Back to Spiritual Balance Page 1

Page 2 contents:

• The Subject of Evil.
• Justice (law/karma) versus Grace.
• Reincarnation versus One Lifetime.
• (Including a note on suicide and abortion.)

The Subject of Evil.

“The devil … that proud spirit … cannot endure to be mocked.” – Sir Thomas More.

People’s views on evil range from denial that it exists at all (i.e. it’s only in the eyes of the beholder), to acceptance of it as a planned part of creation, to the other extreme of fear of evil having just as much chance as Good in winning the battle of Armageddon. The second is based on the belief that everything in the universe is God’s energy, which is true in a way, but, like the first view, it is partly in a state of denial, reluctant to deal with some of the horrendous atrocities and crimes that beset the world. The third view is based on ignorance of cosmic law and on fear, which is actually a strong method of negative meditation that attracts what is feared and helps it to self-perpetuate.

Evil is not a part of the original creation or divine plan but a result of the abuse of the gift of free will. Fortunately God foresaw the possibility of this and created safeguards to prevent “heaven being taken by force”. (See Protection below.) Pure unqualified energy, as consciousness, is flowing from our Real Self through us continually. Our free will choices determine the quality of it. If we choose to be kind or courageous or wise etc. (virtues or good karma), then that energy is positively qualified and in harmony with God’s creation, so our spiritual “vibration level” remains high. Your attitude and intent mainly determines this. (See also the Attitude page.)

If we choose anger, hatred etc. (vices, sin or negative karma), that energy is negatively qualified and out of harmony with God, which lowers our vibration level. It causes blockages in the flow of energy around our energy field or aura, and slows down the rate of spin of our spiritual energy centres or chakras. These distribute energy to our four lower “bodies” (See Balancing Our 4 “Bodies” page). The result is a stagnation of flow of energy within us, which causes things like mental density, emotional problems and eventually physical disease. We can see God’s Law in action: As we sow, so we reap. When we change our attitudes and intent, we raise our vibration, which starts clearing the energy blocks and works to balance our negative karma. (See violet flame for tips to accelerate this process.)

Does sinning make me evil?

This is a good question. We normally think of an evil person as one who is committed to a bad cause. This is very different from us making mistakes and having temporary bad habits on our journey back to God. This brings us to the subject of relative and absolute good and evil, which is best covered by the Ascended Masters. (There is much information on the subject on the Ascended Master Network website at www.summitlighthouse.org). The glossary definition of evil from the book Saint Germain on Alchemy (1) says: “Evil. Energy-VEIL; the veil of misqualified energy which man imposes upon Matter through his misuse of the sacred fire; maya, illusion.” After elaborating on this relative evil, it says: “Absolute Evil, embodied by fallen angels, is the state of those who declared war against Almighty God, his Christ and his offspring in the Great Rebellion, who have not ceased their warfare against the seed of the Divine Mother, will not bend the knee before the Light and will be defeated in Armageddon …”. Two other books that give great insight into the subject are Kabbalah – Key to Your Inner Power (2), especially the chapter called The Origin of Evil, and Fallen Angels and the Origins of Evil (3).

Spiritual and Physical Protection.

Without going too deeply into this subject on this page, suffice it to say that, in simple terms, the safeguard from evil that God has in place is that when anyone chooses evil, they embody a lower vibration. Thus they automatically descend away from the area of the high vibration of God, and so cannot overcome him. Neat, huh? So how do we safeguard ourselves from danger and from evil? It helps to have a practical balance between physical and spiritual action. God helps those who help themselves. So it’s important to tighten your seat belt when you drive on the highway and to stay away from high crime areas in the city, especially late at night. This should not be done with fear but with love for being practical. Also, the more we raise our spiritual vibration, the more those of low vibration will want to take advantage of us.

Speaking of fear, when preachers stand on the pulpit and preach fire and brimstone, they breed fear into their congregation. This helps lower their vibration and makes them more vulnerable by putting them on a level closer to the very evil that they fear. Evil only flourishes through our belief in it and fear of it. The solution? It doesn’t help denying it, which is a form of fear. Trust in God in you, which evil has no power over. Rather respect it for having temporal power (lower power which we may make ourselves vulnerable to), and don’t fool with it. All energy, created by God but abused by man, is like electricity. It has the potential to help you or to shock you if you don’t respect cosmic law.

The laws or qualities to use are those which are part of God, your Real Self and nature, and are therefore real and permanent. For example faith, wisdom, love, self-worth, kindness and humility. Un-Real qualities like fear, doubt, denial, greed, pride, gullibility etc. are not only self-limiting but they are temporary, like knots or tangles in your hair. They are not a part of God’s Reality and are therefore illusory (or ‘maya’) from the perspective of our Real Self and heaven. It is not always that easy to transcend these qualities once we are enmeshed in them (in the mud). In fact it’s quite easy for even advanced souls to get really attached to them. (4).

Prayer and the Spoken Word.

Prayer and meditation is a great help in this process. The Ascended Masters have stressed the use of decrees, a part of the science of the spoken word (5), to invoke the intercession of heaven for all of our needs. Archangel Michael, captain of the Lord’s hosts, is the Archangel that specialises in faith and protection. See https://www.summitlighthouse.org/prayers/Decrees/Traveling-Protection.html. Another tool for spiritual protection that you can pray for to help seal your aura is the “Tube of Light”. See https://www.summitlighthouse.org/Sacred-Art/Chart-of-Your-Divine-Self.html. For the prayer itself, see the “Tube of Light” section at https://www.summitlighthouse.org/prayers/Decrees/Heart-Head-Hand.html. See also

Also, one of the subjects covered in the books mentioned above is the hastening of the process of the binding of evil on earth by us in embodiment invoking the intercession of the Lord’s hosts. Archangel Michael and other archangels and Ascended Masters can also be called upon for the binding of evil in the world and of our own bad habits. The bottom line is: Protection needs more than just faith. It needs a practical balance of physical and spiritual action, and the humilty to invoke help.

Quote from Jesus’ Vigil of the Hours.

To end off with, here is a good quote on the subject of evil taken from Part II of the booklet “Watch With Me” Jesus’ Vigil of the Hours: ; “In a universe of absolute goodwill and perfection, it must be recognized that the freedom to choose, known as a free will, has permitted mankind to depart from the perfection of God and to act as a creator in his own domain. Hence there have sprung into manifestation, along with the good men are wont to do, myriad forms and concepts which utilize divine energy to spawn a shadowed veil of substance and thought which is distinctly antichrist in nature.

“As the warning sounded forth of old to beware of the antichrist, so mankind in this hour of trial must understand that the earth has a very old residue comprising the energy records of past history. These have been sustained largely through custom, and they exist as a temporary force of evil until challenged by the power of Light – for evil has no permanent reality except in the continuous misqualification by mankind of the pure energies of God released to all daily.

“The reactivation and revitalizing of ancient foci of evil is accomplished, then, by contemporary man in most cases inadvertently, but in accord with a scheme perpetrated by the hordes of shadow, who have to the present hour refused to bend the knee and acknowledge the power of Light in their own beings or to confess the divinity of the Christ radiance as the divine mediator between God and man.” (Reprinted with permission from “Watch With Me” Jesus’ Vigil of the Hours by Elizabeth Clare Prophet. Copyright © 1987 Summit University Press. All rights reserved. Website: www.summitlighthouse.org)

The bottom line.

The bottom line of all of this is that we need to keep in balance and not take evil too seriously. As the Irish poet Thomas More said: “The devil…the prowde spirite…cannot endure to be mocked.” An excellent book to help with this, and to understand the psychology of evil is The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. People of the Lie by M. Scott Peck is also very good, but more serious.

References

1. Page 402, Saint Germain on Alchemy, recorded by Elizabeth Clare Prophet (Summit University Press, Livingston, MT, 1985).
2. Kabbalah: Key to Your Inner Power by Prophet, Spadaro and Steinman (Summit University Press, Livingston, MT, 1997).
3. Fallen Angels and the Origins of Evil: – Why Church Fathers Suppressed the Book of Enoch and Its Startling Revelations, and Fallen Angels Among Us: What You Need to Know, both by Elizabeth Clare Prophet.
4. “When Indra Became a Hog” in the book Yoga stories and Parables by Swami Jyotir Maya Nanda. This book is not easy to obtain, so in case you cannot get a copy, here is the gist of the story:Once Indra prayed to Vishnu and asked him why the people in the world lived in such pain and misery. Vishnu appeared to him and said: “These creatures are not ready to ascend to the heavenly abodes. They are happy where they are.” Indra did not believe him. So Vishnu said: “I will convert you into a hog so that you will understand.” Indra found himself in the form of a hog. Over time, he had a family with many piglets. He rolled in the mud, amusing the piglets with his play and fun. At that time, the sage Narada went to Indra to remind him of his essential nature. He said: “O Indra, you are not this hog. Don’t you wish to return to Heaven where there are delights beyond one’s expectations?”

   Indra said: “I remember the joys of Heaven, but I see my beautiful children playing with me and kissing my mouth with their flat noses and I forget about Heaven.” Narada spoke firmly: “O Indra, it is a pity that you have to revel in filth. Come back to Heaven with me. I will restore you to your previous state.” The hog replied: “O sage, do not disturb my innocent pleasures. I am not desirous of going to Heaven where I am not in the company of my piggy wife and my flat-nosed darlings and where it is not possible to feed on the things that we find here on earth. Therefore leave me alone.”
   Narada then invoked Lord Vishnu who, against the will of the hog, restored him to his previous state as Indra. Then Vishnu asked Indra: “Do you understand why these creatures are not taken to Heaven?” Indra, ashamed, said: “O Lord, I understand my folly. Everyone is limited to one’s vision. The mortals do not desire to attain heaven, so they keep themselves immersed in the little pleasures of the world which are, in fact, painful and illusory.”

5. See: The Science of the Spoken Word by Elizabeth Clare Prophet (Summit University Press).

Justice (law/karma) versus Grace.

The concept of grace is most familiar to Christianity. Many see the difference between the Old and New Testaments as the change from God’s Law to God’s grace through Jesus Christ. The Old Testament has ample examples of what looks like God’s punishment to restore justice to those who have sinned or committed injustices. Many Christians are under the impression that with grace, Jesus has taken on our sins (providing through faith we accept Him as our saviour), and God’s justice through His laws are no longer applicable to us. This belief is very tempting, as it has the obvious allure of non-accountability. But, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap … Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.” This sounds like an Old Testament passage, but it was spoken by the apostle Paul (Galatians 6:7). This passage pretty much summarises the law of karma from the East, and in more modern terminology is expressed as “What goes around comes around.”

Karma is a Sanskrit word from ancient India and means act or deed. As stated in the section This Amazing Universe on page 1, whatever we have ever done is recorded in what is known as “akasha”. It will all return to us some day, with interest i.e. after gathering more of its kind by the law of like attracts like. If it was not good, then it will be an opportunity to make things right and experience what it’s like to be on the receiving end. (See Danion Brinkley’s book Saved by the Light: The True Story of a Man Who Died Twice and the Profound Revelations He Received for a description of how this works.) Is this mean? Not at all. It is the ingenious tough love of our wise Parents. It ensures total justice and helps us learn and grow back towards our true Divine nature. Besides, everything good we have ever done is credited to us, even if no one saw it.

Another example of the law of justice in the New Testament is Jesus’ own Sermon on the Mount, where he stated: “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again … for this is the law and the prophets” and “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” He also said elsewhere: “Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the of judgement” and “… for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.”

Therefore Jesus did not bring the dispensation of grace so we could have a free ride and flirt with the cosmic laws of justice, but that we would get a bit of a break to learn our lessons and come up higher, be more at one with Him, so that when the time comes for us to face our injustices (karma), we will be better equipped to deal with it. He did not spell everything out then, except to His disciples in the upper room. The masses were only ready for parables. But now, after this grace period, many more are ready for the full teaching.

Many very revealing scriptures have been discovered in the past century that were excluded from the Bible, like the Dead Sea Scrolls and especially the 13 books of The Nag Hammadi Library, found in Egypt in 1945. A more condensed version of the Nag Hammadi Library by James M. Robinson (Editor) can be found in The Secret Teachings of Jesus: Four Gnostic Gospels by Marvin Meyer (Translator). They reveal that there was an esoteric side to Jesus’ teachings. What He has effectively done with His grace is to help us contact our own Christ Self (see Real Self on page 1), which is one with Him. This is the most amazing grace in itself. These are part of the teachings of Gnosticism from the early Christian mystics, well documented in the book Reincarnation: The Missing Link in Christianity by Elizabeth Clare Prophet. It includes sections like Jesus’ Teaching on Reincarnation, Karma implies Reincarnation, Sifting the New Testament, What is Gnosticism? and Jesus’ Secret Teachings on the God Within.

Reincarnation versus One Lifetime.

I was introduced to the concept of reincarnation at a very young age. My grandfather died when I was young, but one of the few things I remember him saying is that if ever he comes back, he’d like to be a bull on a dairy farm. Other than that, reincarnation was never mentioned or referred to in our family. Nor was spirituality in general. In the East, reincarnation is quite generally accepted as fact. In the West, it is largely an intellectual concept. Either you believe in it or you don’t. Some have actually experienced memories of a former life, and there are some books that document these and say that they prove reincarnation. Others say they know it is a fact through intuition or inner knowing. However, it is still up to us to believe these people or not. But what is more important than our intellectual beliefs are our actions. What we do with our life and how we do it is what really counts.

Belief – Attitude – Action.

This does not mean that our beliefs don’t really matter. They do! They affect our attitude, and our attitude affects our actions. If you believe that you are on earth purely by evolving from animals, and that your one shot at life works only by the survival of the fittest, then your attitude towards others and the way you treat them will reflect that. Your actions will be different to someone who believes that they are an immortal spirit using this temporary body to learn lessons and to fulfill a specific mission on earth. (For more on attitude, see the Attitude page of this site.)

There are basically three main belief systems to consider i.e. evolution with no God, creation by God with one chance at life (mainly Christian) and reincarnation (which has several variations). This is a massive subject, and we won’t get into too much detail here. There are excellent books referred to below for details. But let’s consider how each belief can affect our attitude and ultimately our actions. A good exercise is to take a turn at imagining in detail living as a person with each of the three belief systems above, and how you would think and treat people and problems and temptations in each case.

Accountability.

One of the main differences comes down to accountability.

• As an atheist, if you can gain a great advantage over someone else by not being honest or even being criminal, and still get away with it, then why not? If there is not the belief in a fair and reliable accountability system then there is little motivation to be responsible or accountable. Although there are countless honourable people working tirelessly in the law and justice systems of many countries, there are definitely shortcomings in the overall human justice system on this planet, so bribery and corruption abounds and countless people “get away with murder”. This is especially so with those in positions of great wealth and power who are somewhat above the law. There are many examples, but going into detail is beyond the scope of this page.
• As an orthodox Christian, there is the possibility for you to sin as much as you like, and as long as you confess them on Sunday and ask for forgiveness, you’re back to square one with a “clean slate”, ready to sin all you want again. Or at the end of this life, a converted life-long notorious sinner still goes to heaven with all the people who were honourable their whole lives. Besides, it wasn’t your fault in the beginning. You were born a sinner by design, even before you had a chance to commit a sin. So there is definitely room for non-accountability with this belief system. This is not to say that all Christians believe this, but the belief system of vicarious atonement is open to abuse, and some abuse it.
• As for reincarnation, there are two main beliefs. We will stick to the more realistic version that we will be learning and improving every lifetime until we are an ascended master or lady master, not the type where you’ll be coming back almost forever, maybe even as an animal. (For more on ascended masters, reincarnation and karma, see The Summit Lighthouse website.) As someone who believes that you are an immortal reincarnating soul, you know that everything that happens to you is a test and an opportunity to become more balanced and loving and adept. So no matter how you compare with the worldly progress of others, as long as you are being helpful, loving and kind, you are always progressing. True love sometimes needs “tough love” like loving parents need with naughty children. Your good and bad deeds are always recorded (in akasha), so it doesn’t matter if anyone sees or witnesses them. They count anyway. And no matter how unfair people are to you down here, it will all be balanced and adjusted for fairness later by the law of karma.

There may be apparent injustices in the world, but they are only temporary. No one will ultimately get away with anything, and as long as you keep your plate clean, you will always be protected by the great Law that eventually overrides all human laws. You know you will get credit for everything you do, or be held accountable, not in the way of punishment, but experiencing what it’s like to be on the receiving end of your deeds as a learning experience, as described in the section on justice/karma versus grace above. So the key issue in life becomes making the right decision for the betterment of the whole (“God’s Will” in religious terms) as opposed to winning for personal gain (often to the detriment of others). What a wonderful way to live!

Life is what you make it, in this totally amazing universe! (For more on this subject, see “This Amazing Universe” on Spiritual Balance Page 1.)

So it seems that if there is no proof as to which of the above three beliefs are true, then living your life according to the third one (reincarnation) will be a lot more fulfilling and less stressful (unless you wanted to be dishonest etc. and worried about not getting away with it, which you won’t). Plus, people will be more accountable, kind and honest, and society will be a lot better off. Besides, if you don’t believe in reincarnation, and it lands up being the correct one when you reach the end of this life, you would have missed a big boat!

What if you’re a Christian or a Muslim? Does believing in reincarnation mean you will have to forsake your religion? No, not at all. Reincarnation was actually accepted and taught in Christianity for about the first two centuries after Christ. This is an extremely interesting subject, and well documented in the book Reincarnation: The Missing Link in Christianity by Elizabeth Clare Prophet. As for Muslims, the mystical side of Islam is called Sufism. They are free to believe in whatever feels right for them. The following quote is from section III of Ten Sufi Thoughts on the Sufi Order International website (www.sufiorder.org): “The Sufi has in all ages respected all such books, and has traced in the Vedanta, Zendavesta, Kabah, Bible, Qur’an, and all other sacred scriptures, the same truth which he reads in the incorruptible manuscript of nature, the only Holy Book, …”

Balance needed.

All that being said, the belief in reincarnation can also be abused, like procrastinating because you have many lifetimes ahead to do or to overcome certain things. This does not work, because the law of karma makes you accountable for any and all compromises (or “sins”) of Cosmic Law, which is based on love. Procrastinating is a lack of love, a lack of doing what most needs to be done now, even if you don’t particularly feel like doing it now.

A note on how reincarnation relates to suicide and abortion.

Another way that people abuse the belief in reincarnation is to justify a lack of reverence for life by saying that they will just come back again and have another chance. This can take many forms, like harming or killing someone, whether born or unborn (as in abortion), or committing suicide. Once again, this is a compromise of cosmic love and wisdom, and a misunderstanding of cosmic law, so balance is needed. (For help and a spiritual perspective on abortion and reincarnation, see Wanting to Be Born: The Cry of the Soul by Dr Duffy and Elizabeth Clare Prophet and my website Balancing the Abortion Debate).

People who commit suicide think they are ending their problems. However, according to the teachings of the ascended masters mentioned above, people who commit suicide are required by cosmic law to return to embodiment straight away. And who knows what conditions be like on this planet by the time they grow up and get to the same position they are now? They may have to face that same test again in the next life, but maybe under much worse circumstances. So they will not be solving their problems, only making things worse. However, if you know of someone who is feeling suicidal, the best thing to do is be compassionate for the pain they are feeling, and direct them to a professional counselor.

If you or someone you know is feeling SUICIDAL, go to one of these websites now for help:

If you are thinking about suicide read this first!

• Suicide Hotlines – at Suicide.org
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – mainly for the U.S.A.
• Suicide and Crisis Helplines – International.
• Girls & Boys Town National Hotline – 1-800-448-3000 (U.S. and Canada).
• Covenant House – 1-800-999-9999 (U.S. and Canada).
• Wanting to Live: Overcoming the Seduction of Suicide – A good book for a spiritual perspective on suicide by Dr. Neroli Duffy and Dr. Marilyn Barrick.
• Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Resources by Michelle Conway at Morningside Recovery.
• Hope and Recovery – A Suicide Prevention Guide by Choices Recovery
• Teen Suicide – inspirational poem by Craig Nicholson.

To have a more healthy attitude towards life, it helps believing that we are immortal souls of pure love and light (which is true) operating in the just laws of karmic accountability and fairness, but living not just as if this is the only life we have, with long-term plans and goals, but as if this is the only moment we have to love life. For in reality, there is nothing else except this moment. And we get to decide how wonderful and loving we will make each moment!

Resources on Reincarnation.

1. Reincarnation: The Missing Link in Christianity by Elizabeth Clare Prophet.
2. Embraced by the Light by Betty J. Eadie and Curtis Taylor.
3. Life After Life: The Investigation of a Phenomenon–Survival of Bodily Death by Raymond A. Moody and Elisabeth Kubler-Ross.
4. A Dweller on Two Planets or the Dividing of the Way by Phylos the Thibetan.
5. The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche et al.
6. Karma and Reincarnation: Transcending Your Past, Transforming Your Future (Pocket Guide Series) by Elizabeth Clare Prophet, Patricia R. Spadaro.
7. Many Lives, Many Masters by Dr. Brian L. Weiss.
8. I Have Lived Before: The True Story of the Reincarnation of Shanti Devi by Sture Lonnerstrand, Leslie Kippen (Translator).
9. Resources on Reincarnation on Perfectmemorials.com.