Manu… And… You?

SAT., NOV. 21, 1998, 6:55 AM
HAMA’S CABANA, HONOLULU

But, first, a comment on this paper. You have tried to find more of “Our” shade of paper, and I want you to still persist. If you do come upon a source you may decide to recopy this and other Teachings to continue “the tradition”. OR you could just leave these, as evidence of a loss, for a time… OR this may be the color for the rest of Our time together. Part of spiritual life, particularly in these elder years, is accepting what cannot be changed and, therefore, “practicing” adaptation, that hallmark of health. An aspect of disengagement is accepting “what is” with a happy, thankful heart, rather than mourning over what has been, but is no more. (You see that it’s easier to stay on these lines… better for your diminishing sight!)

Accept, please, that I have led you to this short article which commences with some thoughts from Manu on spiritual aging. (You see that while this term, spiritual aging, can be used, it has a connotation almost opposite from physical and mental aging. As I have told you, when these earthly aspects of you age… or diminish… your spirit, as it “ages”, focuses more and more on Me, rather than on the “things of this earth.”)

You don’t know who Manu was. (It could be good to research this and find out more about this character, who lived in roughly the era that I, as Jesus, lived in this earth realm.) Yet for this concern… aging and your spirit… he is saying more that is relevant to you than any of your own Christian Scriptures. (This might urge you to search Our Scriptures for some comparable verses of wisdom.) And of course you are recognizing that this Hindu saint is being influenced by Me. What he is saying and what I am teaching you are quite similar.

Your path is not to be so extreme, so completely “monkish”. But I am recommending more quiet contemplation rather than goal-oriented or socially useful activities. Every time you take up a volume of My Teachings to you, you see how perceptive each Teaching is and how they are guiding you to what could be the best leg on this spiritual journey of yours. Manu urges reading the Veda. I favor, for you, contemplation of these Teachings, as well as portions of My Holy Scriptures relevant to you and your life.

Motivations to live more simply are familiar to you, and I’m for this. If the Y2K “event” comes off you’ll be more spiritually prepared than many in your culture. You also have some tendencies to take some risks, experience some “hardships”, though not quite as uncomfortable as those Manu recommends. Be both sorry for your losses (as in hand and foot handicaps) and glory in what you still have and how you can adapt to changes.

Mainly, however, the call is to be less and less engaged with earthly actions and things. You related to the criticism of your Newsletter judgment as you should have, as a “pre-elder-sage”. Accept the “blame”, smile, and go on with life. Holding grudges is akin to coveting things. Remember the affirmation, “I no provoke!”

You are still involved with elements of the earth life of Bob Russell, and this is “natural”. Yet I, and Manu, counsel you to recognize where you are on this earth life journey and be preparing, increasingly, for movement back into realms of spirit. With a happy heart and a buoyant spirit give up attachments one by one and live more of your life, each day, week, and year, “in the spirit”. You see this now “as through a glass darkly”. It is not something to “work at”, but rather something that is in you, in your spirit, but “covered up” by your culture’s powerful values and the habits of the successful life you have lived.