From lecture 257, ASPECTS OF THE NEW DIVINE INFLUX: COMMUNICATION, GROUP CONSCIOUSNESS, EXPOSURE:
Communication is a by-product of highly developed consciousness. To the degree that development of spirit exists, the ability to communicate, to listen and express adequately and appropriately also exists. To the degree that development is still impaired, the ability to communicate is limited. So you see innumerable people who cannot and will not even try to put into words what they really feel and think. They are either too proud or they demand to be understood by others without having to labor to make themselves understandable. For it does require some labor. Communication is an art that everyone can and, indeed, must learn. It requires goodwill, a positive intentionality, and a will to cooperate.
Let us start by examining the outermost level. It is no coincidence that one of the major byproducts of modern technology is communication. Even though this level of communication applies to outer events only, it has a tremendous impact on the inner levels of humanity. In the first place, it brings people much closer together. In former times there was a greater sense of separateness because the distance between people and their lack of communication created the illusion that others were intrinsically different and alien, and therefore were enemies to be distrusted. Experiencing others to be similar when it comes to the basics of living, dying, suffering and longing, eliminates much illusion, fear and enmity. It contributes to the ever-growing unity of humankind.
Communication is a most important byproduct of advanced spiritual states. The ability to communicate on more subtle and personal levels has also greatly improved over the last decades. Psychological approaches have created a greater awareness of self and therefore a greater capacity to understand oneself, to express oneself to others, and thereby to communicate. Before this particular influx, most human beings were completely in the dark about themselves, their feelings, their needs, their true reactions, let alone those of others. It was therefore impossible to create a bridge with another person in a significant way.
Similarly, a child in an early stage of development does not really know that it is hurt or lonely, that it needs more love, attention or understanding. If this awareness were articulate in the child, it would be a relatively small step to convey these feelings to another person. Without communication, you live in the dark, alone in a fog of confusion, isolated from others. The Christ spirit represents exactly the opposite. It brings the great light of awareness, of communication and of brotherhood and sisterhood.
Obviously, true communication presupposes communication with the self, with the inner levels of being that were inaccessible before. Understanding the self is the groundwork, the foundation, for you cannot convey, explain and communicate something you do not know. So a path such as the one I guide you on must always be primarily concerned with self-exploration and self-knowledge. It must never stop there, however. Self-knowledge is only the preliminary phase.
The next organic step is learning the great art of communication. This requires intention, thought, practice, self-observation. It means giving up the state of being only half awake, assuming unthinkingly that others should know what you feel. It means making the effort to explain, to reach out, to search through the mazes of misunderstanding–patiently and lovingly. Here, as in everything else, practice leads to an increasingly spontaneous and automatic ability to be outwardly what you were previously only secretly and inwardly, and to communicate this state to others.
However, the fact that you may attempt to explain yourself is not enough. The way in which you reveal yourself is what makes communication an art. If you explain yourself in a way that implies blame and accusation, you only create a bigger wall. But if you attempt to explain yourself by simply conveying your feelings and needs, your impressions and assumptions in a questioning and open spirit without insisting that they be the truth, then you can reach a true understanding. You can establish clarity, light and truth. By learning the skill of communication, and practicing it as an art, you foster love and unity.
To my teacher Marieke Mars who taught me self-honesty. To my courageous and loving pathwork helper Dottie Titus.