I thought I’d share with you this dialogue I had with Mother Mary a short time ago (August 19-20, 2021). I am in the midst of final edits on “Memoria,” the second book of the way of the Marys, and I was having a bit of a hard time with this “practical” aspect of this wonderful dialogue I took part in. Writing to Mary (first thing in the morning) as usual, I say:

“I think again that I am innocent of the ways of the world, Mother. Like the way I don’t know algebra. I told Michael the story the other day of how I knew I’d never get a degree because I couldn’t do the math. Then I learned you could take an advanced grammar glass and get a math credit for it. Yet I had to drop out of it. I knew I would fail. The things I don’t know are legion.” (Michael Mark is editing Memoria with me.)

“I vastly like the term “innocent” over “ignorant.”

“My darling girl, you are precious in your innocence. That’s the difference. That’s the “original innocence,” the removal of the stain of “sin” or what we could call wrong use of will. When we speak of trust in Self we are speaking of will. It is what gives you confidence. Your “will-power” is helping you to manifest Memoria, which was an experience. You have long had confidence in your “experience.” That’s what “will” helps you do—stay with your unique, individual—experience. To trust in it. Many do not realize trust in Self is trust in your experience. You’re seeing this as you review the past revealed in “Identity Crisis.”* “Identity Crisis and A Course of Love,” written partially during the receiving of ACOL is to be published in 2022. (Identity Crisis and A Course of Love is a working title at the moment.)

“You would often state many things that perplexed you, and then come

back to acknowledging that the only thing you were confident in was your experience, your experience with Jesus. You questioned and questioned and faltered with your experiences with people—but not with Jesus.”

“That is so true, Mary! I don’t know if I ever used the word “confident” about it, but I believe I said many times that my experience with Jesus was the only thing I was “sure  of,” (amidst a sea of confusion) which, I guess, is an expression of confidence.”

“There you go. This is the way you come to know yourself newly as a woman. Once, you trusted “your experience” but not “yourself.” That was very hard on you, and is very hard on many. Separating “your experience” from “yourself” is a misery-making act against your Self. It is what keeps you from recognizing your Self. While you could, in one manner be confident “only” in your experience, your confidence was diminished by thinking that there were reasons to be “more confident” in others. 

“Once you hold your confidence surely within the bounds of your experience, trusting what “you know,” you are free. Your innocence is a blessing, not a curse. You had innocence mixed up with intelligence, feeling that intellectual knowing, which you didn’t feel yourself to have, was the greater knowing, at least when it came to anything “practical” or in the public realm. Do you see this now? Do you see that you saw then, and continue to see now, all acts of “manifesting” as practical acts?”

“Yes. Thank you so much for making me aware of this! But they sure “feel” practical!”

“I understand that, but you still need to extend this confidence to these acts. Yet, including manifesting in “the practical” as you currently see it, doesn’t give manifesting the value it deserves. Manifesting isn’t only for others. Manifesting makes our work evident to “your” mind, sight and senses in an expanded way. Yes, it also materializes and makes public, which is what you “think of” as manifesting and why you give it over to the practical.” 

“This way of thinking of the practical is sure ingrained in me. It’s prevalent in this time, isn’t it?”

“It is in your experience that you know the reality of the encounter. Yet the practical has been a prevalent part of divine encounters in every time! Very little asked of the holy ones of my time or in any other time was seen as practical, yet each manifestation has a practical aspect. The original meaning of “practical” was to “pass through.” This is what you do and what you can embrace more when manifesting. Remember that your brother said, “[A] whole heart…can allow free pass-through of all that is provided.” (C:22.11) Recall, Mari, that “[T]he relationship developed during the pass-through continues.” (C:22.14) You are now receiving passthrough “directly” through observation, direct communication, and experience.” * (ACOL T4:1.27)

I thought this might be helpful to many readers, maybe not all, but many. Every once in a while, I speak with people who talk of “experience” as a greater act than manifesting, and realize I’ve felt this way myself. Manifesting has always felt like a practicality that just has to be dealt with if I was going to reveal what was given me “to be shared.” (I always knew, with Jesus and now with Mother Mary, that the work was given me to share.) So, this dialogue with Mary was very heartening for me. It called up my creative juices and is letting me lend them more fully to manifesting. I want to recognize, even though I can no longer take the stimulation of Facebook or even blogs, that I hope you too value manifesting and sharing your feelings and insights, and perhaps can see them as part of your creativity, or even creating The New.  I also always appreciate comments on what I share, even if I may read and respond to them in a belated manner. 

I’ll be manifesting in a different way when I join Mary Reed, Patricia Pearce, and Chelan Harkin in this event sponsored by the Center for Contemporary Mysticism: https://contemporarymysticism.org/activities.asp

Divine Wisdom: Earthly Voices

Join this Conversation with Everyday Mystics

Sunday, October 17, 2:00 pm EDT