Team work - A new perspective on Jesus.

This comes from the book, The Essenes - Children of the Light, which is the story of the Essenes and Jesus' mission as told through seven different people's past-life regressions.  A very different take on Jesus which resonated strongly enough for me to want to share it with all of you.  I hope you enjoy (all passages attached in the order they appeared). 

 

    “The priests do not rule us!  We are a free people and rule ourselves.  The priests may rule in Jerusalem, but we have chosen a different path.  Any position of respect has to be earned.  An old and wise teacher, or a very spiritual grandmother, might carry more weight in the community than any priest, for we would honor their attainment and their wisdom.”

    “We could see from the star charts where each one was, so it did away with a lot of jealousy.  The strongest and oldest souls had the harder tasks and the more intensive training.”
   
    “Merit, consent and love formed the inner core on which our communities were founded.”

Joanna:  Did you believe that a child is born with original sin?
Daniel:  Well, there are original parcels of merit, positive merit and negative merit.  Each one comes bearing some little gift or burden from past lives, but we did not see it as sin, or wickedness, just things to be worked out, lessons to learn, things to be balanced out in the harmony of the universe.

Joanna:  So you tried not to judge others?
Daniel:  Yes, it was not our part to judge anyone.  We do not know the pattern that the soul has woven, for we can see only a few threads and not the whole picture.
Joanna:  What kind of food was eaten in the communities:
Daniel:  A variety of things: fish, the meat allowed by Jewish Law, fruit and food from other plant sources.  As for myself, I chose to eat nuts, fruit, honey, grains and other plant foods, but no meat or fish.  I did not see why any of God’s creatures should have to die so that I might live.  Animals are our younger brothers in terms of spiritual development.  I do not believe that a loving God would create a universe in which a man must eat his brother in order to survive.

    “The original knowledge from the Kaloo was stored in record-keeper crystals, and only later transferred to the scrolls.  We were trained to read the crystals through using the third eye.  From the Kaloo we also had lamps made from crystals.  Some of the meetings in caves were entirely lit by crystal power.”

    “We regard sharing as a spiritual process, although this is little understood.  Through sharing there is a balancing.  People have needs, people have resources, and sharing balances the two.  And it balances needs and resources without calculation, without money and without counting the cost.  To us, sharing is an affirmation of Wholeness, and from the greater perspective of the Whole one would naturally wish to share.  
    In sharing, the spiritual and material worlds are brought together and fused into one reality.  Only through the heart can the two worlds of Spirit and matter be brought together through the awakened energies of the heart, all things become possible for us.”

    “On the highest level we saw healing as a reattunement to the essential note of the individual . . . When you can fully sound your note, and vibrate and resonate to it, you become an active participant in your own healing.”

    “The healer holds the vision of the person before him as a perfect being, completely aligned with the Divine pattern.  Whatever illness may be present, this pattern always remains perfect, and the healer affirms that perfection.  Then the healer invokes the power of the Spirit to flow down into the pattern and to link it with the projection which is the physical body.  Advanced healers are able to do this effectively because they have cleared away all the obstacles within themselves and have become perfect channels for this power.  When the Spirit moves to manifest perfection, all else in the universe steps aside.  The illness - whatever it is - simply gives way to this power.  The perfect power-filled pattern and the physical body come together as one, and the person is healed, sometimes instantly.  But this is not so much healing in the conventional sense as a restoration to Wholeness, the manifestation of the same perfection upon the physical level as exists upon the higher level.”

Joanna:  Was sound used in a number of ways?
Daniel:  Yes, in defense as we have said, but also to balance and sustain the energies within the body, and in chanting prayers and invocations.  There were many ways to use sound.

    “The universe is a web of consciousness founded upon harmony and sustained by love.  It is like a great rocking stone which pivots on a single point: if you push the stone in any direction it moves back towards the center again to restore the balance, to restore the harmony.  That is the process of it, consciousness is the intelligence of it, and the energy of it is love.  The universe is sustained by love, by a great ocean of cosmic love, pure and unselfish love.”

    “Every human being is a microcosm of the universe, and within our bodies and minds the forces of the universe flow and resonate.  By attuning to these forces and becoming conscious of them, we integrate ourselves into the universe and bring Spirit and matter ever closer together.  When the universe and the human being are fully merged and integrated we become the Living Truth, an embodiment of wholeness, harmony, Light and peace.”

Joanna:  You seem often to be striving towards perfection.  Do you see yourselves as consciously doing this?
Daniel:  Of course!  I was greatly influenced by the Master Pythagoras, and one of his guiding principles was that the soul can rise in union with the Divine.  I saw in this the best hope for the progress of the individual and the spiritual development of humanity.

(Where did all the scrolls come from?)
Daniel:  some from the Kaloo, but most we found ourselves.  Most of the large communities had one person who traveled constantly in search of new scrolls.  We put much effort into this gathering of knowledge, for it was most important to us.  The Kaloo stressed that much knowledge was circulating in the ancient world in one tradition or another.  We respected insight and wisdom from whatever source it came.  There were no traditions that we were not willing to learn from.  We might not agree with all their conclusions, but at least we were prepared to give them a fair and open-minded hearing.
    The Kaloo also told us that things would change.  Men would become intolerant, more focused on their own tradition to the exclusion of all others, and that the danger in this was that old and valuable knowledge from other traditions would be willfully destroyed.  It was part of our task to overcome this tendency by gathering as many scrolls of real value as we could.  And we copied the most important of these, and made summaries of every scroll so that we knew where all the knowledge was stored.

    “God manifests as the Light which illumines our path, and as the Spirit within which makes our inner development possible.  As we live in joy and harmony and love, we live in the nature of god, and the Light steadily expands within us.  This expansion of the Light anchors us in the true nature of our being.  It nourishes us and allows us to unfold our talents and abilities as Children of the Light.  Walking in the Spirit and inspired by the Light, we become expressions of God upon Earth.  As Spirit merges with matter in us, we complete our task here, and prepare to ascend to the spiritual realms.”

Joanna:  Was the Essene Brotherhood in touch with other Orders or ancient Brotherhoods?
Daniel:  Of course.  That is why Essenes could move safely from our land to distant places, for example up through all the Celtic lands to Britain.  Whatever Order you belong to, at the highest level all Orders become one, as the sides of the pyramid merge in a single point.

Daniel:  We felt like a minority in our own country, surrounded by the great mass of people who were either actively hostile to us or indifferent to our fate.
Joanna:  And because you were so secretive other people would spread rumors about you?
Daniel:  Yes, many false rumors, sometimes caused by ignorance, but there were also people paid good money to do this.  People were spreading terrible lies about the Essenes, saying that we did all sorts of vile things, worshipping idols and so on.  Terrible things they said.  They felt that if they could blacken our name then it would be easier to persecute us. 
Joanna:  And the Kaloo helped you to set up the defense of your communities?
Daniel:  Yes, and we lived very secretly in our own places, and even the ways in which we guarded our communities were secret.  The Kaloo had given us many abilities, many skills.  The use of sound was highly developed by the Kaloo.  We could produce not only outer sound but also inner sound which would make a stranger who walked near our communities just uneasy.  It would reverberate inside him and he would wish to go away; he would not know exactly why.  The sound would vibrate inside him.  We would set up vibrations which were different from his own note, and that would make him most uncomfortable.  He would feel discomfort and even fear, and would wish to go quickly from that place.  He would feel that it was a bad place full of spirits, perhaps he would interpret it in this way.
Joanna:  Could you also manipulate energy to make people fall over?
Daniel:  Yes, we could shift their center of balance from the lower part of the body.  We could shift it about and move it higher so that they would become unsteady on their feet and topple over.  We would shift the focus of their energy.  The Kaloo were very skilled in energies.  Energy was a special study of theirs, and they passed much down to us.

Joanna:  What do you remember of Jesus when he was still a student?
Daniel:  There were so many things.  We talked and debated when he came to our community.  By that time he was already well advanced in his studies and we talked long into the night on many things, yes.  Our hopes for our people, also for all people, because there was a new opportunity now.  A moving forward was possible through the energies of love focused in the heart.  And the difficulties of spreading this message so that people would understand it, how it might be spread, and how the message might be received, yes.
    It was such a joy to listen to him, it was all so simple to him.  Many like me found it still complicated (he chuckled), but for him it was so simple.  It was as if he had stepped out of his own focus into the Light of the Spirit, and from that focus all was simple, all things so clear.  Ah, yes, many a learned teacher almost despaired after hearing him (he chuckled once more), wondering how he could ever reach that level.  And yet we know he was also helping us to make that step, out of complexity into simplicity, out of confusion and darkness into the Light.  So that is what I remember.  And his eyes looking at you, like great pools of love, understanding and forgiving all you may have done.  All your weaknesses were somehow forgiven, as if he were your best friend who understood all about you.  Ah, wonderful eyes, yes . . . he spoke with great gentleness: great strength and great gentleness.  It is said that many ones who had been Essenes for many years and thought they knew what it was to be an Essene, when they encountered Jesus, only then did they begin to realize what it was like to be an Essene to your fingertips.  (He chuckled again).  
    So Jesus was the ultimate Essene, the ultimate pattern of Esseneness.  He was the exemplar for all of us.  And when we looked at him - his power, his gentleness, the sheer radiance of this being who was nearer to God than any of us had thought possible - we could see our destiny.

Joanna:  What was it like to be in the presence of Jesus when he was at the height of his powers:
Daniel:  Well, by that time we were a little in awe of him.  It’s hard to describe.  When we first knew him he seemed special, yes, but he became more special and more intense and more self-contained, because he was containing and focusing these vast forces.  It wasn’t that he was remote and unapproachable, but he just had this enormous power around him, this energy.  It was a very gentle loving energy, but it was energy, and it marked him as someone very special.  In some ways he was like a high priest.  Even if you had known him when he was young, becoming a high priest sets him apart.  He carries a lot of energy, a lot of responsibility, and an inner knowing.
    But that didn’t make him heavy.  There was a lot of laughter around him.  Being with him was really a very joyful experience.  It was sunny - being with him was just like being in the sunshine of a perfect day.  But there was great power present too: it was like being with a very jovial and happy high priest.  He was very light, he smiled a lot, but he was still like a high priest.
    He was not jovial all the time, of course.  Sometimes he was quite serious.  But most of the time he was sunny, and being near him lightened people’s lives.  They were lighter as they went along the road with him, everything seemed lighter and brighter.  He brought out the best in people - he brought the sunshine into people’s lives, and their hearts expanded and glowed.
    When you were with him you felt warm and comfortable.  You felt that everything was going to be all right.  You felt you were going to get to the conclusion of your own spiritual path in your own time, and it would all be fine.  You just had to put one foot in front of the other, smiling gently as you went.
    He wasn’t heavy and solemn.  People around him were happy and singing - there was a lot of singing, a lot of joy.  And it was very light, the whole thing.  It was like a merry group of friends, but he was also the high priest figure.  That was there all the time, too.
   
    “He raised his consciousness so much that he was able to resonate with the power of the Spirit, and be a clear channel for that energy through his complete being.  He was like a completely open channel down which all this energy flowed.”

Martha:  When I think of Jesus I hear the words, “The answers are in your heart.”  When he was with us he made it seem so easy.
Joanna:  But after the crucifixion everything changed and it become more difficult?
Martha:  Yes.  They took Jesus’ body away, and it looked as if he was dead.  I felt I should have protected him and stopped it from happening… (Weeping).
Joanna:  So many of us felt like that.
Martha:  I thought he would disappear into Light because of all the other magical things he could do.  And then I felt as if I had been tricked, that he wasn’t who he seemed to be.  If he could die, was he just a man?
Joanna:  You had put your faith in this being…
Martha:  And I didn’t know who he was because of this final twist, and because it was so dark and awful.
Joanna:  There was a lot of fear and confusion around you?
Martha:  Yes, a lot of confusion.  We had all been given this gift of speaking the truth which was very powerful, so that the Word would continue.  And then it all went wrong.  It was all so dark and horrible, and we became afraid to speak.  There were so many who opposed us, who wanted us to forget.  And then there was this frantic writing down to try to capture what he had said.  But it was speaking from the heart which had life in it: when everything was written down, in one sense the Word died.

    “The accepting and forgiving energy of unconditional love lays the past to rest and opens the door to a future in which fears and limitations fall away from us.”

    “He could take just the thread of an idea and weave it into a most simple and yet most profound story, which seemed to contain its own illumination.  Yet it was simple - leading on to subtler things, yes, but of itself so simple and complete.  A child could value it for the simple story that it was, yet a sage could also cherish it for its wisdom.  
    I remember that when we traveled from village to village, sometimes we would rest upon our way.  Jesus would take some of the wayside grasses and weave them together to make simple little cups.  And I could see this was his method, weaving ideas together to make a container for truth, yes, and all the stronger and better for being simple.  

The mind does nothing but talk,
and ask questions,
and search for meanings.
The heart does not talk,
does not ask questions,
does not search for meanings.
It moves silently towards God
and surrenders itself to him.

Francis of Assisi

    “It is a big meeting in this cave, in a remote and hilly place and it’s at night.  The cave and the ways leading to it are well guarded, so we will not be surprised by anyone.  We are sitting in a circle, maybe about thirty people.  In front of us are lamps, so that we can see the faces.  The only other light is coming from the middle of the circle, where there is a huge round crystal.  It’s pale purple in color, and is glowing.  There are people here from all the communities, as well as the core group.
    “This is a special place, a sacred space, and we’ve been meditating here for some time before anyone speaks.  Members of the core group are talking about Jesus and his next step forward.  They either call it his ritual death experience or sometimes simply his process.  So we’re discussing the preparations that have to be made, the effort which has to be put in, and the possibility of succeeding.  And it’s a very special process he will be going through, focusing on the use of the love energies through the heart.  This is a new energy, a cosmic energy which is being brought in and demonstrated so that others can see how to use it.  It is capable of taking people through a process of spiritual transformation in a direct way which is quite different from the complex methods used in the past.  Jesus is marking out a new path, a broad new road into the Light.  It is not certain that he will be able to achieve this, but the members of the core group are optimistic.  They seem to talk from much deeper knowledge than we possess.  We all hope it will work, we understand that it will help human development if it succeeds, but it’s not certain.  There are doubts, and some of us have more doubts than others.  We can see it in theory, it’s being explained to us.  We hope it will work, and will do what we can to assist, but it’s not at all certain.  
    “So the plan is being laid before us: Jesus will go forward and act out in public the climax of the mystery school teaching.  He will go through a mock trial, be crucified, and bring all the energies together into a synthesis.  He will need a massive amount of support to sustain him while all this is proceeding.  I just wish we had the certainty of the core group.  We will go forward with high hopes but also much anxiety.
    “So, there’s a lot of support needed now, a lot of focusing and building up of the energy in order to help in this process.  We’re using the energy lines connecting the communities.  We have been gathering crystals for some time, and working on the sites, linking them together and activating them.  This huge crystal here in the cave is one of the focal points in this energy system.
    “The plan has been put forward and we’ve discussed it and it’s generally agreed.  There will be group leaders who lead the meditation in their communities.  The meditational energy will be generated and directed to Jesus at higher levels, so he will have both this higher energy and the energy through the system with the crystals.  There are crystals in patterns to hold the energy, and the energy of each of the community sites leads into the central area.  Triangles flowing into a central triangle to make a complete energy system.”

Daniel:  There was an inner and an outer energy system.  The outer energy, generated by the Earth, focused and intensified by crystals, was directed along lines of force running across the surface of the land towards Jesus on the cross.  This enabled the energy levels in his body to be maintained.  The inner meditational energy was fed by the communities into subtle levels for directing to Jesus.  Together these two sources provided a complete system of support.  The inner energy sustained and nourished the higher aspects of his being, and particularly their link with the physical body.  It was essential that this link was strongly maintained until his energy process was completed.
Joanna:  And the outer system using earth energies - what points form the central triangle in this?
Daniel:  The central triangle was formed by Jerusalem, the main focus of this drama, Qumran and the cave.
Joanna:  And the cave was to the north of Jerusalem?
Daniel:  In a hilly area well to the north.  It formed a roughly equal-sided triangle with Qumran and Jerusalem.

Daniel:  The original plan came from the Kaloo, and our people started working with the earth energies in alignment with this plan as soon as the communities were set up.
Joanna:  This must have been a big undertaking for the communities to set up such a system.
Daniel:  Yes, it was a vast project.  Most of the basics had been put in place before my lifetime.  A lot of effort was put in over many years, strengthening the energy lines so that the power could be concentrated.  The work had to be done very quietly and secretly so as not to attract the attention of the other Jews.
Joanna:  And how long did all this take?
Daniel:  The whole operation lasted about a hundred and fifty years.  The Kaloo started assessing and developing the sites as soon as they arrived in the region.  It was a priority for them to develop this energy system.  The system was based on the natural energy lines that run along the surface of the Earth, with additions and strengthening of the pattern making a truer geometrical form through the use of crystals. 
Joanna:  Did the Kaloo set up this system for general use, or were they making preparations for a specific event?
Daniel:  It was quite specific.  They knew another Teacher of Righteousness would come, and this would be needed when his work reached a climax.  The Kaloo were wise indeed; they knew what was to come and made preparations accordingly.  We did not know the detail of their future knowledge, but they spoke of a great Teacher of Righteousness who was to come, and that all this work would support him.  That was enough for us.  We were content to carry out their plans.  You do not question wise and holy beings who are far above you, and who can see the pattern of things more clearly than you.

Daniel:  The process is going through and it’s getting heavy because there is quite a struggle going on.  We are aware at this point of those who do not wish this project to succeed.  They are tying to block the flow of energy so that the power cannot get through from the communities, and because of this it’s becoming more difficult for us. 
    Although we saw the plan clearly we didn’t see the strength of those who oppose us.  They haven’t succeeded yet, but it has diverted some power to hold them off.  The Silent One is in the cave focusing much of this effort, but he’s having a struggle.
    It’s getting very dark.  Jesus is on the cross and going through his process.  It does pass through my mind as I’m watching that maybe this attempt will fail.  Those opposing it may overwhelm us and he may die before he completes the process, before the energies are resolved.  He is gathering up and anchoring the energies.  He is a great focus for energies, and if he cannot complete the cycle which the energies must go through, then the whole project will fail.
    Time is doing very strange things.  This whole process is not taking much Earth time, but because it’s such a struggle it seems to be stretching out into eternity.  (At this point Daniel’s voice sounded very tired and strained).  I think we’re starting to lose this battle…
    We’ve sent a mental signal to the core group that we’ve got to have more power.  We’re just holding it together and the meditators are getting exhausted…It’s draining them…We can’t keep this going for much longer… (Here Daniel’s voice went down almost to a whisper).  We’ve got to have more power…
    The core group have sent out a request for help, to the angelic realm - I think to Archangel Michael…I don’t know how long we can hold this group together.  Some individuals are beginning to crack up with the intense concentration…it really is a battle… (Here Daniel gave a deep sigh).  
    Ah, the help has come, it’s going to be all right.  Jesus has managed to complete the energy cycle.  It’s all done…a great relief to us… (Daniel sighed again, and there was a pause before he continued).
    It was a close thing.  The whole plan could easily have gone down.  It was Archangel Michael who saved the day.  Without his help - who knows what might have happened . . .
    Many of our people gave all they had to give in supporting this process.  It wasn’t only Jesus who made a sacrifice.  Two people died in the communities and some were very ill for years afterwards, reduced to a shell of what they had been.  It was such a battle.  

Joanna:  Was Mary Magdalene really a member of the core group?
Daniel:  (Indignantly)  Of course she was!  Why should she not be?  Mary was a high being, an advanced being, but she was much misunderstood.  Her difficulty was that she had gained much experience and training in Egypt.  She had been a priestess of Isis and that was a problem for some of the more narrow-minded ones who gathered themselves around Jesus.  Indeed that would have damned her in the eyes of most conventional Jews.  For us it was not an issue - we had great respect for the Isis tradition in Egypt . . . Mary was a person of great virtue and authority, gained through many lives.  She was like a priestess, a person of great intensity.  We Essenes recognized her power and her lineage . . . The only one who remotely approached her in understanding was John . . . There was some even deeper mystery in their (Jesus and Mary’s) relationship, a mystery that went beyond my understanding.  When they were together within one of the inner groups there were moments when great energies seemed to focus through them, giving even the simplest movement a special power and grace.  I find it difficult to describe this effect, for it was so subtle.  I can only say it was like watching the Mysteries unfold like a flower opening, or the performance of some ancient and sacred dance.

Daniel:  Some ones, who had sight upon the very high levels, told me that when they looked at Jesus they did not see only his aura, they saw this vast vortex of cosmic energy whirling around him.  They said it was like the layers of an onion, an infinite number of transparent layers of energy moving out and out into the universe so that he was the center of all things, the center not only of our drama but the whole drama of the planet . . . anyone who encountered him stepped into that vortex.  That was really the miracle for us.  Not that he did this or that remarkable healing, but that his whole being was a focus of cosmic energy, and thus he could bring profound changes into the lives of all those he met who could accept these energies.
    As his work flowered he became more a timeless being, talking about timeless things which would be relevant in any age.  Time did not touch him, he escaped from time and that was part of his work and part of his gift.  But we know that in the end time might dilute and distort the message he came to bring.  Once the Teacher is no longer physically present, the Teaching may become changed and weakened.  What needs to go forward is the essential message that Jesus was trying to convey: unconditional love working through the heart, and the surrendering of the will to the Divine Presence within.  
    The more one surrenders one’s will to the Divine Presence, the more one merges with that Presence which is within every human being, the more the path opens and the way becomes clear and straight.  Then one can go forward and rise in consciousness and ascend into new frequencies of being.  All of this was what Jesus was trying to teach his disciples and the groups around him.  He was trying to teach this but many did not want to hear this message, and would much rather have rigid structures.  The inner truth is of the Spirit and lives, and anything which is of the letter has its day, flowers and is gone.  
    Remember always that Jesus lived in a difficult and troubled time.  Many people were frightened, and in their fear they clung to the comforting thought of a strong Father who would protect them.  They preferred a strong external perception of Deity, a strong Father rather than the Divine Presence within.  They saw the within as weak, and the external forces as strong and threatening.  Jesus came to show them how strong the Divine Presence could be.  How it could burn like a great Light within him and illumine the lives of all those around him, but many in their fear were not able to see this.
    He was offering them a chance to step out of the child state and become fully adult in the spiritual sense, but this step was too much for them.  They wished to be the powerless children of a loving Father for a little while longer.  You know, he never blamed them for that.  He used to say that we should have faith in the ability of every human being to awaken at exactly the right time, like a flower which opens in its due season.  If we choose to awaken and become spiritually adult we can become creators with God, but many were not ready for that.  They wished to slumber a little longer, to be the passive children of creation, walking hand in hand with the Father but unwilling to share in Divine knowledge and Divine power.
Joanna:  And the vortex of energy around Jesus helped people to awaken at the right time?
Daniel:  Yes.  Because of all the vortex of power around Jesus he was able to pull people out of an obsession with the past and into the moment.  When they were in his presence, the past disappeared.  They realized that nothing was important but the moment, and that they were free to act within that moment.
    This was one of the gifts Jesus brought for many ones, the ability to focus and act in the present in a way they had never experienced before he came.  If you can forgive completely the past disappears for you.  If you forgive completely you don’t need to worry about the future either, you can function as fully aware beings, fully conscious beings, working and moving in the moment and focusing the energies of the Divine Presence.
    Nothing else is important, nothing else will exist for you.  That is why Jesus excited so many people, they could feel themselves being pulled out of time and into timelessness, out of the past into the everlasting present which is the only place in which you have power.  The past and the future, if you are entangled with guilt or with worries and anxieties, rob you of your power.  Only the present gives you power, and forgiveness is the key to ensuring you stay within that focus, expanding your awareness and living fully within the moment.  This is living as God intended.  This is joy, this is freedom - and this is what Jesus taught.  This is the most wonderful gift which he gave to us.

Daniel:  Continual surrendering of the will to the Divine Presence is the key.  But we also need to merge and become fully one with the Divine Presence before we can manifest God’s Will upon the Earth.
    We can only merge with the Divine when we are capable of true forgiveness.  If we are able to take the leap of faith and forgive completely - and that includes forgiving ourselves - then everything is possible, and the future beckons like an open door.
Joanna:  It seems a very important thing to the Essenes, this forgiveness.
Daniel:  Yes, because forgiveness frees us.  Without forgiveness we are locked forever in the past and we cannot reach the future.  It was so central that Jesus spoke often of it.  Forgiveness casts aside division and affirms Oneness, for it is only in a state of Oneness that we can rise into Eternal Life.
    At the level of the Divine Presence there is no loss, only gain, and it seems natural to forgive.  But at a limited individual level the view is different.  Here many ones see forgiveness as a loss.  They say, “Why should I give up my moral superiority over this person who has done something to hurt me?”  So they hug the hurt to themselves, and then they are never free.
Joanna:  And how do you feel or sense or perceive the Divine Presence within?
Daniel:  It will vary from individual to individual.  Some sense it as a great Angel, and some like a loving Energy which enters every fiber of their being.  But the simplest way of thinking of the Divine Presence is as the Spirit.  Jesus saw a clear difference between the Spirit and the soul.  He told us that the soul is good, but limited, whereas the Spirit has no limits or boundaries, and links all beings in the greater Oneness.  Jesus said that there are good qualities in the soul, but like reason they were limited and could take us only so far upon our journey.  Whereas the Spirit, being one with the Light, contained all within it and was Infinite.  Hence he urged us to lay aside the littleness of reason and become Spirit-filled, for when we are full of the Spirit, the whole universe opens to us and all things become possible.
    This message was not well received by all, and many feared to cast themselves adrift upon the sea of Spirit.  But Jesus counseled us to be bold and surrender ourselves to Spirit, for though we may not understand its ways it will inspire us to far greater things than reason could ever dream of.  So he said, let reason be only your servant to be engaged from time to time when you require work of that level to be done.  But let Spirit be your Master, and the Inner Voice to which you constantly pay heed, for Spirit is the Master of us all, and joins us all into one great Brotherhood/Sisterhood of Life and Light.
Joanna:  And was this kind of experience of the Spirit possible in other traditions before the time of Jesus?
Daniel:  Other traditions could only progress towards the Light by cutting themselves off from the mass of the people, in temples and other holy places.  This allowed rapid progress for committed individuals, but denied the free spreading of the Light to the people as a whole.  Jesus was interested in raising all the people, not just a select few.  In that he went beyond the customs of our Brotherhood, for even we Essenes kept ourselves separate and apart.  Yet we knew that the Essene Way, remarkable as it was, could only be a single step along the path.  Jesus came to establish a more permanent way of spiritual development, and that centered upon this knowledge of the Divine Presence, the Spirit within.
    Compared to the spiritual traditions of the past, this connection with the Divine Presence is a simple and straightforward way of moving to the Light.  The work of Jesus was like a signpost pointing to this new way, but even when he taught this many did not understand him.  They could not grasp that because the Divine Presence is within, knowing ourselves is also knowing God.  I think this idea frightened them, and they would rather think of a perfect Father in the heavens, and themselves as miserable and imperfect creatures crawling upon the surface of the Earth.  Yet the ancient sages had always said that knowing oneself is the key.  The tragedy of the average person in my day was that this was a key they were too frightened to use, too frightened even to admit that it existed.  This was the root of the confusion during my lifetime, and it is likely that in future time this confusion will only increase.  Many people will not see clearly what is to be done, and will not have the commitment or the courage to surrender to the Divine Presence, even if it is a gateway to the Infinite.  They will be like men starving when the richest treasure in the world lies neglected under their feet.
Joanna:  But I know many people will find it hard to surrender to the Divine Presence, however rewarding that process may be.
Daniel:  It is difficult for everyone.  Many feel they are leaving everything they have ever known, and are stepping out into a void.  But if we can make this leap into the unknown, Jesus told us that all the fragments of our life will come together on a higher level and we will be transformed forever.  He said that in the temple of the heart the Presence was like a Shining Angel, casting its Light into every corner of our being.  And when we merge with this Angel we will enter a Light brighter than we have ever known, and catch an echo of unimaginable bliss.  Then at last our pilgrimage through the realm of darkness will be over, and we will have come home safely into the Light.  All the scattered fragments of our being will be gathered up into wholeness, and all limitations will fall away, leaving only love and peace and oneness, and harmony, and joy.

Joanna:  Did you build a church or temple at Avalon?
Joseph:  No!  [Supposedly this was Joseph of Arimathea, who was much more guarded in his answers than the others].
Joanna:  Then what did you build at Avalon?
Joseph:  A simple structure; a place of sanctuary and healing.  This served also as a meeting place.
Joanna:  Were the Druids sympathetic to such a place being built?
Joseph:  Yes, they had such places also.
Joanna:  So it was not like a church, a temple?
Joseph:  No.  Why would we build a temple?  Jesus did not ask us to build temples.
Joanna:  But when those who followed the teachings of Jesus gathered, did they not need some kind of church or temple to meet in?
Joseph:  No.  If the day was fine we met in the open air.  There were special places ringed by great trees that were nobler than any temple.  But when it was cold and wet - and my old bones endured many such days in Britain - we met in the place of healing.
Joanna:  But when you had built your place of healing, did you not go on to build churches or temples?
Joseph:  Of course not!  (He sounded quite indignant here).  Why should we build a temple?  What purpose would it serve?
Joanna:  Well, it could be a place for people to meet for ceremonies.
Joseph:  We had only the simplest ceremonies, and these took place in the home, or wherever we happened to be.  Why should we build a temple for this purpose?  Jesus taught us that it is what happens in the temple of the heart which is important, and that love in the heart makes the body into a sacred space.  Knowing this, we had no need to build temples.  Each one of us has a temple in the heart, and love is the flame upon the altar there. 
Joanna:  So you had no need of a building of prayer and worship?
Joseph:  These things were a part of our lives from moment to moment.  Why should we separate them off into a different space?
In another session Daniel shows how close his thinking was to Joseph on this point:
Daniel:  Buildings decay, hierarchies crumble and doctrines change.  But the love in the hearts of the people is eternal, for love is the nature of God, and all things of God endure forever.

Joanna:  It sounds as if you had a great fondness for Pythagoras.
Daniel:  Yes, I had great affection for the sage Pythagoras and all his wisdom, for I found him to be the most excellent of all the Greek philosophers of whom we had knowledge.  He put more emphasis upon individual effort in rising toward the Light, and I found that most appropriate.

Joanna:  I know you have been trained to project your consciousness forward in time.  I would like you to scan far into the future to the end of the planetary cycle.  Could you do that for us?
Daniel:  Yes, I will try to do that.  (A deep sigh and a long pause.)  Yes, at first it is dark and continues in darkness for many centuries…then there is a change in the energy.  It starts to get lighter and the Light increases steadily…and towards the end of the whole cycle it is much lighter still, yes.  All this hidden knowledge can be brought out just before the end of the planetary cycle.  Then there will be no universal fear, but a great manifestation of Light.
Joanna:  So who is going to help with bringing forward the Light at that time?
Daniel:  Jesus is in the center of it all, yes, and around him many ones who linked with him in my time.  And also many ones I do now know, angels and ones from the other worlds.  It is as if the heavens have opened up and there is Light streaming down upon the Earth.  And then we are free of all the fears which have clung to us for so long. 
Joanna:  So can you see how this plan of Light is going to work out?
Daniel:  Yes.  It is like a second chance for many who have turned away from the Light.  They can leave behind all their fear, and violence, everything that has distorted humanity and kept us in darkness.  That can all be left behind and we can climb up into the Light together . . . (tape runs out).
Daniel:  Because I have projected my consciousness far forward in time, I can now draw back and see the group consciousness of your time.  I see that you do not have the fear of persecution that we had.  There are still some patches of darkness around the world, but compared to my day where you sit now there is much Light, and it gladdens me.
    We feared that the darkness would cover everything, that all the knowledge would be destroyed.  That there would be thousands of years of despair and that no minds would be free.  We sought to counter that as much as we could, by spreading the knowledge and working for the Light, but we feared the ages of darkness and ignorance, the capacity of stupid people to destroy knowledge.  If they did not understand something they would destroy it.  Destruction came so easily to them.  We feared that would result in a terrible darkness and that even the Kaloo, who were by my time a dying race, could not prevent this.  And then there would be a great age of darkness, with no knowledge, no wisdom, no harmony, no peace, and no love between human beings.  
    But by projecting my awareness forward I have seen that the Light was not extinguished.  No doubt much was lost, but in a sense the knowledge is not important.  What matters is the Light within each heart, because the Light will go forward, will go on to the next cycle.  So if every piece of knowledge vanished and only the Light went on, that would be enough.  But we feared that if all the knowledge was destroyed then the Light would never shine in the hearts of the people, and at the end of the cycle it would be a great disaster, and only a handful of shining ones would ascend, and the rest of humanity would be doomed to living yet another cycle on some other world.  And then planet Earth would be regarded as a failure.
Joanna:  How do you mean, a failure?
Daniel:  It would have failed to fulfill its primary purpose.
Joanna:  And how do you see that purpose?
Daniel:  To be a platform for the spiritual development of beings.  Not only human beings, but our younger brothers in the animal kingdom and other kingdoms.  This planet was intended to give us experience of living at a very dense level, so we could move through that experience and reconnect with our own Divinity.  By doing that we would raise not only our own vibration, but the vibration of the whole planet.  Spirit and matter would merge, and the Earth would move into a new state of being. 
Joanna:  So with that in mind, the knowledge was only a means to an end?
Daniel:  Yes, it was a way of keeping the people awake, increasing the harmony and peace within them, so that at the end of the cycle they could ascend into the greater life.  Think of it as an Infinite Garden.  The people are the plants, and the Light in their hearts is the seed.  Through applying the water of knowledge we kept the plants alive as best we could, but at one point the plant puts all its strength into the seed, and then, assured of survival in future seasons, it crumbles into the ground and is gone.  As the plant is only important until the seed appears, so the knowledge is only important until the Light shines in the heart.

Daniel:  We hoped that as Jesus had gained a great victory for humanity, there would be a period of great Light immediately.  But I can see it was not like that.  Jesus was misunderstood, I think.  I see his message being forgotten, but his image being worshipped.  He would not have wished that.  Why did they worship him so?
Joanna:  Because he could do things that they couldn’t.  He was something to hold on to, a bit of Light in the darkness.
Daniel:  Yes, but they twisted the Light, and made a cage of darkness out of it.  How sad.  Why couldn’t they just let the Light shine? 
Joanna:  It was too simple.
Daniel:  It was only the Light in the heart that mattered, but they had to build structures around it, imprison it, and limit it…(He gave a groan)…So much suffering, so many terrible things done in his name…(He sighed)…yet at the end of the cycle there is so much Light.  I begin to think it is more Light than we deserve.
Joanna:  What will happen at the end of the cycle?
Daniel:  All beings will be assessed according to their vibration, according to the brightness of the Light within the heart.  Those who are capable of going on to a higher spiritual level will go.  And those who have not learned their lessons, who have not risen in vibration, will be set aside for continuing at the same level in another place.
Joanna:  You mean, on another planet?
Daniel:  Yes, on another physical planet.  They will continue until they have learned all the lessons of that level, and learned to live with love in the heart.
Joanna:  And what do you see at the very end of the planet’s cycle?
Daniel:  I see a time when human beings and angels will work together again, when there will be greater understanding.  Also the Watchers will come into closer contact with us.

Joanna:  What did the Kaloo tell you about ascension?
Daniel:  That it was the Great Completion of which the ancient sages spoke.  Spirit and matter merge and become one, and the body is raised into a higher realm.  They said that a human being may attain ascension at any time, but in the Divine Plan for this planet it was intended that the great bulk of humanity should achieve it at the end of the planetary cycle.

Joanna:  Did Jesus actually teach about this ascended state?
Daniel:  Of course - but only with his disciples, or when visiting our communities.  When he was talking out in the towns or villages he would cloak his words, and call the ascended state “The Kingdom of Heaven”, for it is a separate realm with its own laws and ways of being.  And the words “Eternal Life” were also used to signify this state, for the Body of Light which we shall then wear is immortal and does not decay or die.
    Even amongst the disciples there was disagreement on this.  Some thought that such a path was not practical, saying that human beings can only progress a little at a time.  But a few, like John and James, and Thomas and Mary, and Mary Magdalene, were at one with Jesus on this.  They said that if you do not put the Completion stage before the people they will not be able to aspire to it, and may spend many lives at lesser levels.  If the idealism, the Sacred Fire in the heart, is not kindled, many ones may sleep their lives away within the home, the market or the temple.  
Joanna:  Is it a very difficult thing to ascend?
Daniel:  It has been, certainly, and those who have achieved this in the past did so with great difficulty and after many lives of struggle.  But Jesus came to change that, and to make the way clear and straight.  He told us that ascension is a transformation of the heart.  A brilliant mind will not help you to ascend, but a loving heart will.
Joanna:  You make it sound almost easy!
Daniel:  As the cycle progresses it will get ever easier.  When you reach the end of the cycle it will just be like stepping into the Light.  Yet it is important to see ascension always as the Completion stage of our existence.  Jesus said that we should aspire towards it in our lives, but from day to day, moment to moment we should focus upon our area of service, our self-appointed task.  He also said that when our task upon Earth is completed, we should be ready to ascend into the realm of Light.
    Jesus told us that there comes a point in the development of every human being when the soul is filled with a great longing for the Light.  At that point everything that the world can offer seems hollow and worthless.  The only thing that will then satisfy the soul is to return to the Light from whence it came, and merge with that Light and become one with it.  This state of Oneness with the Light is what we call ascension.
    And for ascension, the heart alone can open the door.  It is unconditional love working through the heart which makes ascension possible.  This is a simpler and more direct way than was practiced before, and will enable many ones to ascend who could not master the complex procedures I found described in the Egyptian texts.  But to move forward in this way, we will need to give up every little hatred we harbor in our hearts.  In this I separated myself from many of the priests, who held that hatred of wickedness and the sons of darkness was a virtue, even a duty for the Essenes.  I could not agree with this, for I saw the destructive effect hatred had in people’s lives.  And when I heard Jesus talk always about love and never about the need to hate, this only confirmed me in my view that love uplifts and purifies whilst any form of hatred destroys and defiles.  Those who hate are denying themselves their birthright, their right as Children of God to ascend into a state of Limitless and Eternal Life.
    …Jesus knew from the beginning that many people would not be able to accept his teachings.  They would cling to the outer husk and reject the inner seed which gives Eternal Life…The principle of ascension makes sense of all that Jesus said, and without this key he would seem to be speaking in riddles.

Daniel:  I always thought the teaching about Oneness was most profound, but I saw that it was also very challenging.  The Melchizedek teachings tell us that Creation began in Oneness, began in Light, and though we journey through darkness and chaos we will return again to the Light . . .
Joanna:  And did all the Essenes understand the Melchizedek teachings on Oneness?
Daniel:  By no means…In the training and focus of our priests the Judaic element dominated, and although this was necessary, and approved by the Kaloo, I could still see the dangers in it.
    The main danger lay in too narrow a focus, leading to intolerance and a tendency to exclude and reject people.  The Essene priests, for example, could be quite obsessive about the issue of purity.  Of course purity is important to us, and we took it seriously, but I saw that excluding people due to impurity, rejecting and condemning them, was a dangerous process, and one that is difficult to control once it is set in motion.  It led so easily to extremes and I think our main complaint with the priests was that their positions were often extreme ones.  In any extreme position we lose sight of that balance which is the heart of the Melchizedek teaching.  
    In the case of Jesus, because he understood the Melchizedek teachings so profoundly, he never took extreme positions, and he never judged and condemned people.  He might condemn their wrongdoing, but never the man or woman who had done that wrong.  I think that was why the disciples felt safe with him.  They knew that however much they erred, he would never judge or condemn them.  He would often be strong in condemning error, yes, but not in condemning people.
    In that respect I thought he demonstrated the Melchizedek teaching in his life much better than our priests, because he understood it much better.  In many of the scrolls beloved by the priests there are strictures against the sons of darkness, and all the doers of wickedness in this world.  I never heard Jesus mention the sons of darkness at all.  He focused much more upon Light and the path to the Light.  The whole direction of his mind and heart was profoundly positive, and in that he reflected the Melchizedek teachers very well, for all their teachings are positive and full of faith in the Triumph of the Light.
    Those priests with extreme views were often driven by fears for the future of our Order and our people, and their visions were often dark and apocalyptic.  I preferred the Light, and the gentler, broader and more positive view of the Melchizedek teachings, with their deep roots in star wisdom and a knowledge that stretched out into the far reaches of the cosmos.  To them the universe was a known and friendly place, full of beings progressing in many different ways towards the one Light.  
Joanna:  So you saw the path of humanity as a rising in consciousness into the Light?
Daniel:  Yes.  Our teachers told us that when we rise into the joy of expanded consciousness, we will look back and see our present level of awareness as small and limited, like the mind of a child.  If we are to fulfill all our potential as human beings, we must surrender to the greater consciousness of the Spirit.  We cannot do that if we cling to all the fears and limitations of the child self.  We have to let go of this lesser self if we are to rise in consciousness and enter Eternal Life.
Joanna:  You have told us about Oneness and how it leads to Eternal Life.  Did Jesus teach forgiveness as a way of moving towards these things?
Daniel:  Yes.  Forgiveness is a vital part of embracing Oneness, and that is one reason why Jesus taught this.  When you completely and utterly forgive someone, what they have done to you or those dear to you ceases to exist in your consciousness.  It is not that you stop holding this event against them, but that for you the event doesn’t exist anymore.  As it no longer exists, it no longer separates you from the doer of this deed, hence it is not an obstacle to unity.  This level of forgiveness is hard to achieve, but Jesus told us it is a key to entering Oneness, and it should be the aim of all those who follow the Way. 
Joanna:  And forgiveness was part of the Melchizedek teachings? 
Daniel:  Very much so.  Through forgiveness the Melchizedeks constantly cleared their consciousness so they were always flexible, balanced and able to move forward.  In this state there are no obstacles to Oneness.
Joanna:  I can see the benefits of focusing on Oneness, but how can we do this amidst all the confusion of everyday life?
Daniel:  By listening to the Heart, for the Way of Oneness is also the Way of the Heart.  Even though the mind can be deceived, and swept away by the drama of the world, the Heart can see beyond this.  That is why the Heart, which is sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit, can lead us back to the One Source from which we came.  Through the Deep Knowing of the Heart, the seeds of the Spirit, scattered throughout the universe, are brought together and made whole again.  Then the universe, which was One, shall be One again, and all hurts shall be healed.
Joanna:  And why is this teaching about Oneness so challenging?
Daniel:  Because to apply it, to enter Oneness, we have to let go of everything:  our past, our hopes for the future, even the precious little self that we cling on to so tightly.  All this has to go, if we are to enter the Oneness.  But it is all worthless baggage, compared to the treasure of Eternal Life.  Those who experience the level of Spirit encounter the deep Mystery that embraces all in Oneness.  At this level there is no separate self, only the joy and wonder of limitless Being . . . Oneness is the Mystery of Mysteries.

Daniel:  The Melchizedeks told us that if large groups ever learned to harness the true power of prayer, they would be able to heal from great distances, and even stop wars and prevent many natural disasters.  We were told that God works through many angels in the process of Creation, but upon the Earth he has given humanity a creative process of great power and that is the process of prayer.  It is a pity that outside our Brotherhood it is so little understood, for it is so great a force for good in the world. 

Daniel:  Much of what Jesus said would make very little sense if you did not know about the tradition from which he drew his deepest knowledge.  He was so firmly rooted in the Melchizedek wisdom that he was able to transcend the limitations of this planet and connect with the deep knowing and profound Oneness that lies at the heart of the Universe.  All that he taught about love and forgiveness makes perfect sense when you know about this Oneness which is the deep reality of things.  Yet if you did not know about this, much of what Jesus said would baffle you.  It would be like studying a tree while remaining ignorant of the roots which sustain and nourish it.

    “Joy is a special form of wisdom which gives rapid and easy access to Deep Knowing.  Without Joy, Deep Knowing is hard to access, and difficult to sustain.”

    “When human beings experience the Oneness of the Spirit and rise in awareness, that will heal our consciousness and will also heal the sickness of the Earth.  Then the Earth will produce a new note, not the discordant tone of a being in pain, but the joyful tone of a healed and reborn planet.  When she sounds out this new note she will join her sister planets as all of Creation moves upwards into the Light and the Greater Harmony.  Humanity will rise upwards in consciousness, and we will be able to live in the Eternal Joy of which our scriptures speak.  That is what we call the Triumph of the Light, and this is the whole process which the Melchizedeks have been guiding and supporting here and elsewhere in the galaxy over countless centuries.”

    The process of dispersing the scrolls seems to have been carried out with typical Essene thoroughness.  This is why no Egyptian, Pythagorean or Zoroastrian texts were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.  For the same reason no Mystery School or Kabbalistic material was found in any of the caves around the Dead Sea.  The Essenes, with Kaloo and Melchizedek guidance, had foreseen the problem and taken action long before Qumran was overrun.
    One important principle emerges from this: what we have in the Dead Sea Scrolls is not the totality of Essene knowledge, but only the fragments which the Essence chose to leave behind, the less important and less dangerous texts.  The fragments are interesting, certainly, but they do not represent the totality of what the Essenes knew.  More significantly they over-represent the Judaic element at the expense of all the non-Judaic material which the Essenes certainly studied, but which would have presented a real problem for them if their communities had been raided by the militia maintained by the High Priest in Jerusalem.  This non-Judaic material was simply too dangerous to keep in the communities once the period of wind-down and dispersal had begun.

Daniel:  Jesus changed the focus from God in the Heavens to God in the Heart.
Joanna:  What do you remember most about Jesus?
Daniel:  How he made everything simple.  His teachings were so simple:  love, forgiveness, and seeking the truth within. 

Daniel:  I can see that our main task is completed now.  The main reason for us all coming together - to provide support for Jesus and his work - all this has been accomplished.  We will continue to preserve the knowledge, but our main task is done.

Conclusion

Daniel:  When our dialogues were drawing to a close I realized that I had not well understood the world which you experience in your future time.  The gap between my time and yours is vast.  That, at any rate, I realized when I projected my consciousness forward.  And I felt I had not done enough to bridge this gap.  Through the process of projection I had caught glimpses of your world, but they were only fleeting glimpses.  I wanted to understand your world more thoroughly, and so I approached the Brotherhood as a whole for help.
    I have already spoken of the consciousness which unites all who have ever lived as Essenes.  Those who were our people are joined forever in this consciousness, which is like a great river of energy.  I asked the Brotherhood that I might be given the opportunity to observe this river of consciousness as it flows on through time, and my request was granted.  I was given special guidance to help me, and now I am able to report to you the results of this endeavor.
    I was able to stand, as it were, upon a high place, and see the individual threads of consciousness rooted in Essene lives.  But when I became fully attuned to this process, it was more than just seeing:  whatever these individuals knew, I also knew.  I watched as our people came back time after time to work within the Way that our Teacher of Righteousness had established.  The original simplicity of the Way only lasted for a little time.  Too many minds were at work to change and codify and “improve” it - where no improvement was needed.  Our people tried to keep the Way simple, but events overwhelmed them.  And as I watched, the structure grew ever more complex, ever more rigid.  
    I saw that over the centuries Jesus became misunderstood, until most people believed that he came to establish a religion in the Greek fashion, descending like the son of Zeus to save the world entirely on his own.  What a lie that is!  What an unjust lie, removing from the record all the work and efforts and suffering of the Essene Brotherhood in support of our Teacher!  
    And Jesus taught such powerful and simple things.  He taught us to unite with the Spirit and go into the Light - that is all!  Nothing else - no elaborate ceremonies, no building of temples, no great hierarchy of priests, no formulas to learn or doctrines to master.
    So simple his teachings were:  unite with the Spirit, be open to the Kingdom of Heaven that is the world of Spirit, and let the energy of the Spirit flow down into us and wash away all heaviness, all fear, all doubt, and all the littleness within us that is uncomfortable with the Light.  And when we are full of the Spirit, how easy it is to step into the Light which is our Source and the very nature of our being.  How easy to lay aside the body that has served us well, and in the formless world become one with the Light.  And he taught us that the nature of the Spirit is Truth and Love and Freedom, and when these three are present in our hearts then indeed we may feel the Kingdom of Heaven close to us.  
    And he taught us always to keep these things simple, and clear, and not muddied up with elaborate words and rigid formulas, for in simplicity he said we would see the Truth of things.  And when that simplicity, that Love and Truth and Freedom flowed through us and blessed us, then indeed we felt that God was with us, carrying us upwards on the wings of the Spirit.
    But there was such a contrast between the simplicity of the Way and the vast and rigid structures which I saw accumulate around it.  And when I saw all the complexities that time had heaped upon this simple Way, all the doctrines and formulas and ceremonies, my heart became sad for my Brothers.
    Only the Light at the very end of the planetary cycle gives me any hope for a better outcome.  Perhaps then simplicity will return again, and the path of the Spirit shall shine before us and lead all humankind into the Light.
Joanna:  Thank you for making this effort to bridge the gap between your time and our time, but one thing still puzzles me.  You say that Jesus taught only uniting with the Spirit and going into the Light, but surely he also taught love and forgiveness.
Daniel:  Of course.  Uniting with the Spirit and going into the Light are the aims of his teaching, whilst love and forgiveness are the methods he puts forward to achieve these aims.  Both love and forgiveness are processes of the heart, and uniting with the Spirit and ascension are breakthroughs at the heart level.  When we receive the energies of the Spirit, these energies transform and transcend our previous state of being.
Joanna:  So it is really a question of receiving?
Daniel:  Completely.  One of my teachers at Qumran once wrote:

Fill the chalice of the soul
With the living waters of the Spirit,
And step into the Light.

But before the chalice can be filled, it must first be emptied of all the littleness and anger and hurt, all the rubbish we carry around inside us.  Love and forgiveness help us deal with the rubbish, and keep the chalice empty of the little self.  All this is simple to say, and Jesus was a master of saying it simply, but the doing of it may be difficult.  Many prefer their limited self which contains very little to the great ocean of the Spirit which contains everything.  If they are unwilling to give up the little self, they can never enter the eternal joy of the Spirit.  And the mind only locks them deeper into complexities and littleness.  Out of this maze, only the simplicity of the heart can find a way.