From the Archives: Love Erases All Paths

[First posted July 9, 2010.]

~ Image of The King of Cups from the Tarot of the Hidden Folk ~

"mystic retiree" writes:

"Hi Tim and August,
I am on my second read of "The Risen".
I like your non-dogmatic views and the fact you give credit to whatever method a different individual may find comfortable or that works for him or her.
You and your Risen friends offer a wide variety of ideas many of which are easy to use.I particularly have taken to the use of "creative imagination"-not your words but it is for me an apt description of "Mundus Imaginalis".
I give you both credit for having the courage to bring your relationship into this book.It was not easy for me to read about it and it could not have been easy for you writing about it.
It would be of great interest if the risen personalities are aware of the affect of reading the book on an individual basis.
I decided to approach reading your book as an act of faith and far as I am concerned it has been more than justified
Thank you both and all the risen folk."

Thank you, mystic retiree, for your simply kind and supportive words, and the sharing of your reading experience. As you note, we offer, as best as we can, "views" - in the way that truth looks different from different places.

A second reading is an awesome thing to hear about, for many have shared with us that they find the book "slow going," "rough going," even "difficult going". Some report they keep it on their bedside stand, but have yet to open it - perhaps they are waiting for it to levitate into their hands. "Going" is vibration, which means movement, which means change, which means transition. We do not have to wait for transition to occur when the body ceases all function. Transition can begin long before that. The new vibrations brought about by the material is such movement towards beginning a living transition. Our friend Ken, who is a highly skilled and experienced medium of many years, shared that he surrendered to the material and has discovered that "it's to be savored." As such, he is only a little way through it.

Even though August has read this material from the inside and outside of his body possibly thousands of times over the course of its manifestation, he continues to read The Risen, for it is an "infosphere" and thus contains ever-unexplored levels and areas of information (or "between the lines") and sparks new and even strange ideas with each reading. Being an infosphere, it is living - which is what vibration is. Vibration is also imagination, and all manifestation arises from the shapes we are able to imagine.

The Risen who are involved with this book sense the vibrations of those who read it, and so are aware of you - they are all willing and able to assist you, if you but ask. When you feel a certain passage stimulating you, raising your vibration, pause and see if you can sense someone in spirit there with you. Your raised vibration is visible and audible to them, and attracts them as a signal.

"We ourselves can assist this process by finding our own sense of calm presence and then directing this heightened, expanded, and receptive sense toward the Risen. Like a child waiting for fireflies to appear in the twilight, the naturally heightened state of a Risen mind can perceive our mind reaching out—and then move forward and reach out to touch us, while stepping into our space of expanded receptivity. Depending upon our openness and persistence, we may be able to feel their thoughts and their presence. We might even connect and touch, remaining together for a few brief but unforgettable timeless moments." (p. 5)

So this is a way to use your imagination to spark this sense towards the experience, should the particular spiritual sense be inert or as yet inactivated. This reminds us of your mention of your faith, about which in The Risen is said, quite early in the text:

"Spiritual awareness, like science, requires diligent questioning and participation. Simply accepting something because one is told to believe it is not equal to experiencing it. But once we experience something, we have begun to know it. Upon greater and fuller experiences of experiential knowing, we begin to have faith. From there, wisdom arises from the event and this faith becomes an integral part of our present awareness." (p. 34)

And thank you for your consideration of what you call our "courage" - although we would not call it that, for courage is not a comfortable feeling - which is why many people avoid it until they feel forced. Courage seems to be what you felt in venturing to read the book. Rather, we felt encouraged, enriched, enhanced, empowered - and it was very easy. Love eases all paths. Eventually, love erases all paths. It allowed August to find Tim, and Tim to find August, in their very different realities. We draw attention to this easing of paths with the quote heading Chapter 14, "Breakthroughs" - which tells of Tim's initial physical entry into my world:

“My existence is from you and your appearance is through me.
Yet if I had not appeared, you would not have been.”
~ Ibn al-’Arabi

We encourage you to continue to share with us about your experience, for it is of great value.

Our very best to you,
August and Tim