Metaphysical Articles: Interesting Articles, Links and Other Media: 'Gifts of the Spirit'

Picasso's "Baigneuse ouvrant une cabine"

"This is part of the break-through of the Spirit for the coming of the new dispensation for the approaching Age."

This is one of the comments associated with a 'Brother of Light' as chronicled in The Wheel of Eternity (1974). The book is the third in the sequence of five autobiographical metaphysical books by psychic Helen Greaves. The book that followed in 1978 begins with a description of the unforgettable dream of 'Living Waters' that inspired Helen Greaves to once more contemplate manifestations of psychic aspects of mind. She had written in The Wheel of Eternity: "I had a gift which had been fully demonstrated by Frances Banks, in Testimony of Light. Now I was called upon to extend that gift." Helen in Living Waters identified a significant passage in the Holy Bible about psychic phenomena (or 'gifts of the spirit'):

. . . the acceptance of and participation in these gifts is a distinct teaching in the New Testament . . .

The Bible words are definite — ("Concerning spiritual gifts . . .") and despite our different styles of designation, the intrinsic meanings remain the same, whether we are referring to healing by the Spirit, or discerning (recognizing) Spirits, or prophesying by the Spirit, or working miracles. Today, they are often frowned upon as dangerous and unhealthy, which of course they can be if approached and worked with wrong motives. Again the Bible seems to anticipate such departure from the good, for it asserts positively that in these gifts "there are diversities of operation, but it is the same God which worketh all."

Helen commented about this "portion of our Holy Scriptures": "I learned it by heart at school, without the slightest idea of its interpretation. Neither did my teachers offer any lucid explanation." Presented below is Chapter 12, Verses 1 - 11 of The First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians of the King James version of The Holy Bible.

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.

Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.

Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.

And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;

To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

Helen responded:

These are indeed the very words of Saint Paul.

What have we lost in our modern age by the suppression of these Spiritual gifts?

Helen affirmed:

This Water of Life is the Spirit, of which Jesus spoke, and the awareness of its emergence on to the level of consciousness in humanity, is a fulfilment of Bible prophecies.

This Water of Life is the Living Water of the Spirit shared by all in the true Communion of the Living Christ.

The annals of transcendental communication elucidate perspectives of the term 'Christ' and associated metaphors. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) The dawning of the Age of Aquarius is also the theme of a popular song performed by The 5th Dimension in 1969. The song "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" originated two years earlier in the musical "Hair."

Beyond the five autobiographical books written by Helen Greaves, I have so far been unable to find any other data source about her life. The name for her son in the books is 'Michael.' Among the articles at this blog are some with the topic of 'the Michael Pattern' (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, etc.) evident in cases of so-called 'paranormal' or 'supernormal phenomena.' In The Wheel of Eternity, Helen mentioned: "Patterns are being worked out, pieces fitted as in jig-saw puzzles, linking together lives, experiences, reconciliations, harmonies, into the pattern of evolution, according to the Divine Plan." These patterns—and perhaps most of all the Michael Pattern—provide the key to the understanding that makes possible the New Age.

The fifth autobiographical book by Helen Greaves was published in 1984. The Challenging Light was to be her own final 'gift of the spirit' offered to help others expand their spiritual awareness. The book was written after Helen had moved from her cottage to a home for the elderly due to her diminishing eyesight. The book is dedicated to "my two Aquarian friends, M.E.P. and J.M.L., without whose help and support it would never have been completed." Helen wrote that she was eighty-four years old when again "The Spirit spoke through the Mind and Spirit of my old friend." The following excerpts are from one of these passages in The Challenging Light.

One morning I was sitting quietly in my room, eating my breakfast, when suddenly and quite without warning, the voice of Frances Banks was entirely audible. She was speaking to me, as plainly as if she too was enjoying her tea and toast beside me. Only her voice was within my brain, and not engaging my physical hearing. I listened for a while, whilst proceeding with my meal. This was the old Frances I had known — practical, positive, and confident as she had always been, only now the content, the intent of her words was arresting. I felt like a student of the Higher Philosophy. I was certainly and intentionally being taught, and soon I realised that Frances meant her words to be written into this book. Indeed, she was almost dictating.

"The psychic and the Spiritual," she began, "are both steps in the Jacob's ladder of progression. The earth-experience is possibly one of the lower steps of ascendancy. Most incarnate beings are on that level, and thus their minds become overwhelmed by the difficulty in realising what is true and what is inexplicable to them at their level of understanding."

"Humanity which is at different stages of evolution in its journey toward the stars, or into a higher level of attainment, consists of entities which are triple natured. For instance, man is animal, human and spiritual.

"In successive waves of progress, it is shown that the great souls, the masters, the saints, and great interpreters of the Spirit have evolved from the animal instincts to the human level at its highest, whilst truly the masses remain totally unaware of much beyond higher animal intelligence, the animal nature and the total acceptance of the creature life. Yet it must be accepted that even among such groups there are individuals who have a sensitivity within them that is aware of beings and Beings beyond the limited understanding of the masses. Amongst these are the psychics, the natural healers, as well as those who study the writings of the Sensitives (such as saint Teresa of Avilla) throughout the ages.

"The person with psychic awareness, often called a medium, is frequently uneducated, poor and retiring. These people can and do contact the newly dead, and sometimes the spirits of family connections who have for years (in our time) inhabited the next world of consciousness. Yet often they seem to have advanced little and their messages seem to be paltry and trivial.

"But should we condemn them, or take superior amusement from their words? I do not think so!"

"But who can judge the comfort and help that can be given to a sorrowing soul on the earth plane. I recall my own joy when my dear mother first communicated with me.

"There is no condemnation of the help given, as long as the recipient does not allow this form of converse to become a drug on his own way of life, or to approach the psychic world in a spirit of fortune telling.

"Since my own arrival into this consciousness, I have become aware of the pitfalls of this haphazard employment of spirit communication."

"Surely the Bible speaks openly of 'gifts of the Spirit,' their use and their safeguards?

"But communication and assurance by converse with spirits has little to do with the worship of, and obedience to the Spirit of all life, which Jesus called His Father and who indeed is the Creator of us all."

"Here, in this world, we are spirit in Spirit, yet not at the Heart of Spirit. Our consciousness still needs to undo many mistakes already made and to advance on wards towards the Centre.

"Those who are in spirit can and often do send messages of hope back to the world which they have left. But that is not the same as one-ness with the Spirit of God the Eternal. Even here we all go on ascending that Jacob's Ladder. Even here there are passports to the Higher levels — but each of us has to earn them in order to — as the world would describe it — 'join the Immortals.'

"For immortals there are and always will be. And if it has needed millions of years of trial and error, of action and non-action, of self or others, of God or Mammon, does that but signify the slow progress, of animal through human to Spirit?

"Time has no substance. Spiritual man will evolve as and when the Law of Progress is ready. There is a maxim which I still remember from my earth experience, and which I apply now to the Spiritual Law: Nothing can stop an idea when its time has come. In other words, when the next step is ready to be taken, nothing can stop it.

"One realises and learns over here to apply the Law to every thought and action. By so doing the spirit grows sufficiently to be ready for the next step."

Many of the articles presented at this blog show the meaningful correlations throughout diverse cases of transcendental communication and of other 'unexplained phenomena.' Throughout the ages, the documented evolution of 'paranormal' or 'supernormal' manifestations offer a new paradigm of spiritual understanding for people willing to investigate beyond the limitations of rigid orientations toward spirituality (such as atheism and agnosticism) or fundamentalist interpretations concerning the dogma of historical spiritual or religions traditions. Here are links to five previous articles among the 348 published at this blog: