White Eagle - The Living Word of St. John: White Eagles Interpretation of the Gospel

Some more books of White Eagles teaching

BEAUTIFUL ROAD HOME

THE BEST OF WHITE EAGLE

THE BOOK OF STAR LIGHT

EARTH HEALER

FIRST STEPS ON A SPIRITUAL PATH

FURTHER STEPS ON A SPIRITUAL PATH

A GUIDE TO LIVING WITH DEATH AND DYING

HEAL THYSELF

HEALING THE WORLD

INITIATIONS ON A SPIRITUAL PATH

JESUS, TEACHER AND HEALER

THE LIGHT BRINGER

PRAYER, MINDFULNESS AND INNER CHANGE

PRACTISING PEACE

THE QUIET MIND

SEEKING SERENITY

SPIRITUAL UNFOLDMENT ONE

SPIRITUAL UNFOLDMENT TWO

SPIRITUAL UNFOLDMENT THREE

SPIRITUAL UNFOLDMENT FOUR

THE SOURCE OF ALL OUR STRENGTH

THE STILL VOICE

SUNRISE

TREASURES OF THE MASTER WITHIN

WALKING WITH THE ANGELS

THE WHITE EAGLE BOOK OF HEALING MEDITATIONS

WHITE EAGLES LITTLE BOOK OF ANGELS

WHITE EAGLES LITTLE BOOK OF COMFORT FOR THE BEREAVED

WHITE EAGLES LITTLE BOOK OF HEALING COMFORT

WHITE EAGLE ON FESTIVALS AND CELEBRATIONS

WHITE EAGLE ON THE GREAT SPIRIT

WHITE EAGLE ON DIVINE MOTHER, THE FEMININE AND THE MYSTERIES

WHITE EAGLE ON INTUITION AND INITIATION

WHITE EAGLE ON LIVING IN HARMONY WITH SPIRIT

THE LIVING WORD first published December 1949 Substantially revised with much new matter and published as THE LIVING WORD OF ST JOHN, September 1979 Fourth edition November 2010

Text The White Eagle Publishing Trust

1949, 1979, 2000, 2010

Cover photograph Ghislain Crabires, 2010

Biblical quotation is from the Authorized Version of 1611, which is Crown Copyright and used with permission

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A Catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978-0-85487-217-6 (printed book)

978-0-85487-307-4 (ePub)

978-0-85487-407-1 (Kindle)

978-0-85487-507-8 (iBook)

The Chateau of Lordat, Arige, France

PREFACE

THE LIVING WORD, first published in December 1949, expanded in 1979 and now issued in 2000 in a new edition, is probably the most asked-for of all the early books of White Eagles teaching. The talks of which it is the substance, based upon the Gospel of St John, were given by White Eagle through the instrumentality of Grace Cooke between January 1943 and July 1945. It might be thought that wartime London would not be the most likely background for a sustained message from the world of spirit of such deep love and wisdom and mystical truth, yet perhaps it was the very contrast and the need of the hour which brought forth the profound truths to be found in these pages.

There must still be those who can recall coming out of the blackout and the fear into the quiet sanctuary where peace enfolded them and all was well. They will remember the stillness, the expectancy, and will recall the gentle loving voice which yet spoke with such authority, and above all they will remember being raised out of conflict and suffering by the power of the message; and the miracle of unfolding vision and ever-deepening understanding it brought.

Working on the manuscript has been a labour of love; as chapter after chapter unfolded one became utterly uplifted by the sublime overall theme which built up, of the redemptive power of the Christ spirit through the everyday life of the individual. The unseen often seemed very close and there was one particular day when the Gospel suddenly became almost unbearably alive and immediate. It was no longer a question of looking back to happenings of two thousand years ago and words of men and women long dead; the words became alive and the whole story was in the present, as seen and felt through the eyes and heart of the disciple whom Jesus loved. Both were so real and human and loving of human kind today. It was an experience impossible to express adequately in words, but the memory will be with me always.

There is some connection, I think, between this experience and another, this time on the part of Mrs Cooke herself, which is recounted in the original book of THE LIVING WORD . We will tell this story in some detail because it has a strong bearing upon the substance of the book.

Some ten years before the first of the talks in this book was given, at the request of the Polaire Brotherhood (of which the reader can find an account in ARTHUR CONAN DOYLES BOOK OF THE BEYOND and also in HEALING BY THE SPIRIT , both published by the White Eagle Publishing Trust), she journeyed from Paris with a group of the Polaires to the Pyrenees to try and help them by her psychic gifts find and uncover the hidden treasure of the Albigenses or Cathars. They had been told, through their own magical means of communication with the Sages who had brought their order into being, that this lay buried beneath the castle of Lordat, which lies some twelve kilometres as the crow flies from Montsgur, the last stronghold of that persecuted and massacred brotherhood of bons hommes. They were furthermore told to seek the help of Mrs Cooke in finding the treasure, and that it would be found within three days of the start of the search. Since the ultimate massacre of the Cathars rumour of an immense treasure hidden in the neighbourhood of Montsgur has persisted, for which many an expedition has sought in vain (regardless of the fact that a brotherhood which had abjured all worldly wealth might not desire to accumulate riches). Possibly the Polaires were seeking a greater treasure, in manuscript, which would reveal the lost secret of the Albigenses, the inner substance of their faith.

We will take up the story in Mrs Cookes own words as they appeared in the first edition of this book in 1949. During our stay we climbed each morning to the summit of the mountain [Lordat was a little village high up the mountainside, and the castle stood above it] in the hope of being led to the right spot for beginning excavations. From the beginning we were strongly impressed by the dual nature of the unseen powers around us. There were times when the dark forces were predominant. Then [there] came, like a breath of heaven, a sweet pure, gentle, loving influence like a spiritual illumination, which made us certain of the presence of immortal brothers waiting and watching.

Grace Cooke, White Eagles medium, at Lordat in 1931

At such times as these we felt we were under the protection of great white wings, guarded by a power which must be experienced to be believed. Although we were amidst dangerous elemental forces and in the company of unbalanced human minds [one of those making up the Polaire party had become deranged, and had attacked another], we were constantly reminded, by the whispers of the unseen that Christ is all-love and his spirit has power to comfort and protect from all harm. This strengthened our will to proceed. Many times this wave of spiritual light and power caused the dark veil between matter and the inner world to become thin, to such a degree that we found ourselves in company with the gentle spirits of the Albigenses, who for centuries had walked this very plateau on which we stood.

On the third day after our arrival, when we were idly contemplating the grand panorama of mountains under the intensely blue sky with, in the distance, [the path winding away towards] the ancient castle of Montsgur, my attention was caught by the sudden appearance of a shining form. Shining is the only word to describe the aura of the spirit who appeared, but his manner was as normal as that of any human being might be who, while out walking, had stumbled by chance upon a stranger. He appeared simple, kindly, and treated the situation as naturally as if it were customary for discarnate people to talk to men and women. He looked like an old man at first sight; that is to say, he wore a longish white beard and his hair was silver, but apart from this his skin was youthful and clear, as though a light shone behind the flesh, and his warm blue eyes were alight with an inner fire. He was clothed in white, in the garb of some early order of Christian Brothers and bore himself with noble meekness. Could this be one of the Albigenses? I asked mentally. Yes. It was true; by sign and symbol he proved to me that he belonged to this age-old Brotherhood. Why had he appeared in this manner?