2002-04-26-Joy

Session

Opening

Prayer by Klarixiska(Bill): Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God. May our peace, as we rest in Your divine overcare, settle our hearts, our minds, and even our bodies so that stress, anxiety, fear, doubt, and anger are extinguished. To You, Who dwells ineach of us, we offer our lives to respond to Your gracious will so we may serve each other in joy and gladness. Amen.

Daniel(Bill): Greetings, my friends, this is Daniel, your teacher, your friend, your brother and your joyous companion. I look with great pleasure upon these times when we are together, whether there be a few in intimate interaction or a larger classroom. Tonight I will be with you and am pleased to have this opportunity to renew our friendship. Teacher Rayson is here, but he is not speaking this evening. He is among many other dignitaries, as you might perceive them. He is, of course, an honored member and a beloved friend to our Melchizedek teaching staff.

Lesson

I wish to have us meditate on the concept and experience of joy. As one of the fruits of the Spirit, joy inevitably accompanies your increased awareness of Michael's presence in your life. Joy does not grow out of the circumstances of living. Yes, there can be joyous times such as reunions of loved ones, or victories in sports, or the surprise at receiving an unsolicited and unexpected gift. These are occasions for joy. But the joy that I would speak of and have you think about comes from a deeper recess in the well of experience. It comes from the source of the water that fills the well.

Joy is fundamentally an attitude which follows upon the dethronement of ego from a position of power and control which it has no business claiming. The ego is a term to describe the functioning of mortal mind in the organizing and planning arenas. It is not a negative entity which you should eschew at all costs. As you commented earlier, ego needs to be subservient to Spirit in order that its functioning be restrained and that it can become a more trustworthy and therefore trusted servant of the personality. When this subservience is manifest on the part of the ego the personality can become properly unified and no longer is in an unbalanced state, but in the synergy of all aspects around the central core, which is that settled, consistent, betrothal of the will of the individual mortal to do the will of the First Source and Center.

Joy is the manifestation of the proper functioning of the personality. It is analogous to a machine whose parts are properly lubricated and in balance, as in a perfectly balanced rotating wheel. It is analogous to the sound of an automobile engine that is perfectly tuned so that it accelerates with a powerful growl to power the vehicle from a start to the incredible speed of 100 miles an hour within five seconds. Joy is the fragrance of a gorgeous flower, whose petals are all symmetrical, whose colors are brilliant. It is the manifestation of the proper functioning of a human personality. In contrast, spirit poisons demonstrate the improper functioning of human personality where ego still remains either on the throne, or contending for the throne of decision making power. When ego displaces the place of God, the wheel's balance is lopsided. It does not spin evenly. It does not put forth a pleasant sound. Joy can be seen as an indicator of health in the personality arena. It is a twin to inner peace, the peace that passes understanding. Because Jesus achieved perfection of personality balance he was not the "man of sorrows". He was ever of good cheer.

You see, my friends, in this Teaching Mission we have been urging you, from the beginning, to turn your orientation and your understanding inward. We have told you that you have within you a divine Center, a part of the First Source and Center. You have a divine nature. We have told you that the Source of your life does not lie out there in other people's opinions, in their approval or their disapproval. Your worth and value comes from the very Center of the universe, from God Himself! So it is true that to the degree that we are willing to pray with Jesus the prayer, "It is my will that Your will be done", that brings increasing perfect integration into your lives so that all else can come into balance. The result is the attitude of joy.

Now, just to clarify. This attitude of joy does not exclude the possibility of sorrow. But just as inner peace underlies difficult circumstances which would appear to be contradictory to it, so joy remains despite sadness that may come from time to time. This joy of which I speak is not the same thing as a false smile on one's face. It is not a sophisticated form of denial. It is not putting one's head in the sand. It is, again, the humming of a perfectly balanced life that spins around the Center, God Himself. Often our Master admonished his disciples and his apostles, "Be of good cheer. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid". His words were based upon his experience. They were not the platitudes of some deluded visionary, some pious mystic. They were his experience. When he finally gave up the life struggle he summarized his life with these words, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit". His life was always in the hands of his Father and from that experience of perfect balance he exuded joy, displayed amazing confidence in people and passed his profound peace to all those with whom he came into contact.

I, Daniel, have not achieved our Master's personality perfection yet, but I have made great progress since my mortal life. The closer I come to that overflowing alignment, having already been fused, the more I understand this great joy. You all know a measure of what I am talking about for you are making excellent progress. At your point in life it is still a decision that you need to make as frequently as necessary. Place your will in alignment with the will of that great Mystery Monitor within. Let your appraisal on life come from here (points to chest) not from out there. This will greatly assist you in avoiding the pessimistic, negative, vengeful, fearful, and guilty conclusions that your natural animal minds would reach. Know that you are greatly loved by a host of celestial personalities. Also, know that we all are loved and valued by He Who is, after all, not only our Source, but our ultimate destiny.

Closing

To God be all glory and honor! Good evening.

Group: Good evening.