making them appear to be the helpless grasshoppers.
Paul said of this principle, “It is to the Greeks (or the so-called wise men of the world) foolishness; and to the Jews (or those who look for signs) a stumbling block”; with the result that man continues to walk in darkness rather than awake to the realization, “I AM the light of the world.”
Man has so long worshiped the images of his own making that at first he finds this revelation blasphemous, but the day man discovers and accepts this principle as the basis of his life, that day man slays his belief in a God apart from himself.
The story of Jesus’ betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane is the perfect illustration of man’s discovery of this principle. We are told, the crowds armed with staves and lanterns sought Jesus in the dark of night. As they inquired after the whereabouts of Jesus (salvation), the voice answered, “I AM”; whereupon the entire crowd fell to the ground. On regaining their composure they again asked to be shown the hiding place of the savior and again the savior said, “I have told you that I AM, therefore if ye seek me let all else go.”
Man in the darkness of human ignorance sets out on his search for God, aided by the flickering light of human wisdom. As it is revealed to man that his I AM or awareness of being is his savior the shock is so great he mentally falls to the ground, for every belief that he has ever entertained tumbles as he realizes that his consciousness is the one and only savior. The knowledge that his I AM is God compels man to let all others go for he finds it impossible to serve two Gods. Man cannot accept his awareness of being as God and at the same time believe in another deity.
With this discovery man’s human ear or hearing (understanding) is cut off by the sword of faith (Peter) as his perfect disciplined hearing (understanding) is restored by (Jesus) the knowledge that I AM is Lord and Savior.
Before man can transform his world, he must first lay this foundation or understanding. I AM the Lord. Man must know that his awareness of being is God. Until this is firmly established so that no suggestion or argument of others can shake him, he will find himself returning to the slavery of his former belief. “If ye believe not that I AM He, ye shall die in your sins.” Unless man discovers that his consciousness is the cause of every expression of his life, he will continue seeking the cause of his confusion in the world of effects, and so shall die in his fruitless search.
“I AM the vine and ye are the branches.” Consciousness is the vine and that which you are conscious of being is as branches that you feed and keep alive. Just as a branch has no life except it be rooted in the vine, likewise things have no life except you be conscious of them. Just as a branch withers and dies if the sap of the vine ceases to flow towards it, so do things and qualities pass away if you take your attention from them; because your attention is the sap of life which sustains the expression of your life.
Whom Seek Ye?
I have told you that I AM; if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way, — John 18:8.
As soon then as he had said unto them, I AM they went backward and fell to the ground. — John 18:6
Today there is so much said about Masters, Elder Brothers, Adepts and initiates that numberless truth seekers are being constantly misled by seeking these false lights. For a price, most of these pseudo-teachers offer their students initiation into the mysteries, promising them guidance and direction, Man’s weakness for leaders, as well as his worship of idols, makes him an easy prey of these schools and teachers. Good will come to most of these enrolled students; they will discover after years of awaiting and sacrificing that they were following a mirage. They will then become disillusioned in their schools and teachers, and this disappointment will be worth the effort and price they have paid for their fruitless search. They will then turn from their worship of man and in so doing discover that which they are seeking is not to be found in another, for the Kingdom of Heaven is within. This realization will be their first real initiation. The lesson learned will be this: There is only one Master and this Master is God, the I AM within themselves.
“I AM the Lord thy God who led thee out of the land of darkness; out of the house of bondage.” I AM, your awareness, is Lord and Master and besides your awareness there is neither Lord nor Master. You are Master of all that you will ever be aware of being.
You know that you are, do you not? Knowing that you are is the Lord and Master of that which you know that you are. You could be completely isolated by man from that which you are conscious of being; yet you would, in spite of all human barriers, effortlessly draw to yourself all that you were conscious of being. The man who is conscious of being poor does not need the assistance of anyone to express his poverty. The man who is conscious of being sick, though isolated in the most hermetically sealed germ-proof area in the world, would express sickness.
There is no barrier to God, for God is your awareness of being. Regardless of what you are aware of being, you can and do express it without effort. Stop looking for the Master to come; he is with you always. “I AM with you always even unto the end of the world.”
You will from time to time know yourself to be many things, but you need not be anything to know that you are. You can, if you so desire, disentangle yourself from the body you wear; in so doing you realize that you are a faceless, formless awareness and not dependent on the form you are in your expression. You will know that you are; you will also discover that this knowing that you are is God, the Father, which preceded all that you ever knew yourself to be. Before the world was you were aware of being and so you were saying “I AM,” and I AM will be, after all that you know yourself to be shall cease to be,
There are no Ascended Masters. Banish this superstition. You will forever rise from one level of consciousness (master) to another; in so doing you manifest the ascended level, expressing this newly acquired consciousness.
Consciousness being Lord and Master, you are the Master Magician conjuring that which you are now conscious of being. “For God (consciousness) calleth those things which be not as though they were”: Things that are not now seen will be seen the moment you become conscious of being that which is not now seen.
This rising from one level of consciousness to another is the only ascension that you will ever experience. No man can lift you to the level you desire. The power to ascend is within yourself; it is your consciousness. You appropriate the consciousness of the level you desire to express by claiming that you are now expressing such a level. This is the ascension. It is limitless, for you will never exhaust your capacity to ascend. Turn from the human superstition of ascension with its belief in masters, and find the only and everlasting master within yourself.
“Far greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.” Believe this. Do not continue in blindness, following after the mirage of masters. I assure you your search can end only in disappointment,
“If you deny me (your awareness of being) I shall deny you also.” “Thou shalt have no other God beside ME.” “Be still and know that I AM God.” “Come prove me and see if I will not open you the windows of Heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
Do you believe that the I AM is able to do this? Then claim ME to be that which you want to see poured out. Claim yourself to be that which you want to be and that you shall be. Not because of masters will I give it unto you, but, because you have recognized ME (yourself) to be that, I will give it unto you for I AM all things to all.
Jesus would not permit Himself to be called Good Master. He knew that there is but one good and one master. He knew this one to be His Father in Heaven, the awareness of being. “The Kingdom of God” (Good) and the Kingdom of Heaven are within you.
Your belief in masters is a confession of your slavery. Only slaves have masters. Change your conception of yourself and you will, without the aid of masters or anyone else, automatically transform your world to conform to your changed conception of yourself.
You are told in the Book of Numbers that there was a time when men were in their own eyes as grasshoppers and because of this conception of themselves they saw giants in the land. This is as true of man today as it was the day it was recorded. Man’s conception