By Bill Martin, Niles, Michigan, USA.
Spending my formative years as a teen in a study group composed almost entirely of Forum members and second-generation students was a fertile greenhouse for the cultivation of my embryonic soul. Answers to my questions were in-depth and often far above my understanding, but perseverance furthered my capacity to comprehend and now, forty-some years later, I am still a student, in that same room, answering sincere questions from other truth-hungry souls. The relationships forged over the years in this study group will always be a part of me. They are some of what my Thought Controller and Guardian will use in my reassembly on Mansonia One.
Over time, I have learned that conceptual knowledge is no substitute for spiritual fruit in living life. We must “learn to water the garden of [our] hearts as well as seek for the dry sands of knowledge.” (554.6) 48:6.32 We must refresh our souls with the water of life and forgive our debtors, as we have been forgiven. Every soul, however humble, has their story to tell. Our Father loves all His children equally and unconditionally, and Divine Love reveals the nature of God and makes us real and more replete.
A personal and living revelation, above and beyond the pages of a book, has made real to me the teachings that a soul of immortal and well-nigh unlimited potential is being forged out in my Mind Arena of Choice. “The acts of today are the destiny of tomorrow.” (557.10) 48:7.26 The Father of Lights has entered my mind to elevate, transform and transfigure it with a fragment of the purest spirit realty in the universe who will eternalize my temporal identity that I may "strike step" with the progressive procession of eternity.
One thing has become crystal clear: unselfish and unselfconscious labor for your fellows, particularly beings in need and distress, is the real measure of planetary greatness. “One must do something as well as be something.” (1260.1) 115:0.1
“Service is the goal of time and the destination of space.” (316:4) 28:6.19