All posts by Lemfel

Fear Attracts Its Object (Hope Does Too)

February 11, 2017 Lemfel 4 Comments

If you are afraid of something, you give it power over you. Moroccan Saying

One intriguing fact of life is how we can envelop ourselves in failure by trying to avoid it. We’ve heard that fear is right up there with love in its intensity and all-consuming effects. And the Lemurian Philosophy goes so far as to state that fear is our most powerful emotion, and that fear attracts its object. But such fear has to be experienced before we can fully understand its power and avoid drawing such negativity into our lives.

I discovered this one day when I was working alone in our crafts shop, finishing a wooden pedestal for a music stand. We had been advised that a reporter from our local paper was visiting Gateway to gather information for an article she was writing about the Lemurian Fellowship. I wanted to be working on this pedestal so, if she asked, I could tell her what I was doing and answer any questions she might have. But anxiety was building as I concentrated on my work more than usual, hoping not to make a mistake. But evidently, the hope that I wouldn’t wasn’t as strong as the fear that I would!

Fear attracts its object — Lathe work on a music stand pedestal

Very slowly, I routed out three equal-length groves in the bottom of the pedestal where the legs would be attached. As I heard voices announcing that the visitor and members of the staff were approaching, I glanced down at one of the cut groves, only to notice it was a half-inch longer than required! Anxiety was replaced by panic! How could I have made this simple, stupid mistake when I focused such time and attention on getting it done right? But there was no time to address this question as I tried to recover my composure and attend to our visitor as the group arrived. Somehow, I did, answering the few questions she asked.

Only in reliving this experience later did I realize that my intense concern about making a mistake actually created that very mistake. And as if this discovery was not devastating enough, I made another equally as important . . . my concern was focused not only on avoiding a mistake, but also on how any mistake would reflect on me. So instead of providing an interesting and informative experience for our visitor to enhance what she might write about the Lemurian Crafts, I was worried mostly about myself.

I relive these lessons many times, hoping their message is slowly being absorbed. I try to envision what I want in my crafts work and my life, and think less and less about what I don’t want. I know that fear attracts its object, but so do confidence, hope, and love!

Thought For The Week

Feeling God’s Presence

February 7, 2017 Lemfel 1 Comment

Lemurian Life

We Won’t Lose Our Minds

February 4, 2017 Lemfel 10 Comments

So much that I’ve learned from the Lemurian Philosophy has become part of my daily living and thinking that I sometimes forget just how blessed I am to have this unique source of understanding and guidance. Sometimes, it’s too easy to take the knowledge I’ve gained from my studies for granted, but then an experience comes along that brings its value into sharp focus. For instance, it’s most reassuring to know that in spite of appearances, we won’t lose our minds.

My father has dementia. On a good day, he gets confused. On a bad day, he thinks people are trying to kill him.

This is the same man who worked for 40 years as an electrical engineer, eventually becoming a recognized authority on the radar used in the F-16 fighter jet. His mind was razor sharp and I soon came to know that if he remembered something in a particular way, I could trust that he was right.

We won't lose our minds — Dad and Son at the Beach

An especially fond childhood memory shows how his mind worked. One day we were at the ocean, standing at the water’s edge watching tankers on the horizon move up and down the coast. I asked him how far it was to the horizon. I was expecting a simple answer like, “Oh, about four miles or so.” Instead, I got something like: “Let’s see…the curve of the earth is such and such. We’re at sea level so we don’t have to factor in any atmospheric distortion. Your eyes are about three feet above ground, and mine are about five and a half feet. So the angle is … for you, and … for me.” Then, based on these observations, he gave some very specific distances, such as 3.9 miles for me and 4.2 miles for him.

How different it is now! With his dementia, not only can my dad not remember what time dinner is, he can’t figure out that if dinner is at 5:00 and it’s 4:15, it will be another 45 minutes. Sometimes, he doesn’t remember that he already ate. And yet, in the face of this experience, I’m confident that we won’t lose our minds. I know my dad doesn’t have much more time with us, and when he passes through transition, we will be sad. But I also know something very reassuring.

The Lemurian Philosophy explains that the brain is a physical organ, the mind a power that operates through the brain. We are assured that even though most people’s bodies and brains break down as they near the end of this physical life, we won’t lose our minds. My dad is just having an increasingly difficult time using this physical organ, his brain, to express himself. But when he does pass over to the unseen side, all the hard-earned intelligence, knowledge, and wisdom he has gained in this full and successful life will go with him. Nothing will be lost. He will be full and complete and ready for whatever great adventure lies ahead.

Thought For The Week

Christ’s Goal For All People

January 31, 2017 Lemfel 3 Comments

Personal Development

Lemurian Metamorphosis Transforms Students

January 28, 2017 Lemfel 7 Comments

Happy are they that hear their detractions and can put them to mending. – Shakespeare

The Tree of Rough-hewn Character

There is a tree east of the Gateway Community Building. It’s a wild-looking thing, weathered, bleached and burnt, with misshapen, broken branch stubs poking from the trunk. Aloft, huge branches stab the sky in every direction with long, unruly pendulums of mottled leaves. It’s been through fire and storm and looks ragged and old. It reminds me of some of the rough-hewn characters I’ve known, before they went through a Lemurian metamorphosis.

On the other side of the building is a younger tree of the same species that looks like it has been through a Lemurian metamorphosis. It’s been groomed, shaped into a graceful, lovely specimen. That tree reminds me of students and Order members who have the opportunity to grow up with the Lemurian studies.

I was encouraged early on to leave my cares and worries at the gate when I come onto Gateway. That could also have referred to my old world survival tools; best to leave them at the gate too. Something like surrendering your guns to the Sheriff in an old west town. But, accustomed to being defensive, I didn’t know then what that meant.

When I arrived in Ramona, I was a little like the old tree – shaped by adversity. I was recovering from divorce, ill, alone, working at a new job. Though I’d found the Lemurian Philosophy years before, the stubby remnants of old thought still collided with my newer Lemurian approaches. Sometimes I felt alone, misunderstood, misjudged. The very tools that helped me navigate out in the world, such as my New York sense of humor with teasing, sarcastic come-backs, sometimes brought conflict with fellow students or supervisors. Once, I made one of my usual barbed comments while working with a Fellowship member. He quietly mentioned that he used to joke that way too, but he had noticed that the humor is more kindly and warm here, so he changed his approach.

I’m still working on that! But as I spend more time in the atmosphere of the Lemurian Work, my old world survival tools are less important. I’m calmer, more receptive, more accepting of the guidance provided. This is my Lemurian metamorphosis. Gradually I’ve realized that some strategies that helped me navigate in the old world won’t be part of the new civilization. And this ragged, rough-edged, wild, burnt, unruly thing that I am, has taken root here.

Many students come to us tired, wary, scarred by the battle which is life in the old world. We extend our loving acceptance, while realizing that their survival strategies may not apply here. Over time, with kindness and compassion, we try to show them that it’s safe to leave their worries and cares, and their old world survival tools, at the gate. They can pick them up again when they leave if they want, but that need will diminish as their Lemurian metamorphosis works its magic. With the help of my fellow students, the Fellowship and the Elder Brothers, I enjoy watching our new arrivals, rough and smooth, put down their roots, and like these trees, glorify God’s earth with goodness while helping build the foundation of the civilization to come.