The Devotionals Thread

[24KT]

On Understanding Symbols

"Where do symbols come from? Their origins lie in the relationship between the universal Soul and our unconscious. When we perceive these connections, we give them concrete form. Symbols are explained by the fact that the same laws govern both creation and creatures: this being the case, we can intuitively discover the similarities between the different worlds.

However, there is something else you must clearly understand: symbolic language is an expression of our life at its most profound, and if we are to understand the symbols which initiatic Science or certain works of art present to us, we must live them. If we do not live what a symbol represents, we will never understand it, even if someone gives us an interpretation. We must enter the depths of our being and bring these symbols to life if we are to understand their meaning."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[24KT]

On Mountains and Summits

"The physical and psychic conditions found on mountain peaks make them favourable for inner work. It is to these summits, then, that you must climb in order to formulate your most cherished wishes and plans.

If you cannot go to the mountains, try to make your ascents by means of thought. You can concentrate first on one summit and then on another, thus preparing the conditions for contact with the greatest spirits ever to have come to earth. For there is a link between mountain summits and all the noblest beings who have come throughout the ages to bring light to human beings. It is by way of these summits that we enter into contact with these beings."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[24KT]

Reconsidering God

"So much of what the faithful believe about the Lord needs to be reconsidered! The image of a God who is irritated with human beings, or of an old man with a long beard busy recording their good and bad actions and punishing them for their sins, was perhaps necessary at a certain time and under certain conditions. But now, frankly, it is ridiculous. No reasonable person would want anything to do with the life and occupations we attribute to God.

 Of course, when Moses introduced the idea of one God, it represented tremendous progress in the history of thought. But the time came when this image of a severe and pitiless God of justice had to be modified in order for humans themselves to evolve. For how could they learn to demonstrate patience, tolerance and kindness towards their fellow creatures if the example of an intransigent and implacable God was constantly held up to them? This is why Jesus came to teach us about a God of love, and it is essential that we continue to penetrate this concept more deeply."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[24KT]

On The Seeking of Beauty

"Seek beauty, love beauty, for it is beauty that will save you. Obviously, I am speaking to you here of spiritual beauty. Through meditation and contemplation, try to sense this beauty, to clothe yourself in it, to become imbued with it, for it will protect you from the beauty that deceives.

If you dress children in new clothes, they are intelligent enough to understand that they must not go out and play in the gutter. So what lesson should we draw from this example? If you are like someone who dresses in overalls and mucks about in mud, dung or dirty grease, you will not recoil from any kind of filth. But one day when you succeed in reaching the world of true beauty, which is pure light, and your aura becomes impregnated with this light, you will no longer feel the desire to dive in just anywhere and soil this magnificent garment."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[24KT]

On Romantic Love

"Beauty, charm, moral or intellectual qualities… People think they know what they love in a particular man or woman. In reality, each of us loves only the One, the Creator, who made all beings as they are. Yes, it is God you love through all his creatures. The more the divine manifests through them as goodness, wisdom, beauty, light and strength, the more you love them.

That is why you will never be able to find perfect joy and fulfilment if you do not look for a richer, vaster reality in the person you love. Very soon you will know all there is to know about him or her, and you will become bored and disillusioned. Then you will look for another love, but in no time there will be the same boredom and disappointment all over again. All your objections and efforts will change nothing: if you make no attempt to see the Divinity in the man or woman you love, you will not know plenitude, because you will have taken the wrong path. "

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[24KT]

On Universal Brotherhood

"As long as you do not work for universal brotherhood, you are working against yourself, for you are not developing your true nature as a son or daughter of God.

Why have we come to earth? To learn to live as brothers and sisters to all people. If through our different activities we do not try to conduct ourselves correctly with others in an effort to understand, help and support them, not only do we make their life difficult but we also waste our own. That is the truth. But where are those who know what they have come to do on this earth? Most people still do not understand that they are in a school where they must learn to live as brothers and sisters, and instead they behave like disruptive pupils. They will not earn a diploma and will have to repeat the course. In the meantime, what a waste of time and energy, and above all, what suffering!"

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[24KT]

On Rejecting The Justification of Weakness

"Never accept the materialists’ philosophy based on ‘evidence’ that leads most people to say: ‘This is how it is. There’s nothing we can do about it.’ You should also reject any reasoning that justifies your weaknesses by attributing them to natural causes: ‘This is how I am. It’s my nature, and you can’t fight nature.’

Similarly, if an illness threatens to take hold in you, try to resist. Even when you are ill, try to maintain the idea that you are healthy, for in a sick body there are always a few healthy cells which can save the rest. Use the strength of your spirit to reject all this so-called evidence: the evidence of illness, of weakness, of difficult situations, of failure… With this attitude you will save at least one atom, which in the end may influence and win over all the others."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[Dos Equis]

Our Deepest Fear

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

By: Marianne Williamson

[24KT]

On God's Word

"God has spoken and continues to speak through all of creation and in the hearts of men and women themselves. It is therefore wrong to say that he has only spoken to a particular initiate or a particular prophet: it would be more accurate to say that certain beings have heard him better than others.

It should also be said that whatever these beings heard and reported was inevitably determined by the situation, problems and mentality of their times. With regard to the great principles, they all had the same thing to say. But when it comes to the details, you can clearly see that these prescriptions, which were undoubtedly acceptable and perhaps even necessary a few centuries ago, because they responded to certain needs and represented real progress, are no longer acceptable today. God speaks – he never stops speaking – but we each hear him according to our degree of evolution."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[24KT]

On Living In The Truth

"We can identify those who live in truth by all kinds of qualities, but especially by their goodness, nobility and altruism. This is why, when I see someone who claims to have the truth and yet is hostile, vicious or vindictive, I feel like saying to him: ‘If this is the truth, it is not worth making the slightest effort to attain it.’ But humans rarely possess such criteria. They see maniacs preaching hate and violence in the name of the truth, and they are ready not only to follow them but to imitate them, even in crime.

Never believe anyone who claims to have the truth unless he shows you his diploma. And this diploma is not a piece of paper. It is a living diploma which sages and even nature spirits can read from afar, for it shines; it emits rays of light. When you meet such a person, you feel illuminated and warmed, as if you were present at a sunrise."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[24KT]

On Having High Ideals

"Nothing is more important than to have a high ideal. But do not imagine that those around you will recognize your efforts or show respect and consideration for you. Outwardly you will constantly have to deal with all sorts of disagreeable situations. Yes, but only outwardly. Inwardly everything will be entirely different.

While inwardly you may live in peace and joy, outwardly there will always be people who work against you. There will also be those who, seeing you as easy prey, will rush to exploit you unscrupulously, and then off they will go without even a thank you. But this doesn’t matter; persevere and safeguard the blessings your high ideal brings you. "

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[24KT]

On Giving

"Jesus said: ‘Freely you have received, freely give.’ Most people will think: ‘Give freely? How unrealistic!’ And yet, for those who take the trouble to understand the deeper meaning of these words, nothing is more logical.

Our heavenly Father has showered us with his blessings, beginning with our physical body and all its possibilities, as well as all the mental and spiritual faculties we can freely use. And he has also given us the whole universe, which surrounds us with its beauty and riches. What have we paid him for all of this? Nothing. And he asks nothing of us, only that we not destroy this richness and beauty or seize it for ourselves, and above all that we learn to use what we have to help our fellow brothers and sisters."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[24KT]

On Being Aware of Who & What We Really Are

"How many people are aware that there is life beyond the physical manifestations before their eyes, a life that is limitless in time and space? How many sense that beyond their own existence there is another Existence to which they should direct their thinking? Their pursuits and preoccupations are so limited! These will never reveal the true life to them, the life that flows from God.

But you who are here in a school where you are taught the science of life and how to understand and apply it, try to take this science seriously. Whatever you have to do during the day, try to maintain a frame of mind that allows you to feel the divine life flowing within you and through you, vivifying all creatures and objects around you."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[24KT]

On the Tree of Life

"Every seed receives all the elements it needs from the tree that produced it, so that, once planted in the earth, it is able to grow and become a tree like its father. In appearance the seed is different from the tree, but on the subtle plane it bears the image of the tree inscribed within it. This is why, when it is given soil, temperature, water and light favourable for its development, the seed comes to resemble the tree in every way.

The symbolism of the seed allows us to understand the verses in Genesis in which it is said that God created man ‘in his image and in his likeness’. Human beings are seeds predestined to become one day like the cosmic Tree from which they fell. For this reason, they must consciously devote all their activity to becoming more like the image of the heavenly Father which they carry within them, and vibrating in unison with him until they resemble him."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[Colossus_500]

Addicted to Self
By Wendy Pope
 
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God???this is your spiritual act of worship."
Romans 12:1(NIV)
         
Devotion:
As I stared at the bags of children's clothes in the hall, I heard His voice say, "Give them to Stacey." I began to challenge the Voice and gave my justifications for why His suggestion was ludicrous. "I have my own children to clothe, Lord. I sell these clothes, to make money to buy new clothes for my children. The clothes in these bags can make a lot of money." Once again, I heard the Voice repeat the command, "Give them to Stacey."
 
With all my heart I wish I could say I obeyed promptly and with joy. The bags sat at the end of the hall for several days. I thought by doing this, I would feel better about disobeying, and the Voice would go away. However, the Voice became louder and my spirit could not allow me to give-in to direct disobedience. I made the call and arranged to take the clothes to Stacey's house. This is now a regular practice for me. I buy the clothes and take care of them during the time my children use them. As the clothes are outgrown, I fill the bag for Stacey's children.
 
This experience was one in a long line of lessons revealing to me a sickness I was not aware that I was plagued with. I am a recovering Self-a-holic. I had always considered myself a giving person. I took food to the sick, bought Christmas gifts for the needy, and our family has an adopted daughter in a third world country. I thought that was kind enough. After all, I must take care of my family and my needs.
 
Through my recovery I have come to realize that my life is to be sacrificed, not just my money, clothes, or food. Another lesson that has been made very clear to me is the following: if the giving doesn't cost, it doesn't count. The “cost” is not necessarily monetary but is to be a sacrifice for the giver. Sacrifices are relevant to the giver. God's Word reminds us that to whom much is given, much is required.
 
Before recovery, I read the word “sacrifice” in today's key verse and thought of dead animals lying on an altar in the desert of the Old Testament. Sacrifice is my act of worship to a living God. Living sacrifices are for the here and now. Let me challenge you to climb on the altar and be blessed. The sacrifice is worth the cost. Don't trust me; trust God!
 
Dear Lord, You are the giver of the ultimate gift, the sacrifice of your Son. Today I ask you to enable me see the needs of others and be willing to offer myself as a sacrifice to help. Change my heart to be like your heart. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Colossus_500]

Who Sinned?
by Greg Laurie, "A New Beginning"

"And His disciples asked Him, saying, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?'" John 9:2

Sometimes the question comes up of whether our physical suffering on earth is the result of sin. Who sinned? That is the question the disciples asked Jesus in John 9. Was it the blind man or his parents? Jesus responded by clearly pointing out there was no specific correlation here. In other words, the blind man was not being punished for his own sin or the sin of his parents.

But notice this. Jesus did not say that suffering is just a random event that has nothing to do with sin. Because in a broad sense, all sickness, all disability, and all of the limitations that come with the physical body are a result of sin. God's original plan was not that this body should ever get sick or wear out or die. God's original purpose was for this body to live forever. But because of the sin of Adam, because he disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, sin came into life and spread to all of humanity.

But let me add this. You can experience physical hardship as a result of your own sin. If you are an alcoholic, that is going to affect you physically. If you are a drug addict, that is going to affect you physically. In a sense those physical problems could be directly linked to sin. So yes, you can bring problems into your life as a result of breaking the commandments of God.

There is a reason that He gave us these guidelines. It was for our own good. God had a plan and a purpose for each rule to protect us in life that we might live life to its fullest.

Every day, we have the ability to choose between right and wrong. Choose life!

[Colossus_500]

Signs of the Times
- Greg Laurie, A New Beginning


"Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."Luke 21:28

Sometimes I think I can predict the weather as precisely as most weather forecasters today. Doesn't it seem like they can be incredibly inaccurate? It seems that whatever they say, the opposite will happen. On the other hand, I can just walk outside and look up. If it's sunny and warm, it probably will be a pleasant day. If I see some grey clouds, then I know it might rain.
Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and Sadducees for their inability to interpret the signs of the times (see Matthew 16:1-4). Yet we see the same reminders today. They scream at us from the front pages of our newspapers, from our television screen, and in events that take place around the world. There are signs that are being fulfilled, signs that are saying to us repeatedly, "Jesus is coming again." And we need to wake up and pay attention.
All of the signs Jesus spoke of are to remind us to be ready. Jesus said that prior to His return, the conditions on Earth would be like they were in the days of Lot and Noah (see Luke 17:26-30).
As we look at Lot's time, he was, of course, an inhabitant of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, places that were known for their excessive wickedness, and specifically for their sexual perversion.
Noah's time was characterized by exceedingly wicked violence and crime. Describing the time of Noah, Genesis 6:5 says, "Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."

Is that not an accurate description of our time right now?

[Colossus_500]

I miss Dr. Rogers     But I know he's in heaven, and it's great that we still have his sermons online and in radio syndication.

Clean Up the Inside
by the late Dr. Adrian Rogers, "Love Worth Finding"

"Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter that the outside of them may be clean also." Matthew 23:26

What happens when we try to help others? We always start on the outside. We think if we can change the environment of a man (his home, clothes, food, education) then we can create a new man. It cannot be done!

It was in the Garden of Eden that man got into trouble in the first place. Cleaning up the outside is just reformation, but when you clean up the inside, that's regeneration.

Jesus is telling the Pharisees that they don't need another bath, they need a new birth. I'm not saying that we ought not to help others. We should do these things. But what I am saying is that men need more than soap and soup; they need salvation. They need a birth from above not merely a boost from below.

Do you have a list of people who are lost? Pray over that list today - asking God to use you in the process of leading them to Him and that He would regenerate each one to be born again.

[24KT]

Understanding Your Legacy

"Under the pretext of asserting their independence, so many young people maintain they can do without the advice and experience of their elders! And in music, painting, poetry and drama, for example, they intend to start from scratch. But this is impossible!

What do novelists, poets, philosophers, musicians and painters do? They live their life while they are creating a work, and this work will inevitably reflect their experiences. They then bequeath this work to humanity, which feeds off it. As a result, down through the centuries an entire legacy of thought and sensibility has gradually been created, which we receive, so to speak, at birth. In reality then, we are inhabited by the life of others, by their thoughts, feelings, discoveries and wonder, but also by their mistakes and their anguish. So how can we speak of independence? The real question is: how can we take only the best of this legacy?"

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[24KT]

On the Imposition of Truth

"It is in the name of truth, their truth, that people throughout the world enslave others. Those who try to impose themselves in this way must understand that they are not good servants of truth. There can be no truth without love and wisdom, and there is neither love nor wisdom in this kind of violence. ‘But,’ you will say, ‘if some refuse to accept the truth, shouldn’t it be forced on them?’ No, and in any case it would be pointless, because sooner or later people would reject it.

Heaven forbids us to force the truth on others. This is why the teaching of the great masters is meant for those who are already prepared, who have had certain experiences and understood that the true life lies in spiritual growth. Those who have not yet understood this must wait until certain events in their life come to instruct them."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[24KT]

On Communion

"To commune is to enter into relationship with all creatures and with the living forces which animate rocks, plants, mountains, springs, the sun and the stars. To commemorate Jesus’ last supper with his disciples, Christians go to church and receive bread and wine. But do you believe this is all there is to communion? Those who truly know how to commune are able by their love and wisdom to establish contact with all creatures in the universe.

Only when we accord communion its true, cosmic dimension will we be able to say we are eating Christ’s flesh and drinking his blood. We will feel currents of pure, abundant energy circulating through every part of our being, and we will know this as eternal life, without beginning or end."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[Colossus_500]

“It costs God nothing, so far as we know, to create nice things: but to convert rebellious wills cost him crucifixion... You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse... You can shut him up for fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God.” —C.S. Lewis

[24KT]

On Blood

"Blood corresponds to the life circulating in space, and this life is permeated to one degree or another with purity, light and force. Although chemically the blood of all human beings is made up of identical elements, we do not all have the same blood. The quality of our blood depends on our way of life, our qualities and virtues, our degree of evolution.

By sacrificing his life on the cross, Jesus unleashed extraordinary spiritual forces which have worked for the evolution of humanity, for his blood, one of the most precious substances ever to fall on the earth, was a condensation of the divine quintessence. Only the light of the sun can be compared to it. When Jesus’ blood flowed, it was imbued with celestial energies which activated currents in the earth unknown until then, thus giving birth to a new epoch."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[24KT]

On Resurrection

"To die and resurrect, that is to say, to die in order to resurrect – these two experiences are the goal of initiation and in the past were accompanied by a precise ritual. For example, the disciple who had successfully passed through the preliminary stages was placed in a sarcophagus where he remained entombed for three days and three nights. After administering certain potions and pronouncing certain magic formulas over him, his masters kept him in a kind of cataleptic state. They detached his etheric and astral bodies from his physical body, enabling him to travel in space and visit all the regions of the world above and the world below. He observed, and he was astonished, frightened and filled with wonder. On his return, the cords that reconnected his etheric and astral bodies to his physical body were completely different in nature, and he knew reality. This is why he is said to have resurrected. And what Christianity teaches of Jesus – that he died, was buried, descended into hell and on the third day rose again – describes a similar experience."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[24KT]

On Christ

"Although Jesus is called ‘Christ’, he is not the Christ. The Christ is a cosmic spirit which illuminates not only the earth but the entire universe and all the entities who inhabit it. The Christ is the true cosmic sun, the spirit of the sun. In this sense, we can say that the physical, visible sun represents a trace for us, a witness, thanks to which we are able to discover the Christ, the cosmic sun.

It is not enough to fix on the ‘carcass’ of the physical sun as astronomers do. You must seek the spirit of the sun and identify with it as Jesus did. This is why he could say: ‘I am the light of the world.’ When he said these words, Jesus was identifying with the Christ."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov