour, and so they are put on the shelf. Now and again, because conscience frets, the remembrance of them comes back, and they try once more to give them place; but back again they go on the shelf...

"Mrs. Moyes, I am buying back my manhood; I'm doing what thousands of men will have to do and thousands of women too. I'm going back on the past and seeing where I not only injured myself, but Maudie as well. And what has happened since is just retribution, not God's vengeance, oh no, but if we go against a spiritual law then, as a consequence, we get back on ourselves the effect.

"You see, my one thought when I married was to keep my wife's affection; most laudable, some would say; I wanted her love so badly that no sacrifice would have been considered too great.

"If you don't mind, I just give a ruling to save others from making such a hash of things as I made myself. You see, in the Spirit, the idea of the commanding or the controlling of another, for the sake of so doing, is ridiculous; but there is a spiritual law which ordains that the one with the highest aspirations should influence and direct the other. Do you grasp what I mean? Independently of age, of relationship or sex, the one who has the highest conception of God is called upon, by the force of a mighty spiritual law, to take the lead. But how often, how often is that one led by the other who has self-will, instead of Divine will, at work...

"I'd like all those who are married, or contemplate getting married, to hang on to this bit of Truth; for if they don't put it into practice now, they will go through something of the purgatory that I've been through since I understood. It's no use paying too great a price for love. What happens? What happened in my case - ah, I'd like all the world to know, as an example, as a warning; but perhaps I'd better not say.

"Mrs. Moyes, the old saying 'what a man sows that must he reap' is worked out down to the merest particle. I gave my whole heart and mind to my wife and my children, and how long did I retain first place in their heart and mind in return?... It's got to be faced. In my loyalty to my own, I forgot my loyalty to God, and I'm thankful that I've suffered as I have suffered, for it's the only thing that can put the matter right...

"Dorrie, will you mind if I say just one thing to you? There is all sorts of' happiness waiting for you a little further on. When it comes, don't - don't forget those who stuck to you before the brightness came. I forgot, and I paid in a way I would not wish my enemy to pay. Remember this, that the higher you put your ideals, so then you will bring to you that influence in the home which is going to count more than anything else. Always remember Tom Clay, and what a fool he was.

"And I want all to remember that when we think we've got our heart's desire, in that moment we've taken something which a little later on we'll pray to get rid of, for the heart's desire must come second to the desire of the spirit within. It's no use, for life on earth can be snatched away in a second's space of time. In the heyday of your happiness, you may pass out into other conditions, and the love that meant all to you, well, you see that you've lost even that.

"I'm afraid I've been rather depressing, but it's important that I came tonight. Tell little mother that I'm not unhappy now; I've got a longer view and, what is more, I've got my values a little more in order. I can see now who loved me best when I was on earth, and that one has taught me a little what love should be like (his mother?). My people gave of their best. I didn't forget them, but other things came in between. How I've gone back on my tracks and have tried to fill in all those omissions over the past. Yes, and I shall have to fill them in and fill them in, before things can be even again...

"I hope those who read these records will send out kind thoughts to me, because I didn't understand. I just took, and in order to go on taking, I sacrificed a good deal of my real self, which I've got to get back. Let others take warning, for we were meant for better things.

"Goodnight, Mrs. Moyes, and thank you very much for all your thoughts and compassion, but always remember that what happened to me was justice - justice!... Goodnight..."

"...Well, my children, I want you to think within yourselves that, in this busy world, with all its restless longing for distraction, in this little room tonight you have found Peace. And the only reason why I can claim peace here is this: By the effort which has been put forth over the past. Yes, and that effort has brought into being the power to draw out of others the desire to put forth effort in turn. This influence must grow and grow. You have before you an opportunity which cannot be voiced in physical language - the opportunity now to create for yourselves an environment Hereafter which will be glorious indeed...

"Oh, think of this: That you have it within your scope to mould the lives of others, to direct their thoughts, to uplift their hearts. This opportunity, this gift, this privilege - ah, dear children, you have worked for it over the ages which have passed. Had you not, before the physical stage, sought to get nearer to God, so then today you would not provide the instruments necessary for this constructive work.

"Remember and remember again, that each time you enable another to be strong - aye, and each time you can bring to them regret that they were weak - so you are building for God, so you are preparing that condition of work in the by and by which will fill your hearts with joy; and, again, that you are putting it within the province of the struggling one, that he may do that which shall provide for himself a safeguard, a security, and a protection, gifted direct from God...

"It is on the far-reaching effect that ever I would focus your attention. We cannot work for ourselves, for if we attempt to limit it to our own progress, so then, instead of emancipation it is further bondage, instead of freedom it is chaining ourselves more tightly still to the things antagonised from God...

"And now, my children, I will leave you, yet I entreat all to prepare and prepare - to protect and protect. The one way, the only way, and the Christ way - is by service to others, by rendering to those who are weak that which they themselves, as yet, do not possess.

"And so, my little ones, reminding you of the unending Source of strength which Christ typifies to all, reminding you that you belong to God, that you are His children, and that separation is impossible between you, so I close tonight, giving out to each one the sense of companionship, the sense of contacting with Greater Love, with the Saviour, with the Great Constructor, with the One who loves you best...

"God bless you all with understanding, and keep your hearts from feelings of dismay over the things of daily life; guiding your minds to those holy things which are rightly your own, and showing you the beauty and the joy and the peace of a life of service to God, in serving those of His children who, as yet, recognise Him not as their Loving Father...

"And now, my children, I go. Love is in your presence, and Love is pouring down upon His children not only the strength to strive, but the joy which striving brings as its just reward...

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