The Reappearance of the Christ: How can we help?
BECOME THE PATH Kathy Newburn
Behind all the harshness and suffering in our world there exists a quiet stirring within the human heart that provides the seed for the profound changes on the horizon. All around us and within us, on the most fundamental level, something far deeper than we have ever known or experienced is attempting to come to birth. As we begin to awaken to what is occurring, our direction changes and we find ourselves following a new way, a new path. We begin to take our cues from an inner compass and no longer from the many strident voices that too often seek to pull us in a myriad of directions. We move in concert with the gentle voice that penetrates our consciousness at odd moments—leaving impressions, fleeting indications, of a profundity that we can’t fully capture, let alone comprehend.
Sometimes, because of its very fragility, this voice fails to penetrate into the coarseness of daily life. Too often the outer things, with their immediacy and fleeting pleasures, command our attention in ways that leave us encased within the walls of ourselves and the veils of this world—forgetting our true “master.” A call if not responded to, a knock if ignored, causes the doors of inner perception to close, at least for a time. So, in order to travel this way, we are asked to pay attention and awaken to the opportunities that are seeking to reveal themselves all around.
All that we find so beautiful in this world of ours—its people and the love that we can share, the subtleties of nature, the delicacies of fine art and the power of music—pales in comparison with the beauty that exists within the subtle reality. Many people today understand this and are cultivating and nurturing this deep well within, a well that sustains them amidst the surface fragmentation. These moments provide the seeds that will come to fruition at another, gentler time. We are laying this foundation now, both within ourselves and within the world at large, for a flowering of consciousness and spirit that will be greater, vaster and nobler than anything we have ever known.
Regardless of where our outer service responsibilities may lie, we can each form part of an inner nucleus of people who will “daily…meet each other at a set time and in the secret place.” Meditation is perhaps our most powerful tool for individual and planetary transformation. It becomes a way of life and a state of consciousness that permeates our attitudes and actions throughout the day.
Through meditation we “become the path” as we seek the way from within the very fabric of consciousness itself. That path leads us “from darkness to light, from the unreal to the real, from death to immortality.” Eventually we come to realize that our spiritual practices have a much larger, universal purpose and are, in fact, part of a vast planetary re-structuring that is going on at this time. As we meditate, we increasingly find ourselves caught up within the rhythm of the planetary heart beat.
Sometimes people disparage spiritual seekers, viewing them as self-absorbed, impractical idealists, remote and distant from the concerns and cares of the world and its affairs. And while this attitude clearly does characterize some people, increasing numbers of seekers today recognize the need for a mental focus and an engaged spirituality. For them, there are no distinctions between the spiritual and the so-called material world. Their reality is centered in the firm recognition that the whole intent and purpose of a spiritual life is to use our hearts and minds to alleviate suffering and to help prepare the way for the coming events that could be near at hand. It’s said that “one disciple thinking truth can revolutionize his or her environment” and a group so thinking can change the world.
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The Reappearance of the World Teacher: How Can We Help?
Brad Berg
Thanks so much to Lucis Trust and Kathy Newburn for giving me yet another opportunity to speak with you folks about the Reappearance of The Christ. Please don’t accept anything that I am saying today unless you can confirm it through your own experience or, if it has the ring of truth, just consider it as possible and see what happens as you explore it.
Today, I will not address the prophecies about the Coming One, or how or when, or where it will happen. I simply and humbly hope to inspire and motivate you, as we discuss a few ways we can help make the Reappearance happen.
One key method is distributing information about the Reappearance of The Christ. We can encourage others to explore the possibility, and help present the idea of the Reappearance to the minds of people who may not have given it a second thought, or who may vaguely believe it is possible, or who may remain doubtful, yet are receptive to the idea, perhaps intuitively.
Essentially, I am talking about contributing to the building and energizing of the planetary thoughtform of the Reappearance, enhancing the worldwide invocative effort, and assisting the event to actually happen. And yes, it has been referred to as an event.
Many folks believe in a messianic age, or think the Christ is already here, in each of us. These beliefs may very well be true, but are not opposed to the expectation of the imminent coming of what the Ageless Wisdom refers to as the World Teacher, and their beliefs can and do coalesce with what we are talking about. We can find common ground with the mind set of others regarding the possibility of a Divine appearance. And maybe they will speak to others, who will speak to others, helping to generate an ever-increasing sense of expectancy.
I really don’t have to tell you how bad things are and how adrift humanity has become from what is possible and what we are taught is intended. There is an incredible intensification happening, on all levels—climate change, Covid, an intense polarization resulting in separation, distrust, hate, oppression, and war. There are all kinds of inequality: food, money, healthcare, participation in governance. And we all have our own personal struggles and challenges in life too.
It is extremely noteworthy to see that two of the Alice Bailey books, The Reappearance of the Christ and The Externalisation of the Hierarchy, total 890 pages! Clearly, this is an exceedingly important topic for the Tibetan to have given us all that material to work with.
One tool given to us in the books is the Reflective Meditation upon Preparation for the Reappearance of the Christ, which many of us do on Thursdays. The meditation is on preparation for the Reappearance, not just about the Reappearance itself. To prepare is a verb. We are asked to act, and my talk here is something of a call to action.
Of course, there are many among us who are not able to act physically at this time, and just doing this meditation regularly is a great service of preparation unto itself. I also am aware that many of you have been acting on this subject for years or even decades, and I don’t mean to harass you or ask you to do more.
Let’s consider a few key parts of the Reappearance meditation. A line from the affirmation near the start of the meditation includes the words: ‘I have no other Life Intention’. That is a truly serious statement for us to make, and to affirm. It leaves me with a profoundly deep sense of responsibility. Is the Tibetan actually suggesting that working to help make the Reappearance happen is the most important thing in our life for us to do? If so, it’s also true that preparing the way can happen in a myriad of ways other than distributing information about the Reappearance. There are so many ways to ‘build the pathway of Light’ that is mentioned in the monthly full meditation work, or to engage in service activities that promote unity, or take care of the environment, and countless other initiatives.
More words from the Reappearance meditation are: ‘I will do all I can to prepare men’s hearts and minds for that event’. ‘All I can’ - wow - another clarion call by the Tibetan for us to take action. And then there is ‘ponder upon the Reappearance of The Christ; reflect and speculate on the possible results of His appearance’. By doing this, we are helping to create the thoughtform of the Reappearance and assisting it to precipitate onto the physical plane.
These are some ways that we help to create a climate of hope and expectancy in humanity. This itself is invocative. All major religions expect a Coming One and this expectation helps to invoke the Reappearance. The Hierarchy has its own reason for externalizing, yet humanity still has a real role to play in invoking the Coming One. The sooner the better!
We can distribute the Great Invocation. You may want to consider the adapted version which may be more palatable for many – and we can use it at least daily, or more often. Please keep in mind that Lucis Trust can provide you with several formats of the Great Invocation, which we can then distribute. We can be on the lookout for places to leave copies of the Invocation. We can donate copies of The Reappearance of the Christ book to local houses of worship or libraries. We can speak with others – explore their thinking, without proselytizing. We can ask: “Could it happen? what would He be saying? What are the implications of such an event?” We can articulate this subject in a way that is easier to digest in the 21st century, as most folks have only heard about this via references from the bible or other sacred texts that may not have been updated in many centuries. Some familiarity with the Ageless Wisdom will come in handy with this.
We can describe a context for the Reappearance by discussing the existence and nature of the Hierarchy, and that the Coming One is not coming alone. And for Christians, we can remind them of the line in the new testament that says something like “Jesus was a high priest in the order of Melchizedek”. Maybe you can engage people in a conversation about the ramifications of Jesus being part of a group.
You can also give a talk – at a house of worship, for a so-called new age group, or maybe even at a bookstore or community center, or maybe to a few friends and neighbors. That may take some strenuous effort to overcome fear – especially fear of how we will be received or perceived.
We can turn our beliefs about the reappearance of the Christ into action, as many of us already are doing. We can’t assume “they” will take care of it – there is no they - it’s up to all of us. It’s part of overcoming what the Tibetan referred to in his book The Reappearance of the Christ as the inertia of spiritually minded people.
A lot of people are content just to believe it’s going to happen, especially here in the USA, which is conditioned by the 6thRay of abstract idealism, though belief is not action. The 6th Ray has its home on the astral plane and our beliefs and desires don’t always make it into real life on the physical plane. But in this case, maybe He who has been called the Desire of All Nations, will arrive, soon. And maybe even in our lifetime. And maybe that’s why I am here today.
We can help with the great preparation each in our own way. There is plenty of energy available for us to use in the work of preparation, some of which we have invoked through our individual and group meditations. Please use it.
Of course, successful work on a global scale requires efforts in all human domains. Critically important is the generation and spreading of goodwill, leading to right human relations, but that’s another talk and the Trust’s Goodwill programming has that covered really well. There are endless ways to serve. Just listen to your own soul.
So, moving towards the close of this talk, here are a two brief extracts from the Bailey books. From the last line of the book The Reappearance of the Christ: “In such an hour as you think not, He will come….”. Well, let’s not wait for some ultimate crisis of humanity, as many expect that the World Teacher will come at that time to save us from utter catastrophe. For a couple of billion people, it is already here.
In the Agni Yoga books, we read that Armageddon is already here. We also read in Agni Yoga that the age of Kali Yuga is ending and Satya Yuga, the age of Truth, has begun. And in the Bailey, books we read that the age of Aquarius has begun. Good things are happening. Our dreams can come true, if we work on it!
From the last page of The Eternalisation of The Hierarchy - and note the Tibetan’s use of the word ‘must’:
Your spiritual goal is the establishing of the Kingdom of God. One of the first steps towards this is to prepare men's minds to accept the fact that the reappearance of the Christ is imminent. You must tell men everywhere that the Masters and Their groups of disciples are actively working to bring order out of chaos. You must tell them that there IS a Plan, and that nothing can possibly arrest the working out of that Plan. You must tell them that the Hierarchy stands, and that It has stood for thousands of years, and is the expression of the accumulated wisdom of the ages. You must tell them above all else that God is love, that the Hierarchy is love, and that Christ is coming because He loves humanity. This is the message which you must give at this time. And with this responsibility I leave you. Work, my brothers.
Esoteric Psychology Vol.1, p. 189:
“Those who are not ready for the coming events will be blinded by the emerging light and bewildered by the revealing wonder; they will be swept by the living breath of God, and it is to you that we look to fit them for the event”.