By Celia Coates

 A prayer called The Great Invocation was given to Alice Ann Bailey in three different versions – one in 1935, one in 1940, and one in 1945 – by a spiritual teacher called The Tibetan. Each version was designed to meet the changing needs of the world at those times. The last version also looked forward to our own time. *

Years ago Alyce Green, Elmer’s wife and partner in researching states of consciousness, changed a few words in the 1945 version that had seemed to exclude women. The prayer then read,
From the point of Light within the Mind of God
Let light stream forth into the minds of everyone.
Let Light descend on Earth.

 From the point of Love within the Heart of God
Let love stream forth into the hearts of everyone.
May Christ return to Earth.

 From the center where the will of God is known
Let purpose guide the little wills of everyone –
The purpose which the Masters know and serve.

 From the center which we call the human race
Let the Plan of Love and Light work out,
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.

 Let Light and Love and Power restore the plan on Earth.

 There’s a line in this prayer that has troubled me:
“And may it seal the door where evil dwells.”
“Evil”? We are not taught much about evil and, to me, that line was puzzling and unhelpful. Recently I read an essay by Paul Sutherland, an author who writes about money and spirituality, whose comments about this were welcome,
“The disconnection between how humans see ourselves in the world and how we really are in the world is endlessly fascinating to me.”
And,
” ’Seal the door where evil dwells’ is a line from the Great Invocation that I recited often while living in Uganda whenever I saw corruption, indifference, callousness, child abuse, tribalism, or flagrant exploitation. Now, back in the USA, I see these things again in politics and even in our spiritual communities… . Evil is not seeing that we are one, we are connected, and we are called to be responsible.
The world needs us to stand up and be responsible, to fight for justice, to help, to do good, not to stand by and let evil flourish. … My hope is that this essay will inspire you to be an action hero, to help seal the door of indifference, apathy, callousness, and laziness….” **

The Great Invocation embodies ancient ideas that have appeared in many traditions and it’s not just a Christian prayer. The name “Christ” refers to the world Teacher known by many names including The Bodhisattva, Iman Bahdi, and Lord Maitreya. Some people use the term Christ consciousness instead.

Alice Ann Bailey described the five basic truths found in this prayer,
“…The truth of the existence of a basic Intelligence to Whom we vaguely give the name of God;
The truth that behind all outer seeming, the motivating power of the universe is Love;
The truth that a great Individuality came to earth … and embodied that love so that we could understand;
The truth that both love and intelligence are effects of what is called the Will of God;
And finally, the self-evident truth that only through HUMANITY itself can the Divine Plan work out.”

 The Divine Plan for earth involves the evolution and expansion of consciousness. Our work as individuals, especially in troubled times, calls for us to confront ourselves so we can clear away the obstacles to understanding that are found in our personalities. In order to awaken it is often necessary, first, to become familiar with the Shadow side of self that contains what we hide from and deny. We need to shed enough psychological clutter so that we can move into open and expanded awareness. Then we can explore who we are and what is around us with more clarity and learn that the true nature of reality includes both material and non-material dimensions.

A few years ago a new version of The Great Invocation was given to Jack Stucki, a healer and pioneer in subtle energies work. One snowy day he went to a stream near his home for his morning meditation. The stream was low enough so that he could step out onto a rock formation in the middle of a small waterfall. With his hands folded in prayer and looking straight ahead, Jack was surprised to see a being in front of him that looked like the rays of color you can see in Kirlian photographs. The energy being was made of jagged lines of rose, light green, and yellow-white light that were moving dynamically around and within the whole form.

Jack said,  “I thought it was just in my own eyes, and it still could have been, but I blinked, rubbed my eyes, and looked away to check it out from the corner of my eye. It stayed in the same place. I looked directly at it and it didn’t change. So, after undergoing what tests I could, I just stood there and looked for what must have been about 20 minutes. It was just beautiful, just beautiful! Then the energy being went away and I was definitely in some sort of mystical state. Things looked different. I felt as though I was outside my body observing what my body was doing, and I could hear the crunch of snow underneath my boots as I walked. I wasn’t thinking about The Great Invocation but when I got home I sat down and wrote out these words:

From the point of light within the mind of God
Let all awaken to that same light within their own mind.
Let that light be rekindled on earth.

 From the point of love within the heart of God
Let all awaken to that same love in their own heart.
Let all those chosen for this time return by awakening.

From the center where the will of God is known,
This will that guides the purpose of the masters,
Let all reawaken to this purpose

 From the center where the race of humans is known
Let the plan of love and light work out
So we may face and transform evil.

 Let the power and purpose of love and light restore the plan on earth.

This version in the chain of variations on The Great Invocation has brought a renewed message and was delivered by a different kind of messenger. We are being shown again that material reality is not all there is, that we can awaken to the truth that the highest power is love, and that each of us has choices to make about what can happen in the years ahead.

*     *     *     *     *

*  Please go to www.lucistrust.comfor information about The Great Invocation and the work of Alice Ann Bailey.
**  “What’s Next On Your Awareness Test,” by Paul Sutherland, in SPIRITUALITY AND HEALTH Magazine: The Soul/Body Connection, May/June, 2019.

The image that leads this article is by Coyotechnical from Pixabay.

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