Jadefire - the book

And Jade Fire Said……

Introduction

Let me first tell you a little something about me. Although my name is something quite different, the one who loves me with the depth of the universe, the expanse of the universe and the truth of the universe calls me Little Blue Flower. This is the name I have used throughout because it gives me a sense of belonging and identity which my other name does not.

Of course you may wonder why this very special person calls me Little Blue Flower. Well, my name, the one I call 'my other name', means blue flower. The 'Little' has been added on by this very special person and reveals all of the love, caring and joy that makes our relationship so beautiful. The glow of warmth that floods me when I hear this name cannot be described. It reminds me of the touch of cool water splashing gently upon me as I lie upon hot sand. It makes me smell the freshness of bread being baked in an earthen oven on a cold, winter's day. It makes me hear the fullness of love in the voice of he whose soul has bonded inseparably with mine. It makes me see a vision of a child untouched by hurt and pain, whose joy and delight is vibrant in the full throated laughter as the child touches the sky in its ecstasy.

Well, I think by now you have understood how special that name is to me. But even more special is the person who calls me by that name. That special someone is my master, my guide, my friend, the one who explains the meaning of my life. He is Jade Fire. He is everywhere and yet I cannot see him. He talks to me every moment and yet I have never heard his voice.

I feel his love enveloping me in my deepest moments of pain and yet I have never seen the strong arms that hold me. He is special to me and yet he is not mine. His love for me is complete and true and yet I am not the only one he looks upon with love. He lives in a very special place and yet has no house he calls his own. His voice can be gentle and yet carries a firmness that cannot be defied. His love is so deeply felt and yet carries no possessiveness in its freedom to grow.

Jade Fire breathed into my life about three years ago and I have not been the same since. I did not welcome him at first and, in fact, resisted his very entry into my life. But so completely without ego is he, so knowing and understanding in his love, and so patient in his acceptance of all, that he waited outside my door till I was ready to let him in. And when I did, not a word of reproach was spoken, not a frown of disapproval did I see, not a moment of judgement was allowed to pass. Instead he opened up his heart and his arms and caught me in an embrace from which he has never released me. In this embrace I have learnt lessons for which I will always be grateful, and which I wish to share with all those who I am destined to share them with. You, who are reading this, thank you for allowing me this joyous opportunity to be your friend, and to share with you this wealth of knowledge that Jade Fire has placed within my heart and mind.

For you, dear reader, I have a wonderful message that my beloved friend Jade Fire wishes me to convey to you. “Dear one, you have embarked upon a journey that will shut off one part of your life and will open up another. With this book you will joyously understand, accept, and then leave behind all the burdens that you have carried for so long. This book is special. It carries with it a promise. A promise that I make to you, to be with you every step of the way, and as the burdens come toppling off your shoulders I will collect them and make them my own so that never again will you have to bend low under these. I eagerly wait for you to call me your friend so that I can love you, support you, guide you and be there for you always, as I have been for my Little Blue Flower. This book has come to you as your first step on this wonderful journey which will take you to the ultimate reawakening of yourself as the Divine Spark that you are. In those moments when this book makes you cry, I promise to hold you in my arms and enfold you in my love. In moments when the book makes you quiet with deep thought, I

will be in your mind enabling a deeper understanding of the written word.

And in moments when this book makes a smile of happiness light up your face, I will enter your heart and warm your spirit with the joy of the Universe. This is my promise to you. Come, take my hand and let us go forward on this journey together.�

Chapter 1 “Why can you not hear me when I speak? Why can you not accept what I say? Why must you disagree with me?” Little Blue Flower shouted out in rage. Her cheeks flushed red with anger and her eyes streamed with the bitterness of the acid that ate into her very being.

How many times had this scene been played? And with how many different persons? Those who were family, friends, loved ones; all had taken part in this scene at some time or another. Little Blue Flower was tired. The sheer exhaustion of carrying the volcano which had never completely erupted but which grew larger within her all the time, made her turn in despair to Jade Fire and say, “ Can you not put out this volcano with your love? I know you could do this if you wished to.” Jade Fire looked at his hurt and angry friend, held her close to him, and said in a voice that shook with the depth of his love. “Dearest one, this volcano is your own and only you can put it out. But do not think that you are alone. With your hand in mine, you will find that the more you understand this volcano, the smaller it will get.”

“But, how I can understand it? I cannot even get close to it. All that I can feel is the overpowering, sulphuric heat it releases so regularly.” Jade Fire's face lit up, and with delight in his voice he said, “There I can help. I can help you to understand this anger that consumes you. I can protect you and take you nearer so that you can see it, but not be destroyed by it.”

And Jade Fire said: Anger is an emotion that is abused wrongly. If you were not angry with that which goes against universal laws, dear one, you would not make an attempt to change and evolve. Anger is good when it fulfills this purpose. It is proof of your ability to discern. It is when anger is used to cause harm to yourself or another, that it is not anger anymore. It becomes rage that will stain your soul and stop your journey upon the ladder of evolution. Rage is felt when there is unexpressed or suppressed pain of any kind. Little Blue Flower, when you use anger to cause harm it means that you hold another responsible for making you feel that way.

Does this not mean that, that person can discern but you cannot? Does it also not follow that you have given up your right to say 'I'? Is that what you really want? Anger serves a useful purpose, little one. Do not misuse it, and stop others from doing so. Do not say, “I am never angry.”

That would be a lie. That is not a statement that shows how good you are.

The statement that you need to make, and mean, is, “I am angry but I will use my anger to show me where I have erred, and to take responsibility for what is mine. I have no right to think or feel for anyone but myself and therefore no right to blame them or judge them from my point of view.”

This is important for you to remember even when you are with children.

Try to understand them more, dear one, and see them for what they are. Do not judge them from your perspective. Respect everyone's individuality.

To accept your rage, and then let it go, you must first acknowledge it.

Come with me, my little one and let me show you how.” Jade Fire took Little Blue Flower into a semi-darkened room in which burned a brilliant candle. Seating her very gently into a chair, he said, “Be not afraid, little one. Although you will not see me, you will know in your heart that I am here with you. Give permission to your rage to sit opposite you, and talk to you. Talk to your rage and let it talk back to you. Who hurt you? When did they hurt you? What did you feel? Why did you feel that? What was its lasting effect upon you? Let your rage express itself completely. Do not be scared of its answers. Hear them clearly and do not judge or condemn.

Give full voice to your rage. Only then can you accept that this rage is all your own. It stemmed from your own pain, your own guilt, your own feeling of inadequacy, your own refusal to acknowledge yourself for who you really are. Only then will you understand that this rage is outward turned to prevent it from destroying you internally. Only then will you see that the tap root lies in the lack of love you feel for yourself. And only then will it have worn itself out, and leave you completely and forever.”

Saying these words Jade Fire began to leave the room, but not without turning back to give one more look of love. He saw the uncertainty and apprehension in the eyes of his young friend and said in his golden voice, “In your greatest moment of fear, little one, feel my hand in yours. In your every heart beat recognise the pulsing of my love, and know that you are never alone.”

Chapter 2 “Sorry,” Little Blue Flower heard someone say and with some confusion in her mind heard the reply, “I forgive you.” She was quiet for a long time, so quiet that her constant friend Jade Fire turned to her and said, “Well, this is a change. My little chatterbox is giving me a well deserved rest.” The laughter in his voice was clearly heard. Little Blue Flower looked up with a smile. “What is forgiveness, Jade Fire? How can anyone forgive another? If I say 'I forgive you', does it not imply that I am perfect but the other is not?”

Pleased that Little Blue Flower was so eager to learn and grow, Jade Fire embraced her and placing something warm in the palm of her hand, he closed it before she could see what it was.

And then Jade Fire said: You so often ask the Divine Creator to forgive you. It may surprise you, my child that you don't ever have to ask for it. The Divine Creator neither forgives nor does not forgive. You have to forgive yourself and true forgiveness means accepting and understanding your mistakes, taking responsibility for them, not feeling any sense of guilt, and being joyous at being given yet another opportunity to improve yourself.

That, my dear child, is forgiveness, whether it is for yourself or others.

And, yes, my dear one, this forgiveness comes from perfection. For are you not perfect? Can you be imperfect when you are a spark of the Divine Light? Can another be imperfect when another is also a spark of the Divine Light? Forgiveness is a complete soul acceptance and understanding of perfection that is trapped and often contaminated by the imperfections of its physical embodiment. Will you, dear one, be so short-sighted as to see and acknowledge only the physical trapping? Forgiveness requires only that, my child. A looking beyond what seems to be the obvious.

How often you judge yourself for what you consider are grievous mistakes. The more you berate yourself the more you stop yourself from experiencing joy at what you achieve. I am not asking you to be blind to your faults, little one. Nor will I be so foolish as to make you believe that

you have none. An awareness and acknowledgment of your faults is not necessarily bad. Guilt, when viewed as this, is useful. It makes you look at yourself, see the wrongs that you have done and gives you an opportunity to atone for them. It is when you stay with that guilt and refuse to let it go, that it becomes a fruitless exercise, because then that emotion is not used for its real purpose. Dearest one, all humans commit mistakes. In school is it not the mistakes that are your greatest teachers? Then why should you beat yourself for a mistake that you committed now or in the past? Why waste your time on an activity that will yield no fruit? Instead start on the process, not of regret, but of atonement.

Remember my child getting 100% is not the only sign of success.

How do you define success? Never being wrong? Being right always is not being successful. But being wrong and knowing why you are wrong and accepting that there can be improvement next time; that is true success. So stop being harsh with yourself. Acknowledge the physical trapping of your soul and gently look to overcoming them. This same you do for all, for is not another soul only an extension of your own? So, little one, when you say 'I forgive you' it implies your acknowledgment of the perfection of your soul and that of another.

When Jade Fire had finished speaking Little Blue Flower realised that the warmth in her hand had turned into a great heat. She opened up her palm but saw nothing. Quizzically she looked up to Jade Fire who laughed in delight, and placing her palm upon her heart, he said, “Your soul.�

Chapter 3 What a perfect day for a picnic this was! The sun was gently warming, the breeze lovingly caressing the leaves, and all of nature was in joyous harmony. Little Blue Flower looked on in amazement as a little bird that had upturned a bowl of seeds set before it, patiently and without any sign of irritation, began to gather the seeds one by one. The bird did not peck angrily at the frayed ends of the rug that had tripped it as it hopped to the bowl, and caused it to tip the bowl over. It did not even look back at the rug; it was completely absorbed in gathering the seeds that were spilt. Jade Fire, who was always quick to see the different emotions pass over his little friend's face, questioned, “Why the surprise, little one? Why does the behaviour of the bird puzzle you?” Little Blue Flower turned onto her back and cushioning her head with her hands asked, “Why did the bird not react? Is it that they have no feelings with which to react?”

“Sit up, young one. I am glad to see that you noticed the lack of reaction on the part of the bird. But, little one, you did not observe everything. You did not observe that the bird responded to what happened, and therefore set about cleaning up the mess.”

“Responded? But, isn't that the same thing as reacted, Jade Fire?”

And Jade Fire said: To RE-spond, young one, is to act as a soul exchange to another act. RE-action is physical and a mind-controlled exchange to an action. When you RE-spond you can never RE-act. Act is physical…physical mind and physical body. 'Spond' is soul; that soul that resides within the physical embodiment. When you re-spond you look at the soul of another and your own soul re-sponds.

To take responsibility, my child, is to look at yourself as a soul and to see all others as extensions of your own soul. When a harsh word comes out of your mouth, and you take responsibility for that harsh word, you will never say that the harsh word came out because another invited or provoked the harshness. You will look within your soul and you will see

the origin of the pain due to which you uttered that harshness. If you hit or harm another, you will not say that he slapped me and so I slapped him.

But you will then turn inwards and find out the true origin of the pain caused by that slap. Responsibility, little one, is looking inward. Reaction always looks outward. To take responsibility, you must have the courage to know your soul very well. Remember, the spiritual path cannot be tread upon if you have no psychological knowledge of yourself. Study that word carefully, dear one… psycho-logical. There is complete logic, there is a complete reason for what you do, but the reason is inside…psycho….

It is an inside knowledge, it is an inside reason. It has very little to do with this point of time or place. The inside knowledge, the inside reasoning, can go back to when you were an infant, or it can go back to twenty lifetimes ago. The spiritual and the psychological paths always move hand in hand. Without treading both these paths you cannot accept complete responsibility. There will always be some reactivity.

Little Blue Flower softly and slowly said, “I think I understand what you are saying. But, when I am worried and pray for my child who is ill, can that also be called a reaction?”

And Jade Fire continued: Yes, dear one. When your child is ill and you ask that the child be cured, you think you are doing so because of the care and love for that child. That is not true. You ask for a cure because you re-act. The physical illness of the child brings out from you the physical fear of losing the child. Now, who are you asking help for? No, dearest one, I am not judging you to be mean and self-absorbed. But the physical mind is always focused upon the physical self as you have trained it to look after you at all times. When you respond to your child who is ill, your soul will then observe the soul contract taken by the child to go through the process of an illness or a disease, which may be crippling, yes, but which is meant to help the soul. In response, your soul will then offer strength to the child's soul. It will not desire a cure for a selfish reason. If there is a loved one who is going through turmoil and stress and you ask that the problems be reduced, you do so because you, in physical form, are unable to stand by and watch the turmoil and stress. So you re-act and you ask for help. If there was a re-sponse, you would, in soul form, give

strength, courage and fortitude to the one in trouble. You would not ask for the trouble to be reduced. My little one, you ask me, why. When you, as a soul, recognize that the trouble has been chosen by the soul of your loved one as a hurdle that will help the soul on its onward journey, would you ask for it to be reduced?

Little Blue Flower interrupted Jade Fire in order to ask something that had been bothering her as her loving friend had been speaking. “Jade Fire, are you then suggesting that as one soul that recognizes another, I should not try to heal another? Is healing wrong?�

Jade Fire smiled and said: No, little one. Healing is not wrong. But, my sweet friend, you cannot ever heal another. You only give that person the strength to heal himself in a manner that is best for that person. It might be death, which in your eyes, may not be a healing, but which is one of the most compassionate forms of healing of the Divine Energy. Would you as a healer ask for death? No, you need not answer that one, my dearest. I can see the answer in your eyes. But I can also see a greater understanding. You can now understand that when you do not know what to ask for, you leave it those who know. And you ask those who know, to heal in the best manner possible. You as a healer will merely give added strength. The person who is ill, the person's higher soul, and the person's guides will do the real healing. Not you, my child, not you.

There was a long silence in which Little Blue Flower looked into the distance as she slowly attempted to take in all that Jade Fire had said. Many questions came to her mind, but she did not ask them at that time, knowing that the infinite knowledge of her beloved friend was always open to her.

For the present she was content to let the words of Jade Fire illumine her inner being and take her one step closer in her inner journey.

Chapter 4 Eagerly Little Blue Flower jumped out of bed and greeted the sun with a huge smile of welcome. It was clear that she was excited about something; something that she was bursting to share with her dear Jade Fire. As soon as Jade Fire greeted her that morning, Little Blue Flower shouted out, “I know, I know what you meant by soul contract. And I figured this out on my own!”

“Well, my child, that is good indeed. It is most promising that you are now working out the answers to some of your questions on your own. That is the true sign of growth, dear one. Come; tell me what you have understood by this.” With these words Jade Fire guided Little Blue Flower to their favourite spot in the park; a ledge of rocks beside a soothing, babbling brook.

“Well,” said Little Blue Flower as soon as she had seated herself comfortably, her legs dangling down, making ripples in the flowing water.

“Well, the way I see it is that the soul makes a contract, that is some kind of agreement to do some tasks when it comes here on Earth. This agreement is a sacred one and therefore, no one has the right to interfere in the fulfillment of such an agreement. Sometimes we may find that another's contract is very severe or certainly not the kind in which we would have entered, but this does not give us the right to hinder its completion. To me, it seems that the soul contract details the reasons why the soul has taken birth and this makes it a very vital agreement. Its importance and its sacredness must be respected by all. Well, how am I doing so far?”

Jade Fire smiled. “Very well, little one. I am pleased to see such a depth on understanding. Do go on.”

“Now, using my little knowledge of the law, I know that for an agreement to be made there must be two parties present. On Earth, there are lawyers and advisors who guide you. You have spoken to me about spiritual guides and masters and how each soul on this earth has at least

two. You have also told me that we only need to be open and receptive and our guides will help us and communicate with us in several different ways. These are the same guides that we had even when we were in spirit form and they helped us through our learning before we took this physical embodiment, so I suppose that the guides take on the role of the earthly lawyers when the soul draws up its contract. From your smile I know that that I am right so far, but Jade Fire I have not been able to identify the two parties involved in this agreement. One party is certainly the soul, but who does the soul get into a contract with?”

Jade Fire leaned over and very gently and lovingly planted a kiss on Little Blue Flower's forehead. “Well done, my child, well done.” Little Blue Flower felt a thrill of joy rush through her as she heard these words and felt the love of her dear friend. She placed her head upon Jade Fire's shoulder waiting for him to speak.

And Jade Fire said: “You are right, dear one. For a legal contract there must be two parties involved and this is also true for a soul contract. And, yes, the soul is certainly involved. Now, my child, listen closely because what I am about to tell you is important to your understanding of yourself as spirit. Each individual spirit has two aspects; that part which we will, for the sake of convenience in understanding, call the physical soul and that part which is the higher soul. The physical soul is that part of spirit which takes on a physical embodiment. It is subjected to the onslaught of the physical mind and body. Very often this onslaught is so severe that the connection of the physical soul with the higher soul becomes very weak.

Remember, my child, this connection is never broken, but the veil of forgetfulness that surrounds the physical soul sometimes gets so thick that the physical soul does not perceive its link with the higher soul at all.

It begins to believe in the illusion that it is not spirit but physical body and mind. It is only when the connection to higher soul is maintained that the veil of forgetfulness can be lifted very easily and the physical soul recognizes the illusions of the physical world. The higher soul, my dear one, is that part of spirit that does not take physical embodiment but remains in pure spirit form without being affected by the veil of forgetfulness. It retains within it all the experiences that the physical soul

has learnt from in past lifetimes, and it knows all universal laws completely and clearly. It retains the purity of the Divine Soul of which it is such a vital part. Its only task is to be with you constantly, guiding you and helping you on the journey of the spirit in the physical world. It is you, little one, just as the physical soul is also you. Intuition is the voice of your higher soul and the more you strengthen the connection between your physical soul and your higher soul, the louder and more clearly will you hear this voice.�

Jade Fire paused, in order to give Little Blue Flower a few moments to take in all that he had just said. When he saw the frown of confusion clear from his young friend's forehead, he continued. “The higher soul is in constant link with your spiritual guides and works in complete harmony with them. When a soul contract is drawn, little one, it is between the physical soul and the higher soul, with the guides overseeing the entire process as advisors who wish for only one end; the growth and evolution of the soul in its entirety. You were right, my child, when you said that the soul contract contains details of the reasons why the physical soul has decided to take physical embodiment. These are the soul tasks or soul missions. Often, little one, the tasks are divided into primary tasks and subordinate tasks. What you call soul mission are the primary tasks. A soul may decide upon one or two primary tasks. In order to fulfill these larger purposes the soul needs to overcome certain hurdles that have come in its way in the past. These hurdles may be emotional lessons which the soul desires to learn and experience completely in physical embodiment or they may be certain karmic duties that need to be fulfilled. The subordinate tasks may be several and each one is carefully thought out and worked into the contract in a manner that will ensure the growth of the soul. The soul may have several subordinate and primary tasks which it wishes to fulfill but not all can be included in the soul contract for one lifetime. Once the details of the contract are worked out the higher soul agrees to help the physical soul in all ways possible to fulfill and complete all tasks.

Recall, dear one, what I have told you in the past. A soul takes on physical embodiment to experience for itself the lessons that it has learnt when in spirit form. It desires to know that it has truly learnt its lessons well and that in times of stress these lessons will not be forgotten. It, therefore, does what you do in your schools. It sets up a program for testing and assessing itself and its knowledge. Little one, as a student did you find all tests smooth-sailing or did some of them seem insurmountable? Life's tests follow the same pattern. Some tests you are able to meet and overcome with ease, but others leave you bruised and at times shattered. At these times you complain and cry, and look around for someone to blame. But, little one, the tests themselves do not wound you.

Your resistance to them does.

The higher soul remembers always the contract, and the choices and tasks that are a vital part of this contract. The physical soul, on taking an embodiment, is subjected to the veil of forgetfulness and if in the course of daily living the physical soul permits its link with the higher soul to weaken, it will put up a resistance to these tests. When the link is firmly in place, the physical soul will at once recognize the test and will meet it confidently knowing that with the help of the higher soul, all its knowledge will be made available in order to come out of this period a stronger and richer soul. Life's tests may be big or small but they are entirely chosen by you in spirit form. There is no force that has compelled you to learn and experience. There is, therefore, no blame to be apportioned to anyone, little one. There is only responsibility that needs to be taken. And this responsibility can come only when the soul acknowledges that it is completely in charge of every test that comes its way. What a wonderful school, is it not, dear one, when the student is the only one with the right to decide upon the test and the level of difficulty the test is aimed at.�

Little Blue Flower smiled but was silent. Jade Fire could see that she had turned deep within herself in order to assimilate with her entire being the full import of his words. With a look of deep contentment, Jade Fire silently rose and left his little friend, knowing that very often growth comes silently in the private places of one' s inner being.

Chapter 5 Little Blue Flower spent a few days in the silence of her heart internally listening to the words of Jade Fire again and again till finally she knew that her soul had reawakened to their full gravity. She was then ready to fire questions at Jade Fire in order to sort out a few unclear details. She was sitting and pondering with joy and awe this amazing transformation in her life and thanking her self and her physical soul for not losing its connection with her higher soul, when out of Everywhere appeared the one who had made all of this possible. Shrieking with delight she threw her arms around him and asked him how he always knew the right time to be there. Jade Fire smiled but said nothing. Little Blue Flower looked at her beloved friend and sat for a long time in silence, absorbing the energy of love that was always present around him. Then sitting up straight she centered herself within her heart in preparation to continue on this incredible journey. “Jade Fire, if all the important events in our lives, and our very lives themselves, are soul contracts, how do you explain crimes as grievous as murder? Is it really possible that a soul, in all its purity, would choose to become a murderer? And would the higher soul and guides agree with this? Wouldn't it be wrong to harm another?�

And Jade Fire said: Child, there is no wrong. The concept of right and wrong is purely a man-made one. Isn't that why every so many years society approves of what it considered wrong in the past, and vice-versa?

This concept is based on a judgement that is in turn based upon mental and societal conditioning. Haven't I urged you often, young one, not to judge?

If a murderer has opted for this path he has done so, my child, for a purpose. He has undertaken to experience life from another perspective. It is only when you know that it is dark, my child, that you can bring in a light. Is that not true? It is only when you fell and hurt yourself as a child that you knew that you must walk more carefully. It is only when the knife falls upon the hand that the user experiences that it is sharp.

And about harming others, my child, you must know that the murderer would not be able to fulfill his mission unless the others had contracted with him. If one contracts with this murderer, there is no 'harm' (in the way you perceive it) and there is no karma, because it is only a contract that has been agreed upon and faithfully executed. The other, as a

soul friend, agreed to help. Now why would this soul agree to help? One reason may be that the soul may be very closely bonded to this soul. They may, in physical incarnation be strangers in this lifetime, but there is a bonding of souls. So, when one soul opts for a difficult passage, such as a murderer does, another soul that it bonds very closely with, will volunteer to help out But, little one, this is not the only reason. There may be yet another, equally significant one. A soul may wish to have an experience of being murdered. Why this experience is chosen is based entirely upon the karmic goals and objectives of that soul. When this soul drew out its blueprint with its guides, they knew the true purpose for this experience. This purpose is unknown to you, dear one, and it is in this ignorance that you pass judgement. Now that this soul has asked for this experience, its guides will look for an opportunity where its blueprint could dovetail with the blueprint of another at one predetermined moment, so that both sets of blueprints are faithfully executed.

I can see, little one, the doubt on your face and I read the angry thought that has just crossed your mind. You are wondering how we can be so 'flip' about something that you consider heinous. You wonder whether we would agree with the legal judgement passed upon murderers. My young one, do not allow your mind to control your soul through preconditioned judgement. Be silent for a few moments and feel the spirit essence of who you are, and remember again the spirit essence of one you judge so harshly.”

After a few minutes when Little Blue Flower's face had cleared up and her soul shone through again, Jade Fire continued.

“Child, I am not being 'flip' about murder. I would not be 'flip' about any soul choice and experience. I merely look at the experience without passing any judgement. I observe the growth of that soul and I observe with love the path that it has chosen in order to grow and evolve.

Little one, every soul has only one eventual destination. The complete merging with the Divine Soul and for this, each soul chooses its own path of growth. If your path veers away from my own, should I at once judge you as wrong? Would my soul then love and respect your soul as an extension of my own? Would I in this judgement be able to acknowledge you as a Divine Spark?”

Seeing a wave of sad understanding pass over Little Blue Flower, Jade Fire held her close to him and rocked her gently in his arms.

And then Jade Fire said: “Little one, we do not condemn the laws of your land, nor do we encourage you to break these laws. Just as a spirit follows all universal laws of the spirit, so also, in physical embodiment you must respect and follow the physical laws of the world you live in. I do not condemn the earthly judge for doing his work ably, nor do I belittle the valiant efforts of all those, whose earthly duty it is to fight against crime. I honour them, child, as I honour all who faithfully and honourably do their earthly tasks. When you honour the laws of your land, when you loyally follow the dictates of your earthly task, I am certain that you will fulfill all your spiritual tasks by following all the universal laws. So, little one, I neither agree nor disagree with legal judgements passed. I only observe with love the path taken by another soul and when help is sought, my spirit flies to its aid.�

When Jade Fire had finished speaking Little Blue Flower looked up at him with tears streaming down her face. Taking his face in her small hands she kissed him, knowing that no words were needed. Jade Fire knew all too well why she cried.

Chapter 6 Little Blue Flower stamped her foot in frustration. This was one of those infrequent occasions when she was annoyed with her friend. She had just asked Jade Fire to make a decision for her, believing that he would relieve her anxiety by making this uncomfortably sticky choice for her. Now her complacency had been shattered. Jade Fire had just told her, gently but very firmly, to use her own free will in this matter.

And he would not budge. Little Blue Flower accused him of being 'needlessly rigid', but Jade Fire merely smiled and shook his head.

Finally, frustrated at having to acknowledge defeat, Little Blue Flower shouted, “I don't think I should take any decision any way. Won't the course be written in the blueprint, the soul contract that I have entered into? Where is the question of my free will then? How can I have free will when I am bound by a contract?”

After this outburst Little Blue Flower looked into Jade Fire's eyes only to find them dancing with laughter. The laughter touched her soul instantaneously and her irritation melted, leaving no trace behind. She, too, laughed at her childishness. Then taking Jade Fire's large hand and holding it with both of hers, she asked, “Jade Fire, what is free will?”

And Jade Fire said: “Free will is often misunderstood. To understand it you must first understand will. Will is determination, the faculty that allows you to make decisions on your own, independently, without any outside influence. Guidance, little one, must not be confused with influence. The soul may heed or not heed guidance and suggestion, and will reach its decisions by itself, independently. That is why the word 'free' is important. It signifies the absence of any conditions or influences that may be applied. It is truly free. It has a power to make this faculty wholesome and healthy. Free will can also be called a pure, unalloyed faculty that takes decisions. You have free, completely and absolutely free will even before you enter the physical form, and even before you have decided to whom you will be born and when you will be born. You use this free will to chart out your life. In this, guidance is given at every stage and in any form that is sought, but the final chart is yours and yours alone.

Dearest one, it is very important to know that there is no wrong or right chart. No chart is wrong; it merely is what it is--------a blueprint. But just as every blueprint needs the architect to be skilled and true to his task, so also does every life course. After you have prepared this blueprint you then

look around for the person who will be the right vehicle, appropriate for the kind of birth, life and death you desire. For this the mother is the main, but not the only factor. The father, the family, the home and the environment of the mother also play their part. You then chart out that one right moment of birth which will help you to have all the strengths and weaknesses that you have opted for. This is then the exercise of free will."

Little Blue Flower was again surprised at the ease with which Jade Fire read her thoughts, when he continued. “No, child, it is not always necessary that you choose a mother and a family that you have forged deep links with in many lifetimes. Sometimes you choose persons with whom the links are not deep, but which may have been unpleasant in the past. So you come to them to resolve your karmas with them, because the family is always one with whom you have chosen to resolve the most. If you do not wish to prolong unpleasant links you decide to come to them and resolve these quickly.

Free will is, therefore, the decision you make for no other reason but personal growth. Not very frequently, when the higher self knows that the physical soul truly cannot endure what had been earlier charted; with the help of the guides it will change the blueprint accordingly. Sometimes the higher soul, in all its divine purity and universal knowledge, knows that the physical soul needs to burn in fire in order to grow and develop, just as gold reaches its purity only when fired very strongly. So, little one, next time the times get tough and you feel frustrated and defeated, speak to your higher self and ask it for answers, for help, for guidance. YOU are the only one who can help YOU. So far, my child, I have dealt with the free will for the soul. Let me extend this to the physical self. You are certainly right that free will for the physical self is limited by the soul contract drawn up. Though limited, it is not absent. Every word that you speak, every thought that passes your mind, and every time you react to another, you do this out of free will. In the physical world the free will is generally dominated by the mind, which is again the slave of all conditioning. That is why, dearest one, when your higher soul puts before you an opportunity to experience forgiveness, you will choose resentment and revenge. That is why when the universe gives you freely so that you can share all of its gifts with others, you will cling on to material possessions defining your existence with what you have or lack. This free will is a contaminated one. It does not function out of the purity of your soul. When the soul in unshackled from the clutches of the

mind and given full sway over free will, every thought, word and action will reveal the recognition of one soul by another.”

“Dearest one, do you now understand why I cannot make a decision for you? I can certainly guide you but only you can make the final decision.

And whether this decision comes from out of the fears and controls of your mind, or out of the strength and courage of your soul, I respect them both.

Now, is my Little Blue Flower still annoyed with her friend?”

In answer Little Blue Flower wordlessly embraced her wonderful friend who had so selflessly given of himself at all times, in all ways. The energy of Love bathed Little Blue Flower and she knew without any doubt what her decision would be.

Chapter 7 “How do I know that I have truly established a link with my higher self and the guides?”

Little Blue flower interrupted Jade Fire as he urged her once again to be more regular in doing the meditations that he had set down. She hoped that this question would detract him. But Jade Fire saw through her child-like attempt and smiling hugely replied, “By meditating.” The smile broke out into a hearty laugh as he heard a loud groan escape his little friend.

“Why is meditation so important?” Little Blue Flower asked Jade Fire. “I know that it helps me to quiet the mind but beyond that, how does it help towards my growth?”

And Jade Fire said: “Meditation, little one, certainly quiets the mind, but that is not its purpose. By stilling the incessant chatter of thoughts, it opens up a gateway through which you can enter and have a clear and complete access to your higher soul, and extend this to a communication with your spiritual guides and masters. This is the true purpose of meditation.”

“Child, this link cannot be established overnight, but gradually, by following a daily routine of meditation and having a firm and unshakeable faith that the link can and will be established, the chatter of the mind can be stilled. In this moment of silence, a calm descends upon you, and you can feel an opening of the soul gateway. This may also be accompanied by the sweet small of flowers, a light that is seen in the distance, a wonderful merge of colours, or the sound of celestial music. In this state your consciousness is heightened very noticeably and you can feel the real presence of your higher soul and your guides. Often a name will be suggested to you, or a colour, a warm or cool feeling, or some way in which you will be able to identify the presence of your guide.”

As Jade Fire finished speaking he noticed that a faint look of sadness veiled the brightness of Little Blue Flower's eyes. Gently cradling her face in his palms, he asked. “What is it, little one?”

“Jade Fire, very often when I am meditating, my mind turns to thoughts which are not good, in spite of my trying very hard to fight them.

In fact, Jade Fire, the more I fight them the stronger they seem to get. Why does this happen and how do I fight these evil influences?”

“These are not evil influences, my child. Thoughts, both good and unpleasant, will always be present. The more you fight them, by

saying they are evil, the more they will grow. But if you accept and acknowledge, without judgement, that all thoughts, however unpleasant they may be, are only the result of a preconditioned mind that has not yet been mastered completely, you will soon find that they will reduce in number. And, my child, it is not only during meditation that these thoughts come. They are always there but the silent moment of meditation makes you aware of them. Now once you have accepted that these thoughts are yours and come up due to the natural imperfection of the conditioning process that makes you human, you can use the power of prayer to counter them, not fight them. A prayer that helps you to see yourself and others only in the higher soul form will gently loosen the hold that fear has over you. When fear is absent, you will very naturally not follow the rigid dictates of mental conditioning.”

Little Blue Flower hugged Jade Fire tightly. Jade Fire had helped her to release one more burden of emotional baggage.

Jade Fire continued. “My dear one let me explain true meditation. It is not only sitting silently in one place in an attempt to forge a link between you, your higher soul and your guides. Meditation is work, worship and all activity that is performed in the true and complete recognition that the Divine Energy is present in all. Although a small part of the day must be kept aside for quiet contemplation, introspection and establishing and maintaining the soul connection, it is wrong to think that you allot only a few minutes of the day to living within and through the soul. Your every thought, word and deed must only be the result of living in this state of soul energy. This kind of meditation will give your soul access to far higher energies. But for this it is essential that you first learn how to access your own soul energies.”

“But why must I follow the meditations that are set down?”

“You need not, little one. These are guidelines that will help you in the initial stages. Once you have advanced beyond this you will establish your very own meditative practices. The meditations that are set down help you to start and proceed when you do not know how.

Remember, child, the purpose of meditation is to enable the physical mind, body and soul to access higher soul energy and energies far greater than this, constantly, till a stage is reached when a conscious, deliberate attempt need not be made. This unobstructed flow of divine energy within you and from you, will release you forever from the grip of mental

conditioning, and negative thought patterns and you will live in a true state of meditation. �

Jade Fire looked at his young friend and saw her bathed in a luminous ring of pulsating energy. Silently and wordlessly he left the room, a smile of joy dancing about his lips.

Chapter 8 “Little one, why did you turn in rage at your partner?” Jade Fire had seated himself close to Little Blue Flower whose chest still heaved as large sobs of fierce anger seemed to overwhelm her. The sobs soon changed to those of grief as Little Blue Flower realised that once again she had failed to conquer the demon within her. She looked pleadingly at the one who loved her so completely and without judgement and cried, “Jade Fire, I know that my rage is the result of the strength I wish to give myself to fight the fear that lives within me. I am also aware that this fear is generated by my mind as the soul is fearless. But, I do not know how to control this mind and rein in this fear. Please help me.”

Jade Fire gathered his lost friend into his arms and waited till the love energy that he emitted had completely suffused her, and the sobs were replaced by silent sighs that gave wordless evidence to the fact that a place of peace had been reached within.

And then Jade Fire said: “Little one, what is the purpose of the mind? The mind has the function to help you to see the truth around you.

The mind studies it and determines what is right by your truth, and what is not. Your mind, to a very limited extent, is in touch with your higher self in this determination. 'Not right' does not mean evil, dearest one. THERE IS NO EVIL. What you determine as wrong is wrong for you. Your purpose in life is different from another's. Do not enforce your views of right and wrong on any human being. You know that lying is wrong but another may have to go through the experiences of lying, cheating and dishonesty in order to LEARN. By judging another as wrong you are building karma.

You may share with another all that you know, but you do not ask another to practice it, or tell another what to do if your advice is not sought.

Little one, when a healthy mind tells you what to do it is completely linked to your higher self, but very often, there is a constant conflict due to the conditioning it has received. It has been beaten away from the soul truth by parents, teachers, and society which want it to think the way they desire. The mind is beaten, dented, and cracked and soon it learns that this is the only way to think, act and behave. This is how the mind enslaves YOU. When a child is young it is not controlled by the mind because there is little conditioning present and its link with higher consciousness is still very strong. The link between the soul and the higher

soul is at its optimum, and therefore the soul masters the mind. But, as the child grows and conditioning gets stronger, the mind begins to take the upper hand more often till finally the physical embodiment is completely ruled by the mind, and soul truth finds no place.

This mind makes it difficult for you, as a physical soul, to remember and access the knowledge of the higher soul. The only way one can do this is to enslave the mind. The mind is an excellent slave but a terrible master.�

'But, Jade Fire, how do I enslave my mind?� “Review your life, my dearest, and write down all the values and beliefs that you have acquired out of parental and societal conditioning which you have accepted as your own without questioning its soul truth.

Also write down all the values and beliefs that you have acquired out of a deep look at your soul and the souls of others as extensions of your own.

You will find that the first list is very long. Study that list carefully; ask of your soul whether a value or belief is in harmony with your knowledge of the soul. Child, you will be surprised to find how many of your views, values and beliefs are based purely upon parental and societal conditioning. The next time you react with that set of conditioned 'truths' be aware that your mind has again enslaved you by its conditioning. When your mind acts in this conditioned manner, STOP. Come out of the action of unawareness into a realization of awareness. The soul must then take over; otherwise the moment of realization is futile. Yes, child, this is very difficult to do. Initially, it may happen once in many days, but if you truly want to be free of the control of your mind, the more you strive the easier it will become.

Child, when you sit for mediation, and your mind attempts to control you, ignore it. If you try to block it, resist it or control it, you give will it more importance. When do thoughts stay? When you give them recognition. You have given them a presence again and the more and more importance the mind gets, the more it strengthens its hold over you. So, little one, let the thoughts flit by and do not attach yourself to them in any way.

When you meditate, meditate with the soul, link with love. Let the mind do what it desires, do not try to make it do anything. Your very trying gives it recognition, and your power empowers your mind further.

When you meditate de-link from your mind by resting your thumb against the first two fingers. This is a physical manifestation of soul merged with DIVINE SOUL. Another way is to hold in your palm a small, lit candle for a few moments. Keep your eyes open, look into the flame, and BECOME the flame. If you find your mind takes over when you put it down, pick it up again, and repeat the exercise again. You will find that one day, after putting down the flame, you will still see it in your palm, with the eyes of your soul. You may do it for one minute only, but for that minute BE the flame.

Little one, the heat of your beautiful soul must be permitted to warm the entire world with its love. When love flows out of your heart this fear will leave you and no more will the mind use this tool to control you.

Do not despair, sweet flower. Despair is a very strong tool that is wielded by your mind. With this tool, the mind makes you impotent and easy for others to control. Empower your soul, and give the reins back to that part of your being that does not abuse them.�

When Jade Fire finished speaking there was only silence. A silence in which one small soul looked at itself and saw with wonder and awe that it truly had power‌..the power of acceptance, the power of tolerance, the power of fortitude and the infinite, unending power of love.

Chapter 9 Glancing up from the book she was reading, Little Blue Flower found Jade Fire looking into a distance unseen by her. “What are you looking at, Jade Fire?” she questioned. Showing no sign of annoyance at being interrupted in a private moment, Jade Fire smiled at his little friend whose constant desire to question him and to swim in his deep well of knowledge, delighted him. “I am seeing a future that holds you and so many others like you, little one, who are entrusted in my care. As your guide and master, I can see the pattern of your future, and in the very far distance I can see your soul guiding others who have recently started upon their soul quest. In order to ensure that this distant future pattern will not be lost in the haze of all the lifetimes that you will lead, I must monitor your growth closely, but have no right to interfere with the free will choices that you may make along the way.”

Little Blue Flower eagerly scrambled up to a sitting position and drawing close to her beloved friend, she said. “Tell me more about guides, Jade Fire. You talk of them so often and I want to know more about them.

What is the difference between guides and masters? Do they choose to be our guides or do we, as souls, choose them? Have they ever taken physical incarnations? Are they with us all the time? Can they………”

Jade Fire laughed aloud and held up his hand. “Slowly, little one, slowly. Will you learn everything there is to learn, in this one moment itself? Are you so eager to learn it all, so that you can get rid of me quicker?” he teased.

Little Blue Flower did not answer, but the look of love she gave him said it all. She waited patiently; knowing that soon her all her questions would be answered.

And then Jade Fire said: “ Little Blue Flower, guides are those spirit forms that have agreed to take upon themselves the very responsible task of taking care of souls entrusted to them and to ensure their constant growth, all the time taking care not to take away the right of free will choice from the soul. Each soul grows by a process of evolution and moves from one sub plane (of a plane of evolution) to another and then from one plane of evolution to another. In each sub plane of each plane the soul has different guides to help it on its path. The guides will not make any attempt

to push you towards growth but when you are ready and willing they will start the process of helping you towards greater and greater learning. Once the learning has been completed they start on a process of testing. This learning and testing is essential for that part of the whole soul that takes physical embodiment.”

Jade Fire paused here knowing that a question was forming in the mind of Little Blue Flower. “If the guides do not make attempts to push us towards growth, how will we know that we have erred?”

“My child, their task is to ensure that you do not stray from the life's purpose chosen by you and your higher soul. Each lifetime has its purpose that needs to be fulfilled, but there is a greater and over-riding purpose that each soul chooses for itself. You may compare this to the ambition of a science scholar to get a Nobel Prize at some time in the future, before which the scholar must go through various intermediate stages that make up the life of a scholar. Are you clear, little one?”

Seeing the look of complete comprehension on Little Blue Flower's face, Jade Fire continued.

“Growth is the path every soul will take as it is the only way to fulfill the one common primary goal of all souls: a union with the Divine Creator. In order to fulfill this purpose each soul chooses individual lifetime missions that it wishes to attain, and unresolved issues and karmic debts from past lifetimes that have been carried forward in order for them to be dealt with. The guides who have been entrusted with the care of souls who are young and have not sufficiently evolved, do not attempt to teach larger universal laws to these souls, who are not yet in the required state of readiness. Rather these guides will ensure that the blueprint set out is followed through. They do this at all times in complete consultation with your higher self that is completely aware of the plan even though the physical has entered a state of forgetfulness and therefore sometimes erroneously thinks that some other is pulling your strings. Once the guides are certain that you have finished your mission of that sub plane and are ready and willing to move on to the next, they will start the process of testing to see if the soul is truly ready for greater and more complex tasks.

The analogy of an earthly school will help you understand better, little one. Teachers in the junior classes assess the progress of those souls in their care, before they lovingly hand over their responsibility to the teachers who are in charge of the senior classes.

The guides who look after your progress on the higher planes of evolution remain with you for very long periods. They appoint the guides who are with you on the lower planes of evolution. These guides are all part of a very large team headed by one whom we may call your master.

Your master can never change. Your master and that of the guides will be the same. At every sub plane level and plane level each soul has at least two guides and each guide has a different task. As explained earlier, the guides who have been entrusted with the care of souls who are young and have not sufficiently evolved, do not attempt to teach larger universal laws to these souls, who are not yet in the required state of readiness. But, little one, at the plane where you are and at the higher planes, our tasks are different. At higher planes we have our own sub-teams. So my child, when you stray from your goal of this sub-plane I personally need not guide you at all times, but other appointed guides in my sub-team may do the needful. But these, little one, are not directly your guides; rather they are my helpers.”

Jade fire paused briefly, giving Little Blue Flower the time he knew she would need to assimilate all that he had already spoken of. He wished her to absorb in her mind and soul this wealth of new knowledge that he had just imparted. After a few minutes when she turned to face him again, he continued.

“Now, sweet flower, these guides are appointed with great care.

They must understand the temperament, personality, habits, characters, nature, and calling of the souls in their care. For this reason guides who have in their own physical incarnations faced similar issues as your own are chosen to help you. Very often, family members or friends who have passed on and are with us, and have progressed enough on their own path of evolution, will be appointed as your guides and counsellors, if they so desire. This is done so that true understanding and support will always be forthcoming from the guides.”

“Ah, here comes a question!” Little Blue Flower smiled at her friend's ability to read her so well.

“Jade Fire, how many years ago were you in physical incarnation?”

Jade Fire laughed heartily, and then said, “Prepare to be shocked, little one. In your earthly measurement of time, I was in my last physical incarnation over two thousand years ago. And, my dear, most of us have to be here for more time than you can imagine before our own souls ascend to

the position of Ascended Master. But my child, the soul never forgets an experience and so we do not forget the value of the experience that we had when we were at the plane of evolution where you are now. So, little one, we can give you the benefit of where we were and where we are at present.

Now, little one, to answer your question whether guides and masters take physical birth again. Ascended Masters, dear one, do not take physical incarnation but may, in very special circumstances, overwhelm another who is in physical form. This is done, only if a contractual relationship had first been entered into between the physical soul and the Ascended Master. Guides and counsellors who work in the lower planes of evolution do take physical birth in order to continue their own chosen path of growth.”

Little Blue Flower held up her small hand in order to ask one question that come to her repeatedly. “Jade Fire, when you talk of lower and higher planes of evolution this gives me a mental picture of your world being divided into various heights. Are these planes situated on different regions of differing heights, like our earthly mountains?”

Jade Fire did not answer at once but swung his little friend in his huge arms, laughing in delight at her mental picture. Little Blue Flower was surprised but the contagious laughter made her burst out into peals of glee. Then gently placing her down, Jade Fire continued.

“No, no, my child, not that way at all. Firstly, all planes, whether earthly or etheric, share the same space. Souls of a similar level of evolution very naturally gravitate towards each other and this gathering of like souls is called a sub plane. But all these souls also move about in a larger area where they are very comfortable .That larger area of ambit is the plane. When the soul evolves more than the other souls in the sub plane, it will naturally move away to another gathering which attracts it.

Sometimes a soul may remain in one sub plane for a long time, while its progress in another may be very rapid. Masters and guides are always present to ensure that all souls get the help and guidance they need, and a master may do this personally or through the team of helpers. Are you now clearer, little friend?”

“Yes, I am. Jade Fire, I wish to thank you for being my master.

When I am now aware of all that you do for me, I am forced to ask myself how I should speak to you and address you to show you the full level of

love and respect I feel for you and all the other guides who have helped me and are still helping me.”

Jade Fire smiled tenderly. “My child, we don't need words well thought out, nor do we expect from you awe and reverence. We want you to think of us as your closest, closest friends and speak to us thus. Do not think of us as higher beings that require reverence and awe from you. We don't require that. We want to be in your heart all the time. Whether you speak the words out aloud or merely as a thought, we can hear them equally well.”

“Jade Fire, many people talk of guardian angels. What are they? Are they also guides? And how do we connect with them?”

Every single life form, my child, has a guardian angel. Not only human life forms, but every single life form. There is a difference between a guide and an angel. Angels not only look after you but also help you in the tiniest deed that you might require from them. For example, little one, if you lose a book, take a moment to ask your angel 'please help me to find this book if it is in my highest interest.' Or, if you do not find a parking spot ask your angel 'please help me to find a convenient parking spot if it is in my highest interest.' But, remember, when you do not find that parking spot, or the missing book does not turn up, your angel is guiding you away from where you wish to go without being aware of the greater consequences. So thank your angel. Child, often you ask for help, but many a times you forget to express your thanks for the help that is rendered. Do you know why? Because you think that no help has been rendered. When the book is not found, when the parking spot is not available, when something that you have asked for does not come your way, you assume that help has not been given. But, in fact, help has been given; a lot of help has been given, because it is in your higher interest not to have found your book, not to have found the parking spot, not to have that work completed.

Guardian angels, little one, have never incarnated in any form.

They constantly maintain their spirit form. Just as there are many different kinds of animals and plants, just as men from one region differ in physical characteristics from those of another, so also in the spirit realm, spirit forms can be different. One such form is the angelic form. They have existed from the moment of all creation and their soul purpose is to help you. Their energy fields are wide and exude extremely strong vibrations of

love. Very often, in order to help you they temporarily assume human or animal form. They are bound by the same universal laws as all spirit forms, whether in incarnation or not. One such inviolable universal law is the law of respect for the free will choice of another. This law forbids interference, and therefore, dear child, if you desire help from either your guardian angels or your guides you must very specifically ask them for this. It is of vital importance that you believe in their existence completely because disbelief will close off to you an avenue of help that is constant and instantaneous. Their love is palpable and self less and all that is required for you to tap into this infinite source is a belief in their existence and a call made to them. Once the call is made be alert, as their help may come in forms and ways that you might not expect. Be alert for synchronicity, as nature's coincidences are nothing but help from our realms.

But, little one, there is yet another universal law that restricts the angelic realms just as it restricts all guides and masters. That law states that if the help asked for by a soul is such that will in the true reality of the blueprint, hinder the growth of the soul, that 'help' is not to be rendered, because it is in the non-fulfillment of that desire that help is truly rendered.

My little friend, when you ask for help, be prepared to get the help you truly require and do not attach yourself to a narrow idea that very often arises out of an incomplete awareness of a greater plan.

Guardian angels love to reveal themselves to you. Their love is of such innocence that they desire to see and be seen by all their earthly friends. But, little one, human eyes have to be trained to see them. By conscious and deliberate effort you can train the physical eyes to look for a light or a luminous glow that may seem very hazy at first, but which is the sign that tells you that your angelic friends are close by. Narrow your eyes to a small slit and defocus. This helps the physical eyes to pick up the luminosity better. Use this method to locate your book, to find that elusive parking place, to decide upon which road to take when you are lost. The angels will never hold back their help.”

“Thank you, Jade Fire. What a wonderful morning this has been.

I know now that I will never feel lonely again because even if there is no human friend left, I will have all my guides and angels giving me all the love and support that I need.”

Small hand held tightly in a large hand, the two friends turned to go. Little Blue Flower looked up and added softly, “And besides, you are always there with me.”

Chapter 10 The beautiful colours of the twilight brought serenity into the heart of Little Blue Flower and took away from her the masks and defenses that she had conditioned her mind to use. Gazing into the gently flowing water of the brook she sighed, and cleansing tears flowed from within her and merged with the stream below. She felt large, gentle palms upon her shoulders and did not need to turn to know that her dearest friend had once again chosen just that perfect moment to come to her. Wordlessly the two watched as each falling tear caused ripples and then surrendered its individuality to take on the larger presence of the brook. When the tears had completed their task, the two friends sat down in their favourite spot, and Little Blue Flower smiled as she gently splashed the water with her feet. Seeing the ripples caused by her action Jade Fire asked her softly, “Can you hear the water teaching you its lesson about karma?� In surprise Little Blue Flower looked up and then back into the stream. Then with wonder in her voice she said, 'I am responsible for these ripples. And they do not only have an effect on the water at the edge but they go outwards and cause bigger and bigger ripples, till they finally disappear. That is karma, is it not?�

And Jade Fire said: That is right, little one. Karma is the effect or result of any action. Action does not only mean something that is acted out but covers everything you do. All thought, word and deed are action in the context of karma. Thoughts have the least karma and deed the most, but everything has a result and what is important is that everything has a cause.

Now it is this cause that determines the level of karma. Recall what you have learnt of free will, dear one. When your will is completely free or absolutely liberated from all ties, bonds and chains that is true free will.

Free will is therefore very different from choice. A choice means that you have exercised an option between two or more things, but free will is when that option has been exercised out of the limitations of these chains. These chains are many. They are the chains of your attitude, your nature, who you are, your social conditioning, your power to intellectualize, your tight rein on your emotions, your inability to surrender and so on. When these chains work, then the choice remains just that, and does not become free will. True free will is very rarely if ever really used by the human race as a whole, and yet it is the purpose of your existence. Whenever any deed, thought or word comes out of these limitations it creates karma. When any action comes out of true and pure free will it results in no karma, because

then the only result of this action is unity with the divine source of light. So everything is planned and yet not planned.

“I don't understand the last bit, Jade Fire”, said Little Blue Flower, a look of confusion in her eyes.

Jade Fire smiled and said: Let me give an example which my romantic little friend will understand. It is planned that you fall in love with a person but then how you work out this plan is your free will or choice depending on whether your actions are in tune with your higher soul or in tune with your limitations. If they are in tune with your spirit then the limitations of conditioning, your very nature, society and psychological barriers will not affect you and you will follow the path of the soul fearlessly. But if you begin to cling to the person, treat him badly, or come completely under his power and control, you have acted out of these limitations. The love relationship between you was planned, but the manner of exercising it is left to your exercising of your free will. Are you clear now, little one?”

Little Blue Flower grinned and nodded, knowing well why her astute friend had chosen to give her this example. Giving his hand a tight squeeze, she asked, “Why should our nature and social conditioning influence karma? These are very difficult to overcome and it seems unfair to me that we have to face consequences of these.”

Gathering her into a loving embrace, Jade Fire continued: “Yes, your nature and social conditioning are very important hurdles in the way of free will. Your nature, your attitude, your characteristics are not influenced by karma. Your natural characteristics are what you have allowed to stick to you. Everything can stick to you but what you allow to stick to you becomes your nature. So if you let anger stick to you, you will be hot-tempered, if you let compassion stick to you, you will be gentle, and if you let fear stick to you, you will be either a bully or a coward. So your nature is not influenced by karma but has complete say in building up more or reducing karmic ties, because it is the cause of many of your limitations.

Social conditioning is another pre-planned choice. You, little one, may decide to become an Indian, an American, a Chinese, because that social structure is one you have chosen to be born into in order to perform your mission. Remember, my dearest, your ultimate mission is unity with the Divine Light and there can be no unity when there is karma.

You decided to be an Indian, a girl, and a Zarathustrian, because you considered that this would help or hinder you to reduce your karma. Yes, my dear child, I did say hinder. Your higher self is wiser and knows that hurdles must be placed in the way so that you can leap upwards and inwards instead of always fixing your eyes downwards and outwards. So the social conditioning will help or hinder you, and it is very valuable because if you act or speak or think out of this, you create karma, but if you leap over the hurdle you have jumped up closer to your true spirit. So, little one, do not use these as excuses for your actions.”

“Can revenge ever be chosen as a path in one's blueprint?”

Now listen closely, my little one, because it is essential you understand this. Let us for a short while assume that you have been killed by another in a previous life. Now the plan that you have charted out for this lifetime includes working out your karma with that another, and dovetailing with your plan, that soul has undertaken to make retribution for his past action towards you. As charted by that soul, he comes to you in this life as your servant. Because of the past life memory that you carry, you take a dislike to this servant, and because your society permits it, you become a cruel master and make his life a living hell. Yes, that may be the other soul's retribution which he will faithfully fulfill by continuing in your service loyally in spite of your treatment, but your karma is set because you acted out of choice and not free will. If it had been free will, all limitations would have been set aside and you would have only seen god within your servant and treated him thus. Remember, sweet one, one moment of true realization of god in another is enough to completely banish all karmic links with that soul.”

There was a short silence in which Little Blue Flower enriched herself with the pearls of wisdom that Jade Fire had just given her. Then she asked, “Jade Fire, you said that every action that is the result of our limitations results in karma. If I do something good for another, in order to get praise, does that also result in a karmic tie?”

“Little one, I am joyous to see the honesty that you show in looking inwards. Yes, dear one, if you have done something good but done it out of these limitations there is karma built, but it is from a good deed and so is called good karma. But is good karma beneficial to you in the long run? NO, because it is the absence of ALL karma that leads to unity with the Divine. Good karma is caused because the good deed was done, not

because you recognized another as god. True god realization was not present, but you did it, maybe out of compassion, but also because you wished to benefit from it, materially or spiritually. Ah, I surprised you, my child. Yes, spiritually. When you do and say and behave in a manner that you have labelled 'good' in order to evolve spiritually, isn't that a gain you desire to receive? Was there true god realization behind your action? Yes, it is very tough, but after several lifetimes of doing good for the purpose of spiritual gain you will understand enough to know that there is no such thing as spiritual growth……..there is just god realization. Till then if the good deeds come out of these limitations, do not be disheartened. They do serve a larger purpose of spreading love and peace.”

Little Blue Flower grimaced. “How can I truly exercise free will?

How can I from within my soul realize god? Will this wealth of knowledge that you have given me not help?”

Jade Fire's ready laughter was heard ringing loud and clear in the silence of the night that had fallen all around these two dear friends.

“Sweet one, for free will the only thing essential is wisdom. Knowledge takes you to the limit of your limitations, wisdom goes beyond. When there is knowledge there is choice, when there is wisdom there is free will.

No, do not say it. I can see it coming. You are now even more confused. ” This seemed to amuse Jade Fire greatly and with a huge grin on his face he continued, “Knowledge is limited to the finite capacity of your physical mind. Wisdom, little flower, flourishes in the infinite depth of the soul.

What the mind knows, it will sieve in its preconditioning and reject that which it assesses as wrong. The soul opens itself to ALL knowing that only in ALL can ALL flourish. This, little one, you will understand as you open your soul more and more to its true spirit. Do not hurry or be anxious about this. The meaning of this will unfold itself to you as you, my little flower, blossom. Look around, my little love, and see the first rays of dawn dancing among the branches. Soon there will be light in which all darkness will flee. But, you cannot rush the sun to rise. Be content in the glow of your dawn, dear one, and await patiently the fullness of the light that is soon to be yours, before which all darkness will vanish.”

These loving words helped Little Blue Flower to stem the impatient questions rising within her, knowing that some questions cannot be answered by any truth except that which the soul reveals.

Chapter 11 Gently Little Blue Flower opened her eyes and looked around at her surroundings. She still marveled at the fact that after every meditation the world around her looked fresher and happier and her heart felt lighter and more joyous. She saw her children playing in the garden outside and heard their loud laughter. She smiled to herself and felt herself growing stronger in the bond of love that she shared with her children who were such an immense source of joy to her. Then, as a thought crossed her mind, she felt heavy of heart and a deep need to be with her dearest friend rose within her.

Barely had her heart expressed this need, when she felt the gentle wafting of a breeze that told her he was near. She looked around to find him standing with his arms opened wide. With a soft cry of pain she ran into his loving embrace.

“Quiet, little one. I know that you are overcome with the guilt of having been a harsh and unforgiving parent on occasion. Recall, dear one, what I have told you about guilt and don't cling to your past actions. Let it go and let its place be taken by complete love and awareness.”

Little Blue Flower did not look up but her muffled voice was heard asking, “Jade Fire, so often we, as parents, cause hurt to our children by misconstruing harshness for discipline. Is this due to karmic ties that we need to sort out?”

Leading her out into the garden, Jade Fire waited while Little Blue Flower watched her children at play. He could see love emanating from deep within her and enveloping her children completely. Gently he sat down beside her and waited. When she turned to him, he knew that she had strengthened herself enough to listen to his words.

And Jade Fire said: “Child, parents are human, and parents make mistakes. And whenever mistakes are made that soul will learn a lesson. A lesson can be learnt completely by working out karma. And, little one, though parents may justify their harshness by considering it to be an act of discipline, a child will never confuse the two. Harshness is harshness; it can never take the place of discipline. You can be a very strict disciplinarian without being harsh in the slightest. It is discipline that gets results, not harshness. Most parents resort to harshness because they are trying to overcome their own inadequacies, which they then see in their

children,.

Parents who are young are still going through their own problems, their own conflicts, past and present. Their own physical souls are still not completely linked with their higher souls. It is very essential, dear one, that all parents be made to remember the higher universal truths before they are ready to take on the responsibility of nurturing another soul. Can you see, little one, that it is when the soul of the parent cannot transcend the limitations of the physical that the parent will not be able to realise the full depth of the responsibility placed upon them? Harshness arises out of a deep sense of need to adhere to societal conditioning which the parent will inflict upon the child. Let each parent see the soul within the child and be proud to be chosen by that child to fulfill the task of nurturing it and setting it on the path of its spiritual journey. The choice of taking physical embodiment was not made by the soul of the child in order to be conditioned into further forgetfulness. The choice was made with a deep soul trust that the chosen parent will help the physical soul of the child to lift its veil of forgetfulness and give it wings to fly higher on its chosen path, whatever it may be.

Yes, dear one, in those moments when the child's defiance to your authority brings forth rage or the child's action results in a harsh word or action from you, it is difficult to stop and recall these words. Do not try to experience the truth of these words in such moments. Rather experience them in those moments when you are at peace with yourself so that the experience of their truth will come to the fore naturally in times of stress.

Remember, my sweet little 'mommy', that children take birth to those with whom they have decided to work out their most important karmic ties of this lifetime. In a karmic tie both the parent and the child have to undertake an equal responsibility. As a parent, you, little one, must lift up your own veil of forgetfulness as well as that of your child. It is in this that you free both the souls from karmic ties and give them wings.”

“Thank you, Jade Fire. From now on in my moments of silent meditation this truth I will attempt to completely experience. But, Jade Fire, talk to me about those children who are deliberately abused by their parents.”

Jade Fire smiled: “Little one, if the child has contracted with the parents to face physical abuse, to face emotional trauma, then the parents must execute that contract and there is no karma. This contract has been drawn up by the child to fulfill its own karmic ties of a personal nature, which do

not involve the parents, but which the parents, due to deep soul bonding will help it to execute.

But not all cases of child abuse are of this nature. Several abusive parents are souls who have themselves gone through great physical and emotional pain in past lives. As unembodied souls they learn through their pain and understand it, but in order to forgive and to let go of that pain and that reality of the past, they undertake to come back as parents of those souls who caused them the pain, because this will give them the opportunity to either remember the lessons, and not cause harm to those who troubled them, or forget the lesson and surrender to the pain of past lives. The parent and the child must work out the relationship of their souls. It is in these relationships that god realization plays an even more important role because it is that which will give both souls a complete freedom from the cycle of karma.�

After Jade Fire had finished there was a silence for a long time. Both the friends held hands and looked at the playing children. Though each one looked at a different future, both saw the future with the eyes of love, and one soul vowed that her hand would henceforth be raised only in order to guide, and discipline would only serve to enlighten the path of her young birds that forever she would hear the flapping of free wings flying higher towards the Divine Light.

Chapter 12 “Does this dream have any significance, Jade Fire?� asked Little Blue Flower fearfully after she had described her dream of the night before.

Without waiting for his reply, she snuggled in deeper into his arms feeling waves of safety suffusing her from within.

And Jade Fire said: “Yes, child, your dream has a wealth of significance.

You saw the walls completely covered with thick layers of termites overnight and this scared you because you knew that very soon the walls would begin to crumble. My child, this is how outer facades and masks that you put on, actually destroy the true inner self. These facades, like the termites, eat into the walls of your true self and destroy it completely, till finally the self crumbles and an empty shell remains. Anger, pride, ego, tough exterior, false humility, a put-on cheer, all these are examples of the facades used. Soon you forget who you are and begin to identify yourself with the exterior. The more identification you build up, the less is the hold you have on your true inner spirit. Then one day the spirit collapses and you are left only with an exterior. This exterior also collapses very often and brings with it desperation and a deep feeling of acute loneliness. This is when suicides take place or emotional breakdowns from which a person sometimes does not recover completely.

These 'exteriors' are how the mind takes control and gives you the false belief that you are looking after yourself. But, little one, what you are doing is just the contrary. You are not protecting yourself, but stopping your inner spirit from getting all the experiences that it has chosen to get in this lifetime. No, my child, these exteriors are not pre-ordained. These are the physical attempts you make to change the master blueprint that you had charted out in consultation with your higher soul and your guides. The more you change the master plan, the more difficult you make it for your soul to advance, and the more difficult you make it for your higher soul to adhere to its chosen life plan. In an effort to fight against these controls of the mind, the higher self, with your guides, will place you in tougher and more tragic circumstances, hoping that you will be cleansed in these fires that you are forced to traverse through. But, if instead of learning from this, you merely toughen the exteriors more, nature will take its course and collapse will result.

This is why, my little one, I so often tell you to give up all these false

exteriors which do you great harm. Do not fear to let your inner spirit shine through. You fear this because you fear hurt, rejection, ridicule. But these you should welcome with open arms because every time you face these you get a wonderful opportunity to strengthen yourself by understanding the other's need to hurt you or ridicule you or reject you. In this understanding there is true growth for you. Why would you wish to walk among the weeds that grow thick and make you lose your way, instead of welcoming the road that you have set out for your spiritual journey?

You hope to see the truth in outward appearances. But, Little Blue Flower, can truth be seen in illusion? See the shadows this candle before you is throwing. They are large and monstrous in shape. If you think that the shadows are real you will fear them and hide from them. You will call them ugly and demonic. But wait, turn your gaze away from the shadows and see the bright, beautiful flame of the candle. Now, which is real? Isn't this the mistake you often make, sweet one? You see only the shadows and ignore the candle that is burning in exactly the way it is meant to burn so that it can give just the right amount of light to your dark room.

My gentle heart, when you look at a person and do not like what you see, do look beyond at the soul that is throwing ugly shadows so that you can benefit from the light of wisdom and understanding that it is also throwing.

Do not turn away from that candle or that candle will have burnt in vain.

Exteriors, my child, whether they are yours or others, are false. They are placed there only to deceive you. See them for what they are, recognize their truth and let them leave you. The soul within you and others must be allowed to shine through. Whenever you see a soul shining in all its glory without an exterior, you will at once be engulfed in its purity and radiance and there will be no doubt in your mind that you have experienced the beauty of an inner spirit.�

Little Blue Flower looked up into the face she so loved and experienced the truth of the words that Jade Fire had just spoken. There in his face she saw the full radiance of love and truth and in that moment she experienced the complete beauty of her own soul.

Chapter 13 Little Blue Flower held aloft the beautiful trophy her daughter had received, acknowledging her as The Most Versatile Student. Jade Fire smiled at his young friend's delight, and asked, “And, little one, have you acknowledged the role you have played for this moment to become real?”

Little Blue Flower laughed. “Why, Jade Fire, you are asking me to be egoistic! My Sany has worked hard for this and it is only her effort, not mine.”

And Jade Fire said: Dearest Flower, let us discuss children and the role played by parents and adults in their growth. Let us start from the moment of conception. This moment is one of vital significance. It is that moment in time when a soul has decided to finalize its blueprint and to now embody itself. It is a moment of universal importance because with every soul's decision to embody itself the universe has yet another wonderful opportunity to grow and evolve. And so this moment is vital. Was this moment of conception a moment of love, a moment of sharing, a moment of giving of one another? Or was it a moment of pain, a moment of anger, a moment of trauma, a moment that will result in the desire for revenge? The soul decides on that moment of conception because that moment is of vital importance for that soul's lesson. At this moment the part of the father is of less importance. Remember, little one, while finalizing the blueprint the soul first decides on the mother and then the father and the family. But the mother is of greater significance than anything that the environment has to offer.

The mother within herself embodies Shakti; that part of the universal energy that has the strength of creation. Shakti lies in feminine energy. The masculine energy gives its support to this strength. Yet so many civilizations have looked down upon the woman and therefore looked down upon Shakti.

It is due to this that the soul first decides upon the mother whose womb will hold the embodiment that the soul has opted for. Sweet Flower, the moment of conception is a manifestation of the soul's decision that 'this will be my mother'. And this decision now manifests into a physical embodiment and because it has to have a physical embodiment the various parts must grow within the mother. And how do they grow? What do they use? They use energy; the energy of creation which is the energy of Shakti.

Sometimes this energy is chanelled pure and clean, with love and acceptance and eagerness for this wonderful soul that will soon be born.

There is a peace and there is calm and there is a love that is so pure that very rarely in your lives do you experience such pure love.

Jade Fire paused, and quickly Little Blue Flower asked, “But what if this energy is chanelled through anger? What happens if it comes through agitation, it comes through conflict, and it comes through pain?”

Dearest one, it is the experience the soul desired, and when this energy is channeled through all the negative forces within the mother, the physical embodiment of that soul must necessarily take within each cell all of this negative energy, which will serve to enable the soul to have the life experiences that it desires in this embodiment.

“I find it sad, Jade Fire that from the very moment of conception a soul has to face negative forces, even if this is the soul's decision.”

Jade Fire gently smiled and placed his hand tenderly upon the heart of Little Blue Flower. He continued: You think that the soul at once takes residence in the womb of the mother. This is not so. It is only much later that the soul decides to come and dwell in the embodiment that is within the mother. During the nine months of pregnancy the soul keeps 'popping' in and out of the chosen embodiment. At the end of the nine months the soul comes more and more frequently and stays longer and longer periods within this home. The soul does so in order to get a fit. When you go to a tailor, little one, you ask him to stitch a new pair of clothes that you would like to feel comfortable in. If there is discomfort you will either reject those clothes outright or ask for an alteration. And this is what the soul does. If the discomfort is too great and the alteration cannot be made, the soul has the right to reject that physical embodiment.

Now here is a crossroad, Blue Flower, that you will find interesting. The soul has rejected the physical embodiment but what happens to the physical embodiment that is within the mother? The guides of the mother will look into the blueprint of the mother and decide with the help of her higher soul if here is an opportunity, which may not be in the initial blueprint, but which can help in the growth of the mother. If that is true this physical embodiment will be discarded. That is what you call a miscarriage. If the guides and the higher soul do not see the importance of this lesson then a search is made among the guides for another soul who

might be in the process of finalizing the blueprint, who might very closely need what this mother may have to offer; if this mother has an older soul link with that soul, all the better. And so on certain occasions another soul decides to try on these 'ready made clothes' and accepts them if they fit well.

Little Blue Flower looked on with rapt attention, not wishing to miss a single word that described a wonderful new world to her.

Thus a soul is now born. Child, do remember that when the soul is born it carries within its cell the imprint of either pure love, no love or tainted love, depending upon the mother's feelings from the moment of conception. This cannot be changed. Whichever soul dwells in that physical embodiment this cannot be changed. This becomes part of the cell structure of this physical body. Do you wish me to elaborate upon the kind of journey the soul will take if it faces rejection and hatred and anger?

Little Blue Flower shook her head. “No, I think I can see this for myself.

You have made me aware enough to understand that journey.�

Jade Fire passed a loving hand over her head before he continued: So we will embark upon that journey that most souls take. It is a journey of acceptance, of earthly love, of desires and wishes for this child, of expectations and anxieties of the parents, of happiness and laughter and tears that this child experiences. The first few months of this child are a step, a look into an alien nation. Try to feel the anxiety, sweet one, and the fear that you would experience if you were suddenly placed in an environment of complete strangers. The soul comes from a realm of feeling and now faces a realm of mental energy. There is tremendous conflict within the soul. And here is the first moment of fear within this physical embodiment. But the soul is not alone. The soul is in constant link with its higher soul, guides and friends on the other side. On many occasions the soul is more in our realm than in yours. But the soul realizes that it cannot give up its power to this fear. It has to go through with what it desired. And it permits, with trepidation and anxiety, and fear and doubt, and pain and hurt, it permits a separation from the link with higher consciousness. As soon as it permits this separation the mental energy is waiting to make yet another conquest. Who emits this mental energy? The present world of this child‌the mother. The mother emits a mental energy that is very strong. If the mother is peaceful and calm, loving and giving and sharing, this energy will further enhance the imprint on the physical

cells and the mental energy that she emits will be one that will enable the soul to grow in all its beauty. But, my child, it is not often that the soul faces this mental energy. The soul encounters more often an energy of mother's fears, mother's worries, mother's anxieties, mother's anger, mother's tension, mother's conflict, mother's turmoil, mother's irritation and mother's sense of despair. And the energy around the mother contributes.

The father, siblings, family, friends and the environment, all contribute. As the child grows, the mental energy now starts enforcing itself upon the child; not only from the mother but moving outwards encompassing the energy of its complete environment.

As the child grows this mental energy will result in its mental conditioning. The mental energy works in two ways. It forces itself upon the soul energy and represses it and it forces the child to face a 'reality' that is the 'reality' of the parents. All, all conditioning of the parents is forced upon the child. As the child grows all conditioning of the family and friends is forced upon the child. As the child grows still further the conditioning of the school environment is forced upon the child, and still further the conditioning of the society of which the soul is such a vital part, plays its role upon the child. Mental energy represses soul energy. It has to.

Mental energy faces a threat from soul energy. And the child that is born as a soul in physical embodiment is now looked upon as a physical being with two eyes, two ears, a nose, two arms, two legs and internal organs.

Ask of your children in your schools, “Can you point out that part of you that is your soul?” And the child trained in anatomy will be confused and say “No. There is no such part. No science book teaches of a soul.” Your schools are only meant to develop a very, very small part of the human brain. Your schools are not institutions of learning. They are institutions of teaching and teachers proudly impart knowledge, impart information.

But, dear one, what information, can you, as a teacher, impart to a child?

Whatever information the child's soul requires is all present in the universe. What teaching can you give to the child? It is the only the brain that can be taught, that can be molded, that can be conditioned. The soul learns on its own.

“Jade Fire, I am not sure I completely understand what you meant by 'learning' and 'teaching'.”

You, my dear one, you are a teacher. How many teachers enter a school and realize god? They will enter a temple and bow before a stone deity, touch

its feet and pray. But they will enter a school of one thousand living gods and never will a word of prayer pass their lips. And what kind of prayer do they teach the children? They teach them to ask god for protection, to ask god for guidance, to ask god for any number of things. And by teaching this to the soul, this soul begins to believe in this untruth that whatever is of worth must be asked for, must be demanded. “I am not in control. I do not have the self worth to be in control. If I were, if I had the self worth, then my teacher, whom I look up to, would never have taught me that I should ask god for all these things. In fact if this were true she would have helped me to learn that I, I am the soul that can make all this happen.” Do you see the difference between teaching and learning? What you teach will always be an untruth, if those who are in charge of teaching have not realized their souls themselves. How then can they impart anything but what is not true?

Information, information that is written and made convenient to believe, depends upon the time and place and society's stamp of approval. It has nothing to do with universal truth. Universal truth endures, it cannot be changed to convenience you. But information can.

Remember, little one, remember at all times that there is the blueprint of the child to contend with. And the soul has some very important lessons to learn. And nature therefore must ensure that in spite of all mental preconditioning, this soul must learn, it must be given the opportunity to grow and when mental conditioning is extremely tough; will nature then not have to give this soul tough opportunity to learn its lessons? You can, little one, make it easier for your children to learn their lessons. You can do this by constantly striving not to condition your children the way you have been.

“Jade Fire, Sri Aurobindo uses the words 'the sun-eyed children of the dawn.' What does he really mean?”

Your children, gentle flower, and the children of today are 'the sun-eyed children of the dawn.' They herald a new dawn for the world. They bring in their souls a message for all to hear, and a direction for all to follow. Will the light of the dawn be allowed to shine from their eyes or will mental conditioning make it 'night' for them all too soon? Can mental preconditioning and judgment stand aside in order to let these souls flower and blossom? As a teacher, dear one, can you interrupt the process of teaching enough to support the soul on its path of self learning? The 'sun eyed children' must learn all that the universe has to offer because this learning will be, for them, an energy that will help them to blossom. And in

their blossoming, dearest one, lies the new world that is awaited by all.

Jade Fire paused to gather into his loving embrace his little friend who looked sad. He knew that a wave of despair had passed over her and left behind its dense, dark energy. Erasing this energy with his energy of love, he continued.

Little one, there is hope, and more than that, there is certainty. Soon your schools will be broken down, every single one of them. Not physically, but the obstructive energy structures within these schools will be shattered.

And there will be new souls that will enter these temples of learning who will honour their students. They will find it an honour to be soul guides on earth and not mere teachers. No, little one, this is not a dream. It is real. It is written in the blueprint of the earth and it cannot be changed. Yes, and that is why the souls taking embodiment now are extremely old and wise souls.

They will face all the odds and overcome them. “How long will this take, Jade Fire?� Little Blue flower asked in a soft voice.

My child, 2012 is the year by which all universal truths must come to light.

When all the truths come to light there will be a new world. Even today there are many who have realized their roles as guides for the souls. We are joyous that you, dear one, are one such soul.

Jade Fire, why do a few teachers not realize their importance as soul guides? Why do they take up the proverbial whip to harshly condition the children?

Your world, young friend, is certainly a very strange one. Those that it entrusts with the blossoming and flowering of its own future, it respects them the least, it honours them the least, and it gives them the least monetary satisfaction. And when it disrespects these souls, when it dishonours them, there will be mere teachers and not soul guides. Your world looks up to those who generate what is material, what is tangible.

The growth of the soul is not tangible, it cannot even be perceived, unless it is perceived with your own soul energy.

Now, little one, do you understand why I asked you to acknowledge your own role in the flowering of your child? Had your soul not maintained its close link with your higher soul you would not have been able to permit

your child to flower in the way she desires. You would force her through conditioning to grow in the manner you thought right. Acknowledge your own worth, my beloved one, because through the growth of your selfworth you will help your child to see and acknowledge the beauty of her own soul.

Little Blue Flower looked up at her dearest friend and in her eyes Jade Fire joyously observed the shine of self-worth that had previously been dim.

He knew that today his little friend had truly learnt the difference between ego and pride. Holding the trophy between them the two friends wordlessly walked back home knowing that today a mother and a teacher had taken a new birth.

Chapter 14 Tears rolled down Little Blue Flower's cheeks as she cradled the infant in her arms, the body of its dead mother lying piteously on the bed close by.

Sensing the presence of her dear friend in her moment of grief, she asked, still looking into the baby's face, “Why? You said that a soul chooses a mother but what happens when the mother dies at child birth?�

Jade Fire waited till the sobs had died down and Little Blue Flower placed the baby in its crib. And very gently and softly Jade Fire said: That is a soul experience, my little one, that is a complete soul experience. The soul is completely aware, my child, that the mother will die at childbirth and the soul decides that this death will help it in its own growth process. In this case, my child, the soul contract with the father is far more important than in other cases. Sometimes the soul decisions of others are hard and cannot be comprehended by others easily, but they must be respected. Little one, do not permit grief that arises out of ignorance to deplete the wealth of the help you can truly render. Rather let love for another soul and respect for its soul contract enrich your life so that you can give this soul the power of your own soul strength.

Holding her arm, Jade Fire gently guided his friend out of the room.

Lovingly he made her sit placing his arm about her still heaving shoulders.

Then he turned to face her as she questioned him.

Jade Fire, you have told me that a mother is very important for the soul who takes birth. Are those mothers who give up their children for adoption doing something that is wrong? Or can that be a soul contract too?

Dear one, when a child is adopted the soul contracts to help one soul to learn a lesson that has been opted for, and then moves on to the souls it has contracted to spend its life with. So it takes birth through the mother for no real learning of its own, but more importantly for the learning of the biological mother. When that has been fulfilled the soul moves on to that family with whom it has more significant soul contracts. In this situation the soul chooses the parents it will spend the duration of its physical embodiment with, and accepts a responsibility placed upon it by its guides to help another soul to learn the lessons of its choice.

There are also times when a soul contracts to experience adoption for the

purpose of its own growth. For this the biological mother consents to undergo an experience for the benefit of the soul born. Yes, little one, Jade Fire said, reading the question that had formed in the mind of Little Blue Flower. Yes, all the souls who have contracted to come together, however briefly, in this lifetime, do have soul links, but they need not be very deep ones.

Jade Fire, you said once that every soul that comes here chooses its mother.

What about childless women? Is this because no soul wished to come to them? Is it a physical limitation? Or, did the woman not wish to enter into such a soul contract?

And Jade Fire said: That soul first opts not to experience motherhood and the physical limitations will only be a physical cause. It is that soul's decision not to experience this. There will be reasons for this. The commonest reason is when a soul in another incarnation, as a caretaker of children had not done its mission well. This causes a personal karmic link which this soul wishes to overcome. It opts to be childless, and the life partner will help this soul in its mission. The soul of the life partner may not initially have taken this decision as that soul has no personal karmic link to overcome. But when two souls come together in a relationship like this they do so for important reasons and in order to fulfill a larger important reason, the soul of the life partner will agree to support the decision of the partner.

There may be another reason for this decision. Sometimes the soul is just tired of looking after children over and over and over and over again, through many lifetimes, and wants a 'holiday'. You will find that such women do not miss being mothers at all. They enjoy their state of being childless, they enjoy the sense of freedom that comes with this, and they enjoy the reduction in responsibility. These souls when they come over to our side are also caretakers of children who come over to our side and so when they take a physical embodiment they might just decide on a 'break', to have a different experience.

Then why do some childless women adopt children?

Little one, you are now looking at a completely different situation. When a child is born to one and is then adopted by another the child does not have very many karmic links with its biological mother. It takes birth to that mother in order to aid the mother to learn a greater lesson and then it moves on to the person with whom it has greater karmic links. Three souls are involved in this karmic decision, and each one's blueprint will dovetail with the others in some significant manner.

Jade Fire, you mentioned that there are caretakers for children who come over to your side. Why should this be? Would the soul still remain a child?

Would it not become its true spirit self on death?

Yes, it would, little one, but after a short while, after its earth links have completely broken. This does not take as long as it would in the case of an adult who comes over to our side, because the links the child's soul has with its higher consciousness will be stronger than in the case of many adults. But even in the case of children other than infants whose links have not broken at all, the earth links take a little while to be completely loosened and then to disappear altogether. During this time there is a need for caretakers.

Does the child miss its earthly parents and long for them? Does it feel a sense of grief at the separation?

A small smile touched the lips of Jade Fire before he continued. He understood all the motherly feelings that made his dear friend ask these questions. He then answered: That, my little mother, depends upon the age of the physical age of the child. The longer the child has been on earth the weaker are the links between the child and the higher consciousness.

When the links are weak the soul will experience such emotions, and the role of the caretaker becomes a very vital one. These emotions do not arise when the higher self connection is completely forged again. And, little one, this is true for all souls, not only those of children. The earth links cause the soul to miss its family and loved ones that it has left behind.

These pangs make it more difficult for the soul to re-link with its higher consciousness and leave behind the earth links.

How do you help the soul who is caught in this Catch 22 situation?

Angels and guides are constantly present and in the case of children, the caretakers are with them at all time. The loved ones of the soul who had departed from the earth plane before the soul, are also with the soul at all times. The love energy exuded by all helps the soul to weaken its earth links, but when the soul senses the grief and longing of those it has left behind on earth, the process takes a much longer time. No, you need not ask, gentle one, I know your question. Yes, grief is natural, but it is natural only when the complete truth is not accepted. The truth that death merely opens the doorway to another dimension and that your beloved one has not disappeared from you, but in fact is more with you than when in physical embodiment. When you grieve, dear one, you grieve for the physical body, not the soul. The spirit is immortal. Child, the grief within your heart is not felt by you alone. Remember dear one, when a loved one passes on, your grief through its energy vibrations connects you to your loved one and does not permit the loved one to completely experience the unity of the

light. Yes, you do feel emptiness within but that emptiness must be filled by the love and strength that you can find within. The one who has passed on must be given the freedom to move into the light completely without feeling any sense of responsibility for you. Letting go of grief does not mean letting go of love. In the absence of grief, love is pure and with the strength of the purity of your love, merging with the higher consciousness becomes much easier. When a soul passes on it does not at once merge with its higher consciousness. It takes its time. How long it takes depends upon how soon the soul wishes to move on, away from the earth bonds it has left behind. Your grief is sensed by the departed soul, who in spirit form can instantly sense all that you feel. While the earth links are strong, this grief that you exude makes the soul unwilling to continue with its spiritual journey to its rightful sprit home. Just as we help the soul, you can also do this by urging your loved one to move ahead, to leave behind the earth links and by reassuring the soul that you have accepted its passing over with joy at its return to its spiritual home, and not with grief.

When you freely let go of a loved one, knowing full well that the loved one has gone nowhere, the process of merging with the higher soul will take place quicker and once the process of merging is complete, true peace descends upon the loved one and the loved one can begin the process of learning new tasks, new experiences and new joys.

Jade Fire, if we know that our child or any of our loved ones face death, can we tell them this before their death, or will this cause them hurt and pain?

No, little one, it will not cause them hurt and pain at all. It will remove a great burden from their shoulders and this lightness of heart will help them to reconnect to their higher consciousness very quickly. When you share your knowledge with one who faces death, you give them the strength of your wisdom and lift the fear that may be in their heart. Many face death with guilt; guilt at leaving their families behind, guilt because they believe that they have failed in their duty to be the support and strength of their loved ones, guilt at not having atoned for doing what they consider wrong to another. This great burden can be lifted if words of love are spoken to them encouraging them to accept the light that beckons. If this was not possible before the moment of death, the words, heart felt and spoken after the soul has departed, will certainly help it to move ahead quickly in the spirit realm.

Jade fire why do some use the term 'escape' to describe the soul's departure from the body?

Jade Fire smiled and nodded. He answered: It escapes from the physical trap that is the human body. The true vibrations of the soul energy, my child, are brought down to denser vibrations by the very fact that you are in

physical embodiment. This happens when there is the 'silver cord' between the soul energy and the dense energies of the 'physical'. This silver cord ensures that the soul energies can, for a part of time, come down to that energy level, to that vibration speed which is acceptable to you in that physical embodiment. When the silver cord, at death is broken, is snapped, the soul almost 'bounces' back to its original vibratory level because there is no 'trap'. It 'escapes' from this restraint that was placed upon it. Do not think, little one, that everyone's soul has the same vibratory levels. You are all Light, yes, but just as light in different intensities has a different vibratory level, so do souls. So your soul, dear one, will go back to your soul vibratory level. When you are with us in the Spirit world you work upon your soul energies raising their vibratory levels, and when you are in physical embodiment you work upon your 'physical' energies raising their vibratory levels, so that the distance between one and the other can eventually become 'none'.

A look of love and determination illumined the eyes of Little Blue Flower who went back to the room where lay the body of the infant's mother.

Seeing her walk into the room, Jade Fire knew that the soul of the mother would be helped on its way by the love and reassurance his dear friend would give.

Chapter 15 So lost in thought was Little Blue Flower that she was not even aware that her friend had come silently and taken his place on the rocky ledge beside her. A soft caressing breeze on her cheek, brought her out of her reverie, and a smile lit her serious face, to see her beloved one.

Gently Jade Fire teased her: I don't think my presence is required any more. You are searching for all the answers in your heart and soul.

Seeing her face cloud over, he bent down to reassure her: Child, I will be with you always. Every time you search for answers within you, you add to my joy. Tell me, what was the question you were looking to answer?

Holding his large hand with her small one, Little Blue Flower asked, “What is the origin of souls? And who are soul mates that people talk of?�

And Jade Fire said: Little one, I take you back to a time when you did not exist. I take you back to a time when there was nothing but the great energy of light. From this great energy of light, came the different worlds that you know. Each world is a part of this same light energy. This part moved away from the Divine source and yet did not separate completely. Between the parts that moved away and the Divine source were cords of silver light through which energies were exchanged, through which energies flowed one into the other, from one world into another, and from one world into the Divine source, and from the Source into all the different worlds. And so there was now the large infinite source of light and there were smaller sources of light that were unending, ever-changing. This was the difference between the Source and the part that moved away. The source is unchanging. It is constant. Though it never changes its composition, it gifted to the parts that moved away the power to change and experience themselves in the way they desired. This gift permitted the parts that had moved away to grow as they desired. They were given the freedom to be their own source of light, their own energy fields and their own sparks of energy. One such world was Earth.

The light that constituted the Earth began changing, merging, breaking away, coming together again, spiraling sometimes fast and sometimes slow. In this spiraling, the light changed itself into physical matter and with physical matter came Earth, Water, Plants, Insects, and Animals. In every creation this light was infused. The gift of change that the Divine Source had given all the worlds was gifted again to every part that emerged. The light that was vast began to experience itself in so many different forms, in so many different worlds. Each part was still connected by a silver light to the Divine Source and each part given the gift of change,

the gift of growth. Each part then began to experiment with this gift given, and the plant kingdom changed itself, so many times, into so many different forms, as did the insect, as did the animal. When all had experimented, there came a short period of rest when there seemed to be no change, as though each had come to a point and did not know where else to go and were waiting for another creation, whose growth process would enable their own growth and still further change. This new creation was called 'human'.

Little one, the human was created, like all, from the spark of light which again was gifted with change, but because this creation came after a process of a growth of other creations, the experiences of others, the evolution of others, a further gift was given to this new creation. This further gift is called 'free will'. It was not really a second gift given. It was more a refinement of the first. It gave the human the power to create himself in whatever way, direction, manner, form that he desired. Thus the human kingdom started and though the first humans resembled you, they did not look like you completely. There were many differences. Their forelimbs were much longer than your own, their brains different, their bodies were composed differently, and their emotional bodies were still very raw. This creation used the gift of change and free will to experiment with different body structures and finally reached a structure that was satisfying. Within each structure it infused a spark of that same light of the Divine. Isn't it wonderful that the Divine Light can express itself in so many ways and yet is complete in itself?

That spark of the Divine Light is the soul; that Divine Light exists in all, not only in the human but in water, in air, in plant, in animal, in fish, in insect, flower, fruit and tree, in all. This must be because this spark of light is joined to the Divine Light by the silver light. It is this spark that gives energy that this physical structure requires to maintain its form. But, Little Blue Flower, let us not forget that the gift given to the human being was a refinement. It was refined in order to include within it the element of free will. This free will gave the human a right to create himself. And how did he choose to do this? He chose to create himself by a process of trial and error. By learning and discarding or learning and accepting. When deciding upon this course, it seemed to be a course that would work, because all experiment follows a trial and error method. Testing the ground, and growing from those experiences. That process of growing through trial, that process of learning and discarding, that process of learning and accepting, was chosen by the human, by you.

As the soul evolves, as the soul overcomes this process of constant learning and discarding and comes closer with the process of merging and accepting, it moves into a different dimensional world, and it is then that the soul, having overcome its own physicality of form can begin to create itself in different forms. Gentle heart, the soul has to overcome one physical form before it can take up the responsibility of many. When it has overcome its physical form, in all its weaknesses, it then has the freedom to move away from this world you call the Earth if it so desires. It then has the freedom to merge with other worlds, it has the freedom to move from one world to another, easily, because it has now experienced itself completely as a spark of light, and who can restrict a spark of light?

Now to answer your question about soul-mates. Dear one, in its journey the soul has experiences with so many different souls, some of which are in several respects similar to the personality and the character of that one soul. These like souls come together in a bond that never breaks; just like you, dear one, gravitate towards those who are like you in thought, in action, in behaviour, and in vibrations. When souls come together, and constantly strive to be together lifetime after lifetime, they form bonds of love which are unbreakable. Those are what you call soul-mates. But you, sweet flower, erroneously think soul-mates to be only those who love you deeply in this physical incarnation. Your soul-mate, little one, is also one who is ready to come before you in a physical incarnation and, out of a selfless soul love shared by you two, agrees to play the role that will give you the most unpleasant experience through which you learn a very difficult lesson. That is your soul-mate, who has desired, for a while, to take on a physical form that will place a very thick veil of forgetfulness upon this soul-love and who will come to you in this physical incarnation, somehow causing you the greatest pain, the greatest anger and all for one reason alone: to help you to grow.

Jade Fire laughed aloud at the look of incredulity that had appeared upon the face of his little friend. Hearing her silent question, he answered: Yes. He too, he is your soul mate. Child, take your mind back to all your unpleasant experiences. Have you not learnt something of value from each event? Have they not resulted in a growth in your strength, and a reduction in your negativities? You nod, little one, but you cannot find it in your heart to thank the one through whose efforts you have grown.

Sweet flower, is there anything that you would not do for the one you love?

Think carefully before you answer. Are you certain that you would do anything, even the most unpleasant task? You answer 'yes'. Now, little one, answer with all the truth in your heart. Would you undertake to do a task that would ask of you meanness, a show of cruelty, and a hostile rejection, only so that your loved one could benefit through this experience? I can see the answer in your eyes, dear one. “Yes, Jade Fire, I now completely understand who is a soul mate. My heart is filled with gratitude for all those who have agreed to do these disagreeable tasks out of such selfless love for me. I am sad that I did not recognize pure, undefiled love, and that I passed such harsh judgment upon those who wished only to help me.�

As tears rolled down her cheeks, Jade Fire left his little friend, knowing all too well that these tears would cleanse her heart of all anger, and soon the purity of the love in her heart would encompass all those who came her way, for she knew now that there were only friends, and a foe was only a friend waiting to be recognized.

Chapter 16 The night was still. In the glow of the fire Little Blue Flower felt a deep sense of peace overcoming her as the waves lapped gently over her toes and cool night breeze played lovingly with her curly hair. She smiled as she looked at her husband and children attempting to build a sand castle in the light of the bonfire. Then turning inwards she called out to her beloved friend to come to her and complete this wonderful scene. She looked at the moonlight flirting with the water and waited for her beloved to answer her call. Then, gently, ever so gently that she could have almost missed it, the breeze became a little cooler and she felt its loving touch upon her cheeks.

Her heart leapt in delight, and without turning she whispered, “I knew you'd come, but you made me wait so long.” “Yes, little one, I did. I wished you to sense completely the wonder of nature and all her elements. Nature has so much to teach you, little flower, and it is now time for you to learn.”

Eagerly Little Blue Flower looked at Jade Fire who had already taught her so much, and asked, “Will you tell me now?”

And Jade Fire said: Look at the gentle water, little one. Water, my child, has the ability to flow. It has the ability to cleanse. But it also has the ability to become contaminated and to contaminate. You must learn from this.

Your emotion of love is a deep river that runs through you. If you dam it up and not allow it to flow, this wonderful sweet water will become stagnant and murky. The full force of water can be experienced only when it is allowed to flow freely, and is not restrained. Will you give your love a limited direction in which to flow? Will you allow only a very few to be touched by its wealth? Little one, water gives life to the parched earth, food to the hungry plants, and quenches the thirst of all. Your love can give life to parched souls, food to starving hearts and quench the thirst of those who have never sipped this nectar before. In doing this it will cleanse you of the fear of loving openly and embracing all. If this water of love is dammed by your fear of rejection, this contamination will soon touch not only your life but the lives of those around you.

Jade Fire turned and seeing silent tears flow down Little Blue Flower's cheeks, he leaned forward and gently lifted a teardrop onto his finger.

Softly he said, “When a tear falls out of the contamination of self-pity it destroys all that your soul strives for; when it falls because your love can no longer be contained within, it frees your spirit which then flies to become one with all. Let your love flow, little one, let your spirit fly.”

After a short silence, Little Blue Flower asked, “What about Fire? What does it have to teach me?”

And Jade Fire replied: Fire has the ability to purify everything that it touches. It has the ability to spread a light that cannot be matched in brightness and purity. But, it also has the ability to burn and destroy. Fire is the strength of all your feelings. Feelings, little one, are mind-controlled.

Feelings can help you to be compassionate, kind, truthful, daring, wise, understanding, and tolerant. The fire of these feelings will purify all your words actions and thoughts. This purity cannot be contained and will spread outwards and touch all with its brilliance and warmth. But, be cautioned, my beloved flower. Feelings of fear, guilt, anger and jealousy, will burn your wonderful soul and this scarred soul will only be capable of burning and destroying all else. Let the fire within you become strong enough to purify all that is unclean, so that its leaping flames will touch the lives of others with warmth and light and not leave in its path the scorched remains of what once was beautiful.

And, dearest one, what helps to fan the fire and help it to grow? Air. Air has the ability to pervade even the smallest opening. It carries with it wonderful smells, it carries with it health and prosperity, but it also carries with it small visible and invisible particles that can cause great harm. It also has the ability to destroy what comes in its path when it uses its full force. The air of your behaviour and attitude will fan the fire of your feelings. When this fire has become large and strong, air will carry to others the essence of the fire itself. It can carry the essence of the Divine Fire within you or it can carry the impurities of the negative feelings you harbour and feed the fire with. Will the air coming from you be sweet smelling, and abundant in its gifts of health and prosperity or will it carry the noxious fumes of bitterness that is within you? Only you, little one, can control this air.

To help you with your answers look to your mother earth. The earth is the womb from where all growth takes place. Within herself the earth has abundance and joy. It gives of itself without question, without asking for anything in return. The world's great forests have grown without any effort from anyone. She asked not for your water, she demanded not your bit of sunshine; she waited not for your sacrifice. The dear earth looked within herself and brought from herself all the wonder that was needed for her to create Life. And she uttered not one word of complaint when she was made barren, when she was left parched and thirsty, when she was forced to take in the harshness released by that to which she had given life. Little one, your answers lie in this sacrifice of the earth. Within her, Earth has all; water, fire and air. All are used only to create. Abundance, joy and love are the gifts she gives consistently. She is parched by the rejection of others, she is made barren by the selfish greed of all, and she still gives of herself

because her spirit is strong within her and is neither fearful of or nor crushed by the impure air, unclean water and scorching heat of the fire that she must face at times.

There was a long silence when Jade Fire had finished and the moon moved behind a cloud. Little Blue Flower looked up and saw not the darkness of the night sky but the faint glow of the moonlight which promised in its shining the coming of dawn.

Chapter 17 “Sweet one, look into this mirror.” With a touch of irritation Little Blue Flower looked into the mirror offered by Jade Fire, and then almost instantaneously burst out laughing. At once, her brow was clear of the frown that had made her look fierce and funny all at the same time. She saw the wide smile on her friend's face and again laughed aloud. Then in mock anger she said, “Now, see what you have done! I was thinking about an annoying situation and how I should change it, and you have disturbed me!” Jade Fire smiled and tousled her curly hair. Serious again, Little Blue Flower pleaded, “Please help me, Jade Fire. How should I change this situation? What should I change?”

And Jade Fire said: What should you change? Not the situation, little one, but your role in it. That requires change. When your role in a situation becomes one that furthers conflict, stress, or agitation, either your own or another's, that is the time to change; to change your role as a contributor to conflict. Do not blame another, do not seek to find what the other has done to you. Only look at you. Some situations will not go away from your life, because in their vastness you have soul lessons of equal vastness to learn.

There are others which will disappear instantaneously as soon as you accept responsibility of the part you have played and determine to change your role. Others will seem not to respond to this change, because the lesson to be learnt is one of acceptance of non-change in others. Have I answered your question, little flower?

Before Little Blue Flower could answer, Jade Fire continued: You wish me to tell you what particular change is required. That, sweet flower, can only be answered by you. But if there is noise within you, the question will remain unanswered. What is required for this inner search, dearest, is Silence. Silence is not only the physical absence of sound. Silence can be experienced even in the clashing and discordant sounds of daily living.

“Then what is silence?” asked Little Blue Flower, greatly puzzled.

And Jade Fire said: Silence is going beyond sound; where sound matters not.

You are caught in a whirlpool of inner noise. Noise of happiness and noise of pain. Noise of calm and noise of anger. Let all your noises be. Silence is

going beyond all noises, all noises, to where you truly are; One with the whole Universe, without any individuality. Noise is the result of an imbalance of energies within you. The male and female energies within you conflict and each tries to get the dominant position. In this conflict there is noise. The first step to achieving silence is to still this conflict. Let me show you how, little one.

Come sit here on the earth and join together the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet. Place your palms close to the centre of your chest.

Now breathe deeply to a slow count of four. No, little one, do not let out your breath at once. Hold your breath in gently till a slow count of four and then very gently release this breath to a slow count of four. Continue to do this, sweet one, till you experience the stillness within you. Do not pay attention to the random thoughts that pass you. Bring the energy from the right side of your body to the centre where your hands are joined. Fill the centre with this energy. Now bring the energy from the left side of your body to the centre and fill the centre with this energy. Experience your self expanding now from the centre as the energy fills you. Continue to breathe deep, long and slow. When you have expanded outwards from the centre, look within, into this centre and ask how you can change your role in this situation. Let your heart listen closely to this answer.

For a long while only the sound of Little Blue Flower's breathing could be heard, and then slowly, very slowly, she opened her eyes. Understanding shone from her and the tension had completely drained. She had looked within and for the first time had experienced the truth of what Jade Fire had told her earlier. All feelings were truly mind controlled. In the balancing of her energies she had broken the stranglehold of her conditioned mind. She had felt nothing, she had heard nothing, she had said nothing; she had experienced Silence. And in the Silence she had found an even greater truth; in unity there are only answers, no questions.

Chapter 18 Little Blue Flower gently rocked the infant in her lap and sang quietly 'Where have you come from baby, dear, out of the Everywhere into the Here.' Sitting close Jade Fire smiled at the lullaby being sung by his little friend. When Little Blue Flower placed the baby in its crib and came and sat down beside him, he said, “Little one, I have answered all your questions. Today you must answer one of mine.” Quickly, wishing to please her dear friend, Little Blue Flower exclaimed, “Of course!”

Jade Fire smiled quietly and in a very soft and loving manner asked, “Little Blue Flower, what are you?”

“I? You know who I am, Jade Fire. I am …….well, I am me, I guess.”

“Silence, Little one. Seek Silence before you answer. I asked 'what are you'.”

Little Blue Flower reached the point of Silence as she had been shown how

by Jade Fire, and then, opening her eyes, answered softly, “I don't know.”

That is the answer. When you start from this point, dearest flower, all answers will be yours. It is only when the Ego, the physicality of your body and mind, is ready to lay itself down to surrender to the Self, can the answer be 'I don't know'. The Ego can not know the answer to this question. Only the spirit Self that you truly are can answer this.

“Jade Fire, you define Ego as the physicality of the mind and body. Is that bad?”

And Jade Fire replied: No, Ego is good dear one. In a physical embodiment, you must have some physical defences which will shield the spark of light that resides within. When the light within has not expanded itself completely and remains within, instead of enveloping you, it needs a shield. The Ego is 'that shield'. But as with many of your defences, you have forgotten that it is merely the defence, the shield. You have erroneously considered this to be you. In this forgetfulness and ignorance, little one, you abuse this wonderful shield.

You say 'I ', dear one. But which 'I' do you refer to? That is the important question. Is it the small 'i', the ego, that is here and now in an illusory

world, experiencing all illusions, so that it can experience reality? Is that small 'i' of greater importance to you than the large 'I'? Little one, I wish you write the alphabet 'I' as a small letter and a capital letter. No, don't ask questions, just yet, sweet flower.

When Little Blue Flower had done what Jade Fire had asked her to do, she placed the paper in Jade Fire's hand.

Drawing her close to him, Jade Fire said, “Now listen carefully, dear one.

Let us look at the small 'i' first, that which represents the Ego. There is a straight line and quite separate from this straight line is a dot. That one straight small line that is separate from the dot is an extremely real manifestation of who you are in physical embodiment. You are one being, mind and body, soul and heart. The dot is always present and without it the 'i' is incomplete. Within this is the point of light that is your higher Self.

Due to the physicality of your existence there forms the separation between the Ego and Self.

Jade Fire smiled at the look of interest and enjoyment on the face of his little friend. He continued: Now let us look at the large 'I'. You have written it in two ways, little one; the first is one straight line. The completeness of you is as this straight line, connecting all without a seam. It is an expression of Creation. The second has one straight line which is the Physical Creation and it also has a horizontal line at the top and bottom. All that was Unity was one expanded whole, and that is represented by the horizontal line at the top. When all that is in physicality, the vertical straight line, becomes Unity again, all will become one expanded whole, the bottom horizontal line.

So you, see, little one, both 'I's are important. Use the ego as a defence as long as you need to do this. Do not become the ego. “Jade Fire I always thought ego was pride, vanity, boastfulness and so on.

You have explained it very differently.�

Yes, little one, but that is only a very small manifestation of the whole Ego, that which you find distasteful. Other manifestations of ego that you are comfortable with, you do not give them these 'labels'. But little one, Ego is all that you are as a physical being, as a mental being. When the Spirit Being that you are is ignored and only the physical and mental beings are given importance that is Ego. When a kind word is spoken to you and you feel a thrill of pleasure that is Ego. When a harsh word is spoken to you and you feel a deep sense of Sorrow that is Ego. When another refuses to

accept your truth and you feel anger and irritation that is Ego. When fear envelops you, because you anticipate a dear one being separate from you, that is Ego. When you desire praise and applause that is Ego. ALL IS EGO because all arises from a sense of expectation.

Jade Fire, go slow, go slow! My 'mental being' is unable to keep pace with you!” Jade Fire laughed aloud and hugged his friend close before continuing.

Little Flower, a simple way in which you can identify for yourself the presence of Ego, is merely to ask yourself, 'was there any expectation involved?' If the answer is 'yes', it is Ego. Let me ask you a few questions, little one, which you will silently answer with 'yes' or 'no'.

Do you always seek the company of others?

When you are tired, do you look for someone on whom you can release your tiredness and frustration?

In your profession, do you look for success and glory?

Are you happy when success knocks at your door?

Does failure, however small, make you sad?

When you read a newspaper do you pass judgement upon that 'corrupt police officer', or that 'dishonest politician'?

Are you filled with a sense of achievement when others believe in what you say and do?

Does it make you angry when someone ignores you?

Are you upset when someone tells a lie about you?

Are you upset when your little child misbehaves near others?

Do you make all efforts to ensure that your child is disciplined in the manner you think is right?

Are you important to yourself?

No, little one, I do not wish you to tell me your answers. I already know them. The only question that you should have answered 'yes' to was the last.

All others were Ego. The last was 'Self'. Is that clearer, my funny friend?

“Yes, it is, but I want you to tell me more about the Self that I am. But, before that define Self.”

And Jade Fire said: Self is the perfect, wonderful combination of mind, body and soul. Self is soul, and self is spirit. If Self is not important to you, then all other questions must be answered with 'yes', because Self has been repressed. When Self is important, another's opinion is not important to you. There is no sense of thrill if another considers you to be 'good' and there must be no sense of disappointment if you are considered 'bad'. Self does not look outward. Self does not need to blame another for feelings

generated by your mind. Self does not need another to make you feel complete and accepted and wonderful.

“Self needs no validation. Is that not right, Jade Fire?”

That is right. You have made good progress, my flower, and now the inward process is constant. Yes, little one, Self needs no validation. Ego requires another to feed it. Ego requires another to make it exist. Ego requires another to nurture it. Self knows It Is! And therefore requires nothing. Then success and failure, opinions, acceptance, rejection, all are outside of the Self and all are illusions. Only Self is real. Ego is a creation of the energy of ignorance. When you are ignorant of all the universal laws that are at work it creates a distance between the Ego and self.

“It is all much clearer to me now. But how did this Ego become so strong a form for all of us, when it is illusion?”

Little one, although illusory, in a world of illusion, Ego is real. At birth Ego is non- existent but soon conditioning is received implicitly and the young one is 'conditioned' by the environment's need of Ego. The infant picks up first from parents and family and then from the entire environment, that Ego is dominant in this world. Self is forgotten.

When the father ensures that only his word is followed in the home, what is the implied lesson? Ego! When a mother retreats in fear, what is the implied lesson? Ego! When the child is given gifts for having attained success, what is the implied lesson? Ego! When a child is chided for failure, what is the implied lesson? Ego! Judgement arises out of ego! And soon, little one, illusion is turned into a conditioned reality.

“There are so many questions that I wish to ask you Jade Fire, but I have learnt what you have taught me. I will not voice these questions at present till I seek for my own truth inside.”

There was no reply to this, because no reply was needed.

Chapter 19 Many weeks later Little Blue Flower was ready to speak to her friend about the Ego and Self. She had not asked and Jade Fire had not given her any answers, respecting and admiring her decision to seek for her own truth. Now that she had placed her truth within her heart she had only one question to ask him. “Jade Fire, how would I react differently as Self rather than Ego? Should I not aim for success? Should I not discipline my children?�

And Jade Fire said: Dearest flower, as Self you would behave as a complete and balanced being of body, mind and soul. Yes, certainly, Self will work and strive hard to be good at the work given. Will it be for the monetary reward? Will it be for the good name? Will it be for the pat on the back? Self will work and strive hard because Self knows that in this striving is growth of Self.

Will Self not discipline the little child? Yes, Little Blue Flower, certainly, Self will discipline, but Self will not control. Self will discipline, but Self will not condition. Self will tear the illusions that the child is surrounded with. And only bring one discipline into the child and that is the discipline of Self. Little one, what discipline have you given when you teach the child to say 'Please' and 'Thank you' at the correct time, but Self is forgotten and Ego makes the child selfish ? What discipline is given to the child when the child is implicitly 'trained' in the art of telling lies? What discipline is given to the child, when the child learns to be successful because accolades and praise, money and power, glory and fame, come with it?

Self will not seek to discipline the child by control and restraint. Self by precept shows the child how to discipline its Self, because Self realizes that each one's path of discipline is different. Self energy differs from Self to Self. Self responds to kindness with a smile that comes out of 'silence'.

Self responds to harshness with a smile that comes out of 'silence'. Self sees all. And Self is the only one that sees all. Ego sees only the illusion and cannot transcend beyond. Self sees both, illusion and reality.

Dear one, Self is love. Self is Light. Self is joy and Self is peace. There are those in your midst, little one, who claim to be looking for means to develop self-respect. Little one, they are looking for means to develop respect in Ego! There can be no such respect for Ego. There can be an 'acceptance' of Ego. Self knows that when tears fall, it is the Ego that has been shattered. Self knows and in this great 'knowing', Self permits the tears to fall. Self feels a thrill when a loved one embraces, but Self knows

that the thrill is of the Ego and in this knowing, Self permits the thrill. In all, Self can see 'illusion' and 'reality'. And when this can be seen, Self will not harm. Because all that Self sees is light. Its own Light illuminates the light that is around. And Self will do nothing to harm it, neither in action, nor in word or in thought.

“In my search for my truth, Jade Fire, I saw that Ego is essential.”

“And little one, you are right. You most certainly require ego. It is only through the transcending of the ego, dear one, that you can raise the energy of the spirit that you are. And so ego must be created. But when you are more aware and the illumination of knowledge has awakened your soul, that illumination must be allowed to let its light fall upon the illusion. A required illusion, but illusion nevertheless.

So, my little one, reach for your pinnacle, but do not reach it for the glory, power or fame. Reach for the pinnacle so that in all that you strive for and achieve the glorious Light of your being will illuminate the darkness of another's ignorance. Discipline Self first, and never will you need to use control or restraint upon a child. The strength of your Self discipline will ensure that the child finds its own pathway of truth.

In all, little one, learn to identify the duality; the duality of illusion and reality. Ego urges you to seek for happiness, Self is JOY; Ego makes you run in circles to find completion in your life, Self is WHOLE; Ego looks desperately for one who will love and be loved, Self is LOVE; Ego fears darkness and loneliness; Self is LIGHT and ALL. Little Blue Flower got up and ran to hug her dearest friend. A thrill ran through her, a thrill filled with the purity of joy and love. And in that moment Little Blue Flower found her Self.

Chapter 20 Several days had passed and somewhere on the roller coaster that is life, Little Blue Flower was again caught in the grip of Ego, and Self was forgotten. The realization of this came to her one night when her eyelids, heavy with sleep, gently came to rest upon her cheeks. Giving a small cry of regret she sat up in bed, and hiding her face in her hands she wept quietly. At once she felt loving arms encircling her and filling her being with love. In a soft voice muffled with tears, she asked, “Why?” And Jade Fire said: My sweet flower, when another outside of yourself does not accept your truth, disbelieves it, sneers, mocks and causes you hurt and pain, you internalize this hurt and place it all in your 'Pandora's box', where all your hurt and pain is locked in and never acknowledged.

And outwardly you say “I have forgotten the slight. It does not make a difference to me any more". Sometimes, my little friend, this hurt is revealed as a wild rage. But, my dearest, in both cases you react with Ego. What you must do now, is cleanse yourself.

With a child like surprise on her face Little Blue Flower looked at her friend and said. “Cleanse? Are you talking of a bath, Jade Fire?”

A broad smile appeared on Jade Fire's face and he said, “Yes, little one, a 'bath'; but a 'bath' that is meant to cleanse you from within. You have been slighted, made to feel small, inadequate, impotent. Do not push this experience away from you because it is hurtful to think of. You must completely experience that moment of pain so that you can completely let it go. When that moment has passed without your full acknowledgment then you must do what I am now going to tell you. This exercise, little one, will help you clear the toxins that result from Ego and again reach the purity of Self.

Sit alone and place a candle before you. Focus upon that light, that flame.

Thoughts are of no consequence. Let them pass you by. Do not make an effort to hold them back. Let them come and go at will. Let the light reach into your inner core to silence the agitation caused by the pain. Breathe in from the universe all its peaceful energy, breathe in from the Divine Consciousness realms all the energy of truth and silence, breathe in from the Earth, all the energy of love, nourishment and nurturing. Let these energies flow within your being, and soon you will find that the agitation

has dispelled. The heartbeat will slow down, and you will experience a new sense of peace and inner calm. Open your heart to what this peace and silence has to say to you. In this moment of reaching Self, make a firm affirmation "I am God". With this affirmation will come the truth that being God, there is no power that can hurt you, there is no power that can influence you and there is power that can rule your life force. With this knowledge, now play out the scene as an observer, only as an observer, my little one. If you once again feel the resonance of the hurt and the anger, stop and bring in the energies again and then continue till you are able to 'live' the moment without the burden of Ego conditioning.

My impatient one, this will not happen in one day, or two, or three.

Believe firmly, little one, as firmly as I believe, that your Soul has the strength to make possible, all that you fear is impossible. Believe that your Soul has the courage to lift all veils, and there will come a time when the inner core will be touched as soon as an action takes place, or a word is spoken, or a thought passes by.

In a voice that was barely audible, Little Blue Flower said, “Isn't this emotional cleansing very difficult, Jade Fire? Will I be able to do this? Is there any way I can go through it easier?”

And Jade Fire replied: Yes, my frightened lamb, yes, it is difficult, but you will do this with courage and joy, knowing that I am always with you. And as the process goes on, and as you make more discoveries about yourself, there will come a completion within yourself that no one and nothing outside of you will be able to diminish.

Sweet flower, physical cleansing makes emotional cleansing an easier process. If you wish to physically cleanse yourself, you must stop putting into your body, those substances that release harmful acids. The body must be brought into an alkaline state. Excessive acids close the channels through which the spiritual energy flows and make it difficult for you to reach the Divine Consciousness levels. But, little one, what is important is, that such foods cannot be stopped all at once. This has to be done as a gradual process and the best way to leave such foods, is when the physical itself feels no desire for them at all.

“What are the foods that will help me, Jade Fire?”

All foods that are provided to you by the plant kingdom. My dear one, the plant kingdom evolved first so that all others could take sustenance from it.

When the human race began its sustenance was derived only from plants fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers, leaves. All these became the source of nourishment and they were eaten in the form in which they give you the largest nutritive value - uncooked. But as human beings began to experience their strength over others, there came a desire to dominate.

And, little one, how best could man dominate but by killing and eating that which he killed? With this the human body began to change so that this form of nourishment could be taken without harm. But with this change the human being left behind the realm of the spiritual and moved into the realm of the material. So you see, my beloved child, you can aid your process of spiritual cleansing by being aware of what you put into you.

“Jade Fire, what should I try to avoid?”

Alcohol, drugs, tobacco, coffee, tea, chocolates, refined flour, sugar, milk, milk products; all these, my little one, can place hindrances in the way of emotional cleansing.

Jade Fire laughed aloud seeing the woebegone look on the face of Little Blue Flower.

“I have to give up coffee and chocolates? Cheese and butter? Cakes and cookies?”

No, little one, no. You do not have to force yourself to do this. Just be aware of the effect these have on you and soon a day will dawn when you will not crave for these any more. Awareness, dear one, awareness is the key.

“The Ego is a hard friend to let go of, and the Self is a hard friend to find!”

“True, very true. But when this has been attained you become the unity of everything that is the Universe. In this unity you lose all fear, anger, guilt, and despair. In this unity you are Joy, Love, Strength, Divine Light. Is that not worth striving hard for, little one?”

There was no reply and Jade Fire saw his little friend smile and nod as she gently drifted off into a peaceful sleep, knowing that the dawn would bring to her the beginning of a new and wonderful journey……the journey of the full discovery of Self.

Chapter 21 It was spring. A time of new beginnings, a time for joy in the knowledge that the cold beauty of winter had been left behind and that ahead lay cheerful opportunities to start everything afresh. Little Blue Flower and her beloved one enjoyed the serenity of Nature that suffused all. Looking ahead to a wonderful spring, Little Blue Flower's thoughts went back to the autumn and winter when the blows of life had come hard and fast, but which she had battled and won with the only weapon given to her by her friend…..Love. This weapon had been used to courageously heal old wounds, to acknowledge and leave behind new ones, and to pierce the hard armour of Ego so that the softness and strong vulnerability of Self could finally come to light.

With a look of peace and joy, she turned to Jade Fire and asked, “Why do you ask me to call you Jade Fire?”

And Jade Fire said: My gentle one, I am the green light of love. In this warmth you have burnt all that you wished to leave behind and the tiny spark within you now shines bright for all others to see. With this jade fire, little one, illuminate the dark world of lost sheep and guide them home.

Your journey has taken many twists and turns and these will now help you to show others where the pitfalls are and to open your heart and hands to those who need comfort on the journey that they will take. Your journey, too, little one, has not come to an end. Look forward joyously to its onward process, but for today enjoy the spring that you so rightly deserve.

With these words Jade Fire embraced his dearest lamb and the glow of light that emanated from them radiated ever outwards adding to the beauty of the spring. In this light could be seen easily the true distinction between the outside world of illusion and inner universe of reality…….a universe so vast, just waiting to be discovered; and yet so wondrously patient, that it knew no time and no space.

With joy in her heart Little Blue Flower realized that it was in this ignorance that all the truth of the universe lay hidden……and she knew that one day she would know it all. Till then she would hold the hand of her friend and let him head the way.

(At certain times Jade Fire has given some poems to me which have helped

me so much and which I share with you. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do and that they inspire you as much.)

AND WHO WILL GREET THE LIGHT And who will greet the Light?

And who amongst you will fall prey to its absence?

And who will rise to greet the Open Doorway?

And who will falter and fall by the way?

And who will glow with the light of inner peace?

And who will stay back to experience fear and disease?

And who will shout and proclaim their own soul?

And who will fear and cling to what is familiar and old?

Who will greet a new dawn with joy and with love?

Who will stand by the wayside knowing neither death nor the Above?

The answer lies within your heart.

The answer must be, of you, a part.

If you can raise your hand and see Only five fingers, Then YOU have not changed to THEE. If you can look down and see but the body, Where will you find the place For that which is not gaudy Nor bright nor dark nor dim.

It is that from which you have come from within.

It is that which seeks and sometimes finds you not.

It is that that whispers, But often, you are out of earshot.

It is that which speaks golden words of Light But how will you hear?

You are busy in a fight.

So who will go on And dare to be alone?

And who would rather be just one, One amongst all the stones?

Will you dare?

Will you care?

Will you share With all?

Or will you be blind?

Will you be deaf?

Will you not answer our prayer?

This Poet has spoken in rhyme and in verse.

And his arms are extended to all, better or worse.

For there is just one 'you' and there is just one 'I' And when you look at the Universe There is only 'I'.

ANSWER TO MY PRAYER FOR INNER PEACE Peace descend on you, oh my soul, From the realms of heaven above, Weep not, want not, for all around you there is love.

Look not for what is not, search not in vain, Rest in peace in His love and become the whole again.

When you stop the search, when you let go the fears, You will have what you yearn for today.

There is only one Love and He is above----He weeps with you----Stop! And pray.

So weep not, gentle soul, but look up and SEE----What you wish for is right here at hand.

There really is a true promised land, Hold His hand and then you will BE. The promises are not empty, the words not in vain, Their meaning is placed before you to search for again.

The Whole is the one, the One is the whole----He is yours, you are His, as was already foretold.

So weep not and want not and do not feel pain.

There is joy , there is love and peace in His domain.

He is yours, you are His, that is a tryst and a pledge, God resides in you and will take you beyond the edge.

POEM RECEIVED 30-3-2000 The blood flows down the mountainside Along the flaming river The mothers cry, the fathers die Along the flaming river.

The dead and dying all abound Along the flaming river The wounded lie there on the ground Along the flaming river The bodies burned , the souls confused Along the flaming river And all around the moans are heard Along the flaming river We need you there each one of you Along the flaming river To heal, to help, to love and light And heal the flaming river If but one can be there now Along the flaming river The river will ebb and slow down Yes, the flaming river You are here but be there now Along the flaming river Your help is asked, your love can cross Over that flaming river.