Some impressions of Stephen's teaching:

Stephen's Prayer: 

"Lord, let me forget that I am me,
Let me know that I am with thee,
Let me not separate myself from thee,
Because I am me."

July, 1976: First I shall answer the question: again, in our way,
we wish to know the nature of Us, why we are here, and for
what purpose. All our beliefs of our religion are for this one
purpose, to remind us of these things, or to help us to recall them.

So let me attempt to answer in this way:
First in the mind of the Father, we were conceived,
and from that conception we were created in his image.

Do not be confused about the "image".
We know that what we ourselves would create,
firstly has to be imaged.
We know that in our minds, if we image …these things,
then they will in fact be created.
Therefore we were imaged, and all that we can see, feel,
and all that we can touch, were thus imaged.
And all was created in that image.
This may spoil some popular misconceptions,
but nevertheless this is so. The image that was created,
was the perfect image, the wonderful image of the whole tapestry
of creation in the mind of the Father,
(in whichever way we conceive him to be).
Christ is that image.

To save us, we must first ask ourselves,
from what we must be saved.
Our salvation lies in our ability to receive,
and conceive the truth of our own perception,
and our own part and participation
in what is the whole of the body of Christ.

We do not have to be saved,
and preserved from terrible and dire consequences
that we may perceive, for all that is perfect is here,
always has been and always shall be.
All that we need saving from is the conception in our minds
that we are separate from this perception.

We separate ourselves often by feeling that there is much
that we must do to change ourselves, to be forgiven,
to step away from sin, before we may be saved.
Yet we are told in many diverse ways,
that the path to salvation is the acceptance of Christ,
or the acceptance of the perfection of all that is.

For we must not forget that we were created
in the image of the Father, and therefore must be perfect.
We, all of us, have often failed in perceiving this perception,
and for a more graphic illustration,
through One who could accept this perfection perfectly,
we were to recognise Christ.

There never was a time, when our Lord Jesus was not the Christ,
neither is there a time, that any of the imaged creation of the Father,
is not the Christ.

This we must understand, this is our salvation,
our acceptance of what is.
Once we accept the perfection of all that is,
then as I have said before, there are no disasters,
there are only disasters from the point of view of perfection.

The place of men's thoughts in the future of things,
whether we call it religion or not religion,
is the acceptance of what is perfect.
To continually remind ourselves that all is perfect, and all is well.
There is no sin too great that would continually separate you
from the Father, if you would not have that sin separate you.

To help us, we have had a demonstration of forgiveness,
a sacrifice that is easy for us to remember,
that is easy in our minds, to conceive as an intermediary.
The intermediary that turns our minds into our hearts,
so that we can see the truth. Look well and you will

"Let this cup pass from me" §134 Sept. 27, 1976

 Olive: I would like a deeper understanding of our Lord's words
in the Garden of Gethsemane: "Let this cup pass from me,"
and His words from the cross, "My God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
I have never been able to believe he has doubts, as some have preached.
So why is it he uttered these words?

 Let this cup pass from me, this cup of disappointment,
this cup of non-love, and this cup that is the witness to the frailty
of man and man's mind. We have often spoken of the disappointment
that the ones whom you love bring to you.
This is the bitter cup and the sour herbs that our Lord prayed about.
He prayed not that his task and his duty be taken from him,
he prayed that the others be strengthened, that they would not weaken.
That they would not be a disappointment unto themselves,
for each of them there failed in their own minds,
in many ways, their Lord.
So Jesus prayed for them, not for himself.

"My God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
They are the words of a psalm [Psalm 22] that starts in dejection
and finishes in praise of the Lord.
All of those who were nearby knew of this psalm and understood,
for a psalm is but a song of praise.
Were that the body had been a little stronger,
he would have finished those words.

Think of that testimony, that to be subjected to pain and agony,
the reaction of our Lord was only to teach and give testimony
of the love and gentleness of the Father.

§131 August 31, 1976 

I will not stay long, therefore I will just talk.
You will find what I say will answer your questions,
even though what I say you have often heard before,
and often you have spoken:

Stephen's paraphrase of Psalm 23:

 Where thou leadest, I will follow: if it be Thy will,
then I will follow, for you are my shepherd,
and you do lead me beside green pastures.
You do lead me beside still waters.
You will always lead as you have, through death and through life,
and I am here because it is your will.
Teach me, O Father more that I should follow Thee
and not look either to the right or to the left,
let me be one who would follow and walk in your footsteps.
Let me not be concerned with the fact
that I do not know where thy steps lead,
only that I may trust and love you.
For if I do this, I need have no doubt of the destination
being according to your will.

For where else would your steps lead me,
other than the path that you yourself travel on my behalf,
that I may follow.
If I know this, then surely goodness and mercy will follow me
all the days of my life, and I will dwell with you.
Sometimes on this path I may feel the cold of the wind,
and if I look to the left, and see those that stand by my left hand,
I may wish that I be with them.
Other times I may look at those on my right hand,
and may wish that I were with them.
But always Father, my foot is drawn and I must follow.
Let me see that where my feet are drawn, this is not penance, but my path.

 §46 The furthest sun is closer to you than your tongue.

 SIMON: Could I ask how we are to understand our
relationship to the planets in our solar system?

 Again, just as it is only an illusion that you are separated
even in your physical bodies.
For even your science tells that matter is not separate, that it is one.
The distance or the apparent distance apart is only
relative to your own dimensions,
therefore the furthest sun from you is as close
as the seat in which you now rest.
For to move a finger is to touch that sun.

The physical impulses from that furthest sun
affect even the hair on your head at this moment.
I speak of course of physical relationship and physical
manifestation. Beyond the physical relationship then
we will say that the furthest sun is closer to you than your tongue.

 FOOTNOTE: These words spoken in 1973, are in line with Bell's Theorem,
propounded by the physicist J.S. Bell, which states that we either
discard the mathematics of quantum mechanics, (which the
Clausner Freedman experiments forbid us to do) or that we drop
the idea of local causation, and see physical reality as one
indivisible whole. This theorem was put forward on the basis of the
Einstein-Podolski-Rosen experiment which demonstrates that energy
particles which have been together, continue instantaneously to
influence each other, regardless of distance and time.
There is a popular exposition of the above work in
The Dancing Wu-Li Masters,(1979) by Gary Zukav, in the last chapter.
Theoretical physicist David Bohm, draws out some of the implications
of this in his book Wholeness and the Implicate Order, 1980.

Biologist, Rupert Sheldrake, in a whole series of books,
draws out further implications of this work as regards mind,
instinct and natural law. Here is not the place to discuss such
complex matters, but the enquiring reader should be advised to
look up these names in library catalogues to obtain references
for further study. One should also take note of the work of Alain Aspect,
of the Institute of Optics, Paris, whose experiments were vital in
confirming the indications of the EPR experiment. Those readers
with access to Internet, will discover many interesting references
under the names of these scientists.

Stephen's words were spoken before the implications of the work of these scientists was widely known. And this helps to confirm that his words are no fancy, no poetry, but may well describe what is.

 There is more than one reason why I point out the similarity between Stephen's words and what is being said by these particular scientists: the further reason is that I have to make sense of some of the strange experiences that I shall be relating in this book, and the experiences that will feature in the sequel. Unless Bell's Theorem is accepted as firmly based, together with the observations which gave rise to its formulation, then I know of nothing else that will fit them into any conceivable alternative view of reality, facts that I have observed in our experiences.