Showing results by author "Neville" in All Categories

William Blake, in his poem "The Four Zoas: A Dream of Nine Nights" tells of God's fall into division and his resurrection to unity.

In the 37th chapter of Genesis we read the story of Joseph, a dreamer whose dreams always came true. His father, Israel, loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, and made him a long robe with sleeves. Now I ask you, who is Joseph? He is the foreshadowing of Jesus Christ, your true identity. Historical evidence for Jesus, the man, is nonexistent, yet he is the only reality and the true identity of every child born of woman.

"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and dwells in us." (John 1). Our physical birth is God's incarnation, for incarnation signifies the assumption by a divine being of human or animal form. When you were born your little human form was assumed by God. Christmas marks the departure from God's incarnation and your birth as God.

Tonight is a bit of a riddle, but you listen carefully, for it's very, very important. It is "The Morning Star", a promise made to man. "He who conquers...I will give him the morning star." (Revelation 2:26, 28 RSV1 ) Then, in a realization of this promise, he identifies himself as the morning star. He says, "I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star". (Revelation 22:16) The Bible ends on this note, in the last chapter of the book of Revelation.

Well, my first proposition is this one. The individual state of consciousness determines the conditions and the circumstances of his life. The second proposition is that man can select the state of consciousness with which he desires to be identified; and the third follows naturally - therefore, man can be what he wants to be.

When I receive a great revelation concerning the creative power of God I cannot keep it to myself, but must share it with all who will listen.

I tell you that imagination creates reality and I ask you to imagine a state, any state, which would imply the fulfillment of your desire. It doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks; it's what you think that matters to you! If you create a scene which implies the fulfillment of your desire and dwell in it until you have an inner conviction that it is real, what does it matter what another thinks?

Tonight's topic is: "The Most Precious Gift". If God who created the Universe and all within it gave it to you, and with the whole vast universe owned by you, you would consider that the greatest gift in the world. And, yet, he gave you something far greater than that. He gave you himself! God actually became as you are, that you may be as he is.

Entering this world of death, you brought all you have (or can have) with you. You are like a garden, already planted and sowed, for this world is too poor to produce one seed. Although William Blake was called a madman, he knew this great truth, and said: "The human imagination is the eternal body of the Lord Jesus." I tell you: The Lord Jesus is your own wonderful human imagination, who became as you are that you may become as he is.

All cause is spiritual! Although a natural cause seems to be, it is a delusion of the vanishing memory. Unable to remember the moment a state was imagined, when it takes form and is seen by the outer eye its harvest is not recognized, and therefore denied.

If you find yourself miserable or helpless here, may I tell you that you are not condemned to that state by a deity outside of yourself, for everything that takes place in your world is but a movement within God. We are told that in the very beginning the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters and things came into being. Everything - your misery, your helplessness, your joy, your sorrow - no matter what it is, comes into being by a movement within God, and he is not a deity outside yourself.

The mystery of creation is to be understood in terms of faith, so what is faith? It is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen with the mortal eye. Through faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made out of things which do not appear.

I think you're all aware that this is the most dramatic week in Christendom and yet I dare say that not an nth part of one percent of those who call themselves Christians really understand what it is all about. It's the story of the fulfillment of God's purpose. That's the week, the triumphant march into Jerusalem, the crucifixion and then the resurrection. And it's told as though it took place on earth. That's how the story is told. Man cannot think abstractly, so it's told in the form of a story. And man has mistaken the story for the reality.

"All that you behold, though it appears without it is within, of which this world of mortality is but a shadow." If you will but enter a state in your imagination, and assume its truth, the outer world will respond to your assumption, for it is your shadow, forever bearing witness to your inner imaginal activity.

God speaks to Man through the medium of dream and reveals himself in vision, and we are past masters of misinterpreting his words. A dream is a parable containing a single jet of truth. Don't try to give meaning to every word or event of the dream. Perhaps there will be several dreams, several stories in a single dream - then each story contains its own jet of truth. Let me share one such dream of a friend. Her dream is in three parts. It is a wonderful dream on the higher level.

Scripture makes the most profound statements in the world. You can believe them or reject them, but you will never know their truth until scripture is experienced. When it is once experienced, you can no more deny it than you can the humblest evidence of your senses.

The world of imagination is infinite and eternal, whereas the world of generation is finite and temporary. In that eternal world, the permanent realities of everything exist. Their reflections are here, cast in a glass called nature.

"He is our peace, who will make us both one by breaking down the wall of hostility, that he may create in himself one new man in place of the two, so bringing peace." This being of peace is a person, not a doctrine or philosophy. He is a person who breaks down the wall of hostility between you who are seated here and your true identity, who is a son of God, one with his Father.

Tonight's subject is in the form of a question: "Is Christ your imagination?" When we ask the question, we expect the answer in terms of our current background of thought, and quite often that is not adequate to frame the answer. Now, I am asking the question, and in order to answer myself, I should really clarify the terms, "imagination" and "Christ". I think there will be no problem tonight if I define - say - "imagination". I think you will agree with me when I define "Christ".

Your true environment is in your imagination! All that you behold, though it appears without, it is within, in your imagination - of which this world of mortality is but a shadow. No matter what is taking place on the outside, it is but a symbol telling you what is taking place within; for the world is nothing more than yourself pushed out. Its image, alive in your imagination, overwhelms you.