Halloween and All Souls

As the days grow shorter and nights longer here in the Northern hemisphere, there always has been a focus on festivals of light and dark. In modern times the festival of Halloween has become very commercialised and children in particular enjoy dressing up as witches and ghosts, and even bats. My seven year old grandson went off to a Halloween party on Saturday, thrilled with his bat costume and glove puppet.

With the Sun now in Scorpio, the vibration of this time of year, in whichever hemisphere we live, leads our thoughts towards the hidden mysteries of life, death and the hereafter. The traditional Christian festival of All Souls comes at this time too. It brings a good vibration for meditation, for inner contemplation and deeper understanding of the reality of the inner worlds and continuing companionship of family and loved ones who have passed on.

Let’s not think of them as ghostly figures, but open ourselves to the reality of their continued life and love. As White Eagle says often, heaven is not far away; heaven is here in our hearts. We can open our hearts now to our loved ones; open our inner ears to hear his/her voice speaking to us. Some of us may not ‘see’ but we can ‘feel’ their continuing love and companionship.

White Eagle says in White Eagle on Festivals and Celebrations:

‘We pray that your inner vision may open to the company of shining ones, friends, brothers and sisters of your spirit, who draw close to you at the festival of All Souls. We cannot give you any physical proof of our message of the eternal life, but God has given you the power within your heart to receive your own confirmation of its truth. You may search the world over. You may use every scientific instrument human kind can devise, you can seek through the ways of psychic phenomena: yet still this great truth of eternal life evades you when you search only along the earthly path. There is always something beyond all earthly things, something elusive which cannot be caught, trapped and harnessed by the human mind. It is so free, so subtle, that it can only be realised in your own heart. You have been given the gift of God in you; within your own being is the life of God, and it is your work here on earth so to live as to stimulate the growth of this God-consciousness.’

‘If you look deep enough you will see goodness’ White Eagle

Amidst all the often heart breaking news we witness around us there are some heart-warming stories. They remind me of the goodness in so many hearts and the huge efforts being made to uplift our planet and move us all forward into the new era of true brotherhood which White Eagle tells us so clearly is surely coming.

I was recently given a newspaper article entitled ‘No peace deal yet, but Nobel Peace Prize offers hope’. It tells how the President of Colombia has been awarded the prize for his efforts to bring peace to his troubled country. Amnesty International’s Secretary General is quoted as saying: ‘We hope today’s announcement will embolden the parties to continue efforts to reach a definitive peace agreement’. The conflict there has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced around six million people. This inspiring article goes on to remind readers of other notable prize winners—Martin Luther King, Aung San Suu Kyi, Mikhail Gorbachev and Nelson Mandela. I believe reminding ourselves of courageous people working for freedom, truth and brotherhood such as these, can help us all keep positive and hopeful of the triumph of good over so-called evil as White Eagle says very clearly in SPIRITUAL UNFOLDMENT VOL.2. 

The section about Mikhail Gorbachev reminds us of his part in bringing about the fall of the Berlin Wall—an amazing achievement—if that can happen, nothing is impossible! Then Aung San Suu Kyi, inspired by Gandhi, was eventually able to bring peaceful reform to her country (Burma) and replace the military rule with civilian government. She, like Nelson Mandela, and indeed many others, endured punishment for standing up for truth and human rights (brotherhood in action). With courageous souls like this the negative energies will not prevail and all negativity will be transmuted into positive soul-growth for individuals and the world. This helps me to take heart when I witness the terrible things going on in Syria and the global ‘refugee crisis’. Good will triumph. God’s law is unassailable and the magic of the Star uplifts and inspires so many to work for change and to comfort all who suffer.

I often read these lovely words of White Eagle on page 30 of SEEKING SERENITY:

‘Remember, brethren, that all is working together for the great day of illumination of the whole of humanity!—for the great Brotherhood which is to be. You know, if you could see with your pure spiritual vision, you would see into the hearts of all people, and you would find, beneath all the rubble and the rubbish, a great sweetness every time. If you will cultivate this true vision, if you will learn to see truly from your heart, and if you will look deep enough, you will see goodness everywhere, in all peoples. Moreover, as you receive that blessing into your heart, it will flow through you, through the oneness you feel with all humankind. The light in you will flow to others, to all the world, to bless, to heal and to help stimulate that same beauty in every heart.’