Faith

A counsel we’ve been given is to be attentive and observant of outer events unfolding in the world and then, in response to those events, to make corresponding changes in our own lives. In this rapidly changing world this leads us to understand that we must be constantly adjusting our lives in order to keep pace with these outer changes. But of course because Triangles workers work with the energies substanding the form nature, it’s within consciousness that we are asked to constantly be adjusting ourselves.

Attuning ourselves with the cycles of the zodiac, enhances our ability to work more effectively with the underlying currents. Each year when the sun passes through the “mansion of the serving man” as the sign of Aquarius is called in some of the ancient books” we have a potent opportunity to catch a more penetrating understanding as to the nature and quality of the new age into which we are moving.

A major theme unfolding in many places around the world today revolves around the nature of truth. There are many different versions of truth it seems We might think that we will know truth when we see it, but will we? Truth is often described as bare or naked, as something that needs no adornment, a Reality that can be seen and sensed, but not so easily described. Today it seems that truth, like beauty, resides in the eye of the beholder.

Christ said he was the truth and to many He clearly was so recognized but others stoned Him and eventually crucified him.Events today the world over are pitting two vastly divergent visions of reality against each other. We can’t help but see outer events through our own particular lens -- a lens which is generally the product of many factors that color each of us. And the nature of the times is such that these factors obscure and veil the truth so that many people are left bewildered as to what to believe.

It’s said that truth brings falsity to the surface and so as the externalisation unfolds upon the planet, the present situation in which truth is challenged is a natural consequence. The rise of the dire conditions in the world can therefore be viewed positively, as the surest indication that greater light is pouring. Those who align themselves with the forces of light have to stand steady therefore, having faith in the unconquerable nature of goodness.

Perhaps the present situation simply has to be lived through and understood as best we can while, at the same time, holding fast to our spiritual practices. For it is by our lives and actions, by adhering to those things that matter and that are carried forward within the silence of our own hearts, such as our Triangles work, that prove of greatest value in changing the world, in doing what we can to make truth matter.

The teachings of Christ remind us of this, for He spoke of the power of seemingly small actions to have powerful results. He spoke of the power inherent in a mustard seed and of leaven in bread. And when we think of the power of a collective movement based on a simple daily practice, such as Triangles, we can imagine how great its effects can be in acting like a leaven within the collective body of humanity--lifting up, healing and purifying planetary consciousness.

The dramas being enacted today, particularly in the political field of many nations, are pitting two versions of reality against each other. And most people are left wondering how others can see the same situation from such a completely different perspective. But all the while people suffer and the planet is in crisis.

The Tibetan counseled that we use the following phrase as often as need be-- “Let Reality govern my every thought and truth be the Master of my life.” These simple words can help to keep an openness of mind that provides the necessary porousness that allows for light to filter through and prevents that crystallization that can so easily prevent growth.
                                                                                                                                            Kathy Newburn

Hello everyone, I am honored to speak to all of you today. I thought I would share a few thoughts on the concept of faith and how it relates to our Triangles work.

Faith is broadly defined as belief or trust—often in that which one cannot know. Faith is sometimes criticized as irrational or irrelevant in our modern world, because of its frequent association with the blind faith advocated by some religions. Often critics of faith juxtapose it with reason and they see faith as the opposite of or inimical to rational thought. Reason and faith, however, are not mutually exclusive.

There are many things that the rational concrete mind cannot explain—beauty being one of them. But more importantly faith is essential for making that jump from that which we currently know and understand to that which will be known and understood tomorrow. Faith is an essential part of the scientific process—and really all creative processes. The research scientist, who is on the cutting edge of her field, will utilize faith, belief, and intuition to construct hypotheses and theories to describe the unknown. The scientist may even then dedicate her entire life to the search for evidence which affirms her hypotheses. This search clearly requires faith.

Likewise, the creative artist, dancer, or musician has to muster incredible faith in their innate capacity to express beauty, before they will ever be able to make it through the years, and sometimes decades of practice that it takes to truly produce masterworks in their field.

Spiritual faith is no different. Many of us have some sense that there is more to reality than what meets the eye. We believe, or have faith, that the myriad forms that we see and interact with are in fact symbols of deeper truths and meanings. We have faith that these meanings veil some spiritual purpose, even though we do not know what that purpose is.

There is a quote from the Book of Hebrews that I’m sure many here have heard. It says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.” To conceive of faith as a substance automatically evokes faith—for something to have substance means that it undoubtedly exists and is just as real as the computer, laptop, or phone through which you are listening to this webinar. Faith as substance also affirms the fact that the unseen is not necessary less real. There is a great deal of the material universe that we cannot see, yet we know it exists. In just the same way, we can know that divinity exists, even though we have not seen it with our own eyes.

Faith is much more than wishful thinking or a contrived longing for that which one desires. It is a well-grounded conviction and one-pointed affirmation. The Tibetan says that confidence is the outward expression of an inward faith. Doubt, cynicism, hopelessness, and despair challenge faith, and to maintain that faith therefore requires bravery and courage. The hopelessness of the human condition requires an iron faith to overcome. This hopelessness is, after all, simply a lack of faith in the future.

There is an Eastern word called Shraddha which is often translated as faith, but in reality means utter fearlessness. Shraddha is faith in reality itself, it thus an orientation towards God. It is also the recognition of divinity in form and the knowledge that there is a Plan. More specifically, Shraddha—or faith as fearlessness—is the total consecration of mind and heart undeviatingly towards the good, and the working out of that good through human relationships. This type of faith is automatically selfless, because it affirms the whole. We are told also that where there is no thought of self and where there is only true and spiritual love, there can be no fear. The fearlessness and spiritual orientation of Shraddha impels one to action; it is faith backed by the will-to-good which implies the will-to-act.

In her book From Bethlehem to Calvary, Alice Bailey gives us an interesting perspective. Instead of talking about man’s faith in God, she writes about God’s faith in man. She says that “In so coming to earth and taking human incarnation, God testified to His faith in the divinity which is in man.” She continues, “In reverence I would like to say that man's divinity warranted an expression of divinity. So God acted.”

Thus we can say our faith is God’s faith, and this fact affirms the central role that humanity has to play in the spiritualization of our planetary life. The divinity of man, we are told will come about through the birth of the Christ in every human heart, which is simply a widespread awakening of individuals to their true nature as souls.

The Tibetan teacher also states that “Light is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.” Esoterically, light is synonymous with soul, and is therefore that 2nd aspect of divinity which links spirit and matter. Thus, it is through the medium of light, through the soul or the Christ, or the master in the heart, that spirit is able to mount upon the shoulder of matter, and the purposes of God work out through the lesser will of humanity. The soul which exists in every human heart as God imminent is the promise that one day the Plan of Love and Light will work out and the Purposes of divinity will be fulfilled.

Our Triangles work affirms our innate divinity, for we stand as points of light within a network of light and aid in the redemption of the planet. This requires unwavering confidence, fearlessness, and vision. In other words faith is required to activate the will-to-good.
                                                                                                                                              Michael Galloway