(Carla channeling)

I am Hatonn. I greet you in the love and in the light of our infinite Creator. My heart is glad that my brothers and sisters and I are able to spend this time with you once again; to be called to your presence is something for which we can only thank you again and again, for it is our nature to come only when called and to serve only when asked. In your turn you do us enormous service, for it is in working with groups such as yours that we ourselves at this particular point in our own development continue our evolution by refining the compassion we feel for you and insofar as we have wisdom, the wisdom that we share with you. We are those who attempt to learn the lessons of wisdom. You are those who are attempting to learn the lessons of love, of compassion, of mercy, and so we would retell an old story. This instrument does not know the story, however it is written among your older works.

It is a story we would very much like for you to hear at this particular evening with this particular group. We ask you, before we even begin, to discount all those things which you may hear that do not ring true to your experience and your own inner knowing, but to use those things which do ring true, take them within and use them, as we offer them in love.

Once upon a time there was a young man. He was determined to learn the truth. He had spent his childhood and his young manhood studying both the natural world and the world within books, and nowhere could he find the metaphysical base for existence that took into account all of his experience and all of his thinking. Nevertheless, this young man was positive that such a work existed, for in his reading he had found traces of others upon the same journey as he, footsteps before him, footprints wearing down the stones of time, so many were those of the number of those who sought the truth of existence. He sold all that he had, and he was a wealthy man. He took his fortune and bought a large ocean-going ship and hired a crew, and he began an odyssey attempting to find the one teacher with the one body of teaching that would contain all that he needed to know about who he was and where he was going.

He sailed all the seven seas and many an ocean. He left his ship and walked toilsomely up many mountains on many continents, and one lined face after another told him a story. It was always and ever the same story, and that was that although he had a ship and they did not, that they were on a journey together and that they had not found what he was seeking. He had not discovered the final solution, he had not plucked the perfect flower.

Ultimately, he put his ship to anchor and started up what was considered to be a holy mountain in South America. He walked and walked and walked. After weeks of walking and many near escapes with dangerous animals and those who lived in the area and were not pleased with white men, he came to a simple, beautiful mountain tarn, a lake so placid that one could not see that it was not glass. How he had thirsted for such clean and pure water during his dusty trek. He took off his clothing and bathed, thanking the Creator for such a gift, for the water, indeed, seemed somehow blessed and blessing to him.

When he came out of the water, his clothing had disappeared. All the colors had changed before his eyes. There were gems in everything—the grass was now emeralds, the sky, the blue of an amethyst, the very far mountains, opals and the lavender and the purple amethyst, and brilliant and deep with color he had never before seen. Instead of his clothing, there was a simple white garment. He put it on and began to walk up a trail which he had not previously noticed. The trail led ever upward. It was dangerous and there were many times that the young man did not know if he was going to be able to continue upwards. But there was the trail. Someone had made that trail; someone had gone before him, and he continued, inching along bare edges, hanging to the sheer cliff, and finally he had reached the mesa, atop the beautiful mountain.

Upon the top of the mountain was a castle made of stone hewed from the mountain itself. Large portions of it were open to the sky. It was of intricate and beautiful design, arched and groined. The man he met there was so ancient that he almost seemed to be held up by his robes as he sat in the lotus position. He held what seemed to be a large leather book in his hand. The young man knelt and assumed the lotus position before the old man. “Sire, I am a seeker of that which I do not know,” he said. “I have come to find the one teaching that will inform me on every matter, give me surety and understanding in all particulars of the truth, for I wish to know the complete truth of who I am and where I am going.”

The young man gazed hopefully at the ancient who sat before him. The elderly man laughed. “You are not the first who has come looking for such a book,” he said, “and you shall not be the last. I have it,” he said. “Here it is, and take it away with you if you wish.” And he laughed and laughed. The young man’s heart was in his throat. Finally he was to be able to have authority, to speak with authority, to know and to understand all the mysteries that had confounded him for his whole life long. He scrabbled hastily with the fastenings of the old leather binder. It seemed to take forever to get them free. The binder opened. The young man looked in it. It was an intricately set mirror that he beheld, bound within the leather. For a few seconds he just gazed dumbly at his own image. The he became angry and threw the binder back to the old teacher. “You told me that you had all that I wanted to know, and then you give me a mirror.” The old man was still laughing. He slipped the leather thongs that held the mirror in its binding most securely, and he looked up at the young man as they were seated. “Young man,” he said, “I have never known a single seeker who did not throw that one total and complete authority back in my face. However,” he said, with a laugh, “I believe you can get those books almost anywhere.”

My friends, it is not always easy to accept your own nature. Most of those who wish to be all that they can be and to seek all that they can seek are disappointed in themselves and find things past and present weighing heavily upon their hearts. Never does it occur that perfection lies within the very eyes that meet each of yours each time that you gaze in the mirror. It is a great study—the self. The eyes are windows to a most complex entity. And yet it is as simple as we have said, to the best of our own understanding. The final authority is yourself. You may find things which illumine, which enspirit, which enliven, which heal, which bind up that which hurts. But you will not find the unalloyed truth except in the wordless depth of your inner silence.

We ask for this reason that you meditate, and enter into that silence as much as possible daily. This is not a hobby, an avocation, or a means of relaxation, although it can be all of those things too. First and foremost it is settling down in front of your mirror. To gaze within the self is to behold the universe. The galaxies go on forever within the mind, the heart, and the spirit. We acknowledge the heart and the spirit that brings you together and wish you good hunting with that one original Thought which, although it may be hard to believe, is indeed most clearly and undistortedly scriven within yourselves.

This evening we have not talked about those things which are outer. We have not talked about relationships, we have not talked about service, for there is a foundation which we wish to emphasize and that is meditation. You will note that in the story there was a cleansing, a purification, the bathing in the mountain lake, the donning of white and unblemished garments. My friends, you must be able to accept the portion of yourself which has been cleansed, or to put it another way, which is perpetually cleansed, and allow that self the higher seat within yourself in meditation, for surely there are many small and unimportant details which will flit through your minds, many irrelevant matters. All of these things are acceptable. See them and let them go. There is a portion of you, however, that must abide in what we would call the kingdom of heaven, for such this instrument calls it.

Within this kingdom all things are true, all things are cleansed and part of you has never left that reality, or should we say, that far less murky illusion. Do not satisfy yourself with the casual surface self as you go into meditation. Call upon the self which abides with the most high. Call upon the self which is cleansed, which dwells forever in a place of utmost beauty and peace.

I am with those of Hatonn and I find the energy within the group somewhat low. Therefore, we shall terminate this contact but not without thanking you once again for the opportunity to speak with you and to share our thoughts with you. We are always available. Request us mentally and we shall be with you in meditation. We leave you in the love and in the light of our infinite Creator. Adonai. Adonai.

(Jim channeling)

I am Latwii, and I greet you, my friends, in the love and the light of our infinite Creator. We are once again most privileged and honored to be asked to join your group this evening. We thank you with a full heart of joy for requesting our presence that we might humbly offer that simple service that is ours to offer. We shall attempt to answer those queries which have importance for your seeking this evening. We, as our brothers and sisters of Hatonn, remind each of you that our words are but our opinions. Please take that which has value and use it as you will and leave that which has no value to you. We wish only to serve where asked and can only give that which is within our grasp to give. With that disclaimer aside, may we then begin with the first query of the evening?

Latwii, it’s good to hear your voice. But the story that Hatonn told about a ship and traveling and seeking. This takes a great deal of money. Where would one acquire this kind of money and time to seek the truth?

I am Latwii, and am aware of your query, my brother. May we say we are also most happy to hear your voice as well. My brother, as one looks upon the journey of the seeker, one may see that there are limitless ways to seek the one Creator and to seek that which is called truth. One may, as the hero of the story of which you speak, spend a great deal of time and money, learn many rituals, speak with many sages, climb to the top of many remote mountains, and in general make a great deal of commotion in the process of seeking, and yet until an entity looks within the mirror of the self, the seeking has not begun. There is no amount of money that can purchase the sincere desire to look within the self for that which resides therein. There is no ship, plane or means of conveyance that can take one where one does not wish to go as a result of one’s own efforts. You may speak with many wise and loving beings, and hear many words of inspiration. Yet, if within your own heart of hearts there is not the desire to look within your own being for that which you seek, all else is as nothing.

So, my brother, you need not worry about the expense or the time required to seek the truth. If you have the desire to seek the truth, you may do so each moment of your existence as you see yourself in each entity that you meet, as you see yourself as the Creator in each situation in which you find yourself. There is no end to the opportunities for seeking the truth, the Creator, and your self, for all are one thing. You live in that one thing as that one thing.

May we answer you further, my brother?

Thank you, sir. From what you said then, the self comes first, it is that you seek what you need for your self first, and then and only then can you give to another human being. You have to first seek self-esteem, and then you can only relate that to another human being, and that is what takes up so much time. Am I being clear?

I am Latwii, and we feel you have been clear, my brother, and we feel we have a grasp of your query. You must begin with what you have in order to seek. That is, you will begin with yourself, and you will begin with that which is of concern to you. This usually entails, just as you have spoken, the fulfilling of the needs of the entity. Your young beings, those you have called children, are good examples of this process. There are stages of development which they pass through which require that they be given a great deal from those about them in order that they might be nurtured in their continued growth. As they mature in their years, they do not need as much from others, but are in fact able to give, perhaps to their own children.

You, in your spiritual seeking, begin as the child. You need much in the way of finding out who you are in this illusion, what are your abilities, what are your desires, what opportunities await you. As these, shall we say, more mundane concerns are met by your own seeking, then your seeking becomes refined through your own efforts so that you begin to concern yourself with what might be called the deeper concerns, the nature of life, the meaning of life, and how you shall serve and how you shall learn. Thus, you proceed as does the child which you have been in each portion of your life, continuing as an upward spiraling line of light to return to that source from which you sprang.

May we answer you further, my brother?

Thank you, sir. Are you saying that we should have rational values such as being an objectivist rather than being an altruist?

I am Latwii, and am aware of your query, my brother. We have not specifically said that one “should” do such and such, such as have rational values. We have suggested that in the process of your growth as an entity within this illusion, you will begin with such values, beliefs and standards. From these you shall refine your seeking.

May we answer you further, my brother?

But I’m trying to get rid of all my old habits and all my old beliefs, and you’re saying that I have to begin again, start all over?

I am Latwii, and am aware of your query, my brother. We have suggested that you have undergone this process, and now as you continue your seeking, you shall perhaps get rid of certain values and standards or perhaps you shall transmute them so that what once [was] a value that had certain discrete limitations is now a higher standard that has widened its perspective to include that which was not included before.

May we answer you further, my brother?

No, that’s very good sir. Thank you very much.

I am Latwii, and we thank you, my brother, as always. Is there another query at this time?

Well, I just had the … I fastened on the same thing that J did, only differently. I heard—I think I heard it—that he sold all that he had, and I was thinking to myself that maybe it’s a sliding scale, what people pay for seeking is a sliding scale, depending on what you have. Because what you do is, you give it all, I mean, you surrender all of it, whatever it is, so if it’s everything, then it doesn’t matter whether it’s a widow’s mite, like it said in the Bible, or whether it’s millions and millions of bucks. It’s everything, so it’s really the same amount for all of us that seek. That’s the price of seeking, is that we, not necessarily, you know, give up our homes or our creature comforts or anything, but we give up putting them first. Is that right? Did I get that inference from the story?

I am Latwii, and am aware of your query, my sister. This is quite correct, for whatever an entity has in this illusion is but a pittance in comparison to that which the seeker seeks. The pearl of great price is indeed priceless. There is no treasure upon your planet that can match that truth which resides in the heart of each seeker and which is the goal of each seeker.

May we answer you further, my sister?

Well, now in the Bible when the pearl of great price was mentioned, the man buried it in a field and went and sold all that he had and bought the field, and that was a parable for the kingdom of heaven …

[Side one of tape ends.]

(Jim channeling)

I am Latwii, and am once again with this instrument. We apologize for the delay. We shall attempt comment upon the query which you have so graciously asked, my sister. The pearl which is symbolized in this story recorded in your holy work and that treasure which was buried within the field is that truth which is buried within the heart of each entity, for each is a portion of the one Creator and each seeks that source, that Creator from which each has sprung. In the seeking within your illusion there is much which is placed before the seeker to test and challenge the seeker’s desire to seek the truth before all else. What treasures can lure the seeker from this journey? What promises of wealth can lure the seeker away from pursuing that pearl of great price which lies buried within its own being? The field is the entity. The price is the continued seeking for that pearl. All which is sold in order that the field of the self might be redeemed is the great variety of temptations that each seeker will encounter upon the journey. It is a journey which seems quite endless and arduous, yet to the devout that makes the journey, a straight and narrow path. It ends in a moment when that pearl is found and the entity finds that it is one with all things, that it has traveled a great distance and has found itself within itself and within all beings and things.

May we answer you further, my sister?

Just one question. Are you talking about things like despair and the feelings that we get that aren’t helpful at all? Is that the kind of temptation you’re talking about?

I am Latwii, and am aware of your query, my sister. These of which you speak indeed can be great temptations to lure an entity away from the faith that its journey will have an end. Temptations may be any lure away from that journey. Perhaps great wealth shall for a while, as you measure time, cause an entity to forget that which it seeks. Perhaps a talent that an entity has will become the focus of that entity’s efforts, and it shall forget that it seeks the truth.

Now you’re talking about regular old temptations like power and money, and I never have really related too much to those.

I am Latwii, and we believe that you now grasp the thrust and the breadth and the field of temptations, my sister.

Thank you.

Is there another query at this time?

Latwii, what’s wrong with power and money, if used in the right way—as long as you don’t control another human being?

I am Latwii, and am aware of your query, my brother. There is nothing wrong with any thing, whether the thing be power, money, friends, position, opportunity and so forth. The seeker shall find its path to be most efficiently traveled when there is one focus upon the traveling. That is what we have metaphorically called the pearl of great price. Although the aforementioned temptations or things are helpful insofar as they are means towards achieving that goal, if, however, they or any one of them should become the focus or the goal so that the goal is forgotten, there is nothing wrong with this situation, however, the seeker shall be, shall we say, somewhat delayed in its journey of seeking until it once again find its focus. We hasten to add, however, that even in the delay there is the great opportunity to learn, so that each experience an entity encounters might be utilized by that entity to enhance the process of seeking.

May we answer you further, my brother?

Well, can’t one seek power and money and still be on the right journey?

I am Latwii, and am aware of your query, my brother. We do indeed suggest that such is possible. It is possible that one might forget what purpose one intends to use such for. We mentioned this possibility, for within your illusion such accoutrements are usually sought as means and goals in themselves so that the deeper truths are ignored. This is the nature of your illusion. However, this need not be so. An entity which seeks to be of service to others in the positive sense and who seeks [first] and foremost that which we have called the pearl of great price may use any of these items which we have mentioned to further that seeking and that service.

May we answer you further, my brother?

Oh, you just blew my thunder, but I … I don’t want to. Thank you. I don’t want to go on with this any more ‘cause you’re, uh, having difficulty with this. Thank you, sir.

I am Latwii, and we are most grateful to you, my brother. Is there another query at this time?

Let me see if I can restate what you said so that J will hear it differently, cause I think I know where the hang-up is, because it says in the Bible, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” And it doesn’t say that “Money is the root of all evil,” at all. It doesn’t say that. It’s the “love” of it. And what you’re trying to say is that when you have a love of position or a love of possessions or a love of money or power or influence, those things, that means that you basically, you’ve stopped seeking spiritually and you’ve started seeking a god that is temporal, that is going to die with you; you’re not going to be able to take it with you. And that’s the delay that you’re talking about, is that you’re—because of your love of this money or position, you’re just putting off seeking spiritually. Whereas a spiritual seeker might well have money, but if there isn’t an emotional load on it, if it’s considered as a tool, like a carpenter would use a saw or something, if it’s considered simply a means to the end of paying the bills and getting on with things, that’s not a problem, spiritually. It’s the love of it that causes the problem. Is that what you’re trying to say?

I am Latwii, and am aware of your query, my sister. This is the gist of our attempt to speak to this subject. May we hasten to add that we do not judge or condemn any entity which loves the money, the power, or the position, for each entity in each action is the one Creator seeking to know Itself. However long this process may take is quite appropriate to each entity, and we would not suggest that if one seeks these items that one is not a spiritual being. One is at all times the one Creator, perfect and whole in each portion of Its being.

May we answer you further, my sister?

No, thank you.

Latwii, sir, thank you for that answer, because I disagree with Carla. I do love money and do love power, but I’m also seeking the Creator; I’m also seeking knowledge, and I agree with your last statement. Thank you. No offense, Carla.

I am Latwii, and we thank you, my brother and my sister. May we attempt another query at this time?

I’m out.

I am Latwii, and we find that for the time being we have exhausted those queries which are available this evening for the asking. We thank each present for allowing us to speak and to join our vibrations with yours. It is a great honor to serve in our humble way, and we thank you with a heart full of joy at this opportunity. We are with each of you whenever requested in your meditations, and we look forward to each opportunity to speak as we have this evening. We shall leave this group at this time. We are those of Latwii, and we leave you in the love and in the light of the one infinite Creator. Go forth, my friends, rejoicing in this love and light. I am Latwii. Adonai. Adonai vasu borragus.