Planting seeds of Truth

Today, there is no reason for anyone to remain in the dark, ignorant concerning life, not knowing what it is about. Simply choose the Light. Open your eyes. Begin to see more clearly. You too can begin to understand.

Under the guidance of the Archangel Michael, INNER QUEST was founded in 1987 to help in the preparations for the coming New Age of Enlightenment. Tasked by the Holy Spirits to help disseminate their New Teachings, INNER QUEST then is a school or a center for spiritual learning.

INNER QUEST is a wellspring, a source of divine guidance and knowledge, a vehicle or medium through which the Spirits of Truth can administer their divine guidance and instruction. It flows rivers of living water from which anyone may draw as much as he requires or wants, as much as he is ready to drink — that water that once you drink, you will never thirst again.

However, INNER QUEST is only a link in the chain that is the New Age Movement. We continue the work of the Masters and the Spirits of Truth, while attempting to unite as one all that have come before. There is only One God and one Truth, after all. It is merely a matter of being able to access the entire Big Picture.

Therefore, we at INNER QUEST are not against any religion, sect or school. We support them, in fact; hopefully adding to their store of divine knowledge should they be receptive to the Spirits’ leading. Every religion and school, without exception, is limited to the extent that they only address certain aspects and levels of the Teachings and not all. But we fully recognize their good intentions. And all who work for good are working for God, too.

In the sense that we teach concerning God, INNER QUEST may be considered as a religion. However, INNER QUEST is not a religion because we do not demand the blind acceptance of what we teach. Moreover, we do not seek converts, nor do we require that our students convert from their religion even after they complete their studies. We merely introduce for the students’ consideration certain new ideas and higher concepts, which we know to be true, that can gradually, but inevitably, displace all half-truths and false teachings. And after having learned and equipped themselves more fully, they can then serve where the Holy Spirit leads them to serve, according to their own perceiving.

INNER QUEST teaches only those principles that can be verified by everyone through his own direct personal experiences. Experience alone can validate a proposed theory or teaching, hence it will be forthcoming depending on our need. Consequently, we readily accept that which we have already experienced to be true. Otherwise, we will just have to wait for the necessary validation. But provided a student persists, in time, he will be able to find all the proofs he needs.

Through the development of his mediumship or by availing of the mediumship of others, anyone can obtain valuable insights and incontrovertible proofs. Mediumship is the facility that allows us to bridge the barrier between our world and the next. And it involves the employment of the faculties of clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience, astral travel, telepathy, automatic writing, trance mediumship, healing and others.

Still more than these, many earnest students experience intuitive remembrances and past life recollections that serve as their undeniable confirmation of the spiritual teachings.

We believe in the saying that if you give a man fish, he will be able to eat for a day. However, if you teach him to fish, then he will be able to eat every day. Similarly at INNER QUEST, we teach the principles of life. Those who abide by the principles ensure their future success. In following the divine laws, we gain everything our hearts desire.

Over the years, so much of the New Teachings have been entrusted to us, not for our benefit alone, but for others, as well. It is our pleasure then to share them with you, today.

Finally, it is important to realize that INNER QUEST can only plant the seeds of Truth. The student alone has the power to accept or reject what the Holy Spirit offers him. He must first open up his mind and heart to the New Teachings. He himself must exert the necessary efforts. He must overcome every obstacle that comes his way and pass his necessary trials. He must avail of the opportunities that present themselves to him and apply what he is learning in his daily life. Only then can he nurture the seed. Only then can the seed germinate, grow and bear much fruit in this life and in his future incarnations.

From: John 16:12-13: The teachings of Jesus Christ clarified and made plain (Inner Quest Studies)

Living right – Easy does it, every time

Photo credit dcdailyphotos via Foter.com / CC BY

We know the commandments and church teachings – what we should do and not do, and how we should behave toward others and towards God. We are instructed to pray and attend masses, observe church traditions, be baptized, go to communion, be active in religious activities and engage in apostolic and charity work. All religions advocate certain other practices that if followed, will supposedly bring us closer to God and confer eternal life on those who observe them.

But can our observance of these conventions really produce the results promised us? If not, then what purposes do they really serve?


How prayer can work for you

Prayer is a two-way method of communication with the Divine. To petition God for favors is harmless but really needless. Christ tells us that God already knows what we need. We don’t have to ask Him, at all. He will provide for our every need. So instead, we should rather dispense with asking God all the time and listen more to what He is trying to say to us – and follow, accordingly.

Focusing on the important

By celebrating mass, reading Scriptures, attending spiritual studies or simply obtaining guidance from our religious teachers, priests and pastors, we can learn and be reminded of God’s teachings and commandments. By keeping the traditions, even though so much of them are presently irrelevant and useless or inconsequential, we can nevertheless retain our focus and interest in things, spiritual.

Baptism, confession, communion and true absolution

Baptism fosters a sense of belonging and instills in us a common purpose with our chosen religious group. To many, it is much easier to continue to walk the Path to God in the company of others, rather than to go it alone. Moreover, the ritual being merely symbolic lacking true substance, it does not actually purify us, at all. Our purification and eventual perfection depend entirely on our full compliance with the divine instructions and they cannot just be conferred on anyone who has not proven himself worthy.

Going to communion and doing penance, neither the administering of Last Rites, do not and cannot absolve us of our sins. True absolution is only possible for one who is able to realize his mistake and is truly repentant. And he must resolve not to commit the same mistake, again. He must also effect full restitution for his offenses in this life or the next; it is not enough to do the penance prescribed by his confessor-priest. However, through this interactive process, we are afforded the opportunity to receive more personalized spiritual guidance from those who are supposedly, though not in every instance, highly qualified to offer us guidance. All these duties and observances can help to keep us on course and avoid harmful distractions.

Many religions, just One and the same God

Apostolic work while emphasizing the benefits of adopting one’s religion should at the same time also recognize the oneness of all religious teachings and lay stress on love for all and charity as a way of life. No one religion can do it all for us. In the course of our many incarnations, we will make the rounds of all of them, learning from each of them the unique aspects of the Truth they alone can teach best. All religions are one. All paths lead to the same God.

Living it easy the right way

Now more aware of the true meanings and implications of the mentioned concepts and conventions, our perfect compliance is nevertheless still not possible considering our present stage of development. Not yet perfect, everyone will continue to commit mistakes, over and over again. But regardless, every student is required to exert his best efforts. The right attitudes need to be developed and persistent strivings exerted in order to finally succeed in the end.


Photo credit Doug Scortegagna via Foter.com / CC BY


Life can be fraught with difficulties but some guide rules and suggestions should help.

1. Always be practical

So many people believe that the dogmatic religious are inflexible, narrow-minded, even fanatical and beyond reason. I couldn’t agree more. However, the truly spiritual person is always reasonable and practical. Because he is more aware than others of many spiritual truths and acts accordingly, he often can be misunderstood and may appear not to care about many things, mundane. Focused on the true spiritual nature of things, he realizes that many things should simply be left alone to serve God’s divine purposes. His mind uncluttered, he attends only to those matters that are really important to Spirit and largely ignores most purely worldly concerns.

After conducting a thorough study and analysis, weighing all sides, he comes to his considered conclusions and decides on the best course of action, following it through wherever it leads.

2. Attend to your every need

First things first. The material or physical needs have to be addressed first even before most spiritual considerations. When we are hungry, we must eat. If thirsty, we must drink. Our worldly needs and desires must also be satisfied, all of them. Wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and gluttony, all the 7 deadly sins and more must be personally experienced, all aspects of them. How else can we come to realize that they are not good for us unless we enter the experience of them and benefit or suffer their consequences?

Experience all things. Don’t avoid them, not until you’re done with them. Learn all about them. They will continue to be part of your life until you come to realize what they really signify and how they affect you, good or ill.

Abstaining or depriving oneself very often leads to perversion. So instead, we should pursue our every ambition and craving until we attain them and satisfy all our desires to the point of satiation. Experience alone brings learning. Just like innocent little children will eventually tire of their toys; so will we. It would be best to allow the progression to proceed most naturally without need of forcing matters even if it should be slow in coming. Only after, will we be able to redirect our efforts toward more spiritual objectives and things.

So everything is best pursued in moderation.

3. Self-realization self-corrects automatically

Many people find it easier to look at themselves in the mirror and tell themselves lies, instead of owning up to their faults and weaknesses. But no one can advance in his development unless he first accepts hard truths.

Building character and reforming oneself is not achieved easily. It will take time to attain to spiritual perfection. But we don’t have to beat ourselves up doing it. We can take things more easily, gradually.

Just follow the correct procedure. Analyze your every thought and action, dispassionately and impersonally. Be true to yourself. Don’t make excuses. Accept your mistakes and deficiencies.

After one is able to self-realize his shortcomings, then correction will not be far behind. But do be more aware of the opportunities provided to you daily to do better than before. And avail of them as best you can.

4. Practice detachment

It is always easier to judge of things when one is, himself, not personally involved. Prefer to look at things and do look at yourself from a disinterested third person’s point of view. Not personally affected, ego absent neither defensive, we can be more dispassionate, truthful and rational.

5. Displace your negative thoughts with positives

Try to ignore or not think of something. Difficult, isn’t it? Instead, think of some things pleasurable and positive. And keep on thinking them, enjoying. Soon, the negatives will be cast out of mind. Do displace all those negatives with positives. Practice until it becomes second nature to you. A positive change will follow, as a matter of course.

6. Follow the Middle Way

After experimenting with extremes of good and bad, and abundance and deprivation, the Buddha came to the realization that moderation in all things is the best way to live one’s life. True spiritual perspectives, the correct directing of our strivings toward spiritual goals, reasonable efforts, nothing forced – Natural is best.

Aware of the operation of the principle of Reincarnation, the Buddha knows full well that we will have continuous and repeated opportunities, as much as we need, many lives to live and all the time to do our thing and do it right. So we should maintain our composure under pressure, not be too lax or try too hard.

Easy does it, every time.

7. Simply choose the best alternative, the lesser evil

If we live long enough, we will come to realize that more often than not, our options are less than satisfactory or ideal. We just need to choose the best among them, the one that offers the most good, or is adjudged to be the lesser evil. And we can rest content.

8. Break everything down into small easy steps. Live one day at a time, today only

Life is complicated enough. Best to simplify as much as is possible. We should simply learn to prioritize. Determine which one among the many needs to be done first. Tackle that one thing first before taking on another. Leave those that need to be done later for later. Reasonable efforts make for more efficient and effective performance and results.

Christ advises, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow’s needs shall be met even as tomorrow comes. Life is difficult enough as it is without our having to complicate it further. Therefore, it is sufficient that we resolve our problems as they arise and live one day at a time.”

9. Keep focused on the Way – Love and service to our fellowmen

To love and serve our fellowmen is to love and serve God. This is the only passkey that opens up the gates of heaven. This is the only Way to God. Serve those in need, not God Who does not need it.

Furthermore, having harmed no one is not a sufficient reason for us to be allowed entry into heaven. In order to advance spiritually, we need to render more services, do more good. If an employee only does the work assigned to him and what is expected of him, then he deserves to remain just where he is. He really does not deserve to get promoted. But those who aspire for more must give more.

Be more proactive instead of just being reactive. Don’t wait until you are asked but instead, actively seek out your opportunities to help and serve. Volunteer more and be enthusiastic in your service work. Be not complacent or timid. All mistakes, sins or offenses can be offset by good works or through our rendering compensatory services if not to the actual persons we have harmed, then to others in their place.

“What you have done for the least of your brothers, you have done for me.”

From: Secrets of the kingdom: The Holy Spirits will guide into All Truth

The Devil’s disciples among you, you never knew

The Devil's lies and machinations: Few can resist

MT 16:21.23
From then on, Jesus began to speak plainly to his disciples about his going to Jerusalem and the fate that awaited him there at the hands of the Jewish leaders — that he would be killed and that on the third day, he would be raised to life again.

But Peter took him aside to remonstrate with him. "God forbid it, Lord!" he said. "That must never happen to you."

Jesus turned on Peter and said, "Get away from me, Satan. You are an abomination in my sight because you look at things only from the worldly point of view and not from God’s."

We all want to be happy, loved, rich beyond our dreams, powerful as kings, famous as any celebrity and energetic, active and well, able to do anything we want and live as we please. Who doesn’t?

And the Devil knowing this, promises us the world and all its riches and pleasures. Many are seduced. Even the apostle, even the elect, even otherwise devout Christians and believers of all faiths.

But for most of us, these things are just illusive dreams beyond our reach and instead, we find only pain and suffering, war, injustice, poverty, disease and want.

Why?

Yes, the good things in life are to be desired. But is our having them the true gauge of our success? Are they the treasures we should strive for? Our real objectives in this life?

If you think so, then like so many among you, you are deceived!

And Jesus, rightly so, likens you to naive and unsuspecting disciples of Satan.

Why the wise choose a life filled with pain and suffering

Jesus is the Christ – the Master Teacher of our world. But even he is not exempt from the karmic law. No one can escape the consequences of his every thought and deed.

In the playing out of our assigned earthly roles, we are given a mission and certain duties and responsibilities to perform. We choose the events and lessons, the tests, trials and tribulations that will best enable us to achieve our spiritual objectives. The more lofty our ambitions and aspirations, the harder our life situations will be > http://goo.gl/Iplcle.

The hidden costs and sacrifices we incur in the performance of our duties

Karma is not alone confined to the effects of our mistakes and misdeeds or sins. Towards the successful completion of our assigned tasks, more often than not, our options are limited. Each time, we weigh the results we hope to obtain against the costs and difficulties, and what we need to do to achieve them. Often enough, there are no ideal solutions and we just have to make do with the best alternatives, available. If we don’t, then failure comes as the inevitable result.

The general deploys his men knowing that some of them will not return and the soldier kills to prevent himself and his comrades from getting killed. The intelligence officer tortures suspects to extract information that could save the lives of his own people. People will lie, cheat and steal if they feel that their objective is well-worth it.

Such actions are usually regarded as sinful or decidedly evil, but they can be justified provided that our motives and intentions are for the greater good – for the good of our country, our family, our fellowmen or the majority of the people as against the few – if we can save them from a worse fate.
 
We don’t want to do any of it. But we realize that someone needs to. Sometimes, there’s no one else to do it. So we make the sacrifice, ourselves, even though we know that we will held personally responsible and will perforce bear all the dire consequences or karmic debts. We do what we must. Whatever it takes.

What we did in the past explains what is happening in the present

According to the Edgar Cayce readings, one of the past incarnations of Jesus was Joshua, the then general of the Israelite army. This is part of the reasons why Jesus had to be subjected to all the indignities, persecution, torture and finally, death by crucifixion. A direct consequence of the acts he was compelled to commit in the performance of his duties during that experience.

Our guide to living right

The significance of Christ's crucifixion

But even more important, in living his life according to his teachings and providing a real life example, he was able to demonstrate to each of us how we should best live our own life.

In spite of all the injustices and inhumane treatment he suffered, he meekly turned his other cheek to his persecutors. Despite all the hate, he returned his love. Having been himself placed in similar situations in the Joshua incarnation and having been compelled to perform similar “atrocities”, he understood and was able to forgive them. Loving his enemies, he even asked the Father to forgive them.

And just as he was able to overcome all his trials and settle his own karmic debts, as well, so will we all be able to do the same.

Experience brings knowledge and develops abilities

No one learns just by being told. Before we can realize the divine truths, we will need to experience them first-hand, all sides, shades and aspects, the good and pleasurable, and the ugly and the vile. In fact, it is the last that teach more effectively the lessons that are most difficult to understand.

In addition, we also take on the precise challenges and situations that we envision will help us to develop certain desired qualities and abilities. In facing up to our problems and opportunities that they really are, we gain added wisdom and the confidence that comes only from our having been tested and found worthy.

Look at life from God’s point of view

Everything happens for a reason. Everything results to your eventual benefit and spiritual advancement. Do not embrace ignorance or the foolish thinking and ways of people in the world but begin to learn more about the divine ways of God.

Think Spirit! Think God. Prefer to look at things from His point of view > Our life, our choice. 
 

How God transforms the sinner into the saint

“I believe that education is the single most important activity there is. If there is good education, then I think everything else takes care of itself, on every level: personal, family, business, community, state, regional, and national levels. I have faith that most of our problems - economic disasters, international and intercultural strife, and even climate problems - can ultimately be solved by a well-educated populace. Education is the cornerstone to growth…” Andrew Zimmerman Jones

The way to the good life

Everyone has his own thoughts regarding the different aspects of a good education. But everyone is agreed that education, whether formal or informal, intellectual or spiritual, or all of those and more, is the key to success in any endeavor.

So from early on, we learn how to learn. We go through our ABCs and 123s. We learn how best to do things for ourselves and interact with one another to obtain our desired results – get a good job, find a suitable mate, build a beautiful home, raise children, gain fame, fortune and riches – secure the best place for ourselves in the world and live happily ever after.

A beautiful picture, an attainable objective, a worthy goal. It could suffice us for a hundred years, if we’re lucky. But after, it will all be gone.

Is this all there is to life?

Life after death is certain

Fortunately for us, it is not.

This picture just takes up the physical side of life, the life on earth that most people know it to be. But there is more to life than just what you can see and touch.

Waiting for us just at the other side, we will crossover to an invisible world that is the Real World and the True Life.

Every man’s journey in this world

Christians are taught that a man’s life is a journey from being a sinner to becoming a saint. The Hindus explain this concept more clearly in greater detail. They believe that every man undergoes four stages of life.


PIXABAY

We first become a student that initiates studies mainly in preparation for the material aspects of life. Realizing the benefits of a good education, our parents would struggle and sacrifice to afford us this advantage. And depending on our efforts and strivings, we will enjoy the fruits of our labor or suffer the consequences of our neglect. 

PIXABAY

Then next, we become a householder. Here, we find a suitable mate, raise children and engage in economic activity. We are able to enjoy some worldly pleasures. No, this is not at all sinful but the full satiation of our fleshly desires is a natural part of the total human experience, even sex and some excesses are normal and necessary. All things will be corrected and balanced – mastered over time.

Subsequently, as we grow older spiritually and much wiser, now less enamored with the physical attractions of this world having indulged them all, we will, in this life or in a future one, decide to withdraw from worldly involvement and live the life of a hermit or a recluse.

At this stage, we retire from our business or professional activities, relinquish direct family duties and responsibilities and reflect on the deeper aspects and meaning of life. We do all this, not to escape our responsibilities and hardships, but rather, to prepare ourselves for much greater service. 

Once the sinner, now a saint

PIXABAY

Finally, as a spiritual pilgrim or a Christian saint, we will devote our life to the service of our fellowmen. The pilgrim or the monk goes wherever he is sent, trusting to divine providence, and helps all those who are worthy and in need of spiritual guidance by sharing the knowledge and wisdom he has acquired over many lifetimes.

The life that never ends

The cycle then completed, we will have merited our release (or salvation) from the cycle of rebirth, old age, disease and death. No longer subject to death in a physical body, we will then be permitted to live forever after where divine love and eternal happiness wait for us all.