Edna Lister’s Lectures

By Linda Mihalic

  As you read and study these lectures, bear in mind that Edna Lister often uses the language of the physical senses and the material world to describe incorporeal forms and processes near or within the “abyss of becoming,” the boundary separating the physical from the metaphysical. In the physical world of appearances the Materialist considers the “real” to be only what he can weigh, count, and measure. The Idealist knows a metaphysical Reality that transcends the appearance of things—and that Reality is the One, the Ideal Good that radiates Truth and Beauty. The judgement pronounced on the Creed of Materialism is “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. This is the interpretation of the thing: Mene; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. Tekel; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. Peres; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”–Daniel 5:25-28.
  “Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.”–Matthew 12:25. A man’s mind is his kingdom. “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.”–James 1:8. Nothing can change or divide your mind unless you have given it to the Medes (opinions) and Persians (prejudices). In Reality there is no such state as God “and” anything for only God “as” everything is possible.

  In addition to Edna Lister’s written outlines, we have included transcripts of her students’ notes wherever available. Her outlines appear before the transcripts on any given date, and in many cases they are quite different. While the outlines may seem sparse, a transcript of a lecture is generally much longer; her lectures were typically an hour or more in length. Ponder what you read in the silence, and you may tune into the living record, which exists eternally in Divine Mind. You may best savor these records of her work by reading them aloud.