The Book of Context A Call to Action TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1 First Words CHAPTER 2 Reclaiming the House CHAPTER 3 Listen as Children CHAPTER 4 Purpose and Responsibility CHAPTER 5 No Man Sits at the Head of His Table CHAPTER 6 The Gift of Life CHAPTER 7 The War Can Be Lost CHAPTER 8 The Greatest Invitation Introduction Important messages sometimes come from unlikely sources and when least expected. This Book of Context is the product of years of sometimes-agonizing uncertainty, unlikely occurrences, angst, and doubt. Its fundamental words are not mine. They were given to me, as now I pass them on to you. Neither I, nor my personal experiences are important in this matter, as neither the messenger nor the means of conveyance affect the validity and significance of the message itself. It took four years to digest these words, to consider and accept their origin, to organize them, and finally commit them to writing. In the end, they emerged exactly as originally given – a tribute to the one who sent them, and to their inherent order and completeness. As has been clear instruction from the very start, I have neither interpreted what I was given to know, nor have I added to or deleted from the original message. It is presented here in its entirety for you to interpret as fits your belief system, circumstance and need. These words, however, will only have meaning for those that can truly hear them, that is, with an open heart and mind. There are many existing gospels and holy books recorded by diverse cultures in what were generally perceived as times of great need. It is no mistake of history that such good words come at strategic moments. I propose that our own need now, after so long a period without a clear indication that God, however conceptualized, is indeed among us or exists at all, is as great if not more so. Unlike preceding generations, the issues we face involve not only life and death but the creation of human life outside the body. Yet, even as we endeavor to create life through alternate means, the born and unborn are callously put to death, many of us go hungry and many are taken by curable illnesses. All the while, those of faith and religion fight amongst themselves over what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is bad, selectively citing ancient scriptures to justify wrongful action, or equally harmful inaction. In the end, the most fundamental concepts of mutual love and respect for life that underlie virtually all sacred texts and belief systems go ignored. Most objectionably, God is invoked as a motivator, the one in whose name many grievous actions are taken, as if we are empowered to judge and punish in His stead. And, even as we are faced with increasingly complex issues that will impact mankind into the distant future, a growing number among us are resolute in acknowledging nothing greater than themselves. These failings demonstrate that we are not prepared to make such fateful decisions before coming to understand the responsibilities that accompany them. It is equally clear that this cannot occur without first adopting a code of life and living to serve as a guide. This Book of Context is no less a divinely inspired text than any that have come before. It is timely, and its language and fundamental principles are clear, as is its vision of what life can and should be. It is an advocate for your children, their children, and all those future generations that rely on us to secure them a safe and joyful place in life. It appeals to your heart and mind on behalf of their well being, as well as your own. It tells each of us what we need to know for the next leg of the human journey – at least until the gift of another lantern to light our way. Just as importantly, it speaks directly to you about your purpose in being, and asserts your importance in the long cord of life that is human existence. If you read this text carefully you will surely hear something infinitely caring and loving speaking in plain voice. Whether you believe in a higher power or not, or view God in the singular or plural, as an amorphous consciousness, as man, woman, father, mother or other form is unimportant. The pronouns and gender-specific words used in this book simply relate to how that voice came to me, and nothing more. It comes as my Father, and so I refer to It respectfully in those terms. But in doing so, I recognize that such references are metaphors that appeal to a personal vision of God, one that may differ considerably from your own. To each reader this text will take on a somewhat different meaning since each of us has unique life-shaping experiences, specific needs, and a special role to play. Know that all interpretations consistent with His words are correct, for this is as much a personal message as it is a broadcast for all mankind. But understand that in interpreting this text and realizing its full value, you must hear it in its entirety – neither adding to nor deleting from it – for it forms a single body that cannot be separated one part from another. Finally, whether or not you now believe in God or consider yourself a person of faith is not important to begin your journey. The path presented in The Book of Context relies on no predisposition to faith or to the acceptance of a deity although faith and God are much spoken of. Rather, it appeals simply and plainly to your inherent ability to love not only yourself but others, and a basic human need to find purpose in life. Having said this, I must assert that while all can derive value from the words in this book, those of faith will find it richer in color and of more resonant voice. If you choose the path set before you, I promise you will find someone wonderful waiting along the way. Some will pass Him by showing only passive recognition, respect, and appreciation. Others will hasten to Him as children to a lost parent. Perhaps you will find the God you have consciously or unconsciously sought, or simply reinforce an existing belief. In any event, do not concern yourself about recognizing Him – be assured that He will present Himself in terms you will not mistake. In the end, however, all that matters is that you take the path - not that you overtly seek its builder. For in walking the path steadfastly, you perform service and pay homage to Him, to yourself, and to all others in the only manner of true significance – by doing. So now, begin the journey. Something awaits you – knowing of your name, and grateful you have chosen to come this way. CHAPTER ONE First Words In a darkened room lit only by flickering votives, a lone monk stood as if waiting. Seeing him, I knew he was the first to whom I was to impart my Father's words. I approached and spoke softly, telling him that I carried a message. This surprised the man for he had no expectation of such. Then, looking into the monk's eyes, I posed the question which my Father bid me ask all to whom the news would be delivered. "Are you a man of great faith? For only a man of great faith can hear the message?" The old man looked perplexed. "Yes," he replied almost in a whisper. And so I told him what I was given to know. "Then hear me. A son comes to reclaim his Father's House." The Monastery of Montserrat, Spain August 2001 CHAPTER TWO Reclaiming the House "A son comes to reclaim his Father's House." This journey begins with a simple yet powerful message. It is both an announcement, and a statement of identity, as one might reply to the question, "who goes there?" To many it will speak of nothing more than unfounded religious fervor, desperation, or false hope destined to failure. To others it will proclaim the arrival of a brother, in concert with the belief that each of us is a child of God, the Father. In truth, this son is a chosen vessel, an envoy sent among us to demonstrate our Father's enduring love, to fulfill a specific role, and as importantly, to demonstrate that we are not forgotten. How will we recognize him? The answer is clear. If we know the Father, we will surely know the son. Those of faith will recognize him immediately, and those who have not yet come to faith will recognize the presence of something extraordinary when he calls. Much that lies before us hinges on faith, our willingness to trust completely and without hesitation. Faith, whether in God or Man, is a secure belief and trust that does not rely on logical proof or material evidence. If you have faith in God, you are willing to surrender yourself abilities. To do otherwise is to give in to circumstance without hope. But, faith in God travels hand in hand with loyalty for surely you must choose a path – His versus that of the darker voices of human nature and the influences that entice each of us to succumb to them. Are you a person of such great faith? Have you already chosen the well-lit path? If the answer is yes, let these words strengthen and deepen your commitment to it. If the answer is no, or you are unsure, then listen carefully, and you may find the courage to take the first steps. Faith in God, by nature, acknowledges that existence encompasses more than the physical senses can perceive. What lurks in the shadows beyond the horizon of those senses is both wonderful and dreadful; forces that though invisible are nevertheless active in our lives. They speak to us subtly by playing upon our desires, our hopes and our fears. They communicate emotionally and often without clear reason. They move us to the most inspiring works of creativity, kindness and giving, and the most horrific acts of cruelty, death and destruction. We are creatures of free will, but we are not free from influence upon the paths we choose in life. A great War rages. It goes unnoticed and its casualties uncounted though in number they dwarf that of any holocaust of the past. This is a war that began at the moment mankind took its first breath, and unchecked will continue until it gasps its last. Whether the struggle is engaged on a plain as broad as the earth or narrow as a single mind, the outcome is no less critical as history teaches that monsters are spawned from the smallest and most solitary of seeds. The casualties of this war are not restricted to the dead, but include the abandoned, the hungry, the sick of mind and body, those who wander without place or purpose, and those who will never be born. We are confronted with such casualties every day. Perhaps you are one of them; perhaps you choose to ignore them. If you are engaged in this War by having already chosen the good path, then you know that the most effective weapons in your arsenal are nothing more than love, compassion, tolerance, patience, and steadfastness in your beliefs. If you are not, hear His voice in the words of this book. He calls you to action on behalf of your children, and all people. ________________ A son comes to reclaim his Father's House. What of this House? It is not made of wood, brick or stone; it is no church, mosque or temple, nor any school of religious thought. Yet it is a sacred place that supersedes all others. It is built of flesh and blood and contains the heart and mind of Man, for Man is the Father's house. It is within and through each of us that He chooses to live and act in the world. The House is troubled. It is worn by generations of neglect, by raging storms of hate and violence, and by the corruption of His word through greed, self-interest, and ignorance. He has watched the decay of His House and has waited in vain for its restoration. Now He would reclaim it through a son – an emissary, the Father's vanguard, teacher, and deliverer. He is both singular and plural, man and woman. And at his side, mankind itself, struggling together not for the good of the Father, but for the good of Man. Reclamation and restoration will not come without turmoil and pain. This is the price that must be paid to secure the future. There will be great resistance among those who have strayed farthest from His path – those whose faith is so complete or so lacking that they can no longer hear His voice over the clamor of their own. Those who most loudly proclaim their understanding of the Father will reveal their ignorance of Him. Beware of these, and determine for yourself what is good and what is bad, what is true and what is false, which is His path and which is not. This is The Book of Context. Through it, the Father reminds you of much that has already been given. He builds upon messages of the past for He will not destroy the foundation of His House in order to reclaim and rebuild it. What He asks is that you renew your understanding of what has come before, and then hear the new – that which gives you what you seek but could not find – a clear understanding of your place and role in all things, the context for your existence. You will wonder who it is that carries this message. The answer is of no matter. Only the words have significance. You will ask why, if this truly is a message from the Father, does He not speak directly. The answer is before you. Read these words – open your heart and mind so that you might hear. He speaks to you now. CHAPTER THREE Listen as Children A parent does not spend every moment with its children for they must be left to experience and develop on their own. It is the wise and diligent parent that remains silent though watchful. It is the loving parent that provides guidance when not sought to save its children from harm. So it is now that He speaks as your Father, for you are in great need. Therefore listen as His children – and hear His words. CHAPTER FOUR Purpose and Responsibility In the beginning, my Father came to me often and His words coursed through me as a torrent I could not control. This caused great confusion for I did not understand His purpose in joining my mind to His. And in questioning my sanity, I doubted, and in that doubt put my Father to a test. To confound Him, I asked a question to which I believed there could come no answer. "Tell me Father, what is the purpose of my life?" And without hesitation he replied, "to write your name." "To write your name." In that simple reply He stated the context and purpose in being for all of us. You write your name for present and future generations not in terms of wealth or status, but in terms of love and service to others. You write your name with a hand guided by love, and with a pen that flows with the free giving of yourself. This concept of love is not new; it is fundamental to His way and has been taught many times in the past. That the demonstration of such love is the single purpose for each of our lives, however, is now made clear. This is the reason we have been created – all else that we do in life is subordinate to this, our primary vocation. How each of us manifests that purpose is for us to conceive. The ways to express such love are innumerable for love is work of many means – all contributing to the construction of a single sturdy House capable of withstanding the most violent of storms. Many live in the absence of purpose and direction. They wonder why they were created, and for lack of a worthy answer pass their time in self-gratification with the transient pleasures of life. When they are gone, little of value remains. Too many view their lives as isolated and independent events, unrelated to the lives of others. Such lives are devoid of responsibility. You waste your existence if, like them, you follow this path, never giving of yourself, shirking your responsibility to others. View your life in context with the chain that is the life of Man – for the Father views you as a vital link in that chain. You are not a single being but many. You are the foundation for all that follows. We are the product of a thousand generations, and a foundation for the thousand yet to come. We embody all that came before in substance and in spirit, just as the yet to be born will embody us; they are our true legacy, they are your true legacy. They are all of lasting value that remains when we are gone. We connect the past with the future. You connect the past with the future. You are important. If you understand this, then you surely know there is no greater purpose in living, no more meaningful investment in time, energy and resources than preparing the way for those to come. And you know that there is no better defense in the War against the degradation of Man than to act aggressively in this belief to strengthen and preserve mankind. We are responsible. You are responsible. You cannot write your name boldly and indelibly without recognizing and accepting responsibility for others. If you choose to the contrary, your contemporaries and successors will bear the burden of your negligence. They will pay the price for your dereliction just as each of us endures the failings of our predecessors and contemporaries. The evidence of such failings confronts and offends us each day of our lives – war, violence, murder, poverty, hunger, sickness, homelessness, and loneliness. It is incumbent upon each of us to help eliminate such conditions now and in the future. Whether intentioned or not, when you prepare the path for others, you also demonstrate love for the Father. You cannot truly love and honor Him otherwise. Under His roof, there is no thought, word, act, or currency of greater value than that based in love. If you accept this responsibility, then you must cling to the active belief that: all people are your dependents; all children are your children. Their well-being is your charge, wherever you may encounter true need. You must claim those in need as your own, just as the Father claims you. Let no child go unloved, let no hunger go unfed, no thirst unsatisfied, let no person go unsheltered, let no illness go untreated, let no cry of loneliness go unanswered, let no one perish who can be saved. Do the smallest thing and He will know it. Make the least difference and He will notice it. Perform the slightest act of kindness and He will be grateful. Perform the faintest act of love, and you will be loved. The reward for this? There is no tangible recompense for doing what is right. Do what is right because it is good, and what is good because it is right, as is His way. Be satisfied in this alone. Do not ask the Father to do that for which you are unwilling to make personal sacrifice. You are vested with much of Him and have the power to perform miracles. Demonstrate to yourself, and to others, that these things are possible. Call upon Him only for that which you cannot do or cause to have accomplished. Remove the doubt and fear that bar you from His path. Doubt is a barrier to faith and willingness to act. You may doubt Him, but you cannot doubt the virtue of His way. Believe first in what He would have you do, and then rest assured He waits along the path if you seek Him. Eliminate the fear within you that is the foremost weapon of the enemy's arsenal, a weapon that can deter even those of great faith. It comes in many forms – fear of material loss, physical harm, failure, and ridicule – fear of taking a courageous step. Do not fall prey to it. Find your courage and let it grow with each step you take. Remember always that He is with you. Remember always that your comrades in travel along the path, however silent, are with you – and will rise to your side. In all things, you are not alone. CHAPTER FIVE No Man Sits at the Head of His Table The Father has but two fundamental laws. They are the foundation upon which all else rests. They are immutable, universal and eternal. Love one another. Let no man act in the Father's name, but according to His Law. ________________ Love one another. All that is righteous follows from this for if you love others you will not cause harm to them. You will not kill, for in killing one you destroy generations and weaken the chain of life that is Man. You will not bear false witness against another. You will not usurp that which is not yours. You will honor others in all things, as you would have them honor you. As we love one another, so should we love and respect all living things in our care. We must accept stewardship over all that He has given us. And what of love for, and worship of the Father? There is no greater demonstration of love for Him than the demonstration of love for others. It is better to bend your heart toward another than a knee in worship to Him. It is better to demonstrate your love for Him through righteous deeds, than through empty words and rituals. Worship no images for He has no face, and has no name. Rather, see Him in all faces and in all good things, and know that He is called by many good names. Seek Him in all creation, in the heart and mind of Man, and foremostly within yourself. Come together to celebrate your faith, for in celebrating together, your love for Him and for one another is strengthened and increased. Let your only true ritual be the practice of good thoughts, words and deeds. Call Him what you choose; celebrate your faith according to your traditions, but practice in life according to His Law. Know that there is no error in differing traditions. All who follow His path are one people, one with Him, and He is one with you. If, however, the words and fruit of your tradition vary from the Law, reclaim it and restore it to His way. If you do not know Him, follow His path and you will find Him; and will find in Him according to your need. ________________ Act not in His name, but according to His Law. Through history the words of the Father have been polluted and corrupted with the temporal and specious words of Man. You have inflicted great wrongs upon one another in the Father's name. Therefore, let none act in His name, but only according to His Law. Spurn those who, in His name, would subvert His words to their own purposes, seek to impose His will upon others, advocate hate, belittle or inflict harm, subjugate one to another, incite violence or war, or unfairly exploit another. Rally against any who would discriminate among the family of Man for any reason, or claim to exclude some from His grace for there are no outcasts from His family. The Father sees only the heart and mind, and not the fragile shell which houses them. There is no gender and no color. All are equal, and all are loved equally. Test the words of those who would lead you away from the Law and you will find the truth. His Law is absolute and knows no exception. ________________ The Practices of Man The practices of Man are the affair of Man, and should be governed accordingly. Such practices, however, must not violate the Law, but rather should be in accord with it. Make use of His untainted Law to differentiate right from wrong, and good from evil in governing your own practices. Differentiate His Law, which rules the heart and mind, from that of Man, which governs only practice. Reject any law of Man that would seek to rule in the Father's domain. Leave an affront to God to Him alone, as affronts to Man are left to you. Reconcile your own affairs as he will surely reconcile His. CHAPTER SIX The Gift of Life I contemplated my Father's good words at length and yet I could not understand why one of such love would permit, or condone for some hidden purpose, mankind's infliction of suffering, death and destruction upon itself. So I called out to Him. "Father, why do you permit atrocities against the innocent?" And He replied, "Do I choose to commit such acts - or does Man?" Then, He posed a final question. "Will any fewer be dead in a thousand years?" You cannot glorify killing in thought or in fact, yet claim to not worship death. Know that He does not deem life, the greatest gift of all, a thing to be cut short or experienced through suffering. Why then, do those to whom it is given hold this gift in so little esteem? Death is not pleasing to the Father. You must not seek to kill, and you must not seek to die, for He places no value in death, but in the active pursuit of his way in life to the betterment of all. Do not view pain, suffering and death as paths to the Father, for they are not. Do not seek to demonstrate your love for Him through suffering or martyrdom, but through faithful adherence to His Law, service to others, and the protection of life. Suffering is not a path; it is a condition. Do not seek to be closer to Him in death if you spurn Him in life. Do not expect to find in darkness what you have not sought in the light. Rather, rejoice that He is near you now, and live according to His word for that is the surest way to find Him. Spurn the aggressors who would inflict harm upon others. Reject their ways. Become a shield against them. Do not seek to destroy your enemies but to protect those in harm's way and to reconcile the aggressors to the Father's path. If you would risk the loss of your life in the pursuit of aggression for any cause, then better to risk it in the pursuit of harmony for there is no greater cause. Seek peace rather than war. Demonstrate courage not by causing suffering, but by lessening or preventing it. You will surely ask, what shall be done if an enemy attacks my people? To answer this, realize that all are your people. In acknowledging this, you will surely find means other than killing to respond to aggression. If you intentionally kill or cause suffering, you break His Law. There is no exception. Consider – if all the needless killing of the violent past could be undone, would you not make it so? Would you not right the wrongs and restore life to those from whom it was taken? You must work to preclude such wrongs now and into the future. You must act aggressively, for peace-making is not a passive endeavor. Know that the killing of a single person is a holocaust, for the human cord grows weaker with each thread cut from it. For the Father, no fewer will have died during the passage of a thousand years, but how many more generations might have been born of the murdered? There lies the tragedy, and the failure. In killing, the present and the future are destroyed. Consider yourself a survivor then of the many slaughters of the past, for you would not be here otherwise. Death is a natural consequence of living. Do not hasten the inevitable. Finally, know that the infliction of suffering and death are their own punishment. We suffer as a people, and are diminished in His sight. In killing, we destroy our future generations and do service for the enemy that would degrade us. The Father does not condone acts of violence, but rather, in our right to choose permits us to err, to bear the consequences of our actions, and to learn that there is a better way. CHAPTER SEVEN The War Can Be Lost Even as I understood the meaning of His words, I grew impatient and critical at His seeming inaction to end the horrors of man against man, and so I cried out to him in anger. "Father, do you not have the power to command good and cause us to take your path?" And for the first time there came no reply. Yet the silence was not empty, for in it I understood that His path was ours to choose, and in not doing so, the War could be lost. The persistence of violence, hate and killing says little about the Father but much about mankind. It says nothing of His attention or inattention to our many transgressions; nor does it speak to His ability or inability to stop us from committing such crimes against one another. He does not choose for us what we do in life. We are created persons of free will and must take responsibility for our actions, and their consequences. That hate, violence and killing persist is ample proof, however, that the War rages. We must not be lulled into complacency for it is easier to hate than to love, to take than to give, and to kill than to save. The horrors we observe are of our making. In the continuation of these horrors, it is made clear that evil can triumph. To assure that it does not, each of us must freely choose His path and actively engage in the struggle. Although the War may be won in the absence of your participation, it might also be lost for the lack of it. Whether the Father allows this War to rage, or is powerless to stop it is of no matter. We cannot know. We must have faith that He is with us at all times and be strengthened in His word. The struggle is ours to carry on. He looks to each of us to secure our future; yet He shows us the clear path to victory, if we would but choose it. The aggressor and the killer do the unthinkable without hesitation and without fear. We must show the same resolve and fearlessness in helping to preclude violence and war through love, compassion, and intelligence. Rise without hesitation to aid and protect the weakest and most vulnerable. In following His path, you will be confronted by forces and influences that would hinder your progress. The voices of good and of evil are akin to those of a truthful man and a liar. They whisper and point to directions each would have you take along the way. The liar confounds and entices so that you may not discern his way from that of the truthful man. But the Father has given you what is required to determine the right choice – the Law and your intelligence. The right choice will never violate the Law. The Law is your compass – it points constantly toward the right path, constantly toward victory. Test your direction always, and you will find your true course. CHAPTER EIGHT The Greatest Invitation My Father asked difficult things of me, and I doubted my ability to do all that He wished. I said to Him, "Father, I am not the one you seek to carry this burden. I am too weak, and unworthy of the task." And He replied, "Would you refuse the greatest invitation made of a man?" He has placed many wonders before us, along with the ability to discover them. We must do so, and in that discovery be reawakened. We must put our energies into His good work – into the creation of a better world for our future generations and ourselves. In creation we move closer to Him. In discovery we are reminded that we do not yet understand all that is, and in realizing there is much we do not know, our minds will open to the endless possibilities of life – a gift He implores us not to squander. It is true that He asks much of us – much of you. It is difficult work. Find the strength to take up the task. Is it a fool who believes in that which he cannot see, hears that which has no sound, and struggles for a better future he may not survive to enjoy? Or is such a person a true child of God? Is it too difficult to choose a path that is without question the proper one? Can you not be among those to choose it? He extends an invitation. Will you refuse it? Can you refuse it? Become the Son.