This is an inner weather report.   After a month’s rest from July’s pounding waves, there are some more waves coming in that are going to trigger more shifts.  These shifts are to further our alignment process, setting us into position to move into the “new” lives we have chosen.

I guess our problem is, that a lot of us are clueless to the “new” lives we chose and, have been expecting something altogether different then what will be, similar to Michael Jackson and David Carradine.

I do not know what events will show up in all our individual lives but what I do know is that these events are going to create emotional waves that will build to a crescendo by the end of the week.   By the weekend, inner alarm bells will be ringing to address the issues.   It will not be a wise time to sleep through the alarm or hit the snooze  button.

The issue Is and Will Be, Accountability.  As all the events set into motion will be effects of us choosing to live in denial of it.

Unfortunately for a lot of Us, the Standard of Accountability the issues surround, is one that is relatively unknown and not even usually considered.

But in the future, it most likely will be!

That’s the “good” news, meaning pleasant and wise way of looking at events.

No, it’s not pleasant to find ourselves standing knee deep in our own *poo* but the discovery does lead to desire to start cleaning our acts up.

The Accountability that I’m writing of and about, is the Accountability for the use of Willpower.  Most especially the use of it by those of us in denial of our own.

Accountability simply hasn’t been on the list of qualities we have chosen to value, most especially in the areas of Be-ing mentally and emotionally self disciplined, self governing and self nurturing.    The events that will be manifesting/transpiring, will be to align us with the consequences of our choices in these areas.

For over a decade, I have chosen to withdraw all of my energetic support from any and all of our irrational wishes of a fuzzy bunny lalaland of harps and clouds.  I have been trying to convey in as kind a way as possible, that the Divine Feminine is not a personification of emotional weakness.  It is the Personification of a Loving Will.

We could have chosen ~easy~ but most of us didn’t.  We chose ~easy~ street.  Which is ~easy~ to get to.

Just not ~easy~ to live there.

“Have we been self disciplined or have we depended upon the self discipline of others?”

That is THE key question.

For if we have been self diciplined, responsible and accountable, then times that require it are ~easy~ and if we haven’t been self disciplined, responsible and accountable, then times that require it aren’t.

This is a time of opportunity.

An opportunity of self development.

And for those of us who have never required, nor expected it out of ourselves before, the sooner we do, the sooner our lives will show improvement and progress.

Sometimes the journey is gentle; sometimes it is steep.  The only time it is ~easy~ is when we know we have within Us, whatever the next step takes.

What I ‘see’ in my minds’ eye, I liken to a mountain.   A lot of Us made it to the foothills over a decade ago.  A few of us continued ascending up the mountain,  facing the steep climbs when they appeared upon our paths.    A great number of us chose to stop there, worn out by the hike to the foothills and,  stayed behind to frolic in the meadows of pretense.

As if something had been achieved.  Relatively speaking, that might have been, however now, Humanity as a whole, has reached those same foothills.  It ran like a Herd to escape the rising tide of events.

That tide is continuing to rise.  Flood warnings are out all over the meadows of pretense.

“The Ark started moving,
a shifting with the tides.
The unicorns looked up
from the rocks as they cried.
The waters came down
sort of floating them away.
That’s why we’ve never seen a unicorn
to this very day.”

If we’ve been living our lives with a goal of “comfortable” in mind, avoiding anything “uncomfortable”, then NOW is the time to start getting “comfortable”, with everything we have avoided.   It takes claiming our own Willpower and the Sovereignty over our emotions, in order to do it.

Steep climbs, paths requiring personal and individual effort and expense of energy, only get “comfortable” after we’ve surmounted a few.

The National Debt of the US is representative of how much the emotional self indulgence of We the People cost.   As G.W Bush portrayed so well, the majority of us are weak emotionally.  We are only “comfortable” within controlled conditions.  When Life flows outside of those conditions, we throw emotional fits.

Let’s face it.   “We the People” just don’t happen to know how to feel “comfortable” with Life outside the little boxes comprised of our coping skills.

Kinda’ reminds me of when I was young.  I wasn’t “comfortable” in a lake or the ocean.  It felt squishy and was inhabited by creatures that liked to nibble on my toes.     If I ever wanted to feel “comfortable” around lakes or oceans, I only had two options.  Option A: sell the idea to encase all the lakes and oceans in concrete, making them more like swimming pools then natural bodies of water.  Option B: change my own perspectives and attitudes.

Change ‘it’ or change the way I related to ‘it’, those were my choices.   I was young then, I hadn’t grown up, so I simply whined about how uncomfortable I was.   I ‘saw’ Love as catering to the needs of my “inner child”.    And all I can say now, is that if our “inner child”  still hasn’t grown up, then continued denial of accountability for it,  isn’t the ~easy~ way to go.

Unless the IRS decides to recognize that child as a dependent,  it’s time that child grew up.  Liberty and Freedom only come to those of us who are willing and prepared to accept the responsibilities of them.

{{tumel}} recently asked about the significance, if any, of the current eclipse activity.    I grew up knowing it as the “once in a blue moon” occurance of two full moons in one month.  The second full moon, known as the blue moon, being thought of as “lucky”.  Make a wish…

The significance of the event is to convey “new beginnings”.

This particular time,  Humanity is beginning an ‘ascent’ of sorts on an evolutionary spiral.  It has to do with awareness and consciousness.  Ever so often awareness expands.  It is all part of a natural order of experience.

I can compare it to when we were little.  First we become aware we have fingers.  Next  we become aware that we can move them.  Then we usually put them in our mouths, further expanding our awareness to include taste of fingers.  Eventually we become aware of our feet and toes.

From the moment we are born, life is an adventure in further expanding our awareness.  We learn how to manipulate and animate our parts.  We become aware that we can initiate action; we can move on our own.    After we learn how to hold our head up, we look up and ….become aware of how much more there is to discover.  This leads to our initiating action to stand, walk, climb, etc.

One thing we can count on, is once we discover there is more to Life, we go after it.  And that is what we are doing now.

I guide to take a deep look at our standards and our ideals.  For if our ideals and standards are limited, so will we be limited as individuals and, from now on, so will our lives be limited likewise.

A very beloved friend of mine happened to witness my cat enjoying himself within recent history.  My cat had caught a shrew and was busy munching away.   He was being True to his nature; the shrew to its.  Death/birth, is all part of a natural process.  Life in action.    Beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all.

She expressed she had to turn her back.  I smiled and laughed, saying something about being “squeamish”.    Her reply was that there was nothing wrong with being a girl.

This is the sort of thing I mean about questioning our standards.

What does being a “girl” have to do with being emotionally limited when it comes to embracing life?  Seems to me “boys” display the same inner nature with the same consistency.   Our limits are something we all share in common, because it is the way our cultures have raised us to be.  Nothing sexist about it.

The dysfunctional “boy” counterpart to the dysfunctional “girl”, plays the role of taking physical dominion by force, in order to protect dysfunctional “girl” from everything that makes her “uncomfortable”.

These were our “old” patterns of behavior and they are now obsolete.  The more we try to play into these roles,  the more miserable we’re going to get.

Over the past 15 years, I’ve been gnashing my teeth in frustration as quite a few of us rushed off to some group that supports dis-associative disorders.   Most of these groups have been fluffy bunny groups, promoting lala lands of heaven on earth, devoid of everything that makes us feel uncomfortable.  Basically, a “heaven” on earth that resembles something along the lines of a sanitarium with padded walls.  A “gated” community, one that has “boundaries”, that keep everything “negative” out.

It’s what we do.  Being unable to cope with life, we imagine living in a “heaven”,  where we don’t have to face anything that makes us feel uncomfortable.

Behind our feelings of discomfort are emotional “wounds” we have not addressed.  We haven’t loved ourselves enough to seek healing.  All we’ve been seeking for the most part, has been to escape, to dis-associate our selves from our experiences of emotional pain and suffering.

We have sought to wipe out the parts of our realities we didn’t know how to cope with and, in so doing, detach and distance ourselves from the ‘parts’ of ourselves that are suffering, mentally and/or emotionally. All these ‘parts’ of our lives that we thought we had successfully distanced ourselves from, are now all rushing back into our lives, demanding attention.   Humanity is being slammed in ways that are bringing up these old wounds.    It’s definitely not a time to be squeamish about addressing bleeding hearts.

My energy is focused on helping as many of us as are open, to start genuinely understanding the “talk”, walking it and, healing wounds along the way.

Dear Torben,

I’ve checked back to your webpage a few times over the past months.  I’ve followed the links and I’ve read.  And it comes to me to write to you again, though I honestly admit to not knowing ‘why’.  I often don’t know the ‘why’, when the inspiration moves me.  It simply does and I accept it.  I learned long ago resistance is futile.  It merely wears me out.

First, let me say I haven’t read a thing I wouldn’t agree with concerning the people in question.  However, my response would be different.   Waging a battle of negation over whose view of Reality is going to dominate over the other IS the “old energy” pattern.

Some of us claim to be a victim of a certain person, while that certain person claims to be a victim of some of us…ALL at the same time!  Excuse me for being so bold as to say it sure looks like two ends of the same rubber band to me.  A pot, calling a kettle black and vice versa.  It has “Victim” written all over it.

Sure, investments and expectations don’t exactly match with Reality.  Notice anything in common with the rest of the World?  ALL our personal Kingdoms based on illusions are unraveling.

Signaling it’s time to get Real.

A “donation” is one thing.  A “shareholder investment” is another.  I wonder which one it was?  Usually when I buy shares, my check is exchanged for Stock Certificates.   If the company has no legal certificates to exchange for my check, then I wait for them to satisfy all the legal and financial requirements, according to all rules and regulations.  Let them prove themselves fit for public investment before asking for it.

Who are you really mad at?

So long we see ourselves as victims, we will feel helpless and will be lost, without understanding.  Admitting to being gullible and ignorant is empowering, because we, personally, can DO something about it.

If a man comes and knocks on my front door, promising me if I give him $500, he’ll turn it into $5000, I’m going to ask for his client list.  I’m going to demand proof before I hand any money over to him.

Especially, if it’s anyone of us claiming to be any kind of ‘spiritual teacher’, who hasn’t even so much as yet claimed responsibility for emotion.   I’ve been observing responses towards one another.  And I haven’t noticed a great deal of any discernable difference when it comes to expressing quality of spiritual substance of character.   It’s a competition of who has been the biggest victim of whom.  Who is best when it comes to using a whip of Guilt.

“Mea copa, mea copa, mea maxima copa”, “through my fault, through my fault¸ through my great fault”…

“New energy” pattern says:

You bet I’m [[[[[[G U I L T Y]]]]]]].  I freely admit it.  I Am Human.  I make mistakes.  I’ve told myself lies and believed them myself, which made them feel like truth I was selling to others.   Who hasn’t?

And how we respond to the human in all of us is what distinguishes a ‘spiritual teacher’.  What is our Standard of Value?  Perfection?  Or the ability to embrace ~imperfection~?

I “stand behind the short wall” but it doesn’t mean I need be silent.

“I Am God Also”…the phrase has been used as some sort of claim, kinda’ like credit.  ‘Credit” is a way of saying “I believe in you”.   Well, I’m the sort that already knows it doesn’t matter one whit how many people believe in us.  It only matters how much we believe in ourselves.

So from now on, I’m going to respond to all claims of “I Am God Also” with:

“That may be but has yet been proved.”

Greetings & Salutations!

Both {{{cordieb}}} and {{{tumel}}} deserve WAY more in response to their inquiries and blessings then just the little blip I’ve managed to write so far.   I suppose it might appear like I have been taking a vacation, as in, exit stage left.  But that would be an appearance only.   I’m ~still~ very much *here*.

I have been a busy bee, bumbling mostly, just trying to keep up with the turned up/on intensity.  Woohoo!  Are we having FUN yet?

Gads, it doesn’t matter the outer circumstances that are triggering it…deep seated emotions are all coming up and out.  Sniffle, sniffle, “Pass the Puffs,”.

As far as I can tell right now, what’s happening is Freedom’s Ringing.  Our Soul/Spirits WILL be Free, one way or another.  Soul Healing has begun.  Like….Michael Jackson’s Soul is now FREE from all the pain and anguish he was experiencing.   He was suffering intensely, especially mentally and emotionally.

Our World is shifting, from being outer directed to inner directed.  ALL outer circumstances and conditions right now are manifesting for ONE purpose and ONE purpose only: to motivate/inspire us to start turning inward.  For there is where we will all find the courage and strength we need to face going through all the changes.

What’s ‘coming in’ is what is known as “POWER” on a Cosmic, Universal or Spiritual Level.  And it’s bringing down all our man made delusions of “power” and everything we’ve built on those delusions.

My husband and I were watching a movie the other night.  A thief had kidnapped a female US Marshal and both of them were stuffed inside the trunk of a car the thief’s cohort was driving.

“Why aren’t you struggling?  No screaming, no crying, you aren’t acting like you are afraid at all.  Why?”, the thief asked.

“I’m not afraid.  I know all I need do is sit back, relax and wait for you to screw up.  You’re a man.”, the US Marshal replied.

Then the thief exclaimed she sounded just like his ex-wife.

And that’s basically the  story behind the “Divine Feminine”: the “Holy Spirit” or the Third Aspect of the Divine Trinity:  Intelligent Activity.

Man, as in Mankind, screws up and in comes the Holy Spirit to the rescue.    And from Spirit’s perspective, there is NO such thing as any “order of difficulty”, for nothing is difficult.  *Now* we can ‘do’ this the hard way, the old way or, we can choose to ‘do’ this a new way,  the easy way.

We have reached the end of our bass ackward ways and it’s cause for celebration.  No longer will we be going bass ackwards, so now maybe we’ll be able to get someplace, besides over well trodden ground.

Real soon, within the next couple of weeks, I will be posting a “taste” of what is being assembled right now.

*drum roll*

I’m going live, hosting interactive classrooms.  I’m going to “channel”….

~me~.

While streaming video, an interactive classroom will be set up for live interactive chat, discussion and questions.

Like I’ve been saying, there is a difference between a teacher and a preacher.  The main difference being group participation.

A website that is the platform for these live events is what I am building now.

Blessings & Hugs,

Sue Ann

This was 1st posted April 30, 2008.

I dedicate this post to {{Simon}}, who worries he isn’t shifting fast enough…

When a certain idea keeps coming to me from all sides, repeatedly, it is one of the ways I am to “know” that I am being ~prodded~, goaded even, to speak, when I really don’t want to. (My own human self, getting in My way.)

Lately, one of the issues has been the issue of discernment. So long as there are those of us working on this issue, there will be lies and deceivers, for they are the polar ‘opposites’ of us when we do not know how to discern truth from illusion. Lies and gullibility are two sides to the same coin, two ends to the same rubber band.

Discernment happens to be the 3^rd labor of Hercules. It’s rather an involved labor. After the 1^st labor of reining in our horses, The Capture of the Man-Eating Mares, establishing mental discipline and, the 2^nd labor of riding our bull of desire over to the Temple of our Soul, The Capture of the Cretan Bull, comes the labor of discernment: the Golden Apples of Hesperides.

This is the labor of bringing the two poles of our being together. Coordinating, synthesizing, integrating and, creating a state of at-one-ment between our Soul and our Personality, so that duality gives way to Unity and all pairs of opposites are blended, are seen as ends of the same rubber band. The apples are symbols of the all inclusive nature of Spirit, how all are nurtured by the same Tree of Life.

In the story there were 3 apples, symbolizing Instinct, Intellect and Intuition. The 3 layers of Mind. It takes Intellect, a conscious act of Will, to overcome Instinct, which was the lesson of labors 1 & 2.

But it is still Instinct that is activating the Law of Attraction…that is riding our desire nature (the bull) and, causing our fear inducing perceptions (our horses running wild with us). Until this pattern is overcome, through the Discernment of Intuition. The 3^rd labor is to register contact with Spirit in waking consciousness and recognize its qualities.

In the story, Hercules is to get the Golden Apples, which grow on the Tree of Wisdom, a sacred tree of great renown. The tree and its fruit were said to have been a Gift from Divine Mother, the unconditional support structure of Her Garden of Eden. The fame and tale of these sweet fruits had been told far and wide, luring many sons of man and Sons of God over time.

He was told 3 things about his labor. First, that the way would be long. Second, that the tree was well guarded by three beautiful maidens, who were in turn guarded by a dragon with 100 heads. And third, to guard himself well from strength too great for him and wiles beyond his comprehension.

He was also told that on his search he would meet with 5 tests, each with Insight upon where the fruits of Wisdom could be found. As with each of us, at this stage of our enlightenment are in search of 5 things: we have not what is called “a translation faculty of the Presence”, for we do not yet posses the privilege and the prerogative. We may claim to believe in the Reality of a Soul, in the possibility of being Whole and Complete, in a journey of self discovery and self realization but belief has not been turned into Knowledge of the Spiritual Realms in terms of genuine “knowing”. Glamour still rules our minds.

Off Hercules goes, passing through the third gate and, headed north, symbol for the direction of Spirit. He went far and wide, questioning everyone everywhere he went. Coming back to where he started before the gate, time and time again. No one knew where the sacred tree grew. No one knew where to find the golden apples. Discouraged and deflated of his early bravado, Hercules still trudged on.

Out of Compassion, he was sent some aid: Nereus, son of the God of Fresh Waters, son of Neptune, known as “the Ancient of the Sea”. He was not only wise but, capable of assuming many forms. Just as our Spirit, when first contacted, in the early stages of our journey will come to us as a flash of illumination, an “Aha!” moment, a sudden realization, then disappear. Its Wisdom fleeting and illusive, like a hint dropped into our awareness when we have stilled our emotions.

Time and time again Nereus contacted Hercules, in varying forms using various words of Truth, but Hercules ignored him, not recognizing him for who he was. Wise was he and deep in the Wisdom of a Son of God but Hercules was blind and could not see. His answers were always in the form of hints of things to Hercules, leaving him with only a vague idea of what to do and where he needed to go. He did finally impress upon him the way before him was to turn south.

He had his high moment, when he transcended his ‘human’ consciousness and experienced communion with his Spirit, but it did not last.

Failure marking the 1^st of the tests, in the darkness of his own ignorance, Hercules continued his search. Having found no sacred tree in the north, Hercules turns and heads south, symbolic of going back into the world, the opposite pole of Spirit.

Where he immediately ran into Antaeus the Serpent, son of the God of Salt Water, son of Poseidon and, the Earth. There is significance in the distinction between fresh water and salt water. One is conducive and supportive of life if swallowed, the other isn’t. One represents Truth, the other, illusions. Hercules wrestled with the Serpent but it overcame him at every turn. “He must guard the tree”, Hercules imagined, “I must be close. All I have to do is break his strength and then get the fruits.” But he wrestled with all his strength and could not conquer.

“Why do I fail?” he cried. “As an infant I destroyed a serpent from my crib. I strangled it with my own hands. What is wrong with me now?”

Finally, he grasped it with both hands and lifted it up in the air. And the deed was done, the Serpent vanquished. Antaeus, momentarily defeated spoke: “I will meet you again in another guise when you come through the 8^th gate” and, disappeared.

The Serpent Antaeu symbolizes the serpent of glamour, especially what we call “astral” glamour. Glamour of this kind includes all aspects of what we call “psychic”. It is with the lower aspects of this “psychism” that Hercules has to wrestle with, as in our early stages so do we, for the glamour is very powerful to our untrained minds and attracts each and every single one of us. At this stage, we are ill equipped to verify in any way, what we see, hear or sense. Like Hercules, many of us wrestle with this Serpent for a long time, before we learn how to lift it up to the Light of Illumination.

Earth being Antaeus’ Mother, he draws all his strength from her. So when he becomes disconnected from her, he looses all his power. This tells us that the source of the Serpent’s strength is the Vanity of our Personality. The air has also always been a symbol of what is called the “buddhic” plane or “Christ” plane of activity. When we (rein in our horses) to seek the single eye of illumination (ride the bull to the temple), then our mind in filled with Light and all glamour is seen for what it Is. Truth is revealed. Glamour vanquished. Becoming both immune and invincible to it at the same time.

Simply a change in our perspective can work miracles when it comes to the way we feel.

Essentially, fear and excitement feel the same. What we choose to qualify what we feel, depends entirely on our perspective of expectation…whether we expect ‘good’ or ‘bad’. From the ‘buddhic’ or the Christ way of looking at things, there is NO ‘bad’. Every moment in Life is a Present, a Gift of experience. How Grateful are we for our Presents? How much do we love Life?

“Glamour” is composed of all of our ideas that the Love of God or Spirit, is Conditional. That there are limits to an Absolute’s absolute-ness. Any and all of our ideas based on separation, based upon being separate from Spirit at any moment. It is any and all of the realities we live in our heads based on supposed ‘spiritual’ exclusiveness. Like good/bad are based upon the perception of exclusiveness. As in “Heaven” and “Hell”, “the chosen” and “the unchosen”. Like contradictions, conflict and competition are all based upon the perception of different ‘parts’. Like categories and qualifications are all based on the idea of separation, as well as, being end results of a thinking process called “anal-ysis”, which is best referred to as Hindsight.

While the “view” of Spirit is One of Unity and Equanimity and the thought process of Unity awareness is that of Synthesis.

Ideas of polarity and duality and all the emotions that go with them, all our dreams and all our dramas based upon being superior or exalted above others, all our dramas based on fear and doubts about being loved and accepted, are what make up the substance of the ‘astral’ planes of Glamour.

Rising above it all, is the basis of this story. The “two who are one”. The son of man who is also a Son of God. The Reconciliation of the Divine Brothers. The symbolism behind the sign “Gemini”. The tale has been told over and over and over. Castor & Pollux. Romulus & Remus. Cain and Abel. Christ and Lucifer. Symbolizing the two aspects of our nature, our Soul or Spirit and, our Personality.

In getting back to my story, the 2^nd test met and overcome victoriously, Hercules proceeds along his search. Feeling renewed strength through confidence he turns and heads west, where he runs straight into his 3rd test in the form of Busiris, the great Arch Deceiver, another relative of the god of salt water, Poseidon. It his role to bring delusion to the minds of the sons of men by posing as a teacher, a spiritual authority. He has a quickness to his speech and speaks words like ‘accept what I tell you”, “I am the authority. I have been chosen to know the secrets withheld from others.” “Stay with me and be Saved.”

Hercules obeyed, the invitation so gracious, and weakened daily, his strength slowly sapped by the sweet words of deceit. He slowly surrendered his will and his Mind over to Busiris, day by day and, came to accept him as teacher and guide. Busiris made great claims of himself, claims that he was a custodian of the truth and could lead Hercules into the Light, that he could show him the way. Hercules loved and adored Busiris and accepted everything he said without question. Until one day his beloved teacher bound him in chains upon an altar and kept him bound there for one year, as his slave and captive.

Busiris is anyone of us making claims of being an authority figure, superseding the authority of the Presence within our own Hearts. It is anyone who tells us to look to them instead of to look within. It is anyone who seeks to chain and bind us to them through our own ignorance, need or self-denial. Truth or Wisdom only extended for a price of sacrificing personal Sovereignty to them.

This includes the roles of Pastor, Pope, Priest, Guru, Minister, Rabbi, Initiate and Shaman, to name a few. Believing in that authority over us, means we have temporarily forgotten we are ‘Hera-kles’ or our ‘Soul’s Glory”, that we are also Sons of God.

These Busiris figures in our lives claim to be custodians of the Truth, somehow and for some reason, withheld from others. They bolster their position and image with promises and build strong Personality relationships catering to our vanities. They also use the genuine sincerity of others in seeking the Truth to bind them to them, making them appear greater by way of satellites in orbits around them.

No son of man who also knows himself to be a Son of God will make any other promise then to say: “There are steps. Steps all the “saints” and “Masters of Wisdom” have always taken. If you but try and have endurance, trust and patience, the goal will be yours, too.”

At the end of a year, when Hercules was struggling to free himself, all of a sudden he remembered something Nereus had said to him: “Truth lies within yourself. There is the highest strength and Wisdom within your self. Turn inwards and invoke the strength, which Is, the Power, which is the heritage of every Son of God.”

Silently he lay in waiting, for just the right opportunity, then with the strength that belongs to all Sons of God, he broke free of his chains, seized the false teacher by the throat and bound him to the altar in his place. And left him there, without speaking a word, to learn the same lesson.

He freed himself, as do all sincere seekers, having freed our selves from the worlds of fake spiritual teachings and psychic glamour. Hercules had passed the 3^rd test. Notice that the tests so far, may appear to be laced with discouragement, delay, deceit and failure however; Hercules was rapidly learning the language of his own Soul.

He was wandering on his way, mulling over the lessons in Wisdom he had learned over the past year, spent prone upon that altar, when he heard a moan of deep distress. The intensity of the cry tore at his very Soul. In the distance over a huge rock, he saw vultures circling, near to where the cries and moans were coming from. Hercules was torn with indecision. He had already lost a year and felt a need for haste. He did not like the idea of another delay. But again the cries burst forth and his mind was made up. He bolted into a run to help whoever it was needed aid.

He found Prometheus, another son of God, an older brother, chained to a rock, suffering the agonies of vultures picking away at his liver, which symbolized being tortured by vultures of old ways and old desires. When Hercules broke the binding chain and freed Prometheus, he freed himself from the vultures of selfish desire that had been eating away at him, too. He gave up being selfish and gave up on only satisfying himself and his desires. Cooperation was the Key to World Service. Genuine Initiates were too busy serving the Whole of Man, to spend much time drawing interest to themselves for validation of Vanities and self-aggrandizement.

Hercules then chased away the vultures and took his time tending the sick man. When Prometheus was recovered, with much loss of time, Hercules went again on his way. He had passed the 4^th test. The test of Service. In beginning to recognize the Spiritual Presence within him self, he also started recognizing it within all others, too. Any help he extended towards another, hastened his own realization.

He went on, searching for the sacred tree everywhere: north, south, east and west. Finally one day when he was almost totally worn out by fear and travel, he heard a rumor from a passerby that the tree was to be found near a distant mountain. On a bright sunny day he looked east and found what he had been looking for, the highest mountains. He hurried on his way, imagining victory would shortly be in his grasp. “I will vanquish the dragon”, he thought, “and then charm the fair maidens right out of their fruits.”

But again, a sight that disturbed him down to the very depths of his Soul stopped him. He had almost reached the top of the summit of the highest mountain when he turned a corner and came face to face with Atlas, another older brother, another Son of God, too. He saw Atlas but Atlas did not see him, for his back was bowed by the weight of the World upon his shoulders. He staggered under the load, his eyes closed in agony.

Hercules stood there literally shaking, taking in the whole scene. He watched, gauging the weight and size of the load of pain. All thought of his search had left his mind. The quest for the sacred tree, the fair maidens and their apples faded completely away from his thoughts. The only ideas in his head were those of how to aid the giant as soon as possible.

He rushed forward and lifted the load off Atlas, placing the weight of the World on his shoulders instead. He clinched his eyes shut, mentally bracing himself for the weight and pain of the load of the World, when suddenly the load rolled off and disappeared. Both he and Atlas stood free.

Atlas, now free, goes to the Garden of Hesperides, has no trouble with the 100 headed glamour dragon and with the enthusiastic help of the fair maidens, brings the apples to Hercules, who now also stands free, having passed the 5^th and final test. With Love, he hands them to Hercules.

Then the maidens step forward with still more golden apples, symbolizing three aspects of his own Divinity. They each symbolize the potency of a Divine Principal.

The 1^st Maiden, Aegle, presses her apple into Hercules’ hand saying, “The way to Us is always marked with Deeds of Love. Of extending ourselves for the Joy of the extension, requiring no conditions.” She represents the Glory of Life and the Splendor of the setting sun: the magnificence in manifesting on the physical plane.

Then the 2^nd Maiden, Erytheia, steps up and presses her apple into Hercules’ hand. Inscribed in the apple is one golden word: Service. “Remember this”, she said, “Forget it not.” Erytheia represents the keeper of the gate of our Soul, which is always opened with a key of Loving-Wisdom: Intelligence illuminated by the Light of our Soul, through our Intuition. “Always embraces all ways.”

Lastly, Hesperis, the 3^rd Maiden steps up. She represents the evening star, the star of Initiation and symbolizes Willpower. She says with great Clarity and Love to Hercules, “Tread the Way. For all World Servers from now on. Body, Soul and Spirit; Intelligence, Love and Will.”

“Then I give back these apples for those who follow”, said Hercules and returned from whence he came. Before the Watcher he stood, rendering an exact account of all that had transpired. Of why he went after the golden apples but does not have them now.

The Watcher gives him a word of cheer, points to the next gate, the fourth one, saying to him, “Go now, pass through that gate. Capture the doe and enter once again into a holy place.”

Despite all the hindrances and deviations due to astral and physical glamour, Hercules did obtain the golden apples. No matter how much time it took, he did arrive at Wisdom.