 |
|
|
 The Youth and the Prophet
The Youth and the Prophet
The youth:
Hi ...
Hello ...
Excuse me, but when I think about the fact that our conversation is being recorded so that it can be used for a small pamphlet, then I can think of absolutely no fitting way to address you. When we young people talk about you or are with you, we just simply call you “Gabriele” or “Gabi.”
You always tell us that you are our sister, and this is the way you talk to us. But actually, in years, you could be our mother. From what Christ says and what you say, we know that from the point of view of the Spirit we are all brothers and sisters. We do understand this. In our families, in different meetings and gatherings and in our Original Christian enterprises, we all call each other by our first names. And when we work on a project together or are talking to someone on the phone, then it really doesn’t matter how old someone is. He or she just happens to be René, Walter, or Uli or Gabi – someone who is simply there for us as we are there for him or her. But in public? What should I call you now? “Honorable prophetess,” “Dear prophetess” or “Gabriele” or “Gabi”?
The prophet:
Why make things so complicated? From our many conversations you know that the word prophet is not a title. It is simply the name used for someone who is an admonisher among the people. The prophet, who is an instrument of God, has to speak out what God wants to say and that’s not always pleasant for people.
So far I’ve never had the impression that you young people experience me as an admonisher, and on my part we have always met as brothers and sisters, even though, as you already mentioned, our age difference is rather large – from 18 to 64. When the heart stays young because the soul has become light-filled, that is, permeated by the light of God, then age hardly plays a role anymore. The spiritual consciousness remains active and conveys to us again and again that the spiritual body, the light-filled soul, cannot age, because the Spirit of God is eternal life and thus, eternal youth. Since God, our heavenly Father is the Father of all people, we are all brothers and sisters in His Spirit. So let’s keep it simple, just as the Spirit of God is: You and all you other young people simply call me “Gabriele” or “Gabi.”
The youth:
I like that. Thank you.
I thought of asking you specific, sometimes touchy, questions, so to speak. May I do that?
The prophet:
Go right ahead! That’s fine with me. But don’t be shy or hold back. I’m ready for anything!
The youth:
We live in a world where it is especially difficult for young people to find their way around. Every one of us who is looking for ethical or moral values has to realize that these can hardly be found anymore. Where is the true and the real? Everything, without exception, is reduced to a norm, and before you know it you become, or have already become, an imitator who lets himself be brought into line in many areas of his life, turning into a conformist.
If a young person tries to express his individuality by living according to his ideals and values, he is branded an outsider and soon has no friends left. But we need friends and also want to have good role models. Okay, I do have friends, but I know many who say that it is difficult to find real friends.
Gabi you told us: “Try not to orient yourselves to people, instead let the image of Jesus of Nazareth come up in you again and again, of what He taught and how He lived. Project His teaching and His life into the present, because He is the standard of value for all times and for all eternity.”
Gabriele, you are a human being yourself and you know that it is often not easy to take Jesus of Nazareth as the standard for our life today. I sometimes try to imagine what the life of Jesus of Nazareth would be like, how He would behave if He were to live among us today, for example, as a young person. Gabriele, I would like to ask you a question now: If you were our age, let’s say 20 years old, what would your life be like today?
The prophet:
Well, I think I have to go back in time somewhat. When I was between the ages of 16 and 20 years old, our country was still suffering from the effects of World War II. Much had been bombed, and there was still a lot of chaos on many different levels in many cities, yet restoration had begun here and there. Most people had little money and whatever a family had, it needed for its own personal needs. Even back then it was hard to find an apprentice position. Not everyone who finished school well was able to go on to a college or university, because there was either no transport available or not enough money. On the radio we had only a few programs and not every family owned a radio. There was no television and no computers, there were no discos, no open-air concerts and all those things young people enjoy today. We didn’t ask about fashion trends; we wore what we had or what was given to us. Nevertheless, we teenagers also had our ideals as well as ideas, which, however, were not so far-fetched and ambitious as is usually the case today.
What did my life look like when I was 18, 20 years old?
I was very spontaneous, funny, joyful and athletic. No tree was too high for me when I was 10, 12 years old, I just had to climb it; no water was too deep to keep me from jumping into it. All the different sports activities that were available to us at that time I made into a part of my life. Whether it was handball, track and field or gymnastics on the horizontal bar or the rings – all the usual sports of that time were a part of my life. My liveliness and joy in life, as well as my physical strength and dynamism, found expression in these activities. I always had many friends but also many desires. For example, I wished to have my own home and family when I grew up. Believe it or not, a young person like me at that time didn’t even dream of owning a car or motorcycle; instead, my biggest wish was to have a new bicycle because I was wearing out my father’s well-kept bicycle. Like all men’s bicycles it had a crossbar which was too high for me and over which I couldn’t swing my right leg quickly enough. And so I “played the fiddle” as we called it, I rode diagonally, with my right leg reaching under the bar for the right pedal. Until I learned to keep my balance in this way, I not only fell many times, leaving a lot of scars on my knees, but it also left almost as many scars on the bicycle. Of course my father was not very happy about this and suggested that I use my mother’s bike, but hers was an old thing with a high saddle which I could not reach. With my first earnings as an apprentice, I bought my own bicycle and I was very proud of it.
At the age of 17 or 18, came the time to go to dance halls. Back then we did not have dancing lessons, we simply watched how the older people did it. Carnival was another welcome opportunity for young people to meet new friends, to go dancing with them; it also meant having a new “cocktail-dress,” that is, having a new dress made.
As you know, I grew up in a small town where everything was proper and everyone well-behaved. Friendships between boys and girls often remained just that. They did not lead to sex, at least not for me, because I was a tomboy who was much more interested in sports, including swimming, than in spending my time on romantic dreams or some kind of feeling or other. But I also enjoyed good company. If I look at your life today and transpose it into the time when I was 16 to 20 years old and take my feelings of back then into account, then it is more than likely that I would have gone to discos, open-air concerts and whatever else was offered.
But when I transpose my present spiritual knowledge into the time when I was between 18 and 20 years old, then comes out the young woman, Gabriele, who would have weighed and considered everything and would not have oriented her-self to the masses. My innate urge for freedom and my love for the truth would have contributed to an inner self-reliance and true self-confidence and probably would have helped me to become a sovereign person at a young age. I also would have gone through my marriage and family life later on quite differently than did the “Catholic” Gabi, who had no idea of the most subtle aspects of the laws of God that make especially marriage and family life such a valuable experience.
Because I was unknowing as regards the inner life, that is, the spiritual values and laws, I did many things wrong, also with my friends and later in my marriage and family. If I had known then the spiritual laws that I know now, under no circumstances would I have become an imitator, as the young girl Gabriele was in many ways, because she didn’t know better. It was especially in imitating others that I often got into trouble, triggering many quarrels, misunderstandings and much dissatisfaction. As a young person with spiritual knowledge, I would never bind myself, least of all to another person, not even to my own partner. I would not use him for my own purposes. My effort and striving in our relationship would be to be an equal partner who can talk to her life companion about everything. In the same way, I would leave my children their freedom and would not tie them to me. I would do my best to guide them, and not to “train” them as it was customary back then.
I was born under the sign of Libra which means I am sociable. And so, if I were a young girl today, I would have friends but not foster “friendships,” those superficial, external kinds of “togetherness” that usually serve a purpose.
What was important to me, even then, was to be faithful in everything. Faithfulness is the opposite of a binding. To be faithful is to be free, giving me the freedom to talk about everything, if not directly then indirectly, depending on whom I am speaking with and how much he is willing to accept, how much he is able to handle and work with.
The youth:
Gabriele, while you spoke about your youth I became rather serious. It is difficult for me to imagine your youth in the years after the war because I never experienced such times. This shows me that for someone who didn’t live through it, it is difficult to know what it was like to go through the war or post-war years. This helps me understand the teaching of the Christ of God which says that someone who has not experienced certain situations or things and has no programs for them cannot understand another person in these points.
I had to laugh when you spoke so vividly about your childhood, about your escapades with the bicycle, climbing trees, your sports activities, and your honest confession that, because of your Catholic-shaped ignorance about the spiritual divine laws, you, too, did many things wrong. Now it is clear to me why you know so well how we young people of today feel. With the help of the divine knowledge, the divine wisdom that you have today, you took a good look at your own youth in order to better understand the young people of today. And so, in many situations you can be very helpful to us young people with this knowledge, this wisdom. We are very grateful for your advice and help.
The prophet:
I am glad to be here for my young brothers and sisters. I may be able to offer you my advice and help in many respects, but whether or not you accept it is left up to each one of you. Above all, doing it, putting it into practice, that is, putting it into true reality, is something everyone has to do for himself. Whether young or old, this holds true for everyone, because of the law of free will.
The youth:
May I ask you another question from the long list I brought with me?
If, having the divine wisdom you have developed, you were to feel into your years as a young adult, what would you do after work? What would your interests be? As a young person, how would you try to change the world?
The prophet:
About your first question:
What would I do after work as a young adult?
In my time, there was not so much free time available in professional life as there is today. Actually, we always worked until 6:00 or 6:30 p.m., on Saturdays usually until 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon. But you asked me what I would do today if I were young like you and with the spiritual knowledge I have.
What would be important for me would be to take a look at my day right after work, to weigh things in my feelings: What went rather well today, what was not so good, what went maybe even badly? I would let all three aspects – what was good, not so good and what went badly – run by me in pictures. I would be glad about what went well and would reinforce it in my consciousness by affirming it. I would take a good look at what was not so good with the question: What lies in my subconscious that is always playing tricks on my consciousness, that is, on me? Because you should know that the subconscious can be compared to a killer that lies in wait to “kill” the good resolutions of our consciousness, that is, to ruin them, thus dragging us down into the not so good. With the badly done, awful things, I would close in on them with all the strength available to me, above all, with the strength of the Christ of God, and I would go after their roots in order to eradicate them with the help of the Spirit of Christ. It is especially the badly done, awful aspects that can make us do things which our consciousness does not want to do at all. So these wretched aspects are giant killers which are always lying in wait to kill our good resolutions and to steer our development into a negative direction.
And so, with the help of the Christ of God, I would close my day and go the way which Jesus of Nazareth showed us: Recognize your sins, repent of them, clear them up and do them no more. The do-no-more is decisive. It takes a good amount of strength to do that, to keep the aspects of the divine law in our consciousness, because the killer subconscious, in which the not so good and wretched things are still settled and alive, always tries to capture the consciousness, that is, to make us repeat our old vices, the not so good aspects which weigh on our soul, on our true nature. What I would have done in my younger years from today’s point of view is what I do now in my older years: Daily, I close my day thoroughly.
The youth:
Could we call this killer subconscious the “tempter”?
The prophet:
You are quite right. Actually it is this way: Our positive as well as our negative, not yet conquered inputs are what are stored in our subconscious. First of all, the subconscious gives impulses from these imputs to the consciousness to think the same or similar things over and over again, because the negative, which is usually predominant in the subconscious, hungers for more negative energy. The “tempter,” the negative aspects in the subconscious , lightly touches the consciousness again and again in order to stimulate it to the same kind of negative thinking. If the person, the consciousness, then acts accordingly, it adds to the negative energy-potential that already exists in the subconscious. If the “tempter” is successful in stimulating the consciousness to carry out negative actions again and again, the subconscious is filled with these energies more and more. Insofar as they are not reduced, this area of the subconscious will one day be filled with these negative inputs.
And so, if a person continuously submits to these “temptations,” to the negative impulses from his subconscious, if he obeys them, so to speak, he feeds this sinful energy-complex, vivifying and building it up until it grows stronger and stronger. Once this area of inputs in the subconscious is finally filled up, it has become the one in power and thus, the doer. This means that the subconscious rules over the consciousness and now dictates to the person to do this or that – it rules over the person. He is now driven and, in relation to this sinful shaping of his character, no longer master over himself.
We could also say the subconscious has become autonomous. The person carries out what he has entered for a long time into his subconscious.
If the person now makes a good resolution concerning this particular weakness, this sinful predisposition, this resolution at first remains in his consciousness. However, since the consciousness has been stripped of its power, so to speak, it can hardly do anything against the overpowering inputs stored in the subconscious. The scruples and objections of the consciousness have no bearing anymore, the person cannot keep to his resolutions to do what is good. The “killer” subconscious thwarts the step towards a positive direction, it “kills” the good resolution of the person who no longer carries it out.
Among other things, a conscious closing of the day serves to analyze the negativity which has been recognized, including those aspects which are active in the subconscious, that is, it helps to find the root, to work it out and no longer do it, before the subconscious is filled. We have to remind ourselves of the good, the positive, aspect, again and again, until our positive program, for example, a commandment of God, “takes hold.”
Back to your questions: What else would I do as a young person today? I would do all that which is dear to me, for example, painting, swimming, sports, for instance, playing tennis or other kinds of sport activities we have today, especially those where I would not be dependent on others, as in earning money with competitive sports. On the one hand, professional sports would place too great a demand on my world of feelings, and on the other hand, I would be dependent on a coach, or on people who would pay for my training and, last but not least of all, on the spectators who would cheer me on and incite me to an even greater performance.
I would also cultivate a circle of friends whom I would meet to do things with and to exchange thoughts with them. If I were to start a closer friendship, I would try to look at it from the viewpoint of my highly prized freedom, that is, I would never bind myself to desires, not even sexual ones, neither to my own nor to those of another. My freedom would be the most important thing for me, the result of which would be that I would also leave my neighbor his freedom, not forcing him to do something or talking him into something, not even when sexual desires were pressuring me. My concern would be to find out where this urge was coming from, that is, to explore the reasons behind the desires that were driving me.
Aside from that, I’m a musical type of person. I would learn to play an instrument, one that would suit my talents. During the war years, when I was still a child, I learned to play a diatonic instrument. Since we bought it used, it was always having to be repaired and tuned. As time went by, we could no longer find parts for it and I had to give it up. Later as a young woman, I began to play the piano. Then came the prophetic call. Again I gave up practicing. At the age of approximately 50 years, I did not give up music altogether. One more time I began working my way into it and to practice on my own. Today, too, I play the piano every now and then, but only for myself. I also enjoy going to harmonious concerts. So as you can see, musical interests do not have an age limit.
You asked me whether, as a young person with today’s spiritual knowledge, I would try to change the world.
Why not?! However, I would not go into the streets to protest, especially equipping myself to frighten my fellow men. My concern would be to first change myself, to find out what I really want and whether my goal in life would be to introduce a better, spiritually more sovereign and open society. I would not try to live up to utopian ideas, but set clear, realistic ethical and moral goals for myself, which I would then make efforts to reach. You know, Martin, the one who begins in a small way, with himself, to actualize higher ethical goals, that is, the one who changes himself without just wanting to change others, becomes a good example and in time will attract those people who want the same or like things.
Whether or not they will keep to what they decided to do cannot be influenced by you, but there will be more and more people among them, who do as you do, thus finding their way to the values which make a morally oriented society viable and stable.
The youth:
Gabi, what would you do if someone kept making stupid remarks to you or if a customer came to you several times to invite you to have coffee with him, but you notice that he wants some-thing totally different? I can’t keep turning him down. What would you do? And what does the divine Wisdom advise in this case?
The prophet:
With making stupid remarks, you probably mean when someone harasses you with words, pushing you into a corner, so to speak. A person with a little bit of common sense and wisdom would overlook such advances or would make clear how he feels about it. We have to learn to recognize that every person has a different state of consciousness and that everyone has programmed and continues to program his consciousness and subconscious, his body as well as his soul, according to his feelings, sensations, thoughts, words and actions. The programs of each person are his state of consciousness, according to which he feels, senses, thinks, speaks and acts. This shows that no one is able to understand another person totally, because each one of us happens to have another state of consciousness. When we become sure of this and apply it in our life, we will be much less upset about someone who, as you say, is “making stupid remarks.” You also know the law of correspondence: What upsets me about another person is also in me.
You say a customer often invites you to have coffee with him but you think he actually has something else in mind. When you say you cannot keep turning him down, you are right. We should not turn down an invitation without a good reason. How would it be, if you were to invite this customer to drink coffee, at the same time telling him that you would bring some friends along? What the customer decides to do then, you would have to leave up to him. From this you can then draw your own conclusions.
The youth:
I still have a whole list of questions written on my note pad. I will just read the next one:
For us young people there are very strong fashion trends: dyed hair, piercing, clothes from the seventies and brand names that everyone just has to have. What would you do? Would you walk around with green hair, bell-bottom trousers or flared pants and platform shoes, or would you wear white, flowing garments?
The prophet:
I can sense very well into my world of feelings as a young person.Your world of feelings isn’t foreign to me either. Since the free will should be honored in every situation, I want to speak only in a general sense about the things that predominate among today’s young people, this means, I do not want to change you. That has to come from within every one himself.
What would I have done as a young person if back then the opportunities and fashion trends of today would have been available to me, without having the knowledge about the laws of God? Surely, I, too, would have been an imitator who would have behaved like so many of today’s young people, after all, who wants to be an outsider without friends? I certainly would not have done any piercing, because I’ve always despised stabbing and beating, be it only to the nose or cheeks. I never had any intentions of marking my body in such a permanent way. I would not have worn a white flowing garment and I do not do so today, because the person who wants to stand out in a crowd by wearing a costume has things to hide. He wants to appear different than he is, and wants to hide the way he is, using all sorts of means and tricks. This is why he dresses to contrast with the crowd.
Under no circumstances do I want to be “teachy” with you youngsters, because everyone himself has to find the roots of those feelings, thoughts and desires that determine that he should change his outer appearance. What is it that he wants to accomplish with this? If I had had the knowledge about the divine laws as a young person, I certainly would not have become an imitator, because the spiritual-divine knowledge gives the young, as well as the older person the opportunity to analyze the deeper reasons for his behavior, to work on them and overcome them, thus becoming free and independent. Let’s explore together the background to dyed hair, to piercing, to clothing from the seventies and brand names that everyone has to have. Let’s begin with nature.
The human being is a body of nature which is made up of water and earth. When we look at the nature-body earth, we can see that it changes only in accordance with the seasons. In springtime nature awakens; everything is blooming. In summer we experience the growing maturity of the fruits and in autumn the withdrawal of the sap. Winter brings a phase of rest and here and there its white dress, snow. The changes in nature happen without man’s interference, that is, in cycles. If man now interferes in the course of nature with crossbreeding and genetic manipulation, and, as is coming out now, with cloning, then he may be able to change the external forms of nature, but the basic character, the spiritual-divine structure remains.
What is the motive for a person to change his nature? What is the reason behind this? Why does a person deny his nature, distorting himself, adopting outside programs and opinions and using a lot of energy to seem as he is not? Because a person seldom analyzes his behavioral patterns and ways in order to recognize himself, he becomes an imitator, or an objector against individuals or society.
Many young people can be categorized in this way. Many a young person doesn’t like his parents’ behavior, what they think and say. The society in which he lives goes against his grain in many ways. Because the young person with his ideas, views and opinions is not heard by his parents, by other people he relates to and by society, because his experience shows that he is rejected as incompetent, inexperienced and lacking knowledge, he resists, first with words, gestures and ways of behavior. Later, when he realizes that he is still not able to make his ideas and opinions heard, he begins to rebel and often dresses as the rebel of society. Many a one thinks: If I am not heard and cannot prevail, that is, when I am not respected as the one who I am, then they at least have to look at “the way I am” and pay attention to me in this way. This is why young people often dye their hair and conform – by becoming imitators, rebelling against the principle that unity makes strong – with many others of their age, by wearing clothes of the seventies, platform shoes, by displaying behavior that differs from the norm, and so on.
The youth:
May I say something about that?
We, that is, the young people whom I know more closely, do have the strong feeling that it is not good this way, Gabi. But what should we do? How should and how can it work differently? This is the question we do not have an answer for.
The prophet:
Nature shows us the natural and straight course for our life. We people often want to determine the course of our life on earth and in many ways often act like clowns who perform in glittering costumes before their audience. This is true not only of young people but above all of those who pretend to be adults and socially acceptable.
Let us take a look at the seasons. Spring does not want to be summer and summer does not want to be spring. Autumn does not want to be summer and winter does not want to be autumn. However, many people believe that when they reach their midlife years, that is, summer or late summer, they have to be spring and dress up accordingly. They choose a hairdo or clothing which fits the youth, that is, spring, and not the person who is in midlife, in summer. Those who are in the autumn of life often want to bring back their midlife years, the summer. This is why they dye their hair and wear the kind of clothing which was made for young people, all to look younger. For such a person it doesn’t matter whether he displays his immaturity in this way. What is important to him is that he appears to be what he isn’t. Someone who is in the winter of his life, whose hair has already turned white as snow, often does not want to face this. He hopes to be able to whitewash the signs of the phase of life he is in, to at least bring back autumn. The whitewash is then the hair that has been dyed brown or red, the make-up that is put on in several layers and clothing that wants to show still a little bit of what actually isn’t there anymore: slim legs in chic shoes. What comes through are old legs, often covered with varicose veins and stuck in shoes which should be used to accentuate the leg of someone in summer.
So, you young people are not alone with your unusual social costume. There is a saying that goes “young birds twitter like the old ones do,” meaning, the young ones want to keep things as they are. Do you want to be categorized in this way or do you want to change this saying by adapting a new motto, for example, “we young ones will not keep the status quo.”
You young people could consider the following:
If a person respects himself, he takes care of his body and dresses accordingly. There is nothing to be said against wearing jeans and pullovers, if they are worn at the right time. Neat clothing is preferred only by an aesthetically oriented person whose body is well cared for. Such a person will dress in a neat and orderly fashion. When you respect yourself by living consciously, you will also pay attention to what you are thinking, you will watch and control your talking, and you will always be aware that with your feeling, thinking, speaking and acting you are creating your own human portrait with your feelings, thoughts, words and actions, as well as with all your desires and passions, with which you affect your neighbor.
Why is it that the different age groups wear disguises? It is because a person seldom lives in the present, making good use of his days and hours. The one who does not use the days of spring in the springtime of his life by working towards his inner values – that is, by striving for higher ethics and morals and undergoing a training in ethics – will lose himself and slip into self-renunciation.
In this way, such a person wastes the contents of his life which he brought with him into this world, by constantly thinking about what he wants and does not have and probably never will have. Then he may cling to his television set in order to switch roles in his thoughts with many an actor, because he wants to be like the role that the actor himself is only playing. Or he seeks his “luck” in his computer by surfing on Internet, to see what the world has to offer and where he can “click in” to imitate what lies in his world of desires and needs. In addition, he will change his outer appearance, perhaps through disguise and exaggerated behavior.
And so, since it is only the fewest of people who go through the phases of life on earth consciously, because it is only the fewest who tackle and fulfill what lies in the energy of the day for them, people make constant efforts to make up for something that is long gone. Since they do not want to admit to this, they are of the opinion that they can make up for a few things by wearing disguises.
Dear youth, do you want to keep everything the way the old ones have, for generations and still do? Or do you want to take your life into your own two hands by undergoing a training in ethics, thus acquiring higher ethical and moral values? Then you will not twitter as the old ones did. Instead, a worthy Christian society will emerge through you and in the end, with the help of the Spirit of God, a society which is for life, which shows itself anew each day, and is also for the life of the nature kingdoms. This results in a unity with all the positive forces of infinity and a balance among men. Then excessive wealth and miserable poverty will dwindle and disappear.
If we take a look at today’s society into which the parents, too, integrate themselves – if looked at from the point of view of the divine laws and the lawful course of nature – then we find a segregated society of opinion-makers and conformists, of so-called adults, who will, however, never grow up, because they, too, are imitators and clowns in order to remain more or less socially acceptable. When a young person then “goes out of control,” breaking out of this rigid structure, society shakes its head and many a one looks down, for example, on someone with a different haircut or with dyed hair, who wears clothes from the seventies, bellbottom pants, platform shoes and much more. Yet hardly any of these social climbers ask what’s behind this, because, as shown in the picture about nature, they are not in the cycle of the course of their life, in their reality, but in their disguise.
Honestly now, dear youth, you are still a bit wet behind the ears, just as the social-climbing adults are. This is why we have differences of opinions and ideas between young and old. Many a young person who rebelled against society and its social climbers became a conformist and opportunist around the age of 30, allowing himself to become integrated into society with its game rules and pretended morality, thus becoming one of those who chased just as much after prestige, success, power and money and still does so. Why is this?
If we analyze the concerns of young people who, for lack of experience, are usually not balanced but tend rather to fantasize, then we can see that young people would like to change many things, but have no idea how to go about it. Most parents and contenders for a position in society who are on their way up cannot offer any guidance either, because they themselves do not know the life qualities which make a society stable and shape its quality and which the common good requires in all areas of life. Every one of the social climbers wants only for himself, according to the principle: “Everything only for me, I don’t care about the other one.”
Even though much is spoken in our society about work programs for youth and helping young people, and many things are actually being done, the foundation on which young people could build is nevertheless missing. It would be important, for example, to learn to understand the young person and his character traits. It would be important to find out why he rebels and why he offers resistance in his external behavior. It would be important to understand why as a young person he becomes a conformist among his peers and later, around the age of 30, allows himself to be integrated into a seemingly all-ruling ego-society, giving up the ideals and values which he at least had the beginnings of, for example, equality and freedom, instead going along with the millennium-old “trend”: “Me! Me! Me! Everything only for me!”
Many young people believe in reincarnation and are aware that the various character traits of a person are inherited or are predispositions brought along from previous incarnations. Everyone brings different all-too-human attributes into this life on earth. Whatever all-too-human character traits are active in a person, they are what shapes the adult as well as the young person.
The young person as well as the adult become, to a lesser or greater degree, conformists. Everyone is of the opinion that his social values serve society’s needs, but when we look behind the mechanism of conformity, we feel where this is leading to. Either one wants, if possible, a big piece of the cake of society, or one wants to be someone important or to keep his position and, should the occasion rise, expand on it. It is seldom that a social climber asks himself whether what he is striving for is moral or immoral. Many think, “Whether I’m a conformist or not doesn’t matter, what’s important is that my piece of cake is as big as possible.”
If I were young today and had this insight and at the same time the knowledge about spiritual, higher ethical and moral values, then I would certainly strive to learn to understand my neighbor, to accept him instead of putting him down and putting myself above him. Instead, I would stand by his side, that is, I would be of good will and tolerant towards him which means applying what is already in the Sermon on the Mount: Whatever you want others to do for you, do it for them first. I would most likely stop imitating others and would behave and dress according to what I felt would reflect more noble ethical and moral values. Considering my spiritual knowledge today, that like always attracts like, I would also be aware of the fact that I would find friends who are striving toward the same or similar goals.
Only in the awareness and the fulfillment of the divine laws can young people build an ethically and morally worthy society which not only maintains high thoughts about the common good and makes nice speeches about it, but actively fosters the common good for all, meaning that the grave differences between the rich and the poorest can no longer exist. Such a young person who works out his inner values – which are found in every human being – will not become a conformist at the age of 30, he will not allow himself to be drawn into the ego-society with its taste for power and its thinking in terms of its own prosperity.
Let’s briefly take another look at nature. Spring is the time of youth. No leaf and no flower will dye itself of its own doing. They are beautiful just as they are. No animal lets its fur be dyed, nor does it change its species in any other way. It is as it is, and is beautiful that way. If the young person dresses according to his type and according to the inner values growing in him, then he expresses the virtues and character traits of his youth. The summer, which brings with it the maturity and the beginnings of harvest, symbolizes the person who possesses qualities and abilities, that is, distinct professional qualities which he has acquired through diligence and persistence, but also through a sense of community as well as in the acknowledgment and observance of ethical and moral values. Such people are active in their professional life and they will bear fruit, not only thinking of themselves, but of the well-being of all. They are rich in inner experiences and have good character traits. They prefer the true common good over excessive prosperity. Such people not only speak of the common good but do their utmost so that all people are well off, insofar as they strive to serve the common good and promote its quality.
Everyone of us knows that the one who harms the common good harms himself. Gradually he excludes himself from the development of the common good and is concerned only with his own well-being. This is the way of today’s society and, as we can see now, it cannot last. If we want a society distinguished by high morals and ethics, then it should grow out of a young generation which not only rebels – showing itself off with bright-colored hair, piercing, clothes of the seventies, brand names that everyone just has to have, with bellbottom pants and platform shoes – but instead develops inner, that is, high standing values which are the guarantee for a society of moral character.
This then furthers the common good for all people who want to think and act for the true common good, who develop abilities of high quality in family and profession.
The youth:
Now I understand many things, for example, that one cannot make a better world by demonstrating and saying “we want things to be different” and that, in the final analysis, it is up to the individual what he makes of his life. No one can change things for someone else, no one can force his convictions – no matter how good they are – on his fellow men, or his higher ethical and moral values.
Gabi, you speak of the confrontation between rebellious youth and society, but often it is our parents with whom we have run-ins on a very personal level. In our opinion they often react like squares and get in our way.
The prophet:
At this point, I would like to make an appeal to you young people to be more understanding of your parents and maybe of your grandparents, too. How often do we hear from young people, “My parents get in my way. They are a bit odd, they’re incompetent to deal with today’s youth.” I looked in the dictionary to see what “odd” means. There, its says that “odd” means: to have strange, ridiculous habits or principles and to hold onto them stubbornly; peculiar, dotty, somewhat zany, crazy.
If you could compare today’s younger generation which grew up in prosperity with earlier generations, then you would be more understanding of your parents and maybe even grandparents. Not all parents and grandparents can just simply be called a bit odd, because in past generations, when your parents and grandparents were in their puberty, customs were quite different. Especially during your grandparents’ time, there was a strict etiquette which everyone had to conform to. Certain things were not allowed, others had to be done. There were no ifs and buts allowed to young people. There were rules about what one does and does not do, also concerning very proper table manners and one’s behavior in a social setting, where certain ways of expression had become customary or even put on. For children there were many rules. For example, when greeting adults or in some cases even their peers, they had to bow or curtsy. On Sundays certain clothes and shoes were worn, which were not to be worn on work days. The parents of those days kept a strict watch over their children, to see with whom they had contact and to make sure they had no premarital relationships.
Usually, the children and the young adults, too, had little personal freedom. In general, they had to be well-behaved and obedient, that is, they had to fit in. From childhood to adulthood, life was often marked by strict, rigid rules and taboos, so that the children would make a good impression in front of friends and relatives.
Not always were the parents of that time themselves as flawless as they raised their children to be. They often forbade their children to do what they themselves enjoyed in secret. Nevertheless, the children had to obey, which they usually did. The parents often drew conclusions from their own behavior about how to bring up their children.
For your parents customs usually were no longer as formal and stiff as was the case with your grandparents. Yet, they too, still had their share of, as you would say, the musty whiff of past generations. So you cannot label your grandparents’ or parents’ behavior as simply odd. It was marked by the way children were raised then, which many a youngster probably tried to escape, to the dismay of the relatives who were ashamed of the “black sheep” in their family. Surely, parents and grandparents can also tell about how they deliberately did what they shouldn’t have, how they played tricks on others and so on. However, this remained the exception in the middle-class society back then.
You young people of today were born into the high point of a so-called “economic miracle,” into a society which has lost its basic ethical-moral principles to a large degree, not to mention manners and special patterns of behavior. Your parents may have grown into this economic miracle, but they were still raised by parents whose norms decisively shaped them. Behavioral programs which are shaped during childhood and youth are often more or less effective throughout one’s entire life. Many people of the older generation cannot understand the behavior of today’s youth who have taken a gigantic generation-leap forward as a result of this time of economic prosperity, because the picture of the way they were raised as children and young adults is still very much alive in them. Because of this, they often raise their own children and influence you young people with the norms and criteria from back then.
If many of you think your parents are incompetent in dealing with today’s youth, I would like you to consider that it may simply be a lack of experience. Your parents don’t know their way around in your life-style, because in the “old days” things were different. In many ways they cannot understand you, because they have no experience with many of the things which you take for granted in the prosperity of this flourishing generation. Since they feel insecure in raising their children because of this generation-leap, they overreact at times or in an old-fashioned way, which comes from the memory- and experience-potential of their own childhood and youth.
How would it be, if you young people were to talk this over and become aware that your parents simply didn’t grow up in this time of economic prosperity? If you want to, talk about the fact that your parents and grandparents had to undergo an overly strict and regimented childhood – but that they, too, at times secretly broke the rules. Then they did things which often weren’t at all harmless and without danger, things which their parents surely would have worried about if they had known about it. These memories and experiences of breaking out of the narrow confines of an authoritarian upbringing have an effect on the way they raise you now, because their secret worry is that you might do the very same things they did. The fear and worry of your parents often stems from an effort to keep you from being harmed. The way you drive your cars and motorcycles, which is often more like racing, is reason for your parents to worry. They worry about your well-being and your life.
Looking back, some parents regret that their youth was overshadowed by being told what to do, by being forced into obedience, by limitations, taboos and also by authoritarian pressure. They are glad that they no longer have to expose their growing sons and daughters to such things. Others, in turn, are envious of the freedom young people enjoy.
With these words I would like to awaken in you some understanding for your parents. Perhaps by talking to each other and to your parents, you can also learn to understand your parents. Then you may be able to grasp and realize why they are the way they are and react the way they do. An honest effort on both sides, especially from you young people with your world of ideas, would do away with many a prejudice, for example, “odd” or “incompetent,” and would help you to see yourselves and your parents as what you are, namely younger and older brothers and sisters who are walking through this life on earth together and are linked with one another through many positive aspects.
Later, when your parents are in the autumn of their lives and you are adults with occupations and maybe a family of your own, many a one of your parents will say: If only I hadn’t reacted so harshly back when my sons or daughters were teenagers, if I only hadn’t said or forced this or that. But looking back, many adults also realize that things could hardly have taken a different course than they did. I simply was the way I was and the children were the way they were. Maybe many a parent thinks to himself, “Actually, they were the way I was.”
The youth:
We will think about that and talk it over.
Another question: If you believe the media, everything in our life has to do with “sex, drugs and rock’n roll.” It’s true, we more or less go along with a lot of this without thinking much about it and at times it is fun to just really cut loose. How can we tell what’s good for us?
The prophet:
We have already talked about our society, which as I briefly mentioned has moved away from ethical and moral standards. Why is that? Anyone who really thinks about today’s society – about the pros and cons of mankind, about the extreme developments in research and technology, about the different activities of the mass media, the excesses everywhere, like sex, drugs and rock’n roll, about making money, murder and sexual assaults and so on – anyone who thinks about all this and looks at it from the point of view of the teachings of Jesus, the Christ, seeing how young people are exposed to all this and drawn into it, will realize that the youth of previous generations did not have any good role models. Generation after generation, individuals oriented themselves to the masses, and the masses oriented themselves to the rich. Many of the rich lived and still live a dissolute life, marked by money and power, just as it was before the disintegration of many of the so-called advanced civilizations. The one who mouths the words “I am a Christian” or even “I am a high-ranking Christian, like a cardinal, bishop, priest or pastor” should be a model, or at least a good example, for the fulfillment of the Christian teaching, the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth. But since most church authorities do not follow the spiritual-ethical principles which Jesus of Nazareth taught us, instead turning their so-called Christian churches into a power-structure with a lot of fuss and bother and containing many concessions to the rich, the so-called pastors have lost sight of the Christian norms which Jesus of Nazareth taught us. And so, their flock, too – the followers who call themselves as they do, Protestant or Catholic – has lost the connection to these same Christian principles. Our present society has reached the same low level of former “advanced civilizations” during the time of their decline, disintegrating as Rome and Babylon once did.
When a person has no ethical-moral values left, when his basic needs are power, prestige, wealth, physical gratification through sex, gluttony, drunkenness, going all the way to drug abuse, then he usually loses the feeling to sense what is right or wrong.
Speaking of feeling: If you ask status-oriented people what feeling is, they will probably answer that feelings are old-fashioned. Feelings have to be turned off in order to be able to enjoy life undisturbed. Especially the capacity to feel, not to be confused with mawkish sentimentality, is a precious gift. It is the scale of our conscience on which we can weigh what is right and wrong.
Everything is okay for the person who turns off his feelings. Whether he has two or three differ-ent partners each week, whether he commits adultery or not, whether others are in need, whether they have to suffer or are even ruined because of him doesn’t matter, what’s important is that the drug is right, be it sex, gluttony, drunkenness, power, violence, avarice, lies and deceit or the right drug dose. If you watch mass media, movies and TV from a certain distance, you will see that it mostly has to do with murder, betrayal, love and sex. Why has our society sunk to such a low level of ethical and moral values? Because every individual in our society thinks only of himself, only of his religious belief, of his political party, of his capital, his pleasure and his possessions. And so, everything is geared only to one’s personal well-being.
What one’s neighbor may think, how he feels, usually doesn’t matter, whether he can make do with what little he has, how the woman or man may feel who has to make ends meet for his children all by himself, because his or her partner found someone else, how young people feel who are addicted to drugs, how a family feels that has lost their home and possessions because they were unable to pay the interest on their house, how the jobless person or the welfare recipient feels ... No one cares about anyone else. What matters is to be on the “right” side, the side of the culprit and not of the victim. Even when politicians mouth words of social conscience, the welfare recipients suffer increasingly under the “charitably- minded.”
Jesus, the Christ, taught us what the alleged role models like cardinals, bishops, priests and pastors should be living and teaching: Recognize your wrong behavior, your sinfulness, repent and ask for forgiveness. Forgive your neighbor, too, who has done wrong to you. Make amends for what you did wrong, if this is still possible, and do not commit this sin again. The one who believes in Jesus will gradually keep to this and, as a Christian, make himself aware that he is called to clear up his wrongdoing, part of which are all addictions, including the addiction to sexuality.
Excessive sexuality, child abuse, violence, theft and drug abuse increasingly point to the fact that people are no longer able to deal with their problems. In previous incarnations, that is, as a human being in another life, each soul had cultivated such or similar dissoluteness to a greater or lesser degree, be it in thoughts, desires or deeds, and, if it didn’t clear these up in the spheres of the beyond, it brought them along again into this earthly life. Instead of using the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth to recognize these spawns of evil, these ego-addictions, and to clear them up, that is, no longer commit them, they are not only further cultivated but are often lived out in extreme measure.
If such perversions are nurtured, on one hand, as in mental images, and on the other hand in various other forms, as with an object, then programs of addiction develop which cause a person to become dead of feelings and thus without conscience, controlled by his addictions, someone who lives out his desires in various ways and means, be it avarice or power hunger, pornographic tendencies, extreme sexual lusting, the inclination towards child abuse, and so on, that is, all the perversions that drive a society to ruin.
The youth:
The question comes to me: What is normal, what is addiction? Where is the borderline? How can one recognize what is going on in a person? Can you please explain this in more detail?
The prophet:
What are programs of addiction? Let’s begin for example with normal sexuality, with a very normal glass of wine, with one, two, three, four, five cigarettes a day. When there are smaller or greater difficulties at work, with our friends or family, and we do not resolve them, then we move them around over and over again in our thoughts. In this way, the energy-volume called “difficulty” increases. It becomes a problem which not only moves us, but keeps us a prisoner in our thoughts for days at a time. Since we do not talk about it in order to resolve it, it grows out of our subconscious, as it were, resulting in a huge pressure on our consciousness.
We think and think. These thoughts circle around the problem-complex again and again. The pressure becomes greater and greater. It now pushes on our everyday habits. Suddenly the usual three cigarettes a day turn into ten. The normal physical drives begin to push us into looking for a sexual object. The person who is under such pressure seeks relaxation, that is, the discharge of tension. Until now, he drank two glasses of wine, or one or two glasses of beer every day. Now he reaches for the bottle of wine or perhaps for stronger alcoholic drinks, or it has to be several bottles of beer every day.
If the problem keeps growing and turns into several problems which, starting from the job, encroach upon the family, or starting from the family encroach upon the job, or starting from one’s friends encroach upon job and family, then the pressure becomes ever stronger. The one concerned wants to rid himself of it. Instead of dealing with the root of the evil, which lies at work, in the family or with friends, he detaches himself briefly from this field of tension, by relaxing and at the same time numbing himself through an increased consumption of tobacco, through more and more frequent sexual activity, through alcohol. In this way, the programs of lust and addiction develop which have taken root in the subconscious but also in the soul of the one concerned, because they were moved about for a long time.
Once the subconscious is so filled that it dominates the consciousness, that is, when it has become autonomous, then these programs of lust and addiction become compulsive. The person is then driven to multiply these addictions. This often goes so far that he is hardly able to put a stop to these vices any longer. The resulting excesses can then be theft, drug addiction, brutality, violence against children or in sexuality and much more.
What began in a small way, with a small difficulty that could have easily been solved at the beginning – if the person had talked about it and gained clarity about his part in it, if he had found the root and cleared it up – has now become an avalanche which overwhelms him and drives him into compulsive actions.
How often do we hear “one time won’t hurt.” But one time can be one time too many, if the passions have been nurtured in thoughts and mental images until they finally break out massively and overpower the person so that he loses control over his actions. The divine world gave us help so that we may stop our desires from becoming cravings and addictions. It teaches us to not nurture the desire, not even in thoughts or mental images, but to analyze: Where does this pushing and urging come from? Which problems in the family, in one’s social life, at work or at school or which personal weakness of the individual are behind the problems? We should ask ourselves what we gain by allowing passions to become addictions by cultivating them again and again.
The divine world does not teach us to fight the wishes, the desires and cravings which are experienced in images or are actually carried out, but to explore and clear up the causes, the roots, of this, in many cases, perverted behavior. It points out that we should not simply accept excessive sexuality, gluttony, alcohol and drug addiction and all other compulsive tendencies as our fate and just live with them. Much more, it points out that before being pushed into carry-ing something out, that is, before the desire becomes an addiction, we should use our head to weigh it, because the evil is first found in the head, in the consciousness. So we should make ourselves aware of where we are being driven to and what we get out of it.
This means we should not give in to these pressing wishes and passions and let them happen, but should explore what their roots are in order to do away with them. This should happen in our thoughts and thus in images in us.
When we have shed light on our situation and weighed it out and when we have recognized some of the weaknesses and faulty behavior which lie behind our specific tendencies, when we have perhaps also recognized where we may have burdened ourselves or not yet forgiven something, and if we have cleared this up, then this results in the recognition of how we should behave instead. From the decision to do-no-more or to not start carrying out extreme wishes, grows the decision for ethical and moral behavior, which – if we build it up and strengthen it by repeatedly thinking about and affirming it – enters our subconscious more and more. The effect of this is that the body accepts the positive, up-building forces more and more, and the perhaps already present “shaping” by sinful aspects diminishes. In this way, a person can be freed from his passionate behavior.
The one who gives in to his programs of lust and addiction and carries them out again and again programs his subconscious with these mechanisms. In time, they then become the automatic and autonomous control of the body in the subconscious. The person hardly thinks anymore and simply lets it happen, because the feeling that weighs and measures, his conscience, has been eliminated. Such a person then acts compulsively.
And so, we should make efforts, that is, be alert, that we do not move for too long such or similar thoughts – desires and addictions -in our mind, that is, in our consciousness, by thinking and thinking, wishing and wishing and imagining many things in pictures.
We know that all courses of action, including becoming a sexual assailant, take place in the head first, that is, in the consciousness. A person is, for example, stimulated through certain TV or video programs or through other impressions of the senses to think certain kinds of thoughts, which indicates that the same or similar dispositions must already be present, which he brought with him into this life. If this person now moves these dangerous, negative feelings and thoughts within himself and allows them to gain ground in him, then the subconscious takes in these energies which then control the body functions accordingly. If this negative, that is, sinful, energy-complex is intensified, in that the person is preoccupied with these feelings, thoughts, images and desires, it slowly gains more and more power over the person, finally leading to an autonomous control through the subconscious. The person is driven to carry things out, without being able to consciously control it.
Again and again, we hear that people who commit sexual assault are imprisoned for years or even decades. Dear Martin, do you think that their subconscious is emptied in this way? Do you think that an assailant is cured in this way, that he builds up an effective, positive way of life, that he attains ethical and moral values? Since he continues to meet with his drives of lusting and desire on TV while in prison, which stimulate him continuously, will he be healed when he leaves prison after years or decades, or should we fear that he will do the same or similar things again? Imprisonment can be a necessary measure, but without purposeful work on the consciousness and the subconscious, so that these autonomous programs are dissolved, the assailant will hardly find healing.
The youth:
I think it’s great that you talk about these things so clearly, Gabi. As far as I’m concerned, I will watch myself from now on, so that I will notice right away when something is moving in me towards one or the other direction. I do not want to slip into any kind of addictions or compulsive behavior. My plans for my life are different and I have resolved to do something quite different.
The prophet:
You say, “My plans for my life are different and I have resolved to do something quite different.” With this you are addressing the higher goals for your life which you have set for yourself. A clear goal with specific steps leading to it is essential when we strive to develop towards a higher goal, towards a person of character with inner values. Only when we set ourselves a clear goal towards which we can orient ourselves, will a conscious evolution, a higher development, be possible.
But let’s get back to our topic. You spoke of drugs and rock’n roll. Here, I have a question to you: Why not rock’n roll without drugs? Why do so many young people take drugs? Because many can no longer control their desires, their thoughts, their passions, or because they are terribly disappointed with our society, not being able to get through to people with their ideas and wishes. Some numb themselves with drugs until they become addicted, others pick up clubs and beat up any-thing that gets in their way. But all of this has one cause.
Young people should be accepted into our society in the right way. But society is so preoccupied with itself that it only orders young people about and does not take the time to learn to understand them. The ideas and opinions of young people, and surely you will admit to this, are often unrealistic. However, this does not mean that society should simply reject these still somewhat immature concerns. There is a kernel of truth and sense in all things. And so, one should recognize young people’s opinions and conceptions in their basic value, that is, work out the sense of these in order to understand the young people, to support them in strengthening their positive aspects and values and to build on them. In this way, the good, constructive and beneficial aspects in young people’s concerns would develop and, according to the value and meaning of their ideas and opinions, they would gradually integrate themselves into a good society of ethical and moral values.
You ask me how one can recognize what ethical-moral values require of a person.
I would ask: What is essential in order to be able to lead a worthy, ethical and moral life? First of all it would be important to ask oneself the question: What, actually, do I want? Do I want to be different than the masses? Or do I want to be dependent on the masses, letting myself be dragged along by them without being aware of what kind of herd I am a part of?
If you want to strive towards higher ethical and moral values, then, in your head, in your mind, you should think through what it is that preoccupies you at the moment, and play it out in your thoughts with the question: What good does it do me? Do I want to go under in this thoughtless, drifting and driven mass called “society”? That is, do I want to swim with the tide of time, with the “world” and the worldly, in order to maybe profit from the flotsam and jetsam that is washed up onto the shore? Or do I want to be or become an independent human being of strong character who is able to be a rock in the surging waves of the society of the masses, by building up his inner, altruistic, that is, selfless, values? And so, do I want to have as goals higher standards for society, even today, and thus be or become a person who can say from his own consciousness: Whatever the norm in today’s society may be, it does not correspond to my standards of value?
This does not mean that you should repress what is pressing you, be it sex, drugs or rock’n roll or the conformist masquerade, the trends of which you spoke. That would be wrong, because whatever we repress is not resolved but merely postponed. In a weak hour, it comes and attacks us like an epidemic. Then we are sick with passion and the reins of our earthly life slip out of our hands. I can only advise you to gradually reduce whatever presses at you – the Christian teaching calls it sin; we could also say the all-too-human aspects, the weaknesses, faults, our wrong behavior – that is, to find the root of this pressure, of the pressing desires, and then eliminate it.
And so, what we are called to do is not to simply say no to the passions which we find ourselves faced with. Instead, we should say a decisive yes to higher ethical values, to a true Christian life which corresponds to the teachings of Jesus, the Christ. In this effort the Spirit of the Christ of God, which dwells in every person, will help you – if you want it, because for a Christian life it is written: Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and it will be opened to you. Then you will receive help to gradually reduce the all-too-human aspects in order to develop a Christian life with higher ethical and moral norms. Then you are no longer driven, but a person for the Christian society which will definitely come into being, because we can already see the signs of the decline of this ego-addicted civilization.
It is difficult to orient yourselves to people, including the church “dignitaries” who should actually be examples of a Christian life. If you want to, take the life of Jesus, which was not an easy life, as your orientation. Jesus, too, had His struggles. How He managed to overcome them again and again can be read in many good spiritual books.
The youth:
Gabriele, these are answers to our questions with which we can do something.
I’m interested in these spiritual values; I would like to hear more about them. What, specifically, are these values? How can we build each one up, make it strong, and so on?
And how can I, as a young person, work out my own or new values, without orienting myself to adults?
The prophet:
You are asking about higher ethical-moral values? Let’s begin with the smallest dose and then increase it more and more.
Do your best to listen to your fellow men and try to give them an honest answer. Don’t take yourself so seriously in a conversation. Do not be a know-it-all, but think about whether you can really do justice to the questions and whether you are able to help and serve with your answer.
Keep your body clean. Strive to wear clean and orderly clothes.
Greet your fellow men with open thoughts and words, and be aware that you, too, want to be greeted that way: with an open and clear face.
When you are at school or at work, do not joke about your teachers or your boss, nor about your fellow students or colleagues. Do you want them to make fun of you?
Eat and drink properly and be aware that the food and drink of which you partake are gifts of the Creator to His human children through the Mother Earth. Treat animals, plants, yes, all of nature, well, that is, as you want to be treated. For all forms of nature feel and sense, because they bear the life within them, the feeling and sensing. Be aware that Mother Earth is the provider for your physical body. The one who respects himself and keeps his body clean also cherishes and respects Mother Earth. He will deliberately harm neither animals nor plants. He will also cherish the minerals and will not exploit them.
When you meet a person, whether he is known to you or not, do not belittle him, because the way he is at the moment is his state of consciousness at present. It is his individuality. And the way an individual is, that is how he thinks and lives. It is his personal image which he draws with his thoughts and wishes. This is the way he presents himself to you and his fellow men; this is the way he dresses and how he furnishes his home, and this is the way he behaves in it. Every person is different from every one else. We call this “being different” the state of consciousness of the individual. You, too, are different from the others, from your fellow man. You have your state of consciousness; he has his. Which of the two is “right”? According to the divine law, neither of them, because every one more or less displays his sinful dispositions, that is, what his tendencies are, what clings to him. For this reason, every one speaks, judges and condemns merely from his own wrong attitudes, thus becoming his own judge. Jesus said about this: “Judge not, that you not be judged. For with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and the measure you give will be the measure you get.”
(Mt. 7:1-2)
Do not send your fellow man hateful and envious thoughts, because you, too, do not want others to do this to you.
Leave your fellow man his freedom. Do not force him to do what you want or what you could do yourself.
Help your neighbor when you see that he needs your help and asks you to help. But do not make a fuss about it. Do it in all modesty and do not even require that he thank you.
Do not invade the temple, the sphere, of your neighbor, by wanting to change him the way you think he should be. Change yourself and gain respect for your own life, then you will gain respect for your fellow man.
When you get to know a new boyfriend or girlfriend, ask yourself for what purpose. Is it sexuality, the gratification of your pressing desires? Then ask yourself how you would feel if you were used for this purpose.
Dear Martin, the new values, the spiritual values, as you call them, are always the same age-old values, which all divine scriptures tell about and which Jesus, the Christ, taught and lived in a comprehensive way. They are the eternal, divine laws for this earth. Especially in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus of Nazareth gave us so much! When we follow His simple teachings, then the way to a higher life is outlined for us.
Jesus taught, for example: “Judge not, that you not be judged.” To judge means to judge or condemn another person with thoughts or words, without recognizing your own part. How often do we hear: “I am not to blame for this or that situation,” or “I am innocent.” But Jesus taught something else concerning the beam and the splinter: “Why do you see the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the beam in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother: Let me take the splinter out your eye? And see, there is a beam in your own eye. You hypocrite, first take the beam out of your own eye, then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye.” (Mt. 7:3-5) With this He meant that in a conflict not only one party is guilty. If you believe in the law of sowing and reaping, of cause and effect, then in a quarrel between two or several parties there has to be a common cause in which each one has his part. If you look for the guilt in only one person, that is, in order to find the guilty party, then where is the person who triggered this guilt?
So, according to the teaching of Jesus about looking at the beam and the splinter, there always have to be two or several who have their part in a guilt-complex. There cannot be only one guilty person. If we want to avoid having a share in the guilt, or if we want to let justice prevail in an argument, then Jesus shows us the solution, the way for our behavior: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Or, said the other way around: Whatever you do not want done to you, do not do it to others. Surely, you do not want others to judge you, to condemn you, to insult you, to exclude you, to ignore and reject you, etc., etc. If you do not want this, then do not do it yourself. This results in noble values, that is, age-old values for a Christian society.
Even though the law of sowing and reaping, also called the law of cause and effect, is written in the Bible, many Christians reject it. Who wants to have a share in the blame? Everyone picks out the best for himself and simply pushes the law of sowing and reaping aside. The church institutions themselves get around the law, “Whatever you sow, you shall reap.” Why is that? If they would acknowledge the truth, church dignitaries would constantly be underway apologizing to their fellow man for things past as well as present. From this you can see in what cultural phase our society stands. It closes its eyes to the cosmic law of cause and effect, especially when it concerns oneself, personally. The findings of science however confirm this law. It says there is no effect without a cause. So you can see, the adults of the human race have to first grow and mature for a value-filled society.
No person should orient himself to another person, but should use the teaching of Jesus over and over. In order to give reasons for one’s helplessness in dealing with one’s own baseness, it is often said that Jesus was a perfect person, we, however, are imperfect people. This statement may be right, but Jesus commanded us: Become perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect. This means that we should lead our soul to perfection, with the help of our Redeemer, Christ. Jesus also commanded us to follow Him, which means that we should follow no human being but take the steps which He taught us. The steps to a value-filled life which would shape a stable society of higher ethical and moral norms are the step by step fulfillment of the commandments which God gave us through Moses, as well as the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus. From this gradually grows what Jesus taught us: To Become perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.
I relate this statement of His primarily to our soul, which can become perfect, even in a human being. A person always has the life-programs for earth which he needs to find his way around and deal with his earthly existence. Programs, for example, for moving in three dimensions, for decisions in one’s professional life, for weighing and measuring correctly, for geography and history, also programs for arithmetic, for music, for applying further talents, even for the time of today, for computer programs.
These life-programs for our earthly existence could also be standards of value for a Christian society, for example: How do I shape my life with these programs? If I place these life-programs within the context of the commandments of God and the principles of the laws of God contained in the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus, then gradually I become aware of what I can do with my life, of how I am able to guide it more and more into taking nobler and finer paths.
The youth:
Gabi, isn’t that a high standard for our life on earth? It isn’t always easy to put the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount into practice consistently. And despite real efforts, things don’t go forward so quickly. Perfection, I am sorry to say, is still far out of sight. Do you have some advice?
The prophet:
Dear Martin, perfection is the goal. This is where the path leads to. The path, this means the way of becoming, of development, we walk step by step. The higher ethics that I am talking about cannot be actualized from one day to the next either. But to reach them at all, will be possible only if we really want to. For this reason, a clear and honest basic decision is necessary.
First we need to ask the question: Do I actually want to affirm these ethics? And the question that follows is: Do I want to really strive towards these ethics? If you can affirm these questions and are resolved to fight to reach them, then you need the goal. Once you have set this goal for yourself, you can determine the steps you will take each day. On the way to a higher life these are called: Whatever upsets or irritates me noticeably today wants to tell me something. This is the language of my conscience which is telling me about my all-too-human aspect of the day. What and where is the root of this emotional surge? Usually your fine feelings tell you where the root can be found. When we ask the Spirit of God within us, then this feeling becomes stronger. It then shows us what this root is.
Maybe our emotions are based on disagreements with parents, friends or colleagues. Now we are not asked to deal with these disagreements by just patting each other on the shoulder, believing that everything is okay again, but we should deal with the reason, the root of it.
Finding the root and eliminating it is important in order to be able to take the steps to a higher goal. It happens step by step. The motto is always: The fight comes before the victory, in the end, also the fight with our all-too-human nature. Be aware that the one who takes the steps towards this high goal has a unique companion at his side. It is the Spirit of the Christ of God who told you and all of us as Jesus and tells us again and again as Christ: Follow Me!
Nature, too, teaches us that it is necessary to find the root in order to take it out of the soil of our soul, so that the same sprout will not grow from it again. When we cut flowers or grass, then the same species will grow out of the roots again and again. The same is true of our life. The person who merely pushes aside his unkind thoughts, his overreacting ego-emotions, including his passions and desire-programs, has by far not pulled out the root from the soil of his soul and subconscious. Slowly and often unnoticed, the sprout grows anew, by way of sinful thoughts, the overreacting ego-emotions, by way of passions and massive desires. If we compare this with nature, we can say that the new sprout that grows from the root is much more abundant and strong, because it was nourished for a longer period of time. It might even overpower us and then it is difficult to get a hold of it.
The youth:
Doesn’t all this take a lot of time? Such a person will hardly have any free time left if he is constantly preoccupied with himself.
The prophet:
The path to self-mastery does not restrict one’s life. It only seems that way in the beginning. Believe me, I have experience in this. The first steps in conquering the all-too-human aspects do happen to be difficult, because some old habits are very stubborn. You have to work on yourself, struggle and fight with yourself. However, once the first steps toward the higher goal have been taken, you have become clearer and more alert, your consciousness has expanded and you grasp and understand things more easily and quickly. This helps you to watch over yourself in a heightened state of alertness, so that you learn to recognize very quickly what is bothering you, where the root is and how you can clear it up.
This clearing up things quickly enables you to lead a conscious life, but also to have meaningful leisure time. When you have free time, you will know how to use it. Especially today’s time offers young people many possibilities to do something productive and creative, to further one’s talents, to have hobbies, for example, sports, music, dancing – and why not rock’n roll, too? – to be with friends or visit a disco once in a while, to go inline skating or mountain biking and much more.
Remember: All this, when it’s done in moderation and with purpose, does not harm a young person. Quite the contrary. From this he can gain experience and maturity for his further life, that is, if he does not overdo it, when he weighs and considers everything. When he is older, he will then not speak about his privations, but about his youth from which he drew experience and reached maturity and which gave him sovereignty for the further phases of his life.
The youth:
Gabriele, a friend of mine asks another question: I’ve noticed a feeling of insecurity on the job. How can I deal with this?
The prophet:
The answer for your friend is:
Ask yourself: Is it only insecurity? Or isn’t it much more a certain reluctance to do the work you do? Or do you reject it altogether? Insecurity in our professional life always tells us that we either have to learn more, or, if we are not suited for the job, to find another one which corresponds more to our talents and abilities, so that it will make us more sure of ourselves and we can do it with more joy.
If we reject a certain occupation, before choosing it or while working in it, we can say with certainty that it will not give us any joy in the future, not even when we make a lot of money with it. Our occupation should bring us joy. Our work should be permeated by our know-how. This gives us confidence and, in the end, independence which in turn gives us the right kind of freedom.
The youth:
Another friend asks the following question: I have to make a decision about which occupation to choose. Everyone tells me something different about what I should do and I, myself, am not yet sure. How can I do it right?
The prophet answers:
It is very common that others advise us about which occupation we should choose. This good advice is not always selfless, which says that it is merely good advice or help. Often the advisor wants to see the profession that he did not choose, his ideal for a profession, realized in another person, in a daughter or son or in a friend.
Especially when choosing a profession, young people should gradually develop their own feeling for the talents and abilities which they have. At the age when a young person should choose a profession, certain talents, aptitudes and abilities are active. The life-rhythm of the individual brings this with it. We should not allow ourselves to be forced into something, not by anything or anyone. We may indeed accept good advice, but at the same time we should consider which aptitudes or even abilities and talents we have. To be certain about the aptitudes and abilities a youngster has, young Original Christians go to the different artisan shops and business-es of the Christ-friends in order to help here and there and to see in a practical situation which job might suit them. From this they gain a certain security in choosing the right profession. Maybe some of you who read this booklet will know the owner of a shop or business who will help him in this respect and let him take a closer look at his business.
The youth:
That is good advice. Anyone who wants to take his life into his own two hands will certainly look around for such opportunities.
I still have more questions, actually a lot. May I ask you the next one?
Talking about God is not exactly “in” among young people. In church, God seems antiquated to me. I can’t even imagine that He lives. Is God just something for older people?
The prophet:
You say that talking about God is not common among young people, and your second phrase was “In church, God seems antiquated to me.”
As the instrument of God, I have many, very many, experiences with God. And so, from my own experience, I can assure you that God is not the Church-god who was institutionalized and turned into an antique. Since the life, GOD, has long since withdrawn from this antiquatedness, the Church-god, it is not surprising that you do not have the impression He actually lives. But He, the true God, the eternal One, lives! For He is the life!
Even though much is spoken about God, most people hardly have any experiences concerning Him.
In the western world we call the life, the eternal Being, the omnipresent power, the primordial stream, GOD. God is the spirit that streams through infinity, that, out of itself, gave itself form, the God-form; it is the eternal Father whom we also call God-Father. From the eternal primordial stream, God, God-Father created the infinite spiritual suns and worlds, the seven times seven heavenly planes and the spiritual nature kingdoms. He created the divine beings, the spirit beings which live and are active in the eternal kingdom, God. The primordial stream is the breath, the life, that maintains and streams through everything.
Since God is the life in all things, He is also the life in matter. The essence, the compressed primordial stream, that is, GOD, is contained in every human being, in all souls, in the four elements, fire, water, earth and air, and in all the forces of matter, in every atom, in every molecule. God is the word that comes through all degrees of consciousness, as, for example, in the radiation of the stars, in the nature kingdoms, in souls and in human beings. So God is the life in you, in me, in every one of us.
When you simply look at nature in its multiplicity and in the spring feel this sense of awakening, of readiness, when you experience the elements, the power in the voice of the birds, the evolution of the forms of nature in the course of the seasons and in the end, also the change in those people who raise their souls to God so that they reach eternal youth again and have their existence in the divine primordial stream, then you feel and recognize something of the spiritual primordial substance which is in all things and is effective through all things. Then you feel the youthfulness, the fine spiritual aura in all things. Then you often notice that many an older person does indeed show traces of his years, however, through him shines the spontaneity of the primordial stream, God, the eternal youth. God, who is your eternal Father, my eternal Father, the Father of all divine beings, souls and men, is spontaneity, is multiplicity, dynamism, is form-giving, power and the source of power. You experience it in your youthful dynamism. This is God, the primordial stream in you.
The institutionalized churches have truly dragged God down to a disparaged image of rough and even cruel characteristics that is antiquated. They do not allow the dynamic, omnipresent God to come to word, He who is the fire, the light of the word in everyone. The authorities of the institutionalized churches not only have their annual rituals for certain days of celebration, but every day is shaped by the church institution. The words of the sermons are often the same or similar, year after year. Their church service is not the daily serving of one’s neighbor, but often the serving of the church. The church authorities may well be speaking about God, but they do not allow Him to speak through and be active through them. It isn’t possible for Him to reveal Himself through them at all, because they have an institutionalized concept of God which has nothing in common with the eternal Father, that is, with God-Father.
God, our Father, bows down to all of His children, to you, to me, to everyone. He wants to have us back in the eternal kingdom, in the eternal heavens. This is why He sent His Son to us, the Co-Regent of the heavens, who became our Redeemer. Jesus personified the eternal Father because He said: The Father and I are one, which means: I, Jesus of Nazareth, live in accordance with the will of the eternal Father in heaven.
Look at the life of Jesus, bring to mind the spontaneous, dynamic young man who walked the dusty roads with His disciples, announcing the good news of the love of His Father, who was at home under the stars, who saw the ruling hand of God in every animal, in every plant, who instructed His apostles and disciples in the most subtle laws of the universe, who sat under the tree and taught them, who stood in the field and announced the good news of life, the Sermon on the Mount, to thousands, who stepped into a boat with some apostles and rowed out on the Sea of Galilee, who gave the Pharisees and scribes of that time, the hypocrites, a good and clear piece of the truth. So Jesus was not “a fuss and bother administrator” – He personified the spontaneity of inner life.
If you take a look at church authorities today with their titles and “honors,” with their robes and church buildings, then actually everyone should say: Something isn’t right here. On the one hand, the simple Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, and on the other hand, the “honorable dignitaries” who with “dignity” represent something that Jesus of Nazareth did not teach. Jesus was not the way they are; Jesus does not want what they are. The way they teach, speak, act and, in the end, live does not correspond with the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth.
In a certain way, independent of age, I, too, may feel this spontaneous, eternal power of God, the inner, eternal youth, the freshness of the Spirit, the life which is unique. Everyone who discards his all-too-human aspects more and more, who sacrifices them, as it were, with the help of Christ, and does what God wants more and more, gains access to the living source of the highest power within himself which is eternally fresh, clear and youthful. For Jesus told us: “Follow Me!” When we follow Him, then we do what God wants and we experience in us, on us and through us similar things as our example, Jesus, the Christ. So you do not have to talk about God a lot. Do what Jesus commanded of us and affirm the spontaneous, y |
