Edna Lister’s Lectures, 1963

Ask in My Name
Edna Lister Prayer Circle speech, May 27, 1963, Washington, D.C., John 14:11-13

  “Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”–John 14:11-13.
  Now is the age of doing the “greater works.” 1 Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper recently completed twenty-two orbits of earth, and while he was in space, the other astronauts prayed. In doing so, they took prayer into government, 2 scientists, not ministers. These men know that God is and that Power is.
  Today it’s no longer an issue of who dares to doubt, but of who dares to pay the price. The astronauts pay a price of dedication to be trained, to be used in honor, loyalty, and integrity. You dedicate your life to developing your talents and dreams. If you have none, it’s a humdrum existence. You must dedicate your life, above all, to be used by the Power of God for the greater works, and to become perfect.
  Just trying to live truth isn’t enough; you must be dedicated to God’s use, and to be so, you must own yourself. You must consciously know what you are doing every moment. Do you? No. The phone can ring and you grow rigid with fear, dread, or resentment because of what the caller might say. People draw in and close their minds, saying, “He always upsets me. I know exactly what’s coming.”
  When anything or anyone on the outer—friends, family or the world—can dictate to you this way, you do not own yourself, nor are you soul-dedicated; you just think you are. You have sold so much of your soul stock to others, you have not enough left to pay you living dividends.
  What do you think the Power to do greater works is? If you quiver at a blow, the deliverer owns a block of your soul stock and its value falls. Every idle word sends the price of your stock down. Why? How? Every idle word you repeat about another creates some problem for you. If you repeat what another does wrong, your words touch him as a hypnotic suggestion to do it again. You are then recreating yourself in his pattern, his image and likeness, selling yourself short.
  Own yourself, your own being, declaring, “No power out there can touch me. I am the captain of my soul. 3 If you have already sold yourself, how can you buy yourself back? Practice the love of God.
  Love is flexible; it bends and rides out the storm. Love doesn’t become rigid and redouble the impact force. Let love flow over your past, declaring “I am free,” and the past is gone. Bend under the pressure, giving love in return. Stop bracing against life. Embrace all life as it comes to you. Love your life. How rich is your love-mixture? Strong enough to hold you against all darkness and evil? The amalgamating power of your love determines your ability to stand and hold. Stop selling yourself short. Stop treading the same old stairs in life, going up and down. Go up in consciousness and stay there.
  The Book of Joshua tells of how God commanded the Hebrews to kill every inhabitant of the Promised Land, whole families, to the last man, woman and child. Some people reject the entire Bible because of this, despite the fact that Joshua’s first wholesale conversion of a city, Jericho, was nonviolent. You can kill evil using love as your weedkiller. Love is killing world hatred now. Greater love leads to the greater works.
  Jesus the Christ is the head of all teachers, the only teacher in any age who ever said, “Ask in my name.” Ask in his name and know that the miracle will come.

1 Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper was launched into space on May 15, 1963, aboard the Mercury-Atlas 9 (Faith 7) spacecraft, the last Mercury mission. He orbited the Earth 22 times.

2 Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper’s Prayer Before Congress: Father, thank you, especially for letting me fly this flight. Thank you for the privilege of being able to be in this position, to be up in this wondrous place, seeing all these many startling, wonderful things that you have created. Help guide and direct all of us that we may shape our lives to be much better Christians, trying to help one another, and to work with one another rather than fighting and bickering. Help us to complete this mission successfully. Help us in our future space endeavors that we may show the world that a democracy really can compete, and still are able to be things in a big way, and are able to do research, development, and can conduct many scientific and very technical programs. Be with all our families. Give them guidance and encouragement, and let them know that everything will be okay. We ask in Thy name. Amen.

3 Invictus, William Ernest Henley, 1849-1903.

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Healing Methods and Treatments outline
Edna Lister, June 11, 1963, Cleveland, OH

  What is healing? It is a matter of changing the body metabolism, an under-structure of cells, molecules, atoms, electrons, and life sparks. The outer sheath, desire body, mental body, fire body. We experience physical changes and spiritual changes. No healing without spiritual changes. It is a dual process of raising the vibration from the lowest outer vibration, and lowering the vibration from the highest inner.
  The first step in healing is to gather all your own soul substance together so that your one mind, heart and body share of the universal substance. Devotion and praise start the sun centers whirling in your electronic fire body, which starts the lifting of all heavier vehicles. As you cast off the oily physical sheath, the desire body becomes visible.
  The fire body sun centers draw in life sparks of soul substance upon which our name and number are impressed. In healing, new life sparks must be stamped with the original name and number, and old worn life sparks must be drawn into the Eternal Flame.

  Never lift anyone’s soul debts, not even your own. Above all, never name a soul’s debts. Lift only the life sparks that the soul has invested unwisely or outright misused, any investiture that will hold them in soul bondage to the world or to some other soul. The goal here is to speak the Word for the Father to set them free from earthly attachments.
  When you are lifting for another, literally reach out with your arms and scoop in with your hands, quickly lifting your hands, palms forward and upward to shoulder height, and give the burden to the Father, saying,

Father of all Light and Glory, I now reach out with my arms of Light to gather together all Name’s misused and unwisely invested life sparks of soul substance, and lift them unto Thee for cleaning and purification on Thy high altars of fire. Let them be returned to Name as pure soul substance for investment only in Thy perfect works!

  Remember, the Father does the work. To look up to God, do not raise your arms high or tilt your head back. Instead, look up with the inward mystic eye that sees only perfection.
  Your soul attitude must be one of giving, and knowing that the Father does all the work. Give it to Him! You may do nothing but give!

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Let Your Light SO Shine
Edna Lister speech, International New Thought Alliance, 48th Congress, August 7, 1963, New York, NY, Matthew 5:16, James 1:17, Matthew 6:22

  “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”–Matthew 5:16.
  “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”–James 1:17.
  Our Father of lights is always available, always ready to give. We are ready now for our good and perfect gifts. The Light from above now fills us. The Light from above now absorbs every darkness in your life. The Light now moves through you and all your loved ones. The Light from above now fills me. The Light from above now fills all my loved ones.
  “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.”–Matthew 6:22. “The Light from above now rules my life. I give all my loved ones into the Father’s keeping. I place all my affairs above me on a cloud in the Light. Light has melted, dissolved and absorbed anything imperfect.” Light is my one perfect gift from the Father above. The Light is. It cannot turn away from it. “My Light so shines. My Light is always bright. My shining Light is forever moving before me to make clear and easy my way.”
  In prayer, begin with a glorious, magnificent expression of acknowledgment of God as your Source, such as, “O Thou, the Source, the Light and the glory.” Think of the names and picture the faces of those you know and love. Declare that Light now makes a sheath, a cushion around their physical bodies. See every artery and vein encased in a sheath of this Light. See the Light coating every vein and artery inside with this Light. This Light absorbs everything imperfect.
  To treat others, declare, “I now place all my loved ones on clouds of Light above the earth. I give each of my loved ones his or her own cloud of Light. I place all my affairs on a cloud above me. I now call down Light from above upon my loved ones, upon my affairs and the problems. God’s Light now fills everyone and everything I have lifted with itself, absorbing darkness. All disease, all discomfort is now melted, dissolved and absorbed. Their bodies are now filled with Light.”

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From Concentration to Comprehension
Edna Lister transcript, Ruth Johnson, Irene White, Ross Whitehead, scribes, December 3, 1963, Cleveland OH

  Psychology and metaphysics, which are categories of expression, both offer a limited insight in the process of ascending in consciousness from concentration, through meditation, and into prayer. Metaphysics reveals that concentration is an intellectual act of will; therefore concentration is the process of moving from the inner subconscious to the outer rational consciousness. Psychology would describe this as a process of unfolding from the creature consciousness of impulsive appetitive soul to creator consciousness—moving from the physical to the spiritual focus. You ascend from self to soul, where you gain soul vision, access to divine intelligence—the mind that was in Christ Jesus—and a consciousness of your own eternal identity with God.
  Wisdom, Love, and Power are the trinity of absolute principles that manifest as Mind, Substance, and Power in time and space. These principles operate within man as will, desire, and imagination, which the soul must ascend to open its full empowerment of the Mind, Substance, and Power, which God grants to all souls according to their sublimation, surrender, and conquering of self. You apply these lesser principles of being in your outer life to apply divine Mind, Substance, and Power.
  Crucifying the self-centered will is necessary. Concentration uses the great faculty of will, but is not a nerve relaxer. You must give up concentration and lift desire to mate with will so it becomes the Oversoul’s I AM consciousness, the mind of Christ. Desire then activates the pituitary gland, and will activates the pineal body to function in support of soul ascension. The Light shines on the optic thalamus and through the intelligence of the soul who now walks in Light. This is how to surrender to the Power for its Light to use you. Light shines through according to your conquering, and records every experience on the silver cord and in the 1,000-petaled lotus.
  Concentration is an act of will, but how can you sublimate desire and will while still concentrating? If you concentrate three times a day, you are creating a potential boiler-maker explosion caused by the force of will. No one can enter the kingdom of heaven by force. Evolution of consciousness progresses from animal propensities to instinctive intelligence to desire to the conscious use of the faculties. Conscious meditation is a deliberate use of thought to fulfill a specific purpose. If you make demands you are using force. Meditation of this sort may give temporary peace but is not healing. These are merely steps that are good according to degree and kind.
  Every ascension candidate must crucify his or her self-centered will by laying it on the crossbar of the Master’s cross of Crucifixion. All true mystery schools teach this. When you ascend into the Light and Oversoul’s I AM consciousness takes charge, desire opens the compassion of God Himself, and all the virtues. The pineal body opens the faculty of illumination and the pituitary gland opens intuition. The thyroid provides active energy and is the motive power behind physical life.
  Some teachers tell their students to concentrate on a word or a statement for meditation, but this approach is purely intellectual. Trusting to intellect keeps you standing still or worse, running in place. Whenever you still your conscious thinking mind, the subconscious mind can usurp control of the pineal body and pituitary gland. Outer schools teach two types of meditation, reflective and receptive. Reflective meditation creates a ceiling bumper who rises no higher than the crown of his head. This can be good for those who live according to instinctive intelligence, from the creature to the Son of Man stage, for this is how they can achieve a personal God consciousness. However, that’s as high as it can take you; it’s still subjective not universal. Receptive meditation moves you up to your highest point of receptive illumination. Statements are all words, a mere mental act, but be aware that they are also apt to be demands. Such a demand may materialize, but like a boomerang it returns with all the original force that sent it forth.
  Affirmations and statements may satisfy ego, but they act like a slow leak in a tire. You’re always having to pump them up because they deflate whenever your consciousness lags and sags. Such mental intellectual approaches are the reverse of principle and God as personality. When an affirmation begins “God is all…” it begins great prayer. From there you can step up into the antechamber of true surrender and worship of God. The first act of creation was the spoken Word, “Let there be Light!” Greater and more numerous miracles result from saying, “This is Good! Let there be Light! Let the Light move through!” Let this be the song of your soul!
  Petition prayer releases far more Power than do statements or affirmations. When you preface every prayer declaration with the magic word “Let,” you use no force, you make no demands. Know that prayer converts you into a step-down transformer for all the Light of God to use you when you surrender self and let His Power move through you. Raise your arms and say, “Here I am, Father! Let there be Light!” Instead of an hour of pumping yourself up, this takes only a moment because you contact God directly. It doesn’t take as much time and effort as do meditation and concentration, but it does bring miracles! To create as a Christos, you use the words, “This is good! Let there be Light!,” which is the only preamble that unlocks the Christos Power.

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