Unfoldment


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	I have often heard the question, 'What should I do to unfold my Mediumship and Spirituality?' It is not possible to give a complete and direct answer to this question, but with the help of Manly P. Hall, maybe I can give a little direction and understanding to those who aspire to mediumship and realize the great responsibility that comes with it, as well as those who do not desire to develop mediumship. Originally the Mystery Schools were established as institutions of Philosophic, Ethical, and Religious culture. To reach an exalted position required an almost inconceivable amount of preparation. The student had to work very hard to raise himself to a higher level of understanding and awareness of Natural Law and the Spiritual realms. In the early days, it was felt that it was very dangerous to give Mediumistic secrets indiscriminately and the schools were established for the purpose of concealing rather than revealing knowledge. They revealed this knowledge only to those who they felt qualified to receive them. Today we do not follow such strict rules, but by studying them, we can see that much of it can be useful to us. As in the past, we realize it is wise for the student to begin his studies by first laying the ground work. To have a sense of ethics and to have a knowledge of the educational background that is needed in our society today.

	1. The student must realize the value of education. While the ignorant person may be capable of Spiritual growth, the fact remains that our ethical progress is seriously retarded through ignorance of the basic arts and sciences. There is great value in the discipline of the modern educational system. Learning how to study is very necessary. Before it is possible to think, it is necessary to train the mind in reason, continuity, and logic - the essentials of thought. Someone who has an understanding of mathematics cannot help but know more of the divine plan than one without. The more nearly perfect the vehicle is, the greater is its usefulness. If the student is knowledgeable of chemistry, a gifted speaker, clear in thought, etc., he has valuable talents which can be quickly turned to the service of mankind. A person who is willing to devote himself to the unselfish service of God and mankind should certainly be willing first to educate himself by learning what the material world has to teach. We should never seek for the Masters of Wisdom until we have something of real value to offer them, for usefulness is to a great measure limited by intelligence.

	2. The student must understand the importance of continuity. The modern world often does not finish the enterprises which it begins. A child starts several things but completes none of them, so the child mind in man vacillates from one activity to another. Failure to achieve is the result of scattering the power of the mind over too great an area. When any of us scatter our forces, we do not achieve in any of the activities we undertake. We cannot cultivate a quality that would be more useful or more essential to our Spiritual well-being than to finish what we begin. Success can never be achieved in the material world without at least a reasonable development of the power of continuity. This is very true in mediumship. A person who studies several lines of philosophy may call himself broadminded, but if he never carries these lines to a successful culmination he is, in reality, ‘scatter-brained’. We can watch this person over and over turning off the road he is on and trying a new road, when in just a few more steps on the old road would have brought him to within sight of achievement.

	3. The student must recognize his debt to society, if in his zeal to unfold his spiritual nature, he neglects those daily labours which have been assigned to him in the material world, he can never hope to attain true spirituality. Each of us is born into the physical world with obligations and if we do not accept these obligations, they must be assumed by others. It is not wise to neglect our fellow man to serve God. In this world it is necessary first to earn the right to leisure time which is essential for personal growth. The main reason why people are always confronted by problems is that they are always trying to evade problems. Many people say, 'Life is just one difficulty after another', when in reality, it is the same difficulty presenting itself again and again because it is not mastered. The student is urged to face and settle each problem of his life. The duties of daily life are the elements that build character, and those unable to cope with these everyday duties are not useful in spiritual or material matters.

	4. The student must realize the importance of motive. Only those who take on the study of mediumship with the highest and most unselfish motives will have any hope of success in this supreme science. Do we desire power that we may be recognized as powerful, desire wisdom that we may be recognized as wise, gravitate around important people in the hope that we may shine a little with their reflected glory, seek to be virtuous that one may say to another, 'There goes a Godly person'. In a study of people who have become great, either in spiritual or material affairs, we find that in the majority of cases, they are humble, retiring people whose greatness is never offensive. If you study mediumship hoping to improve your material condition, you will fail completely. Perfect unselfishness is perfect consecration to the service of the One Universal God within Self.

	5. The student must be patient and go slowly. As he obeys the laws of Nature and studies the new duties which he is assuming, he gradually and successively unfolds the various parts of himself. His faculties become so sensitized that he is able to see at each step of his growth that which is essential for him to see and sense that which is essential for him to sense. Clairvoyance is an effect and not a cause. It is the result of certain adjustments of the life and a gradual regeneration of the bodily parts and members. True mediumistic growth is so slow that it is almost unnoticeable, the faculties unfolding from within outward like the petals of a flower. To hasten these natural processes beyond a certain point is to endanger the mental and physical health of the student. One of the surest signs of true clairvoyant unfoldment is a peculiar extension of sense perception or of the mental sense of awareness. Instead of presenting itself through the organs of vision or hearing, sometimes it comes in a purely intellectual form, the mind becoming actually aware of spiritual truths and philosophic thought without any involvement of the lesser senses. The mind automatically knows.

	6. The student must realize that with the increase of knowledge there is an increase in the same proportion of responsibility. Along with the knowledge acquired, the student must acquire the sense of discrimination, so that he may use the information received in the most intelligent way. In mediumship we take personal responsibility and do not put blame on our spirit guides for our own actions and teachings. One of the laws of mediumship is that in order to receive, one must give. Those who desire greater insight into things spiritual must also earn the right to that broader understanding by intelligent use of that knowledge already possessed. The medium must realize that he is personally responsible for whatever effects his theories may have on the minds of others. In justice to himself, therefore, no one should be in a hurry to go forth serving humanity. The ground work should be laid first, but when a person feels that he is equipped to give a message, he should do it reverently, with deep consideration saying to himself, "I am responsible from now on for the use and interpretation placed by others on the words that come out of my mouth". Therefore, I will choose them with care, consider them in the light of my truest and highest intelligence, and send forth with each a prayer that it shall serve only the cause of good.

	7. The student must maintain a constructive mental attitude. All thinking people are dissatisfied with existing conditions. They also realize that the universe is ruled by the Law of Cause and Effect, and that in order to improve affairs it is first necessary to create the proper cause so the natural result will be universal peace and enlightenment. Instead of complaining and criticizing, it is important to use diligence and intelligence to create newer and better conditions. If the student is in the habit of complaining, he keeps himself from the service of the Infinite. Since life is so serious, it is best if you have a sense of humour. We become useless to our fellow man if we permit ourselves to be oppressed by the weight of the world's worries and woe. The student strives to cultivate an attitude of mind which sees the hand of God in everything and realizes that all things are working together for the ultimate good of all. Man is like an apple, some mellow with age while others rot, some are deepened and sweetened by experience, while others are hopelessly soured. Those who become soured have failed utterly. Sourness is often the result of self pity. Make it one of the rules of your life that you will never be sorry for yourself. If you become the slave of self pity, you will soon become a legitimate object of pity on the part of intelligent people.

	These seven requirements then are the foundation of mediumship and spiritual unfoldment. 1. Realize the value of education. 2. Understand the importance of continuity. 3. Recognize your debt to society. 4. Realize the importance of motive. 5. Go slow. 6. Realize the increase of responsibility. 7. Maintain a constructive mental attitude.

	The foundation must come first. Most of the failures in Spiritual unfoldment and mediumship are caused from neglect of the ethical basis. We cannot prepare ourselves for philosophic pursuits in a few weeks or even a few years. We must build slowly and solidly, realizing that one step properly taken is worth many taken haphazardly and without direction. Put direction into your steps. Think about this list of seven requirements, and slowly start to build your life to unfold spiritually to help yourself and each other. Fred Anderson.