Edna Lister on Conquering Self, 1930 to 1939

Edna Lister held to a grueling schedule whenever she campaigned in the cities that were on her regular ‘circuit’ of Light. In addition to her public lectures, speeches and sermons, she regularly corresponded with students, and met with them in personal counseling clinics and private group meetings in cities across the country.

The entries in Conquering Self are drawn from her students’ personal notes. A few of them took shorthand, but very few took down everything she said. Most people write down what strikes them as important, so their notes may seem choppy, jumping from topic to topic. Despite a lack of elegance in Conquering Self, some pioneering mystics find this collection to be of the greatest practical help to them. Enjoy!

— Linda Mihalic, Via Christa site editor











Conquering Self 1930

The self-centered soul believes “Everyone has a gift for me,” not “I have a gift for everyone.” Pride in self breeds intolerance and contempt for others. – Edna Lister, October 24, 1930.


Love is the flame of life within you. Love burns up the dross of self, but unless you lift the heaviness of self, love will eventually burn out the body. – Edna Lister, October 24, 1930.


A self-centered love is personal and selfish in its nature, always asking, “What am I getting?”

God is not asking you to give up your personality, but the selfishness that may be associated with personality. – Edna Lister, November 2, 1930.

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Conquering Self 1933

Every day is the judgment day, and you are your own judge. Judge yourself by every word you utter, for each word you use places you in the scale of evolution. You are a radiant light, but shout loudest as a black blotch when not living up to your Christed heritage. The kingdom of heaven is right here, right now. Its riches will shine in your life when you rightly use your faculties and soul powers. Surrender to the power of God’s good. Be His mouthpiece to speak the Word, to send Power directly to where it is needed, to get results. Use perfect statements of truth such as these:

“I am now making divine harmony and establishing divine activity, divinely inspired with ideas, divinely sent to the right place, where God needs it, here and now.”

“I am super-conscious mind. I am Spirit. I am a differentiation of the Undifferentiated. I am an individualized expression of the one life. I am a perfect child of God. I AM THAT I AM. I AM hath sent me.” – Edna Lister, January 11, 1933.


Everyone is subject to impressions, repressions, complexes, obsessions, illusions, and hallucinations. If any of these affect you, unravel it using careful analysis. You have brought them with you from ideas and experiences planted in your mind when you were a child. Eventually you must work out every impression and idea implanted in your mind, and lift every emotional repression.

What hurts you emotionally is always rooted in an appetitive impulse from within the self.

You cannot be a Master of Law until you have lifted the fellow whom you believe has despitefully used you. You are now face to face with the fact, so what will you do — cling to your petty resentments and self-pity or climb to glorious soul freedom, which reaches out to eternity? You must face your self right now, right where you are standing. – Edna Lister, January 16, 1933.


Put up your hands and talk to God: Tell Him who you are and ask Him what He is using you for, what your purpose and mission is in life. Leave your desires in God’s hands for purification, and with your hands held up high, say, “Let my very own destiny appear.” When you surrender to the Power, you release yourself and perhaps many other souls and their desires as well. Let love go forth through every situation. Let it move through every room in every home in the city. You can light sacrificial fires this way that are limitless in their power to bring the visible from the invisible. Mind is a motivational power that releases the substance of love, the guiding principle of evolution. Faith is both a faculty, and pure substance, a conductor of power. Love is the greatest principle steering the ark of soul evolution in this age.

Everything is substance. Mind is a substance, love is substance, and will is a postulated invisible substance which fills the universe. As you release love, it goes forth into the world as a substance. Earth’s circumference is 24,901 miles, yet love travels around the earth in less time than it takes to think the thought of it doing so. Your thought is both a substance and a vibration. The love you release as Light is complete in seven grades or degrees of substance. Love goes forth on the wings of Light as it radiates from your fingertips under the same law of relativity that says, “As above, so below.”

“If God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” – Matthew 6:30-33. You are creating the forms of your added things with the substance which returns to you. What you get in your life is what you have created.

This is the age of Mind. You are the kingdom of God’s love, not merely in it. The love you release must be sent forth in purity. You raise your hands to release it because it must go through your heart center, which is why you must not misuse the power of love. Moses won battles with his hands raised. The pillar of smoke by and the pillar of fire by night were both the substance of this power of love. Love creates a magic circle of power when you invoke it by speaking the Declaration of Unquenchable Love. In this age of Mind, love will open to you the vastness of the mind that was in Christ Jesus, and so your responsibility is greater.

“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” – Matthew 7:1-2. Judge not lest ye be judged says the law, for the exact degree of righteousness you apply to the other fellow will, in turn, be applied to you. Love is not a mere sentiment, but is one with the almighty power of God. Impersonal love is a searchlight illumining the unknown and the downright darkness dwelling in earth’s shadows. You must lift those who would be your enemies, but you do not need to tell them about it.

You are under no responsibility to take back into your life anything or anyone that has ever gone out of it — you can lift them according to your ability to lift, which only your soul taints limit. For example, the resentment you feel is your master who dictates that you may love only this far but no more. Love, always loving more, loving until you love enough is the only way you can fulfill the law. Sing your favorite hymn to release the power of love. You must anchor your soul in the Light to release the power of love, for the highest vibration of the Word is released through your voice. – Edna Lister, January 23, 1933.


You are your own creator, and build your own environment. Love goes forth as substance and it returns to you different, in that it traveled around the earth and returns to you in a more condensed form, at a lower rate of vibration. Yet love is still radiant Light, for all of the invisible atomic substance of the universe is life sparks of Light, through which love travels faster than the earthly light that lets you see. To release the power of love, take your consciousness to the sun, hold your hands up high and ask to be purified. As a creator god, you have at times misused God’s Power and your own soul substance, thus creating what you do not like. Be a master of life, a conqueror, lifting the less-than-good to a cloud continent of Light, and creating perfection in its wake. You are a creator god making, not a god in the making. You are now learning to create perfectly according to the laws of being and of doing.

A perfect declaration for wholeness and unity: “As oil mingles with oil, as water mingles with water, as air mingles with air, so does my life expand and mingle with the life of God.”

No one can take truth from you, and this is the truth: Your body is indivisible, indestructible spiritual substance. The foundation of consciousness is the substance of supernal Light. A photon of light is the carrier wave of thought. Your means of rising above limitation is always nearby when you use truth to conquer self. To live what you know is truth is your responsibility. Then comes the testing, when you must stand on the truth you know. Look in a mirror, into your eyes, and say to your subconscious mind, “I am finished with this foolishness. I am building a new heart, eyes, etc. You are building this for me here and now. I am permitting no interference. I desire perfection and I wish it to manifest here and now.”

“Within this Light I live and move and have my being. I AM now touching the innermost Power that goes forth and accomplishes, that makes perfect and complete. That divine, all-knowing and all-seeing Power uses me now. I AM the servant of God’s Power now, and His Power goes forth through me to accomplish perfection. Open Thou my mind, Father, to Thy great illumination and revelation. Please lift me to be fully surrendered to Thee. In this very moment, I am open and ready to receive. I know that Thou shalt give unto me in great measure. It is so and it shall so manifest.” – Edna Lister, January 24, 1933.


What each mind knows eventually permeates the whole universe through Mind overall. So always send love to cover what else you may have sent forth. When you say, “Love goes out over every line of contact I have ever established,” you add a direct cable of Light over which love is riding, everywhere you have ever been. Thus, you become a center of life, through which love may be transmitted to all. “Lord, please increase my capacity to love, to release the power of love for Thee. Please, increase my loyalty to principle.”

“I AM a radiant, spiritual being of Light.” Live this in the silence. If anything goes wrong, remain silent and smile in encouragement. Do not pity the self. Be gracious, and you cannot avoid lifting your whole family. Radiate graciousness. You have the ability, so use it. God sends you those who need His help. Lift people onto a cloud of Light with a sense that you are privileged to do so. The Power goes into action to lift the person so that the good of soul governs him, not the self. Be silent unless you can express graciousness and joy. Use the dynamite of love on any darkness, saying, “Let the power of love clear away this condition,” but say it in loving graciousness. Speak mentally if speaking aloud is inadvisable.

Everyone is subject to impressions, repressions, complexes, obsessions, illusions, and hallucinations. If any of these affect you, unravel it using careful analysis. Eventually you must work out every impression and idea implanted in your mind, and lift every emotional repression. You have brought them with you from ideas and experiences planted in your mind when you were a child. An infant is open to every vibration in the family and eventually the whole neighborhood. Start right by surrounding the baby with love. Imagine him or her surrounded with a wall of protective fire, which is divine love, through which nothing harmful can penetrate, and declare it so. You can declare that a wall of love surrounds the body of every unborn child. No expression, repression or anything from the mother’s mind or environment can make it less than perfect. – Edna Lister, January 24, 1933.


Desire is the creator, but you must have a definite intense desire to create perfection in your life. Lift your lesser desires of the appetitive soul. Review your life to discover what your desires really are. To become an ensample of outer perfection, you must first be unselfish. Purify your desires, and make them universal. – Edna Lister, January 25, 1933.


When outer doors seem absolutely closed, then God moves. When the smaller cares fade from the picture, then God is doing the great works. The great miracle is coming to you. Take this thought with you into the silence, that the great miracle you have asked for is already your own — you have it. If some avenue seems closed on the outside, it is because the miracle will be much larger than you had counted on. The closed door is the sign of release. – Edna Lister, January 28, 1933.


God gave you a certain amount of soul substance, to bring into manifestation, an account to draw on, and to create with, but you have to bring it from the invisible into outer forms. Light is the substance that serves as the carrier of consciousness in every degree of expression and development. Life starts as waves of supernal Light carrying innumerable seeds of potential consciousness outward, away from the heart center of all being, the All That Is. These life sparks of Light form aggregates, as yet unconscious individualized manifestations of the Godhead. Each seed will return to its source as a living soul, a conscious individualized manifestation. You can never be separated from the whole.

You will return to God as a fully conscious soul with an individualized identity. This is how the Godhead differentiates itself into countless differentiations. God the one becomes God as the many. Lowering the vibration of substance condenses it from the vapor stage down to the ice stage. The seventh degree of condensation is so far away from the heart that it is solid. The guide in understanding this is that you cannot have anything in outer form that was lacking in the beginning. Nor can anything be left out of what you started with, hence, the Hermetic axiom, “As above, so below.” The only difference between above and below is in the degree of condensation.

You raise the vibration of substance in form by praising God. You do not have to be controlled by your line of fate. You can raise your vibration and live as long as you meet the right conditions. The Elect are creator gods who descended to earth to gain experience and learn needed lessons. Some of them remember who they are, what they are here for, and where they are going. You can learn all this by going to the Hall of Wisdom at night and sitting at the Master’s feet. All souls have the equal right to ascend in consciousness and return to God. Any other equality on the earth is an illusion, because our souls differ in development and experience. However, every form and every soul is good after its degree and kind. – Edna Lister, January 28, 1933.


The whole universe operates under the principle of equilibrium. Everything has a balance-point and must be in balance. Earth’s balance wobbles because of the shifts in the liquid metal of its iron core. True North is directly over the earth’s axis, but magnetic North is somewhere over Canada, moving toward Russia. When earth swings too far off its axis, which happens about every 26,000 years, the magnetic poles shift 90 degrees, and the glacial zones become the torrid zones.

If the human body were as far off its balance as the earth at the change of poles, the physical organs could not be adjusted into alignment. If the body is off its axis by even a quarter of an inch up, it would cause a short circuit, and would you have poor circulation, an erratic heartbeat, etc. You have three sets of muscles — if the set from your hips to the center of your ribs is off-balance, your posture will not be straight, which puts your skeleton and every other system out of place. If you stand properly, everything will adjust itself. If you are unable to stand straight with proper alignment, you may need chiropractic or osteopathic adjustment. This is the most important reason and for the necessity of physical and mental balance. Wrong posture will make your consciousness as crooked as your spine. Your ability to register on mind depends on maintaining the right physical posture.

An initiation consists of assuming a greater degree of personal responsibility. Then tests are sent to you, to see if you are worthy and well-qualified. Knowledge is protection. You can educate and pray yourself into courage and greater faith, so do not fear. – Edna Lister, January 30, 1933.


Jesus taught the Beatitudes because he meant them to be the basis of our daily living. Each of the Beatitudes is an opportunity to lift the self, and gives you an opportunity to unfold your soul, to be filled with greater Light.

“Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.” – Matthew 5:25-26. Your real adversary is the selfishness lodged in your subconscious mind, the seat of emotions.

Self-justification always engages in a battle royal to justify self to the world, which never pays dividends, because sincerity is the ideal state — never to excuse, explain or try to justify the self. Declare, “Everything that comes to me is good and very good.”

“Let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” – Matthew 5:37. If you follow this law, justification comes, and beautifully. Pour out love and stand silently as it does the work. – Edna Lister, January 31, 1933.


“Each of the Beatitudes is an opportunity to lift the self.” – Edna Lister


When you eliminate the limitations of self, you will discover why you could not manifest a miracle of healing. If any experience or relationship in your life has grieved you, pour love, the fire that consumes, upon it. Love will consume every old negative emotion, thought, and picture in imagination that self has used to build a form in the subconscious. Only love will open the closed doors of the past. You can’t close the door to repress or ignore a memory, and cleanse the harmful memories at the same time. If you still see what someone has done to you, you still have a closed door to open. You have an affinity for anything that annoys you and must clear it out.

Do not apply law as a mental discipline to punish yourself, but use love, which holds the spirit of the law. Because love fulfills the law, and makes it perfect, love will discipline you into healing. As long as you are unable to pour out enough love to neutralize the situation, you will fail. If you fill those detractors with love, they will never again pass beyond mild criticism. Increase your capacity to love and your devotion to service.

When you no longer allow evil to attract your attention, you will be able to see the other fellow and know that you are responsible for holding him in the Light. You will find it simple to pour love upon him and help him to become more perfect. Open the doors to the past and pour love over that line of Light and responsibility to make it perfect. This treatment will work for those in the flesh and those who have left this world.

Do not talk about what you are doing or tell the other fellow that you are giving him healing treatments, or you immediately involve the self, yours and his. Mind produces psychic symptoms, and the one you are treating may become resentful and antagonistic if you tell him what you are doing. Surround him with Light and speak the Word to release him from his former crystallized self. You will see better results by working in silence than by telling him what you are doing. Hold your tongue. You can release more Power when you work in silence, so the less you say about it, the better. Speaking about it scatters the Power you are releasing and creates more to lift! Remain silent because your true reward comes from the inner, not the outer.

God endowed you with an Oversoul star, which is your heart center of being, and enables you to radiate Light. Part of the time you do not shine, which is why you do not always manifest your heart’s desires. Leave a cloud of love every place you go, even if only walking through a store. Spray everyone with love, for it lifts people. Be indrawn into the heart of this power of love, ever higher into the heart of the fire, for only in the heart of the fire can you stand steadfastly, and be as worthy as you desire to be in God’s service. – Edna Lister, February 1, 1933.


You can change your whole life, no matter how old you are. How high into the Heart of God can you go? You want greater revelations and inspiration than you have ever had. To invoke the Spirit of the Christ, say, “The white Light of the Christ surrounds me and lifts me into all perfection. The white Light of the Christ goes before me, lifting me into the Temple of Wisdom.” You will be protected from any danger. You can sit at the feet of the Master, but you must be pure in heart, mind and purpose to get there.

You can transmute imperfection into perfection. The body’s vitality is already perfect, but you must keep it lifted. Only one impulse powers the whole universe, the Creative Impulse. The Creative Impulse is the only thing with which God has endowed you. It is God manifesting in you. It is the basis of life within man, but it has been sadly misused. A virgin soul is one who looks over the path he has trodden, with horror, and ahead to that vision of perfection, and deliberately turns his back on all the old, and goes on to perfection. You reach perfection by the perfect desire to be pure, not by remaining untouched by passion. “Draw me into the heart of Thy Power, oh God.” – Edna Lister, February 2, 1933.


The whole process of ascension is the soul’s travail in ascending from confidence in self, which is egotism, to confidence of soul. Self-confidence splits and cracks when you need it most, but soul-confidence is immutable and unchangeable because you have ascended to God. Self-confidence results in expression of the self and you can see it in the face as the wrinkles of age when it fails. Every thought, emotion and picture of imagination creates helps to build the body you wear. – Edna Lister, February 20, 1933.


If you exalt a thing and declare it perfect, it will appear so and bring others to think the same about it. You can apply this to yourself, to your house, or to property you desire to sell. God is the fullness of spiritual substance that fills everything and everyone. God is perfect, therefore any adjustment that needs to be made is within you.

Don’t pray with demands — “God, do what I want. God, give me what I want” — but pray, “God, please help me to make myself what I need to be, to put my very best into life.” You must exalt the self into Light until the self becomes one with God. All motive power comes through your soul but you must act by directing and commanding the self. The more consciously you act, the more divine inspiration becomes available to you.

Always put your best effort into whatever you do and the great laws of life will compensate you. If you do your very best, God does the rest. First, attune yourself to the very finest and do not postpone the good in your consciousness.

Mind is the interpretive medium between the life of God and its manifestation. No matter how lofty the ideal, you must have a method to attain it. You must feel that all the beauty of the world belongs to you; feels that you possess it and enjoy it even if you don’t really have it continually.

If you really put your best into life, God will send heavenly talent scouts to promote you. You must share the good, but you must first get the good before you can pass it on. Keep the channel from God and to your fellow man open. When you pour out inspiration, life and love, God’s talent scouts will be there to take you on. Declare, “I give the best in me for the world, and the world gives its best to me.” – Edna Lister, December 1933.

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Conquering Self 1934

When you talk, you are using your share of God’s Power. The law is that what you send forth comes back unless you have already used it up by telling the world how grand and noble you are. – Edna Lister, April 5, 1934.


The power of a running auto engine is useless until you put it in gear. The flowing stream of life does no work for you until you get in gear. – Edna Lister, June 14, 1934.


Impatience is a lack of trust in God. Patience is endurance in joy and unwavering devotion. – Edna Lister, July 9, 1934.


When someone is contemptuous of you, gossiping about how poor your performance has been, just pay no attention to it. This happened to me this summer, and I ignored it. By so doing, I finally proved to God that I had reached the place where His work counted with me, far more than what anyone might say about that work. One by one, your detractors will melt and dissolve in the Light of God because they cannot resist your being as you stand in the Light. When you focus all your attention to being the servant of all the Power of God, nothing of earth can resist you. “Not I, but the Father — His Power does the work.” He inspires you to do the right thing at the right time, to be the right thing to all men, to smile and never to be caught off guard, because the perfect Power is always working perfectly.

I just came through a siege of folks telling me to watch my step because I was riding for a fall. The harder they gossiped, the further I crawled into God’s heart. I became extra gracious and indifferent to the criticism, which always nonplusses a detractor. A time comes, when the Light of God’s love may appear as intense personality, but really is only God shining through. The blinding Light reflects their own flaws, which they name after you. You need not accept the names as yours unless you are not really the thing itself, God’s love. If any dross remains, you may think they could be right. When you can listen without protest, take it all with a smile, acknowledge only God above, within and as you, then you are ready and worthy for greater honor and glory, inner and outer.

God has such great places waiting for you when you no longer think in terms of imperfections. If you must justify yourself to the world, then you are still of the world. When you no longer want to justify yourself, then you are being used by all the Power, which is always its own justification.


“God has such great places waiting for you when you no longer think in terms of imperfections.” – Edna Lister


Climb to the point where you no longer want to talk about it. The criticizers are only naming themselves and the scrap of Power they are using. God’s Power is always nameless, since it has no lesser identity. As it flows through in a nameless stream, it does the work, now. The simple secret of success is to be the servant of all the Power.

You are a strong daughter of God now. His strength fills you to overflowing and will continue to do so. Your losses of contact with the Source will finally disappear, and you will be God-conscious day and night. You will find ways of earning money that do not require hard grueling labor. Please know this. You will toil and earn by the “sweat of your brow” until you let go of possessions as belonging to you. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” – Matthew 6:33. When you accept this law as the truth, then all these things shall be added unto you.

Marvelous how the Power works for you when you swim with the current of the River of Life, yet it flows on smoothly and unceasingly forever past you when you refuse it. While you dip your tin cup into the stream, satisfied with a cupful, someone else fills a 1,000-gallon tank without creating the slightest ripple. The river flows and supplies limitless tankfuls a minute, but the same vast flow always remains. Some wail because their cup is empty, but refuse to refill it. Such poor soul-blind beggars declare emptiness instead of the fullness of God.

Fill your tank daily with God’s life, which must become visible, for that is its law of being. It cannot do otherwise. Its life-law is plenty, an overflowing abundance of all good things now. God cannot fail you ever. His abundance is available to draw on, according to what do you really believe about it. The source of outer abundance and how it arrives is God’s business. Yours is only to know that you have it now. Keep thanking God that you have it right now.

When you give to your children in deep love because you want to, not because you must or because the world demands it — you do not make them selfish, only deeply appreciative. If you give grudgingly or talk about it, they may grow cold, selfish and hateful, thinking they might as well get and enjoy all they can because you do not really care anyhow. – Edna Lister, August 1934.


Achieving your destiny begins with observing others’ actions while watching your own reactions. At the same time, you must insistently demand of the self not to hear, see, or feel negatively. – Edna Lister, August, 27 1934.


“To know yourself, first you must know who God is.” – Edna Lister


To know yourself, first you must know who God is, and then you can learn who you are. Next, you must study the lower self, to discover what you must do to improve your life. Most people are overly involved in the lower self, fascinated by it. They study dreams, palmistry, astrology and numerology, working to master one discipline after another, hoping to master themselves through understanding all these methods. On the Via Christa, we find balance in five phases, or categories of expression — psychology, metaphysics, science, philosophy, and mysticism. – Edna Lister, September 17, 1934.


“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” – Malachi 3:10. God can do anything now, yet you set up your own petty ideas in opposition. Your opinion is that your problem is too hard for Him. Your doubt is personal, not God’s idea. Self says, “God, I don’t believe You! I believe my opinion that You can’t do it!” Then the very power of love, which is life itself, opposes you, beats you, because its business is to overcome everything unlike itself.

You need heavenly manna. God needs only one soul to know, and I know hard enough to match a whole army, a dozen armies. Light is eliminating all darkness in your life. Light is overcoming all hardened gall stones, melting them. Your fever is soothed, and emotions calmed. Light absorbs the lumps. Light fills the nerves with glory, the blood with an infusion of Spirit. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 2:5. Set up no more false gods of opinions and prejudice.

“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” – Isaiah 40:31. Strong, perfect, divine, glorious, triumphant, mighty — that’s really you. Soon you will “take up your bed and walk.” You can no longer serve two masters, darkness and Light, but are being forced to make your own decisions of truth.

You have to declare what you really want in your life. You cannot die of overwork, but you can suffer, until you live by this: “Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.” – Job 22:28. What is your declaration? Answer honestly, Do your words follow the meditations of your heart? – Edna Lister, October 12, 1934.

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“Turn unto me. Come unto me,” says the Master. To turn is to repent. Repentance means “to be sorry for, change of heart, change of attitude, to give up.” To repent, you must first see where you stand, and see clearly wherein you have failed. You must become meek before God, but be strong before men. You do this by the Power of the Holy Breath, the heavenly essence of inspiration, which you inhale. To breathe is to be moved by inspiration.

Remission means “to clear away from, dropping away from, falling from.” The “remission of sins” is Light going forth to dissolve the taint. You can remit your own sins by surrendering and sacrificing the soul taints that cause them.

Forgiveness means to give love for what your brother has against you. The will is the key to the fountain of life in man. What you bind on earth is bound in heaven. What you hold by the will, you crush and thus lose. What you loose on earth, you loose in heaven.

The One Source never alters, never changes. All roads lead to Light, but some take a long time to get there. Anything not showing you high courage, or making it too easy, leads downward, not taking you home, but the “long way around.” The road home is always ascending higher.

No past is too dark to be forgiven. God will wipe it all out. St. Augustine, a rebellious youth, traveled to Rome and became the greatest saint because he laid everything on the altar in sacrifice of self. The voice of self always urges you to snatch the sacrifice from the altar. – Edna Lister, January 2, 1935.


“Forgiveness means to give love for what your brother holds against you.”
– Edna Lister


To surrender to the Supreme means to give up self to the Supreme, not to cling to human nature, the world, or to man’s ways of living. To surrender to God is to be meek toward God, with no thought of self or “me.”

Declare, “I accept God’s plan for me,” which is to reach the place of high I AM, the Oversoul as super-conscious mind. The little I am speaks from the heart of the embodied soul. The high I AM speaks from crown center of the Oversoul.

So, ask yourself, “What is that to thee? Follow thou me.” John 21:22. When your personal will lets go, God, as the white Light of splendor, moves in as wisdom. When you bow down before God only, you become a seer, an infallible prophet. The individual I am of the little me, becomes submerged in the high I AM of God, the center of Light, conferring all authority, all power, all spiritual seeing and hearing. – Edna Lister, January 9, 1935.


You are always raised up in the crucifixion of the self until you let the Light perfect you. – Edna Lister, January 27, 1935.


“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.” – John 21:18. The young are usually selfish. When you are older in experience, you may go where the little self would not choose to go alone. To complete the death of your old self, you must surrender to the Power and Light, and put all your faith in God. – Edna Lister, February 3, 1935.


Wherever you find self, consign it at once to the refiner’s fires. Disintegrate the self until you achieve Christ’s stature.

“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” – Luke 9:23. Denial may mean simply ignoring something or agreeing with God that this is good, and lifting the self. When you deny the self, you are ready to “Follow me.” When you lift self, you “follow me.” Your soul’s greatness is then 100 percent steadfast and glorious. God’s greatness is 100 percent joyously enduring. – Edna Lister, February 10, 1935.


“In truth, you have only one adversary, the self,
though you may imagine it is God or some devil.” – Edna Lister


The keynote of the Christ standard of conduct is obedience to law: To surrender the self, to deny the self, to surrender to the Christ laws, and to the will of God. You must submit to every ordinance made by man, for your family, social, and business affairs are all governed by a standard of ethics and morals, which are laws. You may choose between the freedom to seek pleasure and material things for self, or freedom to surrender the self, to obey law, to expand, to express your soul. You may choose to be free from bondage to all darkness yet not give offense. Walk with God. – Edna Lister, February 17, 1935.


In truth, you have only one adversary, the self, though you may imagine it is God or some devil. You push against His Power, yet it permits no fooling around or playing with it. – Edna Lister, March 13, 1935.


You must have command over self, before you may be granted command over Power, if you surrender all self to become the servant of all Power. You must also be aware of your divinity, and aware of God’s Power. Then, you must give up self to be used by that Power. By abandoning your self-centered will, by lending your self in surrender and sacrifice, you become a creator god. You may rise up with Power, willing to be or do whatever is required. – Edna Lister, March 20, 1935.


The law that Jesus taught, condensed into the Golden Rule, requires you to conquer self, to become law, and to do as the Christ principle dictates. – Edna Lister, March 22, 1935.


You judge yourself, hard or soft, tough or easy, according to your faith. If your judgment is rigorous, and hard on self, your faith increases. If your faith is soft, with excuses for your lapses, you return to the lesser levels of illusion. – Edna Lister, March 22, 1935.


We come from the Light, and must sacrifice the worldly self to regain our heritage. – Edna Lister, August 1935.

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Conquering Self 1936

Your degree of humility is based on your ability to see the truth in your self. First you must face the old self, and conquer it. Then you must see perfection in your new self. When you have sufficiently effaced the self, your former selfish reluctance becomes eager and generous cheerfulness. – Edna Lister, February 16, 1936.


The one who disciplines and annoys you is not your trial, but your teacher. – Edna Lister, February 22, 1936.


“Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” – James 1:2-3. You, as a soul, not a self, must learn to count it all joy when you face temptation. Further, you must “Let patience have her perfect work” before you can even dream of winning life’s battles. – Edna Lister, March 29, 1936.


Self-pity, rebellion, willfulness, criticism, condemnation and unrighteous judgment are all ways to misuse your soul substance as darkness. You can release substance as Light to melt and dissolve what you have crystallized, and that will be sufficient — unless you crystallize more. Like dredging a ditch, it’s hard to start because only a small amount of water can pass through at first. As you increase the flow, the dredging becomes easier and goes faster. Cleansing self with Light makes more room for your soul. – Edna Lister, October 31, 1936.


“One who disciplines and annoys you is not your trial, but your teacher.”
– Edna Lister


Lifting the hold that darkness has on the self, in you and in others, brings more Light to you, and you to greater Light. – Edna Lister, December 13, 1936.


Conquering Self 1937

Success makes all of us look down the end of our noses to some extent, yet others find it condescending and they are likely to become resentful. You must learn to declare every loss, real or imagined, is good and works to strengthen you. If you laugh in the joy of withstanding the petty tyrants of this world, you will find them to be mere blustering pussycats.

Always there will be obstacles but you will have the strength with which to conquer! Just keep climbing up and out and one of these days you’ll find yourself way, way up, looking back down into the Valley of Shadows where you wandered so long. The high hills will seem so lovely that you’ll never want to turn back again. And if you cry, why just remember to cry up!

The way is wide open. Nothing can hurt you. Just declare it is good and it shall be so. The seeming wrongs and hurts are but ways of digging up the dry rotted weeds at the heart of self and outer situations. They will heal, leaving no scar, only beautiful flowers growing in the weeded spot. – Edna Lister, August 17, 1937.


God has everything in His own hands. When He moves in to grant your desires, declare it perfect, even when it looks to mortal eyes to be the very worst that could happen. You always get your wishes, though sometimes you do not like the way in which He brings them about. It is all a lesson for your soul unfolding and development.

All is well. You may not be able to see your own growth but I do, and it is nothing short of marvelous. You have spread your soul wings and flown so very high that you are somewhat dizzy. Yet we declare, All is well. Everything is a pure and perfect working out of law for you.

Remember to lift everything as it comes to you, declaring that each hour brings you closer to your great goal. Are you fully ready for whatever change comes? Are you vitally in tune with your own soul? Are you in the high place of sanctuary from where you can rule your kingdom? Just be steadfast and unafraid. Be of stout heart to bear, to endure, to trust and to know that all is well.

“Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.” – Job 22:28. Be cautious as to your decree. Make it good. Make it perfect. The worse the situation looks, the closer you are to real freedom. Keep your mind and heart clear of all doubt and resentment. – Edna Lister, August 17, 1937.


Never confide your business in those who may prove untrustworthy, and you can tell who they are because of the odd feeling of caution you experience just before you speak. Such a one is, in fact, a disintegrator, and eventually closes the door on herself.

Be like a well spring of silence. Cut off everything of the past except the love given and received. Our future is too bright and great to give room to darkness of any kind. Allow nothing to dim your Light. – Edna Lister, September 29, 1937.


Conquering Self 1938

When you give a man only truth, you give him freedom forever, and the armor of Light and joy around him renders him immune to all earth’s darkness. When a soul declares that she must do it her way, then she must go on in the darkness of self until all she has decreed is fulfilled. As she has said, so shall she work it out in rue at her leisure. Thus, patience is its own reward. – Edna Lister, January 12, 1938.


So many of the Elect have fallen because of rebellion and the lethal cup of sensation. The rule is absolute balance, which is supreme justice, tempered with mercy, not mercy tempered with justice, for it is too soft. When you have erased the last doubt, fear, and tendency to be grieved from subconscious mind, then you have completely surrendered self to the Light. Do not be impatient. No one can progress any faster than one step at a time.

When you go to bed, think yourself out of your body before you sleep. Only this way can you gain full consciousness of what you are doing at night, for soul vision and hearing. Give yourself ample time in the morning to recall where you have been and what you must do. – Edna Lister, April 17, 1938.


When you have passed an initiation, you do not talk about it. That is the Law. We say, “Let the dead past bury its dead,” but we do not bury the soul of anything. The ashes we scatter to the four winds, and that is a good burying. – Edna Lister, June 10, 1938.


Be steadfast under the Light. Listen to hear God’s words dropped into your mind, and know that all is well. – Edna Lister, July 10, 1938.


Feed the Master’s sheep, not from your personal vanities or preferences. Feed his sheep from the glory of your soul, not from the sorrows and limitation, or the darkness of weak moments. You may go to him in these moments, but seek no one else in the world, lest you become guilty of disturbing his soul’s peace or of putting out his Light. Work at mastering the law of Matthew 5:25 until you have perfected it: “Agree with thine adversary quickly whiles thou art in the way with him,” lest at any time the adversary (your little self) deliver thee to the judge (your higher soul), and the judge deliver thee to the officer (your own self-condemnation) and thou be cast into prison (grief about your negligence and disobedience to laws and ideals). – Edna Lister, July 11, 1938.


“Responsibility never confers authority.” – Edna Lister


When you cannot act without offending, then you may not do it. You may not legally make laws for anyone until you have become a true law of life for your own soul and a Light to all others. Do not leave the full burden for lifting to just a few others. Lift fully, and grow in ability to lift each burden. Responsibility never confers authority, but only means that Power is released through you as you lift in silence. If you break the silence by word or action, Power is withdrawn. Be a determined lifter of all worldly challenges, but not anxious or upset by temporal events, which pass away. Rather be concerned by darkness that creeps in, and lift it to be made into Light quickly. Lift in all ways and freely, always declaring only good. – Edna Lister, July 15, 1938.


Each of you is a torch of Light shining out to bless others. Each is an ensample for the rest. Together you form an ensample for the world to see, and they will judge your teacher and our Master, Lord Jesus, by what they see and hear. Make each word you speak a word from the very heart of our Father. You are considered knowledgeable and therefore responsible for your words and actions. Be sure that you make a great sacrifice of whatever comes to you for lifting. The greater your sacrifices, the greater your advance into the Light.

“It is impossible but that offenses will come, but woe unto him through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.” – Luke 17:1-2. Beware of offending anyone, even the least of these children. Beware of taking offense. The Master forgave those who crucified him. Do you hold yourself of greater value to the Father than our Master? Do you take upon yourself the authority of judging anyone else? Will you declare someone else wrong when our Father declares them good and very good? Who dares to cast a first stone?

Who will be the greatest lifter, will make the greatest sacrifice of self? Let this be your aim rather than to see who is greatest in service, strongest in faith or the most right as to opinion. Only sacrifice of self makes you great in God’s kingdom. What selfishness can you sacrifice today? Whom can you make happy? Whom can you exalt? Of what avail to declare another the greatest sinner, the greatest offender? The Father cares nothing for your judgment of His other children. He alone is Judge at all times and in all cases.

Struggle on so that all may reach the high goal of Christ Jesus — loving one another, making sacrifice of self for each other and above all, giving to each that glorious perfect understanding. The sun shines on all alike unless one desires to stand in the shade. If another wants shade, say, “I love you to be happy your own way, but I stand ready to make room for you in my share of the sunshine.” What you share, you have forever as part of the soul.

Declare, “This one thing I do now, reaching into the Light for my Master’s hand. I press onward into the Light so that in all ways I may be a fitting representative of his glory. I so surrender to be used by the power of love that the whole world, my family and affairs, shall be a radiant Light shining to bless, enfold, and lift all.” – Edna Lister, July 24, 1938.


The rule the Elect most often disobey is “What is that to thee? Follow thou me.” – John 21:22. The law of lifting is, “Let Light overcome all darkness. It is finished. It is now good.” When the selfish traits enter, confusion reigns. When you live by the laws of the Christ, then all is well. Build no barriers between yourself and the world by over-estimating your little self, but seek to be the servant of all. – Edna Lister, July 29, 1938.


What does it profit you to gain a point of earth in desire for self-exaltation and lose place, even a degree, in heaven? What does it profit you to be exalted in reputation on earth, but to lose character of soul in heaven? What does it profit you to speak truth that offends and wounds another? What does it you to serve the mighty of earth if one taint remains in your heart to wound the least of God’s children? Do not look into the least moment in another’s life, but rather into the greatest moment in your life and so exalt that greatness. – Edna Lister, August 1, 1938.


“The one answer for all problems is a little more love,
and a little more praise.” – Edna Lister


It has been said of old that taking care of the beam in your own eye is better than trying to pluck the mote from your brother’s eye. To obey this law means health to body and soul, Light on your path and peace in your heart. When your eye is on the goal, you cannot stumble in darkness, for you face the Light, which makes all into good and very good. When the salt has its savor, life is full of happiness. Evening brings exaltation when you have used the day in love, and praise flows from your lips easily. When praise flows in psalms of thanksgiving, then the eyes see and the ears hear symphonies of glory. – Edna Lister, August 7, 1938.


The one answer for all problems is a little more love, and a little more praise. All God’s promises shall be fulfilled after their degree and kind. Great is the reward for sacrifice of self and steadfastness of soul. Great is the gift of Spirit for becoming these two virtues. – Edna Lister, August 14, 1938.


The way of the righteous is not made too easy through worldly satisfaction lest he forgets God. The way of the righteous is planted in those desert places of earth to make them blossom into beauty through creative processes that the soul calls forth at need. When you have learned well the lessons of experience that you have come to gain, your tears will be wiped away and sorrow erased from your heart. It is of earth only, and in no way of heaven. – Edna Lister, August 15, 1938.


My words to you have been so simple and so oft-repeated: “A little more love, a little more praise.” Yet “It is now good” will bring to pass all your soul desires. The Master’s idea, “Let us love one another,” still holds a key. I say to you, “Let us understand one another, for of this wisdom is born.” – Edna Lister, August 19, 1938.


The Father can use you only in proportion to your surrender of self. – Edna Lister, August 22, 1938.


Lay all self on the altar, and immolate it to renew your life at the Source. To those who accept, new ideas and ideals will come forth in all creative work. When you direct Light-as-life into right channels by right thinking, it brings forth life abundant. When you allow self to dissipate Light, or dam it by darkness, it destroys everything in its path. Watch the life within you. Let no darkness destroy what took you so long to build.

How do you stand in service today? How much of the little self have you sacrificed? Do you blame anyone on the outside, and if so, why? You have only yourself to blame for each laggard step. Gird up your loins and march on. Lift up your heart and praise God. Give unto God that mead of love untrammeled by negligence, lukewarmness or lack in faith. Give to Him freely, gloriously and be assured of His loving care and “added things” in due season after your own degree and kind of desires.

Reserving judgment is wise, lest you be in danger of the inner judgment for judging unrighteously. Tolerance is a much needed lesson. Therefore, always strive to be more tolerant in your statements and thoughts before you rush to judgment. – Edna Lister, August 25, 1938.


No group or idea was ever born on earth without much travail and pain. Be prepared therefore, in your mind and heart to meet all tests with deep devotion and consecration unto the Father and the Master. Do this in remembrance of our Lord. When a vibration is at an end, press forward once more without regret, although with great gratitude for the vehicle that has brought you this far.

Loyalty to God is the first commandment. Live all it teaches: “Love honor above all things.” Try not to drag any empty shell along with you, lest it retards your growth and hampers your soul’s expansion. So, shed Light on all alike. Leave no one out, but let your answers be “yea, yea” and “nay, nay,” or perfect silence at all times. Your hidden purpose is to lift all darkness in the Master’s name. Let nothing interfere with this. Hold yourself of high vibration that nothing of the world may enter your life. Lift each outer vibration, as it approaches, in sacrifice before the altar. – Edna Lister, September 8, 1938.


When progress on one line of Light is finished, closing out the vibration quickly is best. When all who can pass tests on an old vibration have, it is better that it is cut speedily. Pay no attention to seeming foes who have no power, but live in their own conceits. Stand in faithfulness and steadfastness under the Light, in loyalty to the Light, and surrender to the full Light to send it forth. – Edna Lister, September 14, 1938.


“Always seek to increase the quality of your desire.” – Edna Lister


Your great, your strong desire for God the Father has brought you where you stand now. Nothing except your own false desires for more of earth can move you thence. Intellectual knowledge, much vain knowing and much reading do not open the Gates of Heaven. The depth of honest desire in the heart and mind opens all doors within and without.

Pay no attention to any darkness. Speak gently. Walk softly. Be cautious. Be silent, and when you must defend principle and God, speak wisely, sweetly, firmly and finally. Do not hesitate to withhold speech or to speak at the right time. Seek balance in all ways. Always seek to increase the quality of your desire. The fulfillment of your dreams and visions, the clear path before you to reach your goal, all depend on the quality of your desire to sacrifice the little self to the soul’s growth.

Reason and judgment must rule and hold the heart’s vain emotions under control until you conquer them. – Edna Lister, September 28, 1938.


Pray for fortitude and endurance to continue in the way of the soul’s ascent. Sacrifice the “little” of earth to gain the “much” of heaven. Be on the alert to gain more and not to lose place or face before the high altars. “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.” – Revelation 15:2.

The Elect are not chosen because of their knowledge or wisdom. If they knew all mysteries but had not love, if they were not living the Via Christa with all their heart, body, soul, mind, and life, they would fail. The Elect are chosen for their great sacrifices of self and their desire to be perfect. They shall stand on the “sea of glass,” which is that tranquil point of receptivity of seeing and hearing, living by the higher creative center. – Edna Lister, October 1, 1938.


You must be of tough fiber to conquer in this world of jealousy and envy. You will face enemies who would tear you to pieces, but do not notice it or you will not pass the tests. Be the Power within yourself. You are the dynamo and the soul powers must radiate from you. You are not a sponge to absorb vibrations from other dynamos. Do not notice the force of self-will in others. You must come through and conquer these vibrations. To do so, you must be the Power within yourself. – Edna Lister, October 21, 1938.


“Many are called, but few are chosen – ask yourself why.” – Edna Lister


Some are blind for a season, until experience teaches them. Others blind themselves by their own conceits for ages to come. A few choose their way in great vanity and conceit of delusion, which leads to full regression. All souls will meet with their own reward, for the Father is a jealous God, requiring obedience of His children who are fully knowledgeable.

Beware of lukewarmness, which will lure the self with thoughts of needed rest, ideas of overwork, of too great burdens, of too great effort to make needed sacrifices. Lashing the self into action is better than failing to act. Better to lash the self into surrender rather than to leave retribution of law to God. One gives you many credits and indulgences, the other demerits.

God may propose and plan, touch and open ways, but He cannot make those whom He touches conform to Light or justice. When they decide to become one with darkness, He has no choice but to begin again. The smallest act is taken into the final accounting. No one may gain unlawfully at any time. Speak the Word for truth and truth shall prevail. Declare for health and flesh shall return to full vigor. Hold up the heads of those in mental stress and they shall let go of doubt and fear, blaspheming and cursing, and return to God. You only have to know the truth and it shall be established unto you.

The Father has placed limitless Light, Power, Substance and life at your command and use. It will go forth and return again as yours, according to your faithfulness and decrees, according to how you impress it. Make sure that you are thinking and acting as a true daughter or son of God. Rewards greater than you have room to receive are ready and waiting to return to you when you redeem your already misspent soul substance to the Light. – Edna Lister, October 27, 1938.


“Many are called, but few are chosen.” – Matthew 22:14. Few can be chosen. Ask yourself why so few hold aloft the Christ Standard. Ask yourself why there are so few workers in his vineyard. The answer is always the same. The Way of the Christ in all ages has been too difficult for the lukewarm to attain. – Edna Lister, October 30, 1938.


When you are in deep soul consecration, the power to heal is great. Speak the Word of release for the crippled and lame, weak and blind. Recall your special privilege and the gift of healing frequently. In all ways use it only for great good, to bless and protect, to lift and hold high. Always keep in mind that you have earned this through deep sacrifice of self. Allow no selfish thoughts to creep in and take it from you. – Edna Lister, October 31, 1938.


The full mysteries of God are not revealed without due sacrifice of the self. If that sacrifice is too great a burden, then the gift of knowledge is too precious to be given without earning. Only sacrifice of selfish ideas, time and effort in prayer and praise are considered as compensation of giving to receive of God’s glorious bounties. Those who sacrifice much time and effort are considered to have made full payment to partake of the Chalice of Wisdom. These revelations open only through the full sacrifice of leaving all earthly concerns behind in praise and prayer.

Heed then, and act; follow, and make sacrifice. God has His ways and plans and listens to minds and to hearts. The full Lights are on you as you choose now the full glory of God. Build and build only. Destroy nothing formed or in the forming by doubting it. Speak no more about darkness, but only and always about the Light. Seek always to reach higher and remain close to the heart of God. Keep Him high in your mind and seek ever to keep your hands clean and heart pure. Seek not the vanities of added things. Seeking first, then added things later, is the law. – Edna Lister, November 6, 1938.


By diligence where you are, you dig out the root of all your past limitations. Be faithful and every door shall open to you, before you and beside you. Weed out the nonessential in your daily life. Make each hour a clean pattern to bring forth the next step upward into your sphere of glory. – Edna Lister, November 12, 1938.

Choose the path that will lift you higher, and each step will carry you closer to the heart of the infinite and just God. No soul may ascend unless he gathers to himself all that he brought forth, all that he has demanded of God since he became man, and all that he has used as man. Each descended creator must redeem and lift his endowment of soul substance until any soul debts are crossed off the Book of Life, or he may not enter the realms above.

The law is just, for many would misuse and leave lost soul substance behind, were it possible. Thus, a just law requires that each return with all the Light, Power, life and substance he drew on during his sojourn on earth. You may use this Light, Power, life and substance not once but many times.

You have no place along the path to stop. All must advance or retreat. Choose, then each hour, and choose well whom you will serve, God or self. Allow nothing to retard you for even an hour, for you cannot recall lost time. Joy in your present place and position emancipates you to a greater place and position. Love sustains all your creations. Praise brings your creations into the visible universe. Devotion holds you facing the Light. Understanding opens your eyes and ears. Watchfulness saves much misspent time. – Edna Lister, November 12, 1938.


“Have faith, for God is faithful.” – Edna Lister


At the end of an old cycle, God must act for the greatest good of all, although to the distress of some. Impatience and doubt may cause delay but do not stop action. Watch, lest the Power released finds you unaware and sweeps you into devious fantasies of your own vanity and conceits. Look well to your desires that they do not grow faint. See to it that your decrees also stand the test of the release of Power, for every idle word goes forth to be whatever you decree.

At times it may appear as though all is lost. It may seem that the delay is too great, but have faith, for God is faithful to the end of all darkness and into the perfect shining of all Light. Judge not by short spans and spaces of life, but only in the light of great cycles. Thus, you can withstand all criticism against the perfect and just workings of divine laws. If initiations seem to grow hard, recall that you are as one who skipped many grades in school, until he felt the lack in college. He must seek information that he lost through lack of study when young. So, as the adult student of ascension, go to the Father, the Source, for all information you lack. – Edna Lister, November 14, 1938.


The heavenly gains you earn are balanced by earth gains. That is the law and must fulfill itself. The equivalent is in the outer world: Law requires that you pay for what you force. Playing a waiting game is hard. Never doubt, fret or worry that the right things will not come. When you reach the point of not fearing that darkness will touch or move you, absolute darkness will look like Light.


You are a conqueror when you can hear slander and reviling without a heart flutter, as though it happened to another fifty years ago. Lies are peculiar — they fool the Elect for a time but God never permits anything false to remain hidden. – Edna Lister, November 24, 1938.


Do not pull against delay, but pull ahead, doing each hour’s duty in full joy. Haste causes petty annoyances and pain. Put all of yourself into each hour. Whatever that hour brings, fill it full of joy, expectant eagerness and let full Light move through you. Yet take time to pass perfectly from one phase to another. Do not make detrimental haste that destroys.

Desiring to hold onto an elderly loved one is credited as self-indulgence, and as possessing the loved one as a person. Even some veritable saints are guilty of such selfish love, for they desire to possess those whom they “exalt” with their tainted love. Smothering love must become mothering love. Give up all possession, then you will enjoy everything on earth more and will be able to see and hear spiritually. – Edna Lister, December 10, 1938.


Doubt nothing. Fear nothing. Believe that all is about to be fulfilled and it shall be so. Law is law, and doubts or fears may not be set it aside. Yet since doubts and fears may delay fulfillment, and because the time has come to reward the faithful, those who still doubt and fear shall be set aside for a time to allow law to be fulfilled. No one can be kept from any place they have earned or any degree of Light in which they may stand now, but no one may enter through the closed Gates of Light. – Edna Lister, December 16, 1938.

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Conquering Self 1939

Let your idea of God’s Power through you be greater from this day than ever in all your experiences. Let your praise come swiftly. Let your lifting of darkness be greater in each new hour. Let each second see you with the mystic third eye of soul vision turned higher into the Kingdom of God. Let all thoughts be of constructive nature, going ever into the Light for their source and substance. Let your voice be raised in tenderness toward all. Always be in selfless sweetness and in sacrificial firmness. Let your service be founded on the one great Source, God the Father.

You are chosen not by favoritism but by sacrifice of self, not of vanity to be placed high and be seen and heard of men, but by humbleness and devotion, by giving way and place to others, by bridled tongue, by giving full compassion to all alike. For these heavenly virtues, the Father has opened all Gates to you. Yet you cannot hold your place except by great and continued sacrifice of self.

Self is the thief that sneaks upon you in the night to steal your gains of soul. Self desires to be seen and heard of men, famed and lauded with Power by men. Self forever usurps tribute to itself to the hurt and harm of soul’s place and growth. Beware, therefore, and do not succumb to any of self’s plausible stories. The three great temptations for self to misuse Mind, Substance, and Power remain for you to conquer.

Watch day and night, lest in some way you are sorely tempted to allow the world to enter and destroy the fine delicate lines of Light you have already built at such great sacrifice of self. Live by soul’s virtues, and follow the Master ever more eagerly into the Light. The Father shall indulge you more greatly and your soul’s devotion shall keep pace with the perfection of your desire to conquer. Climb the sunlit way back into God’s heart of flame and fire, which consumes and burns away all dross gathered from earth. Compose yourself to face a steady and ever-mounting battle with your own darkness. – Edna Lister, January 1, 1939.


A new cycle has opened, and law has garnered all your struggles and striving into a perfect whole for your new expression. Be faithful in all matters, and steadfast through all upheavals. Nothing can “come nigh thy dwelling,” if you always remember to live in the secret place of the Most High. Nothing will touch you or yours to harm, only that which must come for each soul’s growth. Nothing at all on earth can move you, unless you invite earth’s vibrations to enter and sup at your table.

God shall supply you with all good things, with all Power to release day and night — all Power, not a tenth, but all to use in love, devotion and praise. He gives you all life to use. Are you ready to give up all weakness for all strength, or must you run your life on partial strength? Hearken, and heed. Are you ready now, or must the Father listen to excuses and hear, “The way is so hard. I am weary of earth’s struggle,” or, “I am unworthy of high honors, so I shall wait before I take full responsibility, oh God.” The Father has listened to these whines and complaints often in the past. He shall no longer permit delay caused by laggards.

Choose. Act. Be. Choose and stand. Choose and act. Choose and be faithful, steadfast, loving, compassionate, strong, unmoved, unbound from all past darkness, glorious in the Light and glorifying to the world. For the full kingdom of heaven shall be made only of such. Is God a man that He changes laws to suit what the earth-born decide and think? Souls run on the power of choice. You may choose to suit yourself, but may not expect to change God’s laws and plans when you change your choice.

You, the faithful Elect, have suffered much. God’s law is your protection and is the reason why heavenly Power may be released on earth. The reward of the faithful shall be great and complete. Partake of it. Appropriate and use it. Let your words release much Light, and be strong. Too often in the past you have forgotten and become lukewarm, just when the added things were beginning to come. Let this not be the result this time.

Praise from a heart full of devotion and gratitude for the knowledge already given. Increased devotion will pay greater dividends than you can imagine. Increased praise will bring all the bread you have cast upon the waters home speedily. Cast your net on the “right side of the boat” at once. Some have cast their nets on the wrong side, where no abundant fish of Light swim. Praise, and straightway, place your nets on God’s side. Light, not dark, will then return, the net filled at once and not a single fish lost. Heed, a fisherman’s key point is his casting, so cast in the right way and God’s abundance will be your reward. – Edna Lister, January 2, 1939.


“Praise from a heart full of devotion and gratitude.” – Edna Lister


The keynote for the new Christed Age released the Power to start the shortening of time promised in Matthew 24:22. Power has been released in ever greater quantity and in quality, in an ever higher vibration, until only those who are actually pure in heart and of clean hands can stand it. This divides the sheep from the goats, placing all descended creator gods in their earned positions.

Chronological soul age places many, worthy or unworthy, in positions of power and high place. To hold these high places, they must earn them. During their time of great trial, testing and temptations, some weak ones make good, while many who think they are good do not take heed but fall from their high place. When the weeding out is finished, only those who are strong enough remain to ascend to their Father’s House again.

Be faithful to all joy and praise, for only joy and praise create your soul’s growth, make the creations of your heart’s desires possible, or recreate your life anew. God releases unlimited joy-as-substance through your praise. Lift your kingdom into the high place. You are bound together as one when you dwell in the sanctuary, the secret place of the Most High.

Call on God in times of darkness and troubles of earth, then know and stand under the full Light the Father releases for your use and comfort, when you believe to see the full salvation and glory of the Lord. You are together as one when you have compassion in your hearts, when you accept your full responsibility to lift and express harmony, when you know that only Light will overcome all darkness. By use you prove that this is truth and no man may set it aside or tear it asunder. You look on Light and find it good. For all these reasons, God binds you together, subject to no separation. – Edna Lister, January 2, 1939.


Watch all desires so they may be selfless and for your own greatest good. Watch all pictures in imagination and allow only those of good within the fortress of your mind. Watch especially for idle words. Let your answer be “Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” – Matthew 5:37. Allow no one to speak of darkness in your hearing without lifting it in true golden silence. Speak, not to voice corrections, but only to pour the Light on any shadows that surface to be made into Light. – Edna Lister, January 8, 1939.


Please remember the importance of remaining in as great a state of perfection as possible. Allow no influences of earth or lesser intelligence to disturb you — nothing of earth is worth a single instant’s loss of this Power. Stand strong, letting nothing of the outer move you.

The Power you release shall be used to feed the Master’s sheep, to build new vibrations of the good, to return those things you need for comfort and have asked for in the Master’s name in your secret place of prayer.

Keep then all outer vibrations from creeping in, and hold yourself in that perfection of deep love, which opens all Gates into the Realms. Love is the only key needed. Enough love will free you in all ways from all bondage, from all that which is born of darkness, whether in your mind or heart.

Under the release of such great Power, any disobedience can cause great damage to delicate fibers of mind and body. To deliberately allow darkness to enter, the result would be damage to neurons of the soul. – Edna Lister, January 9, 1939.


Let nothing of self creep in to cause you dismay or concern. Do not ask or expect others to understand you. What holds one back from soul vision holds all others back in some measure. Therefore, lift any darkness instantly and lift it high. Darkness includes anything you would not be or do if you were standing in front of Master Jesus, and could see him fully and clearly. Since you are standing beside him, why allow anything of small stature to enter your mind?

You are a law unto your self — but to no other at all. You may make any law you wish and it will be so to you, but to no other. – Edna Lister, January 13, 1939.


Remain in the Light, for only through much sacrifice of self and eternal oblation before God can you endure on the Via Christa. You may not presume on the gain of Spirit. Recall any missing the high mark of the calling of Christ Jesus in time for true repentance, so that you may make full sacrifice before the garden of your soul becomes choked with weeds. You can avoid much future sorrow by recalling your grief and heartache over past disobedience. – Edna Lister, April 5, 1939.


“In Light there is no darkness at all.” – Edna Lister


Cleanse your heart and purify it of all self-centered conceits and worldly machinations. – Edna Lister, August 30, 1939.


The law is Light in which is no darkness at all. The law is love in which is not one lesser offspring of hate, which comprises all darkness. The law is Power, which is the very white Light of the Christ, undiluted by anything whatsoever of self, even thoughts of bodily weakness. The law is substance moving out and into only those things that are of the Light. The law is life going forth as strength of mind, strength of heart, strength of body, strength of affairs. – Edna Lister, September 1, 1939.


When you are dedicated to making self into soul, you exalt the soul when you surrender the self. When you can no longer even see what your neighbor does, you become that good which you were seeking in others. – Edna Lister, October 18, 1939.


When you speak in the Master’s name without surrendering or sacrificing self, your words are but sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal, and it is useless to speak it before any altar. When you make full surrender and sacrifice of self, then you can speak anything in his name and it shall be so. Without surrender and sacrifice of self, your words are meaningless before the Father, neither heard nor recorded in heaven, but only in those places under self rule.

Only the “little self” can hurt the “little self” of appetitive soul. Your soul wings are made from your own purity of heart, mind and purpose. Change your actions and your soul shall soar on wings of eagles, strong and vital. – Edna Lister, October 20, 1939.


Take stock of your life, and your appetitive soul, that little fellow who limits you so much. How great is this “little self?” How much of your life do your appetites dictate? How many pictures of lack, darkness, disbelief, hurt, offenses has it presented to you this week? And how many of these things have you believed true for you now?

Take stock. Give up in surrender every last and single thing that is not of the fullness of the Light of your true soul’s glory. Keep seeing your high place above in the Light. Keep knowing your high and mighty heritage of glory. Allow no thing of lesser intelligence or content to disturb your highest knowing of all Power and Light moving through you now into your own great creations. Let your thoughts, your emotions and the picture-molds of your imagination be pure, simple, yet high, abundantly great and noble, as great as you can envision yourself being for God, here and now. – Edna Lister, November 10, 1939.


“Self-satisfaction is the curse of all earth expressions.” – Edna Lister


To separate yourself from all darkness, from all limitation forever with one sacrifice, once surrendering, this is joy. Never to turn back, see, act, speak, or think in past ways — this is true and real surrender. This is the true crucifixion of self. To die daily, to rise up again daily, just as you open your eyes each morning to lift yourself once more in deep surrender and, like Samuel of old, say, “Here am I, Lord, send me.” Pray in ever greater fervency and ardor, which is the outpouring of love, coming from the full sacrifice of self, from the full surrender of self.

Self-satisfaction is the curse of all earth expressions. It stultifies the soul itself. When the little self expands in self-satisfaction, self-exaltation, self-pity or any other self-expression, it draws the substance of the rational soul down to itself, leaving it withered and almost extinct at times. To inflate the little self is a death in truth. The self that you lift becomes the appetitive soul. To undo your lifting is easy — all you need to do is to express some unwarranted, foolish so-called sympathy from the outer plane to give soul the downward push, which if not checked, expands into the slide into oblivion.

Do not think that you are too exalted for this to happen to you. Take heed, for when you think to stand, is when you may fall. So, do not let thoughts of high gains grow into self-satisfaction. Rather, think this way, “If I do not grow constantly with every Holy Breath, I grow self-satisfied with my present place. I pause only long enough to see the beauty of the view ahead, then I push on to greater glory.”

If you look back at the hard path you have traveled, then pride or fear may arise, which could take several initiations to overcome. Do not look on the past path, hard or easy, but seek only the future. Keep your eyes on the sunlit heights above you, the goal clearly before you.

The greater your sacrifice of self and surrender to be used by all Power, the greater an instrument you can become. This is yours to determine. – Edna Lister, November 14, 1939.

Top ↑




Edna Miriam Lister
1884 – 1971
The original Christian Pioneering Mystic,
Platonist philosopher, American Idealist, Founder, Society of the Universal Living Christ, minister, teacher, author, wife, and mother.


Edna Lister


Edna Lister at Paradise, Mount Rainier
National Park, Washington, August 10, 1944.


References

The Compact Edition of The Oxford English Dictionary: 2 volumes. Oxford University Press, 1971.

The Holy Bible. King James Version (KJV).