The Greater Community of Worlds is a subject that may be difficult to comprehend intellectually. Yet if this message stirs a deeper emotion within you, that would be good. When We speak of factual matters that are beyond the sphere of individual concerns, it is most important that you not speculate according to your ideas, for ideas alone cannot account for reality. That is why if you feel stirred in your deeper feelings, it is good.
As you have a physical proximity in which you live and function, you also have a mental environment in which you learn to think. Yet it takes a long time to learn how to develop discernment and ability within this mental environment. In fact, for humanity at this point, the mental environment represents a great frontier, a whole new area to explore and within which to gain strength and ability.
The religious traditions of the world have a rich heritage, and from a Greater Community perspective, they have kept Knowledge alive in the world despite their manipulation by world governments, societies and so forth. They have kept the glow of spirituality alive for many, many people.
It is necessary that We talk about honesty within the context of preparing for the Greater Community and learning how to follow and live The Way of Knowledge. It could be said that the experience of Knowledge is the experience of profound honesty. This is the result of wanting to know the truth above and beyond all other considerations. It could be said that learning The Way of Knowledge is learning the way of honesty—going beyond the honesty of what you feel and think into the honesty of what you truly know.
Inner listening is a subject that is very relevant to everyone. It has practical application in every circumstance and with every person you might meet. In fact, if you become proficient in practicing the things that we will speak of, you will have an opportunity to be far more effective in all your engagements and will be able to perceive things that are extremely useful beyond the realm of normal perception. When you listen within yourself, you must remember you are practicing becoming a listener. Over time you can then become far more responsive to messages that are coming both from within you and from without.
Now I will talk about faith and fear, which is of particular relevance since many of you are on the verge of taking great steps forward. Whenever a true change comes upon you, it is a very important opportunity. In fact, it is an opportunity that is long anticipated by those who watch you from beyond. People are very fortified against true change because it affects them deeply. It is not merely that they have a new set of circumstances or are engaged in new activities and disengaged from old activities. Something very deep inside is being touched.
You see, instead of punishing the wicked and sending them to Hell, God attends to the wicked, the sinful, and the ones who are lost and prepares them for Heaven by restoring to them their awareness of Knowledge, and with it their deeper conscience.
It is necessary to approach Knowledge from different vantage points because it is very great and expresses itself in many ways. In order to begin, you must have an idea of its reality and its function. Knowledge is your true Self, your true Being, your true existence beyond both the physical and the mental environments. It is the part of you that is still a part of God. Yet Knowledge extends itself into your mental and physical life, which is the realm of thinking and action. Knowledge has a function, and in that it represents spiritual power. You can experience it directly through Inner Guidance. You carry spiritual power within you.
The first pillar of life to discuss is the pillar of relationships. This is a very great area for development, but it is also an area that is fraught with tremendous misconceptions, fantasies and falsehoods. It is a dangerous area because Knowledge is not yet strong enough in people for relationships to be understood correctly and for grave and serious errors to be avoided.
There is so much to discourage you in the world. There is so much aggravation, so much violence, so much disappointment and so much uncertainty. It is so easy to fall into despair. It is so easy to doubt oneself and others. It is so easy to think the future is doomed in some way, or hopeless.