Call to Prayer

I have just returned from a few days in Switzerland, staying in the Bernise Oberland areawith Beatrice, our White Eagle leader. We have a truly beautiful White Eagle Centre there—full of light and joy. Something I loved when staying and working there (as I do at our Munich Centre) is the regular chiming of the church clocks. These days perhaps we are not so aware of that in our towns and cities here in the UK. The chimes remind me of the Islamic call to prayer—the evocative chanting of the muezzin which rings out across the streets and countryside in Islamic countries.

During my visit I was talking about White Eagle’s link with the major religions of the world—not just Christianity—and how our 3,6,9,12 call to ‘send out the light of the Star’ is so similar to the Muslims’ daily commitment of prayer at sunrise, mid-day, mid-afternoon, sunset and evening. I really believe White Eagle wants us to pray particularly for greater peace and understanding between different faiths and an end to wars between religious factions. 

I recounted to our Swiss members the vision I had some years ago whilst meditating in the Temple at Luxor in Egypt. It was sunset time and I had just listened to the ‘call to prayer’, when I became aware of Jesus and Mohammed talking together (at the inner level)! They were ‘shaking their heads’ over the fact that their followers were always fighting and they were asking all—at their time of prayer—to work for greater harmony. So as I write this near the time of what White Eagle calls ‘the Christ full moon’ (when the sun is in Gemini) this is my prayer.

White Eagle says: ‘These are the qualities of a great soul: gentleness and tolerance. You all think you know best. You all think the other person is doing the wrong thing. Tolerance, tolerance, dear ones. Live and let live. Let everybody have the freedom they need in order to grow and develop. Your work is to hold in your heart the shining Star, which is all love, and stillness and strength.’  (from White Eagle’s book ‘The Source of all our Strength’)

Peace No Matter What!

At last it seems that spring has come (here in the UK)! At the outer level nature is busy

with flowers and leaves bursting forth. It always seems to me that at this time of year there is a particular busy-ness in our outer lives too, with lots of stresses and challenges. The full moon when the Sun is in Taurus has just passed by and in White Eagle’s teaching this is traditionally the Wesak Festival linked with the Lord Buddha. White Eagle says: ‘The meditation at this time is of utter stillness and surrender, and of the one-ness of all life.’  Yes, at the inner level, if we can touch it, there is this feeling of great serenity and peace, and yet outwardly so much is happening.  So I think it is a time when we have a particular opportunity to find our own inner strength, our own inner place of peace, no matter what is going on around us. At this time of year I always try to make a particular point of meditating on the still flame, and there is a passage of White Eagle’s teaching that I often think of to help me.  I share it with you here: ‘It is not what is happening around you that is important. It is the way you deal with such happenings. You can get worked up and make yourselves ill, as some of you have done, and may do again; or you can keep very still, and continually seek the place of silence and strength. Having stilled the emotions, the next step is to reach the innermost centre of communion and the intaking of strength. You can then examine your problem and say, “Dear God, I would have the strength to handle this as the Master would handle it”. In the presence of the Master anger and resentment dissolve. You are raised above the pulls and antagonisms of the earthly plane. You are filled with peace, overcome with adoration and love. If you are big and wise enough to do what we say, you will never again be torn by emotion, nor will you be puzzled; because there, within yourself, you will find the still, ever-burning flame, so bright, a flame of the spiritual sun. As you concentrate on that pure, bright, white flame, you will feel the majesty of the sun in yourself: you will know you are master of your body and the conditions of your life. Nothing can touch you. That Presence deep, deep within you is the I AM. “Be still and know that I AM God”.’          (From ‘Heal Thyself’)