August 5th 1965
We would like to repeat a little of the teaching that was given yesterday evening at the circle in the home. Treasure the darkness, treasure the silence, for in these things am I.
You are aware through being taught so many times, that the things of nature, the things that occur on this your Earth plane, are but a shadow of the psychic and spiritual laws, that at all times there is something and so much to be learned from the natural laws that exist on this, your Earth.
It is common knowledge that precious things such as gold, silver, or the precious gems, the diamonds, are all buried deep in the darkness and in silence. And these things abide in far away and very strange places, where man cannot stumble across these things by accident, but he must always work, and search, and dig and delve, and sometimes he must die before he can reach these precious commodities.
And it is the same with the gifts of the spirit, You cannot stumble on, or find by accident, the pearl of great price.
Man will search, man will climb the highest mountain, will search in the deeps of the ocean, and now into space. He will leave the Earth itself seeking, searching, trying to find, never contented with that which he has, And yet, as you realise, he need not go one foot away from the place where he stands, from where he has always been from the very beginning, his treasure has been deep, in the dark, in the silent depth of the self lies his treasure.
And yet, the seeking and the searching, the struggling and the longing, is inevitable. This must always be, before a man is brought to the realisation that he cannot escape from himself. And a time must come when he must come face to face with himself. And when this happens there is inevitably, chaos in the human mind. For nothing is more terrifying than oneself. All the feelings of guilt, all the regrets, the remorse, all the distortion, the disfigurement, and the ugliness, that is buried deep within every man, in oneself, one sees, if the search is sincere and true. Man sees in himself all the potentiality, the instincts of the murderer and the bounteous loveliness of the Spirit all there. But most people are in-between these extremes, but nevertheless there are so many things, so much rubbish, so much dirt, and so much false, that must be cleared absolutely away.
And this is the equivalent of the digging and delving that has to take place in the mine through the miners who seek for the gold and the precious gems. This clearing away of all those things which are alien to the Spirit in the cupboard of the mind. And then at last, one comes across this or that, and for a time one thinks this is it, I have found what I am looking for, and becomes for a time, content and happy with these findings. But sooner or later he will realise that this is not the real thing, and he will throw it over his shoulder and start all over again.
Digging, searching, desiring the real, the perfect.
But that which he found and took to be his treasure, has given him so much. He gases at the various colours, at the different minerals, and wonders, and realises that this thing is indeed a thing of beauty and was worth digging and seeking for.
And this bounteous thing is a sign that he has reached the place where more precious, and more beautiful things will be found, never on the surface, always in the deep.
And so we may say unto you, as you make this search within yourselves, and you have at long last recognised all the guilt feelings, the remorse and the regret for what they are, just part of the experience. When you realise that these things are within all men, all human beings, and you begin to feel a measure of peace. When all has been, as Jung said, consumed, all that should be burnt has been burnt away, and you place on the glow, on the glowing embers these guilt feelings, and this regret and remorse, let them burn, let them burn and stand back and watch the smoke ascend to heaven and the ashes return to Earth.
And go on in your search, and place these so called treasures that you come across upon the shelf of your mind, for these can stay, they will never hurt, they will never harm. They will remind you of the work, and the struggle, and the perseverance, and the courage which was given unto you.
And eventually, the pearl of great price, the philosopher's stone, will be your very own. And it is nought but this when you find it, beloved, peace, the peace that passeth all understanding. The other treasures that you came across and which you placed upon the shelf of memory, are the times of happiness, happiness that was not quite real because it faded away. It had its opposite, unhappiness, and only the real can last for over.
So remember the happiness of the human loves and relationships, that you have known, but search, and search diligently, for the peace, the peace that will sustain you in the greatest heat, the most terrific cold, poverty and wealth, hunger and thirst, this peace, this peace will carry you through all these Earthly conditions. It is your very own treasure and you will find it just where you are.
Albeit the work, the work must always be going on, for this peace is a great thing. And although you may, even whilst on the Earth, receive a part of it, there is always more and more and more to be found, because, when once you make this treasure your own, there will be a demand, others will not know what they are taking from you. At times you will not even know that you are giving it. But the supply will always be equal to the demand. Which means that the seeking and the searching and the work will go on for ever, for ever and ever. There will never be time for idleness or boredom or lazing. All these things which you really deep down, abhor, you need not fret any more concerning these things.
It is exciting, it is exhilarating. It is fulfilment. A fulfilment that never really ends. Never becomes stale. Never lets you down. It reaps continually its very own reward.
We have what we always needed right here, right now, within ourselves. We can find the pearl of great price without going anywhere, but we need to want it, face ugly truths about ourselves and burn away anything within us that is not love. The search is long and hard.
What is finally found — "the pearl of great price, the philosopher's stone" — is the peace that passes all understanding. Once obtained, it radiates to others, helping them without you or they even being aware.
We may get a part of it while still on this plane, but there is more to be searched for and found.