Positive extracts from ‘Universal World Harmony through Service’ Newsletters from September 1993 to February 1998
Another year has passed us by another one has begun. Is this any different from each new day which comes our way? Each fresh new opportunity that is presented before us; each new challenge to take up and grasp with both hands. To ponder on ideas is interesting, but only of use if we act upon them and in such a way that they are of service to our Lord and creation.
The challenge of life is perhaps the greatest of all. So many souls are confused by the seeming immensity of the task in hand; they forget that in this Age of Aquarius we are not expected to meet this great challenge alone!
We are ONE family – the human. We must act as such and not necessarily go off to form some great new age group or run after some other flight of our fancy in the hope that others will follow our way, the only way etc.
Groups and individuals need to learn the art of cooperation and ‘sharing’. This is the way forward. If a brother or sister falls we are not here to laugh, but to hold out the helping hand.
If you are unsure of life then look at its great examples lead daily by great people such as Nelson Mandela or Mother Theresa. Do not put obstacles in the way of service (loving action) you are never too old to serve; you do not necessarily need lots of money or material possessions. Just one kind word or prayer with pure love can change a whole person’s life and outlook.
If you are doing any task – even the dishes! – do it with love, think of your God in his/her/its purist form, giving forth love and light to all. This is not idle day-dreaming, for every thought of good helps to uplift this planet and everything upon it; and give thanks – leading by example.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
Margaret Mead
As the dawn light seeps through the living room windows of my 10th floor apartment I am entitled to look outside by its unearthly whiteness. Focusing my sleep laden eyes I see that the air is thick with huge snowflakes falling lazily to earth. It is only mid-November, and the surrounding majestic mountains, now obscured from view, will soon revel their spectacular winter garb. But the ground beneath me, lapped by the waters of the tepid Pacific, is too warm to support this purifying carpet and the surrounding city too hot with the agitation of daily life.
Across the street, on a secluded expanse of pavement, an extraordinary sight finally shakes me fully awake. The lone figure of a tall, native Indian, with flowing jet black hair falling onto a rough, sodden hide jacket, stands with outstretched arms in some imaginary flight whilst his eyes in some dreamy trance reach skyward. At his feet, delicately sculpted from abundant reds and golds of fallen maple leaves, is the proud form of an eagle. My mind cannot understand and for once is silent whilst my heart feels an explosion of both joy and great sadness.
For a newcomer, trying to make sense of the insanity of city life, I know that I am experiencing a story repeated on every continent. I am surrounded with stark icons of steel and concrete, the ceaseless roar of traffic and the beep-beep of check-outs and cash machines. Below, I witness a last, shattered fragment of a once proud culture which has been brutally obliterated almost without a trace. A people respectful of nature and concerned that they took only what they needed, their expression timeless only in the souls of those who lived it.
I shuffle uneasily to the kitchen to make tea and on my return I see the Indian has vanished. The eagle is still there, now embossed at its centre with delicate white flowers in the shape of a heart – something hard to find in a culture driven by profit and exploitation, though it is there, pained and dormant, at times screaming for help and recognition.
The days pass and as the eagle is dispersed by the winds of change, I can’t help wondering what else has been lost.
DS
“It is easy to close the eyes and forget, but conscience has no eyelids.”
Anon
The times we find ourselves in are making it possible for us to live creatively moment to moment.
Old structures are falling, allowing for another approach to appear.
When in the past one got a job, it was often a job for life. This meant that many passed their later working life in boredom and frustration, feeling unable to leave a steady job and face the uncertainty of the future without it.
This is no longer so. Work now is not guaranteed beyond a limited period.
It may or may not be renewed. This is teaching us to live in the moment, and search for ways to guide and sustain us.
As more people become aware of their innate spirituality, and their untapped higher forces, they are finding a higher guidance to live by.
If a job is not forthcoming and times become hard they can begin to see a higher purpose in this. Material hardship has a way to strengthen other leve.ls of being. One becomes more resourceful, finding other ways to spend time away from material pleasures and distractions. Soul strengthening is now a way of life for many.
We naturally choose pleasure before pain, yet pain brings due reward of light and love.
Old patterns are being broken to allow new ones to come forth. We are becoming more Self (with a capital S) never mind faking responsibility for self. This leads to creativity. We create our own environment, our own place in the scheme of things.
Many are becoming aware of the synchronicity which is increasingly taking place now. We are being led by our inter-relationship both with each other and all aspects of creation. The saying 'energy follows thought' is becoming a living reality now. As you think so you become. Think of yourself as a creative being and you become one.
Creation can take many forms. We can create right relationships and build the moral structure of society. We can create sustainability and add to our environment. We can create beauty, firstly in ourselves as we seek to become good, true, and beauty filled, then in our surroundings.
Our creation responsibility can be a shared one. By working with each other and discussing our visions, energy is given for all to take a part in the future outcome of these visions.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid". "Perfect love casteth out all fear". "No man is an island unto himself alone". All these sayings have significance for our time. There is nothing to fear but fear itself we are told... So let our perfect love shine through to our fellow travellers and let our creative responsibility find its way through.
J H
"It is only because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually."
M. Scott Peck
We wish to continue to impress the importance of SERVICE, for this is what our organisation stands for. Service to us is “loving action” that means:
GIVNG all that we have in service to GOD. It means giving freely and ungrudgingly, it means SHARING the love within each of- us and it means recognising the God within each and every one of us. No matter what colour skin, religion or beliefs or ideologies we each may have.
We cannot simply serve God when we like, he is not like some tap we can turn on or off at will. If God is love and God is energy then he must also be Loving Action, so to do God's will is to distribute our share in his loving energy with all we meet, all the time - a state of being.
If we work for God we cannot return home from a hard day’s work only to shout and argue at our loved ones. If we truly work for God it is a twenty-four hours-day job- We need to give love to all beings (no easy task!) and unclear whatever circumstances we may come to meet.
Should someone pour hatred towards us, we must pour love back to them.
Fire can only be thought with water, anger with calmness, hatred with love.
At times of trouble we need only think of our God, for God is always there, like the sun shining behind the clouds.
“The secret of human life doesn't lie in the fact that one lives, but in what one lives for”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
And so, we sound our battle cry and pick up our shield of LOVE and sword of TRUTH riding forth with the faith that there is an ever loving God behind us and that nothing happens by chance. That for sure we are warriors of light and doing good is our aim, let us join together as ONE great army and sing with the angels by the deeds of our good actions to other. Let us practice random kindness and acts of senseless beauty to all we meet.
“Love all, serve all, serve ever, hurt never”
Sai Baba
We should never dogmatically believe that we are right and another is wrong, we are all welcome to our opinions and to share these with theirs, but we are not welcome to forcefully try and push our own beliefs onto others.
Neither should we take something as truth just because we think it comes on another’s authority, the word Master can have many meanings to many people, to some esoterists it could mean a being that has passed the 5th initiation, to some, Jesus, to others the soul, end to others still - a teacher. Each of us needs to make up our own minds with regard to what such a word may mean to us from our own life’s experience.
With regards to all information the reader must carefully weigh and consider its usefulness, by truth, right practice and the light of intuition.
Please do not take anything as truth, no matter who has given you the information or claimed to, until you have been able to EXPERIENCE it as such for yourself, then and only then will it be of real use.
“Knowledge that is not put to use through Service is like food that is not digested.”
Sai Baba
Surely what can be more important than the information we read than applying it in ACTION (Loving Service).
“Nothing happens by itself. Man must act to implement his will.”
Maitreya
So let us be action men and women, and place ourselves firmly on the side of light, never missing an opportunity to do some good for another, if we find ourselves sat on a fence watching others climb the mountain, then at least let us give those brave men and women encouragement on their say, for someday we too may need it on the upward struggle of life’s great journey. It does not take much to change someone's day, a kind word a loving smile - think good, write good, speak good and most of all, DO GOOD.
Always look on the good side of life and dwell frequently on God, paying a positive compliment by thought or deed to all you meet. If you find you are thinking a negative thought to another, immediately counteract it with a good thought sent with love and understanding'.
We need to remember we are waves on the surface of the self-same ocean, we are all a part of the same FAMILY (human), we are ONE, and not simply black or white, Buddhist or Christian etc. We can all be united by that which is LOVE and indeed we all are, if we can but remove the heavy dark clouds - which often surround our world we will find a brilliant sun, which has always been there.
“Love is the force, the only force, which will bring men together in the fullness of co-operation and service.”
L.L.
Respond always with kindness, a kindness found, felt, in the heart. There is no pain which can be truly felt from the harshness of others when ones heart is truly open to love.
See the light which shines within all, and that light will strengthen within all, because what you recognise in others, others are able to recognise in themselves, if they but look. See the light which shines down upon the Earth and that light will be there, for it is there.
Be kind with yourself. Open wide your eyes and learn to see, for it is possible even with your eyes to see the energies which surround you, the beauty of colour which surrounds you, the dancing auras of life. It is only with love that your eyes can be truly open, to a dimension of which you have been blind, blinded by self. There is so much beauty beyond the beauty you may even imagine, or glimpse in a moment of love. That beauty is there for all, all is beautiful, open your eyes by opening your hearts, respond always with kindness, and see, live, be, the beauty of life.
D H
“Kindness is the golden thread by which society is bound together.”
Goethe
Knowledge has to be USED and it is to be best used in service to our brothers and sisters. Sai Baba also sums this up with the words: “Knowledge that is not put to use through service is like food that is not digested”.
A loving smile, a-simple kind word, a helping hand to someone in need, - sharing in love and Service all that you have is really needed in the world today.
IT STARTS with YOU, the reader, when you see a need - fill that need with your service (being Action), then will you be rewarded with the joy of the spirit and the gifts of God.
By making other people happy you too can become happy
We need to step out of our minds from simply thinking good thoughts to actively putting them into action. We mention many different groups in our magazine in the hope that it will break down barriers between-many of the different ideas held by different people and groups. We hope that some readers will join these groups or get actively involved in supporting their ideals (not in simply promoting someone or a particular group name, or closed membership). Cooperation, unity through diversity, love and Peace need to be believed in, not simply preached, it is to this end we live and work, giving thanks for our living Creator.
“Start the day with love, fill the day will love, end the day with love, that is the way to God.”
Sai Baba