When I was producing plays on Broadway, by the time rehearsals began, I had nothing to do. I had hired professionals to run each department and I was simply free to watch the production take place. However, if I was not around in mere presence, everything would fall to pieces. Individual human beings instinctively do not want to take the ultimate responsibility. They don't want to be where the buck stops. They can do their jobs as long as they feel they don't have to be God, or in charge.

In fact, we human beings created the concept of a human-like father God so that we would not have to feel responsible, so that we would not have to fully respond. Take a look, and it is easy to see how this happened. As humans, we cannot imagine or conceptualize anything that we have not previously experienced or seen. Once we have the slightest image of a concept, we can expand upon it, but until we can envision a form of some kind, we cannot build on it, and the only forms we can envision are those that we have personally experienced. That is why we have imagined God in human terms with human attributes - father, etc. The danger in this is that it passes the buck to God, leaving us irresponsible for, and unresponsive to, our progress and inner spirit.

In order to avoid the image of a father God as the ultimate responsibility, many have conceived of a divine hierarchy that is directing human evolution; but even so, they think of the hierarchy as a bunch of super human beings who are all wise and all powerful, who will look out for us and make up for our mistakes.

There is indeed a super intelligence, a divine order, which is pushing personal and collective evolution forward as a kind of spiritual chemicalization. That something is subjective, without form. But it does manifest in recognizable shape, within us and as us. Just as there is no separation between cause and effect, we are both our individual selves and we are the hierarchy that is directing our lives.

Still, we fear accepting the knowledge that we are everything we conceive of because we do not want to take responsibility for being it, for being God.

Our refusal to see ourselves as God is understandable. We are so aware of our limitations as human beings that our concept of self is far stronger than and separate from our concept of a divine being. It is possible for us to imagine God in human form, but it is difficult for us to imagine ourselves as the form of God.

Bit by bit we are awakening. This is a remarkable time because more people than ever before are responding to mysticism, to their oneness with and as God. As the process of evolution continues, and this process builds momentum, more and more will respond to their personal divinity.

But in order for this awakening to occur, we must be ready for this realization to take hold. Remember that Jesus said, You cannot come to me unless my Father brings you. Whether or not we are Christians, we can relate to this concept, illustrating that we cannot respond to our divinity, our Christhood, until our spiritual evolution has progressed to that point where the Father quickens our spirit. If anyone responds to the I AM message, he or she has evolved to the point where that sensitivity is active within; otherwise, he or she would not be attracted to mysticism.

We cannot hurry the event of mystical awakening nor can we ignore it, but we can let it grow. We can feed the concept of ourselves as being divine, and bit by bit the divinity will take over. Just as an athlete builds muscles in ratio to the time he or she spends exercising, we can build our mystical realization by exercising our belief in our oneness with and as God.

The prodigal son story is not about returning home but rather of becoming a new person. The prodigal did not return to something he was. He came home to a new awakened self.

Even the predominantly accepted concept of Jesus' resurrection is false. He didn't resurrect his old self as the pre-resurrection Jesus. He went through an experience that changed him into a new person, and took responsibility for being the ascended self.

Whatever we are and wherever we are, the time has come for us to take responsibility for being who we are. Whatever our talk is, the time has come when we can and must walk it. When we do, we may be surprised to find how close to being complete we are the walking presence of God.

Walter Starcke's extraordinary life reads like fiction, but it's true! On his quest for life's ultimate answers and with his uncanny ability to perpetually reinvent himself, he has donned the role of modern mystic, Broadway producer, successful business entrepreneur, powerful keynote speaker and author of six best-selling books. His most current book, "Joel Goldsmith & I, The Inside Relationship with a Modern Mystic," reveals the private side of Joel Goldsmith and the sometimes tumultuous and often inspiring experiences included in their 18 year relationship.

At the young age of 86, Starcke continues to amaze and inspire with his teachings that close the gap between our divinity and our humanity. He lectures nationwide, and offers seminars and intensives in select cities. For more information on Starcke's books, tapes and lecture dates contact the Guadalupe Press, P.O. Box 865, Boerne, Texas, 78006 or call 830-537-4655.

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