North
Idaho Teaching Mission Group
Topics:
Conviction
Teachers:
Elyon
March 30,
2003
* Elyon (Jonathan TR): Greetings to you, my friends. This
is Elyon once again. I am going to continue our discussion from
last week by picking up the topic “conviction”.
We
spoke about spring cleaning, and that naturally implies removal
of unwanted items and the necessity to reevaluate worth or merit
of a possession, in this context we were addressing conceptions
that bear upon your spiritual being. There is also another
side, and that is the choice to retain a condition in yourself
because you have reevaluated it and deem it worthwhile that you
will continue to possess it. Your word “conviction” is
interesting, for it in one regard describes loyalty and yet in
another regard indicates a judgment, a form of condemnation.
So, I will use these two to fill the lesson.
As I
address you I am aware that many of you have over your years
throughout your spiritual growth boldly altered your concepts of
spirituality and religion, your life philosophy, that it may be
updated to fit with your inner contact and to adjust these
viewpoints to better mesh with reality as you have been
experiencing it. In so doing you have bravely discarded
concepts that have been -- and many that still are -- held by a
majority of people. You have taken the path of the scout who
looks for new opportunity, who is willing to leave the beaten
path to discover what lies beyond in the unknown. It is
therefore unnecessary to alert you to the peril of arriving at a
conviction because it is demanded from you by an outside
authority or even the pressure of peers. This is more of a
conviction like the convict who must now live life according to
the dictates of others. True conviction is self possessed. It
is so held that it is part of you, not something you simply wear
or possess, but it has become you.
When
differing opinions clash and argument ensues, the tack taken by
either side is to convince the other of the value of the
position. When each side sees the same, one side is often
convinced. That conviction changes the viewpoint, and both
parties now argue the same perspective. Party Two, they changed
opinion and no longer require Party One to support their
opinion; it is their conviction held by themselves. So, as I
return to spring cleaning, ask yourself as you look about your
inner house what items you have that are yours and what items
you have borrowed and truly do not possess, that are possessions
of others that have remained in your domicile. I do not ask you
to set aside your busy schedules to pursue this activity with
exclusive attention, rather, to be alert and note when you may
perhaps be acting under a condition of conviction that is not
fully your possession but is bearing upon you by others’
intentions and desires. For clarity I must state that these
other opinions are not necessarily wrong simply because they
come from another. What I ask you to note and settle in
yourself is the degree to which you truly believe on your own
for yourself, whether it be originally created within you or
borrowed from another.
It
has been on your minds lately the degree to which media affect
your individual lives, the state of mind it creates in many from
the information so readily available. This is not a new
phenomenon in the human culture. It is merely change in
technology of what has been for eons social pressure or peer
pressure, cultural confinements; all these group conditions play
upon the thinking of the individual. So it is important to
develop the ability to recognize what your true conviction is in
any given situation. Take a second to stand back and ask
yourself when presented with information. If perchance you are
unable to resolve the degree of your conviction, then it must be
set aside for future study, further experience.
I am
aware of an expression on your world that goes, “drawing a line
in the sand”. It is a curious expression for, while it
illustrates the taking of sides, it also demonstrates the easy
removal of barrier between sides, for sand can easily be
changed, and the line disappears. Likewise you have this same
flexibility with your convictions. With some reflection you can
note that a belief you held in the past you do not hold today.
Your convictions shifted. But without convictions uncertainty
grows, insecurity grows, inability to act definitely sets in.
Conviction brings motivation to action.
Michael’s parting words were, “Go forth and proclaim the
gospel of the kingdom to all the world”. That is done through
conviction.
I
desire now to receive your input.
Ginny: Sometimes it’s hard to give yourself some breathing
room to consider another side. We cling so stubbornly to what
we believe in, we don’t put ourselves in another’s place to
understand why they believe the way they do.
* Elyon: Pride is an issue in this respect, for there is
great weight in conviction, much investment. To begin to adopt
another’s viewpoint implies that your prior viewpoint was
possibly wrong, that you are viewed as convicted of error. This
fear, pride, response causes one to avoid the struggle required
to refine your beliefs. Strong personalities are able to try on
the garments of another’s opinion and from that perspective
better perceive the thought patterns that make up the viewpoint
and choose whether to discard those garments as unfitting to
their situation or adopt those items that do fit well. Also,
the reluctance to entertain contrary viewpoints often touches
the sensitive nerve of a deep down feeling that perhaps your
convictions aren’t sound or truly believed by yourself. In
reality, reflecting upon varied viewpoints strengthens your
understanding and allows you to maintain a rooted connection to
truth even while your mind is shifting in the winds of
viewpoint.
My
final comment to your statement is that love creates curiosity
and the desire to understand another’s convictions. Love of
oneself allows you to remain firm in your viewpoint even while
another believes differently. Love for that other individual
allows them to continue their investigation into truth even if
it does not align with your perspective.
Tom: From our discussion today there’s a great deal of
evidence both pro and con this war. From e-mail I grow weary of
trying to discern the correct view. I’m reminded that Jesus
grew up under Roman authority. The best way to deal with this
is to practice his gospel, not so much to focus for or against
but to see how to apply this gospel to both sides. That’s what
your lesson was about, wasn’t it?
* Elyon: Yes, and you have expressed an important approach
for all to take. Infusing every perspective with the elements
that make up the gospel of Michael greatly clarifies each
perspective, avoids many of the conflicts, and orients according
to value. Along with Michael’s message of the gospel he also
stated to become like a little child. Part of being a little
child is curiosity in discovery, the willingness to pass from
one phase to another as the child grows. So, less conflict
would be experienced by human beings if you all could understand
the broad spectrum of human spiritual awareness, experience, and
maturity; that no position is absolutely right, for in order to
be a living creature you must be always moving physically,
mentally, and spiritually.
Tom: One of these childlike qualities is joy. Humor is a
category of joy. When you have two opposing factions and you
tell a joke, they drop their guard in order to get it. That
approach favors something lighthearted, a sub-section of the
gospel. Does that make sense?
* Elyon: Yes, for, as the master said, “Be of good cheer.”
This is illustrative of the difficulty of conviction, for it
entails loyalty, devotion, and these conditions can foster
negative outcomes such as aggression, manipulation. Humor does
break that barrier. It can cause opposing parties to lift their
heads out of the fray to see the whole context. But it must be
used wisely, for personality can react against humor if it is
perceived as a barb, as a method to tear down their stronghold.
While the content of humor must be wisely evaluated before being
disseminated,the encouragement of laughter discharges pent-up
aggressions. Choose your content well, for it is the
lighthearted reaction that heals and creates bonding.
Tom: Hearty laughter would be the conviction, wouldn’t it?
* Elyon: Much of the laughter response in a human being is
due to a sense of reality and a sense of what is false, and the
juxtaposition in the context of a joke illustrates the points.
Without conviction there really is no humor, for you must stand
firmly in a position in order to find humor in comparison. When
a comical situation is presented that allows laughter, it
presents the opportunity for those engaged in laughter to
perceive the other viewpoint without threat. While it may not
convince in the moment, it may bear upon the mind at later
times.
We
who have different forms that we inhabit than you who inhabit
the human body experience mirth, jubilees, joy. Our mechanisms
do not laugh as yours do, but the inner response is the same.
It is also quite difficult to restrain. This is one of the
safeguards built into your human form by the Life Carriers so
that when your mind becomes tied up in knots, quandaries,
aggravations, and the like, laughter can break that all up, and
it can do so virtually without your ability to suppress it. And
this brings healing. It allows you to pause for a moment and
consider worth, importance.
Ginny: Is our planet inclined to war for all its history?
I know we suffered defaults, but is it typical of an evolving
planet to go to war, or are we an anomaly of some kind?
* Elyon: It is not unusual on an evolutionary world like
yours for these violent actions to follow disagreement. The
subject matter that causes war evolves from the possession of
territory to the promotion of ideologies. What is different
about your planet is that, while this development of the subject
of war shifts, you have yet to develop new methods for your
promotion of ideologies. You may fight over land, but to fight
over ideology destroys the worth of the ideology fought for.
What is lacking on this world are techniques for conflict that
are non-violent. The tendency for mankind to rally behind a
cause is good; even to die for your cause has spiritual value.
What is lacking is improved techniques to resolve your
differences. You are still using century old methods for new
and more complex problems.
One
day on a global level civilization will evolve. Gone will be
the shouting matches, as they have transitioned from screams to
heated argument and eventually into calm debate. While you
admire that in the individuals who make up your world, there is
much work to do for your societies en masse to evolve to that
same level of dignity in behavior.
Evelyn: You spoke of convictions we may have acquired that
don’t belong to us, ones we have taken on. I think how I have
habits and social skills I picked up from my parents. I am
often like my mom. I could defend these behaviors. Is that
anywhere near what you are talking about?
* Elyon: Yes, it is. I will repeat that discerning the
source does not imply that your conviction is no longer valid.
An adopted conviction is good if you are truly convinced. If it
is adopted blindly, unreasoningly, then you stand on fragile
ground and may be surprised when it shatters. I ask you merely
to arrange your understanding of what is truly a conviction that
you have and discern those which are adopted accidentally, not
recognized as your own possession and make a decision if you
wish to add them to your convictions list or wish to discard
them, whether or not they be adopted later or be found worthless
for evermore.
Ginny: On a national scale, our tendency is to believe
that the world is mean and we have to stockpile weapons for
protection. On the other side, believing that the world is a
friendly place, that we are all neighbors, would bring us into
another way of thinking and believing. Conviction is important
to change our habits.
* Elyon: It can be said that convictions lead to conflict,
for opposing convictions stand unyielding. So you have your
many battles. What you speak of steps above that polarity to a
conviction held by all, more appropriately a paradigm, as you
speak of that the world is an ugly place, threatening,
dangerous. If the message of Michael were to be adopted or, in
the spirit of my lesson, truly a conviction of all, the paradigm
would shift, and your conflicts would find smooth resolution,
where you would approach your differences knowing full well that
the other party is a brother or a sister worthy of your love and
of equal value in the eyes of God. Approaching your differences
in this manner would bring peaceful resolutions. I guess you
know your assignment.
I
will depart. I enjoy your engagements with me. It is a delight
to have souls such as you who seek to discern the thread of
spirit through all peoples of your lives, whether it is the
conditions found between you and friends or the conditions
existing between the nations. Even more it is a delight to
witness you discuss conditions between your planet and others
and your relation to the Father of all on Paradise. Until next
time, farewell.
