The Process of Unfoldment
You must keep in mind that consciously determining to experience the Sacred Flame is not the aim. This is true with any kind of spiritual experience or initiation, but unfortunately, many seekers endeavor to seek the experience for its own sake, and this is backwards thinking. When you do have a wonderful occurrence within, it is often the result of your devotion, you're discipline, and your yearning heart, and your degree of how much you have surrendered over, but it is always due to God's grace occurring in your life. If you have established a goal of seeking only the experience, this is phenomenalism, which is based on self-gratification, and if you follow this route, you are missing the point. You should not desire it for its own sake. The experience of the flame within the heart is a fulfilling benefit, a marker of your advancing inner growth, a glorious indicator that your heart is unfolding into the Divine. It is a sign or demonstration of the growing harmony and union within you. What you should be seeking is intimacy with God, finding Union with Your Creator, for the quest is Divine Union. On the path of Christian Mysticism, this is accomplished through Jesus Christ, with whom you are developing a relationship. He declared, "I and my Father or one;" therefore, he is leading you on this same path of spiritual unity with God. Due to your spiritual devotion, these experiences will come. So you do not seek them out first. God comes first, then you will come to experience God's Reality.
When you do experience the Sacred Flame, or such inner devotional experiences, whether it is once only, or occasionally, you will know and have validation that your connectedness in God is assured and is developing. It demonstrates that your unfoldment into Divine Beingness is definitely progressing, as your inner awareness into the sacredness of Life and Reality is deepening. Often this takes place while you are developing certain devotional attitudes and performing certain spiritual practices, to which we will discuss later. Since your devotion is to Jesus Christ, let him be your guide into the Divine Source.
These inward experiences are opening windows of awareness. When you witness such mystical episodes, such as the Sacred Flame within your heart, you are not only growing spiritually, and drawing closer to the reality of God within, but you are experiencing definite inner transformation, which affects the body, mind, soul, and heart. Also acknowledge that you walk this path and have these experiences not only for yourself, but in service to others. You are acting as an example to others, not necessarily toward them consciously, but on a level of the mass mind, that is, the collective subconscious mind of mankind. While you live a prosperous spiritual lifestyle, serving people outwardly and practicing your disciplines inwardly, you will be planting virtuous seeds into the soil of the mass mind of mankind that will eventually sprout through various individuals who have become ready to awaken and grow. When a large group of such dedicated spiritual devotees act in this way, being examples of a righteous lifestyle, the power and impact upon the mass mind can be great, although it may often be eventual, and not as immediate as you would like. Stubborn and willful people may not be as strongly affected. But those who are receptive will be open to the fruits of this spiritual reverberation, for the vibration of the Earth is indeed affected, much like a pebble being cast into the pond, causing the water to ripple outward. Every time a soul has a spiritual experience, this is a positive seed being planted into the mass mind; when countless souls exhibit such spiritual experiences, numerous seeds are then planted. When a teacher of truth touches the multitudes, lives are transformed; when several such teachers do the Greater Work, the people of the world are the mystical teachings of jesus the opportunity to be transformed, and many indeed will be transformed. Through God's grace, this is how mankind is prepared and grows into deeper reality of the Divine Beingness. This is how and why world Illumination will someday be inevitable.
As the vibration of the Earth raises higher, the Light of Christ being continually infused into it, there will be constant changes occurring, especially involving mankind. All the erroneous and destructive acts that people commit are the negative dross rising to the surface of the mass mind, to be cast out, and this usually occurs in ongoing waves. Matters appear to be getting worse across the globe, but the denser vibrations are more strongly emanating outward now. As these transformative changes are occurring, people will need to adjust and go with the flow, or be left behind.
The age-old concept of "saving souls" is misunderstood. Proselytizing people into your way of thinking is spiritually immature. If you wish to change other people, first change yourself. Then you can become a worthy example of the path of the inner life and way of Truth. Indeed you can physically help others in need when the opportunities come to you, for you are called to serve mankind. You can always find the poor, the sick, the homeless, and the hungry that you can assist. However, the attempt to persuade another to your brand of philosophy is not helping him. This clearly displays the judgmental attitude that you believe you are better then him, and that your way is the right way. This only demonstrates that you need to develop humility. So while you are giving of yourself, without thought of yourself, serving humbly, you will satisfy their needs, and if they request to hear your wisdom, then and only then you may impart a few words to them. Once their belly is filled, once they are clothed and sheltered, once some mundane need of theirs is filled to some degree, then they will be receptive to hear what you have to teach. But they must ask first. If they sincerely seek truth, they will find it, one way or the other. God will not allow a soul to go astray who truly seeks the truth.
Many fundamentalist Christians may not accept this, but the idea of their existing only one valid religion, or as some refer to it as "the one true church," is an erroneous concept created by overly-zealous theologians and followers. The philosophy that there are many paths that lead to God, not just one, is far more realistic. Furthermore, the idea that you must follow the straight and narrow way doesn't refer to any particular religion, or a specific church even, because religions are basically a means to an end, representing people's search for God. When the seeker makes a particular religion the end of his quest, instead of the means, he is missing the point, but that's exactly what many people have been doing. Incidentally, even the idea of an "end" is erroneous. The journey is ongoing. However, the idea is not to find the perfect religion or church, but to find God in your heart, for God is perfect. When you become one-pointed, focusing only on your devotion to God, renouncing the negative ways the world, applying certain disciplines in your life, and serving your fellow human beings, then you are pursuing the straight and narrow way, rather than following some wild tangent or going down some aimless byway that will lead you nowhere.
The process of spiritual unfoldment involved three important injunctions: to worship God, to serve mankind, and to practice self-attainment. This may be true in most traditions, but it is essential to the path of Christian Mysticism. You will observe three directions here: God, mankind, and self. Realize that when you worship God and serve mankind, your own unfoldment is assured, because the Creator will always guide you. As long as you truly yearn for the Divine in your heart, and surrender over to this, you will go far, and grace will carry you through. If you apply spiritual disciplines for your own sake, seeking the phenomenalism of mystical experiences, gratifying your own attainment, then you won't get far. This is why all three must be applied in your spiritual lifestyle. So when you apply certain practices of discipline as part of your yearning for the Divine, seeking spiritual union with God, and doing this alongside helping others, then you are applying a spiritual triangle of action. The idea is to commit your worship to God and self-attainment together, as one application. Your spiritual practices then become acts of worship, because your focus is on God, not yourself, and then the struggle for your own attainment becomes obsolete; by God's grace and love for you, you will be guided accordingly. When all you desire is intimacy with the God within, you are not thinking of your outer self, because you have gotten out of the way, and then you will surrender into the Divine Beingness inside of you.
