Edna Lister’s Lectures 1942

Manna for the Radiant Life

Edna Lister lecture outline; Thursday March 5, 1942, Buffalo, New York. Scriptures: John 6:32-47, John 6:58.

“Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you that ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” – John 6:32-47.

“This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live forever.” – John 6:58.

What is a radiant life? It’s plenty of life, so much that you glow! Since everyone must work, play, plan, and study part-time, having lively radiance is good.

Through Moses, God gave the children of Israel earthly manna, a demonstration of the manifestation of divine supply. Yet those who ate this heavenly bread later hungered and eventually died.

Jesus gave us invisible manna, which leads to the life immortal. “This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live forever.” – John 6:58.

The radiant life is the ascended life. What happens then? You lose nothing. You will see the Face of God, and won’t that be a story!

The Great Challenge

Edna Lister lecture outline; March 8, 1942, Buffalo Consistory, Buffalo, New York. Scripture: John 1:1-5.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” – John 1:1-5.

I am so happy. All heaven is in joy and rejoicing. Tonight is the outcome of unconquerable faith. I am one of you, a mother with sons. I, too, stand, having given my son in sacrifice to General MacArthur. I am only one mother, yet the world must find many samples of sacrifice. I have no time except for joy, a gift to give the Father.

Spiritual darkness is the great challenge. It covers every continent of the planet from shore to shore. Darkness has thrown down the gauntlet to Light. “And the life was the Light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” – John 1:5. So said the inspired John, the beloved disciple of Jesus.

We need answers to five questions: Where does this darkness come from? What is it doing? Can we overcome it? How? What can I do about it?

Darkness arises from the subconscious minds of men worldwide. We live under evolutionary laws, and a raised vibration causes the appetitive soul, the subconscious mind, to expand. All healing is based on this fact: All substance is universal at its heart, but it can exist in only one form at a time. You can only raise or lower its rate of vibration by your spoken Word.

To go higher, you must throw out the ballast of self, which is to spew out any evil in your heart. If you are full of darkness, God cannot get in. You must evict the negative taints first, then He lets Light flood in. So it must be, since this is the first wave of the Armageddon.

What is darkness doing? What have you allowed it to do? Since only the one Power exists, enough of the Elect can stand in peace to quell any storm. All it takes is unconquerable faith, and unquenchable love.

Can you overcome the darkness? A thousand times, yes! Yet first you must have an open channel to truth, and accept it. To accept truth is to see truth and to recognize that it is truth.

How can you overcome darkness? By remaining at your high point of contemplative receptivity. The seed of Light that God planted in your heart must break its bonds, expand, and arise. Yet always, your humility of heart must exceed the exaltation of your soul’s glory.

What can I do about overcoming this darkness? Will this overcoming help me? Yes. You must return to your natural habitat and estate, which is the glory. You must grow up to blossom in Spirit like a water lily, which grows in mud, but blooms above the water, just as a Madonna lily may bloom atop a barnyard manure heap.

You must gain that simplicity of Spirit that never misses an opportunity, but always sticks its neck out. Your soul must look through the surface appearance of all men and situations into the Christed essence within each, seeing an untouchable greatness that fills all life.

Darkness is now working itself out. You need not stand in it. What do you desire now, today? All Mind, Substance and Power are yours to claim. What do you consider your account with God to be worth? What do you deposit and how? Light must conquer. Begin by opening a new account with life. Be generous, and deposit a lavish amount of praise. Be profligate in spending your love for God.

Wheat in the sack is no good until you plant it. It’s no good if planted but not watered. It’s no good if left standing, unharvested. It’s no good if cut, then left on the ground. You must gather the wheat in bundles, thresh it to remove the chaff, and sack it.

Yet that is still not enough. You must grind it between the upper and nether millstones. You can choose the nether on earth, or the upper of Light, but the grains become one flour at last. Let Spirit permeate your being.

Threefold Consciousness

Edna Lister lecture outline; March 15, 1942, Buffalo Consistory, Buffalo, New York. Scripture: Job 32:7-8.

“Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.” – Job 32:7-8.

God is Light as all Mind, Substance and Power. Man uses three phases of the one Mind, subconscious, conscious, and super-conscious mind. Man’s confusion arises from his lack of understanding of his relationship with God.

The subconscious mind of the appetitive soul is a Pandora’s Box 1 filled with memories, repressed ideas, suppressed emotions and hunches. Thus the subconscious is always fishing in the more stagnant by-waters of the River of Life. It is always opening the box and dragging you backward with regrets about your poor choices and wrong moves.

You breathe in the conscious mind portion as a seed of Light with your first breath on entering the body at birth. Always seeking to escape its earthy fetters, this seed is the “spirit in man,” the “inspiration of the Almighty.”

It is the germ of your Christ consciousness that stands between the upper and lower phases of mind. The inspiration is that one Mind, Substance and Power, the mind that was in Christ Jesus.

You start out right, with your backpack properly provisioned and loaded. Yet once you start the trek, you may find that you are repeatedly traveling the same trail to nowhere. This continues until you “let” the inspiration of the Almighty fill you.

Most people know little about the inspiration of the Almighty because no one teaches us about the lives of great teachers and martyrs’ anymore. We do not really know how they chose to life and to conquer self; nor do we understand what their life-lessons can do for our faith. The only one who makes a success of his life on all levels is a martyr for his goal.

To win the martyr’s crown, you must choose the right way for you, then stick to it. You must have a conviction rooted deeply enough to stand for it, and the courage to fight for it. Strength comes from bearing the burden, not running from it. Knowing your choice is right for you gives birth to your inner inspiration.

Today, so many people make weak, indecisive choices between the lesser of two evils. If you choose to make the right choice, you must be ready to die for it, ready to face death. When it comes, life opens. Just waiting for the dawn of that new day never works, the dawn never comes. You must work for your day of success.

You can set your subconscious just like a clock, but if you open Pandora’s Box now, you let all the weak notions, doubts and fears escape at once. You must let your subconscious mind look up to the Source of its inspiration.

Put on your martyr’s crown and wear it constantly. Suddenly, from being a drab and gray burden, your crown will grow wings of glory, shining with heavenly jewels, to lift you to your goal.

Five Categories of Expression

Edna Lister lecture transcript; Monday March 16, 1942, Buffalo, New York. Scribe: Buth Bender.

Coming soon.

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33 Via Christa Degrees

Edna Lister lecture series; April 11, 1942–June 6, 1942, Buffalo, New York.

Complete series coming soon.

Palms to the Victor

Edna Lister lecture outline; March 29, 1942, Buffalo Consistory, Buffalo, New York; April 15, 1956, Tacoma, Washington. Scripture: John 12-12-16.

“On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Zion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt. These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.” – John 12:12-16.

Jesus’ ministry was lowly, not prideful. He proclaimed his victory over earth and the material world by riding into Jerusalem upon a homely peasant animal.

What do you use to gain such a victory? You could have all the riches of the world, a treasure house filled with caskets and chests spilling over with gold and jewels. Yet if you leave them lying in the dark, unseen and unused, they are but dormant, of no real use. If you had the greatest talent in the world, it would mean nothing unless you developed it. To sit in a darkened room, holding an unlit candle is foolish, useless unless you light it.

If you were to knit a sweater, using the finest yarn, only to rip apart the stitches to do it all again, repeatedly, even the best yarn would wear out. You need new life every day, more vitality than what you can get in your ordinary food and breathing.

You must draw upon the eternal immortal life from above to revitalize your honor, love and simplicity of soul. You may then stand in faith, waiting for life to use you. Call down God’s Light and Power and decree, “Let God’s life use me now.”

The Silence

Edna Lister lecture outline; April 12, 1942, Buffalo, New York. Scripture: Job 22:22-30

“Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the [gold] of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver. For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God. Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways. When [men] are cast down, then thou shalt say, [There is] lifting up; and he shall save the humble person. He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.” – Job 22:22-30.

What is the silence? Where do you find it? When may you enter it, and how? These are vital questions, to which you gain the answers in three steps:

The first step to reach the silence is prayer, in which you prepare to receive the law and to pay your vows. This is how you gain assurance, confidence and trust in your soul’s ability to commune with God.

The second step is to give prayer treatments and to make your decrees of the spoken Word for perfection.

Then you enter the silence, where “it shall be established [stand] for you, so light will shine on your ways.”

The Key: Understanding

Edna Lister lecture outline; Buffalo Consistory, April 12, 1942, Buffalo, New York. Scriptures: Job 32:8, Proverbs 4:5-9, Psalm 19:14.

“But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.” – Job 32:8.

“Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.” – Proverbs 4:5-9.

“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” – Psalm 19:14.

When God created man in His image and likeness, He included “a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty gives them understanding” (Job 32:8). This tells us where our understanding originates.

You receive wisdom from the words of God. Yet wisdom alone is not enough. The pearl of great price is compounded of Love and Wisdom in perfectly balanced expression. The only key to it is the key of understanding.

Three golden treasure chests are nested within each other; the innermost chest contains the pearl of great price. To open their locks, you need only one key. A set of tiny teeth (bittings) in three places on one key fits the tumblers in all the locks. The first set is desire. The second set is faith. The third set is devotion.

The first chest contains desire, which can transform lukewarm indifference into a flaming glory at white heat. The second chest contains faith unconquerable, which transforms faith in God into the faith of God. God always trusts you, but you must learn to trust yourself. The third chest contains devotion. What does devotion mean? To stand under the Light always.

Now you have opened the three treasure chests, but you’ve not found the pearl. Instead you’ve found layers of wrapping, like fine tissue paper, which you must pull off, thickness by thickness. You tire of unwrapping, tear at it and hunt for it. Persistence pays its greatest dividend here. Ask, seek, knock, and carry on until you conquer. Lo! You find your pearl of glory, the ability to stand steadfastly poised to receive your reward.

“Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.” – Proverbs 4:5-9.

Seven Life Cycles of Man

Edna Lister lecture outline; Saturday April 18, 1942, Buffalo, New York.

Coming soon.

The Glory: Illumination

Edna Lister lecture outline; April 19, 1942, Buffalo Consistory, Buffalo, New York. Scripture: Acts 27:21-44.

As a Roman citizen, Paul could appeal to Caesar from any Roman province on earth and be granted the right of a hearing in Rome. As a son or daughter of God, you may appeal to the Father anytime, anywhere and know that He will hear your plea.

When the storm came, the sea was so rough the men could not eat. They were growing weaker and the storm had not abated. Paul told them that they must stand together now and eat meat to carry on. He shared his faith with them. They did as he advised them and all were saved.

Throughout history, whenever men have called on the Lord for aid, He has responded. Moses pleaded and God led the tribes through the wilderness with a pillar of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night.

The Lord caused the sun to stand still while Joshua fought and conquered the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon.

Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel. – Joshua 10:12-14.

Gideon, the reluctant general and judge of Israel, was called to throw off the yoke of the oppressor. The Lord limited his army to only 300 men, who then saved Israel from the Midianites and Amalekites. (Judges 6, 7).

“When the army of the Syrians surrounded Elisha in Dothan, his servant feared greatly. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria.”–2 Kings 6:15-19.

In all ages, humanity has held the belief in God’s saving Power. We, in our time, have been given an armor of Light, which is always there when we surround ourselves with it.

Every great miracle has come in the wake of someone’s fervent call on God in prayer. As Montgomery said, Prayer is man’s highest thought and most earnest desire expressed.

Love’s Supremacy

As yon great Sun in his supreme condition
  Absorbs small worlds and makes them all his own,
So does my love absorb each vain ambition
  Each outside purpose which my life has known.
Stars cannot shine so near that vast orb’s splendor,
  They are content to feed his flames of fire; And so my heart is satisfied to render
  Its strength, its all, to meet thy strong desire.
– Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Prayer is the Soul’s Sincere Desire

Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,
Uttered or unexpressed,
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast.

Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear,
The upward glancing of an eye
When none but God is near.

Prayer is the simplest form of speech
That infant lips can try;
Prayer the sublimest strains that reach
The majesty on high.

Prayer is the contrite sinner’s voice
Returning from his ways,
While angels in their songs rejoice,
And cry: “Behold, he prays!”

Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath,
The Christian’s native air,
Our watchword at the gate of death;
We enter heaven with prayer.

O thou by whom we come to God,
The Life, the Truth, the Way!
The path of prayer thyself hast trod:
Lord, teach us how to pray!
– James Montgomery

The Silver Cord

Edna Lister lecture outline; Saturday April 25, 1942, Buffalo, New York.

Coming soon.

The One Miracle

Edna Lister lecture outline; Buffalo Consistory, April 26, 1942, Buffalo, New York. Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13.

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”–1 Corinthians 13.

Charity is benevolence or generosity. To have charity includes covering the transgressions of others. In ages past, several avatars have come to earth, each bearing a portion of the message of love, which is charity. The term avatar 2 is defined as “an embodiment (as of a concept or philosophy) often in a person.”

Osiris and Isis brought the mystery of the soul’s immortality. Moses gave the divine law of rightaction and righteousness. Zoroaster taught the fiery Light of truth that burns away deception. Aphrodite brought the mysteries of the Mother. Buddha preached the illusion of appearances and the sacrifice of material possessions. Jesus taught love, the sacrifice as crucifixion of self, and soul ascension.

Each of these avatars demonstrated their teachings, except Jesus, who worked miracles. We must understand the difference between demonstration, versus speaking the Word for a miracle. A demonstration is intended to show something or to prove it, and begins with an imperative command, a demand, such as “Come.” A miracle is the result of seeking God first, and speaking the Word, “Let.”

You are a potential miracle worker when you speak the Word. To prepare, first say, “I so love,” then make your declaration. Nothing is impossible to love.

Awareness

Edna Lister outline; May 3, 1942, Buffalo, New York.

Awareness is “a quality or state of being, the state of being informed and conscious, but without any action or active attention.” You may be aware of a thing, then either forget it or pay no attention to it.

You often become aware of something through intuition before you give it your personal attention. Thus, it forms a trinity of awareness, attention and action.

When you reach the action stage, you do something about it. You start something new, or do one step a day on an old project. You can always memorize just one line or paragraph of printed material you wish to master.

“Now are we the sons and daughters of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be.” — 1 John 3:2.

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A Christmas Message

Edna Lister article for The Golden Oracle Newsletter; December 22, 1942, Phoenix, Arizona.

Love is an essence and a fragrance of happiness in another’s joy. It is a deep desire always to take the blame, if possible, to smooth another’s path. It is a conviction that we should cover with Light, and so hide others’ mistakes from the world. It is a deep heart-desire to do anything asked of me, to give even a moment’s happiness to another.

Love is a delight in being instantly obedient to a desire of the Father, not waiting for Him to put His desire into words of an order or command. It is an honor, so great, paid to the Master and Father, that it would willingly face even death in joy to carry out an order, even when those on earth utterly misunderstand it.

Love is honor in expression here on earth because God’s honor is an exact, perfect blend and balance of Love and Wisdom expressing itself in Selflessness always, under all circumstances. To me, Love is incapable of forgetting to love, despite anything earth can produce.

Love is the soul itself, giving itself up to God, and to man. This is only a beginning. It is an individual soul thing. We cannot command, copy or buy it. We must earn it through the travail of experience in surrender, enduring all things in Joy. We find it ensampled in our Master, Jesus the Christ, and each must be like unto him to know and express the joy of love.

Endnotes

1^ Pandora’s Box: Zeus said, “I will give men as the price for fire an evil thing in which they may all be glad of heart while they embrace their own destruction.” So said the father of men and gods, and laughed aloud. And he bade famous Hephaestus make haste and mix earth with water and to put in it the voice and strength of human kind, and fashion a sweet, lovely maiden-shape, like to the immortal goddesses in face; and Athena to teach her needlework and the weaving of the varied web; and golden Aphrodite to shed grace upon her head and cruel longing and cares that weary the limbs. And he charged Hermes the guide, the Slayer of Argus, to put in her a shameless mind and a deceitful nature. So he ordered. And they obeyed the lord Zeus the son of Cronos. Forthwith the famous Lame God moulded clay in the likeness of a modest maid, as the son of Cronos purposed. And the goddess bright eyed Athena girded and clothed her, and the divine Graces and queenly Persuasion put necklaces of gold upon her, and the rich-haired Hours crowned her head with spring flowers. And Pallas Athena bedecked her form with all manner of finery. Also the Guide, the Slayer of Argus, contrived within her lies and crafty words and a deceitful nature at the will of loud thundering Zeus, and the Herald of the gods put speech in her. And he called this woman Pandora [the all-endowed], because all they who dwelt on Olympus gave each a gift, a plague to men who eat bread. But when he had finished the sheer, hopeless snare, the Father sent glorious Argus-Slayer, the swift messenger of the gods, to take it to Epimetheus as a gift. And Epimetheus did not think on what Prometheus had said to him, bidding him never take a gift of Olympian Zeus, but to send it back for fear it might prove to be something harmful to men. But he took the gift, and afterwards, when the evil thing was already his, he understood. For ere this the tribes of men lived on earth remote and free from ills and hard toil and heavy sicknesses which bring the Fates upon men; for in misery men grow old quickly. But the woman took off the great lid of the jar with her hands and scattered, all these and her thought caused sorrow and mischief to men. Only Hope remained there in an unbreakable home within under the rim of the great jar, and did not fly out at the door; for ere that, the lid of the jar stopped her, by the will of Aegis-holding Zeus who gathers the clouds. But the rest, countless plagues, wander amongst men; for earth is full of evils, and the sea is full. Of themselves diseases come upon men continually by day and by night, bringing mischief to mortals silently; for wise Zeus took away speech from them. So is there no way to escape the will of Zeus. Or if you will, I will sum you up another tale well and skillfully — and do you lay it up in your heart, — how the gods and mortal men sprang from one source. Hesiod. The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White. Works and Days. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914.

2^ Avatar derives from a Sanskrit word meaning “descent,” and when it first appeared in English in the late 18th century, it referred to the descent of a deity to the earth—typically, the incarnation in earthly form of Vishnu or another Hindu deity. It later came to refer to any incarnation in human form, and then to any embodiment (such as that of a concept or philosophy), whether or not in the form of a person. – Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary.

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