Recording 308B, “Primal Consciousness – Its Dawning, continued,” from the 1960 Seattle Closed Class, is one of four sources for Chapter 6, “The Light Breaking Through,” in Consciousness Is What I Am.
7/25/24: Please note that we have posted an additional source recording for this chapter. It is recording 309A, titled “The Light Breaking Through,” also from the 1960 Seattle Closed Class. You can access the recording on the same page as Recording 308B. To listen by telephone, call 1-641-715-3900 and enter 767432#.
To download or print these study suggestions, click/tap here.
The theme of our study book is Consciousness is what I am. We are now halfway through the book, and looking back, we can see that each chapter has advanced our understanding that we are not body or mind; we are consciousness. The first six chapters also focused on how we can evolve our state of consciousness and ultimately experience ourselves as that perfect, infinite consciousness that we were in the beginning. Those chapters also highlighted the indicators of evolving consciousness.
In Chapters 5 and 6 of Consciousness Is What I Am, Joel discusses evolving states of consciousness in terms of “the Light breaking through,” describing how the Light breaks through to individual consciousness and to the consciousness of mankind. The recordings and the chapter are exceptionally clear on this.
For this optional study, we encourage you to actively engage with some Bible passages in light of what you have learned from the chapter and the source recording. The idea of divine light breaking through and how it manifests was expressed in the Bible centuries ago, and it is interesting to consider these Bible passages from the perspective that Joel presents.
1. “I Have Chosen You”
In Chapter 6, “The Light Breaking Through,” Joel quotes from the Gospel of John, Chapter 15, verse 16:
“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.”
Many students find this Bible verse confusing. They ask, “If God is no respecter of persons, why are some chosen and others not?”
It is important to note that the Bible verse does not imply, “I have chosen you and not others.” This verse is spoken to all, universally. As Joel has said, we are all “chosen” because every individual IS already one with God, despite the so-called “adamic experience,” which caused us to accept the belief in two powers and created a sense of separation from God. So the issue is not whether or not one is “chosen,” but whether we recognize that we are already “chosen” and that it is up to us, through our own spiritual practice, to come into the fullness of that realization and return to our original state of consciousness, which is oneness.
“You have not chosen me” means that since you are already “chosen” by virtue of your oneness with God, your own efforts have had nothing to do with that oneness.
It may appear that some are chosen and not others, but this is simply because every individual evolves at a different pace. Some may seem to evolve more quickly, but that is only because of their developed receptivity and preparation, and we have no way of knowing how long or even how many lifetimes it took them.
In Recording 556A, Joel clearly answers a question from a student about this Bible passage from the perspective of the light breaking through. Here is the relevant excerpt from that part of the recording transcript:
Q: Please talk about “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.” God does not play favorites, so please explain why some are chosen and its relation to evolving consciousness.
A: It really means that as you evolve from state and state and state and state, that at last, you return to where you were in the beginning with all of the glory you had with God in the beginning. And therefore, it really wasn’t our efforts that drew us back to God. It is that the primal substance, Consciousness, has been drawing us back to Itself. In other words, it is like a bucket of water into which we throw dirt. The dirt cannot remove itself, but by some law or other, it will eventually settle to the bottom and leave the water as pure as it was in the beginning.
And so it is, that the consciousness which I am, and which had thrown into it the dust of the Adamic dream—the murder, the slavery, the belief in two powers—none of that changed the consciousness which I am from its perfection. But it hid it. And now, as the consciousness which I am continues to burn brightly as the sun, it dispels the clouds. The clouds will not dispel themselves; they would stay there forever, left to themselves. But the sun shining through disperses them, dispels them, dissolves them. And so, the fact that I start with infinite, pure consciousness means that regardless of my deviltry or meanness today, there is a force working in me and through me, gradually dispelling it. And over the centuries, eventually it dissolves every single bit of that evil and corruption that has been taken on, until eventually, I find myself closer to what I was in the beginning, with the glory that I had with God before the earth was.
And then I cannot claim credit, because as a human being, I would never be other than a human being. It’s such a comforting thing—self-preservation is the first law of nature. It enables us to kill the burglar that comes into our home when he’s hungry. It enables us to murder our neighbors under the name of war. It enables us to deprive our neighbor of his money when we need it or want it. Oh, it gives us an excuse for all our deviltries—self-preservation.
But, as this pure consciousness works in you, you must eventually come to the place where you will say, “Is my life more precious in the eyes of God than Russian lives or Japanese lives? Do I have any right to snuff out their lives to save mine, or isn’t that a part of the Adamic experience?” And eventually, you will come to understand why the Master said, “What greater thing can you do than to lay down your life for another?” In the understanding of just this: Is my life of more importance in the eyes of God than the burglars? Isn’t it possible that the burglar next year may be a saint? I know that the church has a character who was pretty bad, according to his own confession—Saint Augustine. And just think if somebody had found it necessary to murder him. Oh no, no. . . .
We never choose God. We never choose the spiritual life. We never choose to go on a spiritual path, because a human being is not capable of it. A human being is a creature separate and apart from God. But at some part of our evolution, the light breaks through, and drives us, and puts us on the path. Now the reason more do not stay on the path is that it is not an easy way. The way is straight and narrow, and few there be that can take it. The reason is this: “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
In other words, if you are enjoying good human health, the chances are the best way to get you to turn to God is to take that health away from you. God doesn’t take it; God has no knowledge of good health or bad health. But the fact that the light is breaking through starts to break up that physical health, because physical health is not of God. Physical health is just an accident of nature—some have it, and some haven’t it. Some are born with it, and some aren’t born with it. It’s beyond the control of anyone whether they’re sick or well. If God gave health, we’d all be healthy, but physical health is not health. And therefore, if we cling to a physical sense of health, the chances are that that light breaking through will break up that physical health to force us to make the transition to spiritual harmony, spiritual wholeness, immortality.
In the same way, if we cling to the belief that money is supply, or property is supply, it may be that that light breaking through will deprive us of our supply, of our money, so that we lose that false sense of money as supply and learn through the experience of the spiritual nature of supply.
So it is that the evils—that which the world calls evil—that you are aware of in the world today aren’t evil at all; it is the breaking up of evil. Christ is now entering all human consciousness, and in doing it, it is breaking up the old, crusty patterns. The nations that held other nations in subjection are finding those nations taken away from them forcibly if they won’t give them up voluntarily. The nineteenth-century capitalism that would not undertake the responsibility for its working people, the government stepped in and is forcing them to do something about it, painfully. The unions stepped in and compelled them to do something, painfully. All of these things—strikes, lockouts, wars—we call all of this evil. But those very evils are breaking up the evils that have been encrusted in human consciousness, and out of it will come good.
And so it is, do not believe for a moment that any evil is taking place on earth today. All that you are witnessing is the breaking up of the evils that formerly existed, and it is coming through in many forms. I do not have to remind you that in the Roman Catholic faith, it has been the custom to condemn sinners, to excommunicate sinners, to threaten them with centuries of living in purgatory, and so forth before they receive forgiveness. And all of that is being changed right now in that church, to the extent that on April 9th, Pope Paul visited a prison in Rome and said to the men, “I am not here for any romantic or any humanitarian reason. I am here to tell you I recognize Christ incarnate in you.” To sinners in prison! Do you see that there is a breaking up of the evil?
2. The Gospel of John
The Gospel of John speaks of the coming of the Light.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the LIGHT of men.
5 And the LIGHT shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the LIGHT, that all men through him might believe.
8 He was not that LIGHT, but was sent to bear witness of that LIGHT.
9 That was the true LIGHT, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Joel gives a beautiful explanation of this Bible passage in the spirit of “the light breaking through” in Recording 442A:
The Word was God. God is the Word, the Infinite, but God sent his only begotten Son into the world, into the consciousness of men. The Word, God, Spirit, became flesh, that is, became the Son of God in the consciousness of men. But the consciousness of most men was dark, so that it could not receive or believe in the Son of God. But to those who could receive, to those who had some measure of spiritual intuition and could perceive, to them the Son of God came and was received, and made it possible for us—that is, men—to likewise become Sons of God. Now let us watch this as this takes place in your consciousness and mine.
Think of yourself first as you were—a human being—before you learned of a spiritual message. When you thought of God as some far-off being, probably sitting on a cloud or up in heaven; when you thought of God as a sort of superhuman being, sort of super-father who rewarded you when you were good, if he happened to notice it; who punished you when you were evil, which he always noticed. In your darkened days, when you thought of God as a sort of super Santa Claus whom, if you could please, would condescend to do something for you, and if you displeased, would hold you in some kind of darkness or punishment.
Now think of yourself at that time, and if you can, try to remember how completely separate and apart you were from a divine influence, from a divine presence or power. How, in that darkened stage, you had to depend on yourself alone for your progress through life—earn your living by the sweat of your brow, study the hard way, the difficult way, go through life subject unto all of its laws—health laws, economic laws, legal laws—many of them unjust, under the domination sometimes of family, and sometimes of government, depending on where you lived. Think of yourself in those days with no access at all to anything of a spiritual nature that could solve your problems for you, or that could be of help to you in an emergency.
And then let me say this to you. At that very time, this Word that was made flesh, the Son of God, dwelt in you. It was in you, but with so much darkness that you could not perceive it; you did not know that it was there. It was a spiritual darkness. It was a spiritual darkness brought upon you by an ignorance of this truth. You did not know that within you, closer to you than breathing, was this Word made flesh, the Son of God, the light of the world, the creator of the world, of your world. And so you struggled by yourself with whatever measure of human wisdom you had, with whatever measure of human strength you had, or human influence or pull.
Now, as you come close to a spiritual revelation, it is told you, “Know ye not the kingdom of God is within you? Know ye not you are the temple of God? Know ye not that the Son of God, the Christ dwelleth in you?” And because you have been divinely led to this revelation, you believed, you hoped, you felt some manner of conviction: “This sounds like the truth; this is what I believe or what I would love to believe—that I am not alone in the world, that God has not sent me out into this world and then abandoned me. But rather, I would believe that God has placed me on this earth that I may glorify Him. But how can I, in my sins, in my diseases, in my false appetites, in my poverty? How can I glorify God in that way? For in my struggle to survive, or even just to care for my family, how can I glorify God?”
The answer is, “You can’t.” But if so be the Spirit of God dwelleth in you, then you become the child of God, and if a child, an heir, joint heir to all the heavenly riches. And so your first instruction in spiritual wisdom reveals to you that you are no longer to look up into the skies; that when you hear this, “I shall look up into the hills from whence cometh my help,” I will know that hills or mountains refer to those high places in consciousness, the higher estate of consciousness, the higher places in my consciousness. So that when I turn to the highest sense of myself, when I turn to the Christ of God that is lifted up in me, turn to this kingdom within me, I am looking the hills. I am on that mountaintop for forty days of communion with this Christ that is within me.
Now my vision turns within and upward, upward within me, up into the high places of my consciousness where I will discern that the Word has become flesh and dwells in me. We will learn now what happened to Saul of Tarsus on the road, when in a blinding flash he is blinded to all of his ignorance, to all of the past, to everything that he knew before. He can no longer see it; he is no longer aware of it, and then when all of his former beliefs have been wiped out, and he is a pure vessel, sight is restored to him. But this is spiritual vision, and now he knows the light is shining within me. The light, which is Christ, is shining within me. The Son of God has been raised up in me.
3. Other Bible Verses About the Divine Light
We suggest that you look over this selection of Bible quotations relating to the light breaking through and choose one or more that catches your attention or resonates with you. Then contemplate it, considering what you have learned in the study chapter and recording.
You may recall that Joel suggested that we might gain more insight into a Bible passage by considering several translations of that passage. For each of the passages below, we have presented two versions: the King James Version (KJV) and the New Living Translation (NLT). It’s worth noting that most online Bible sites allow you to view many other translations, should you want to consider them as well.
Isaiah 9:2
2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great LIGHT: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the LIGHT shined. (KJV)
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2 The people who walk in darkness will see a great LIGHT. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a LIGHT will shine. (NLT)
1 John 1:5
5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is LIGHT, and in him is no darkness at all. (KJV)
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5 This is the message we heard from Jesus[c] and now declare to you: God is LIGHT, and there is no darkness in him at all. (NLT)
Luke 11: 34-36
34 The LIGHT of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of LIGHT; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.
35 Take heed therefore that the LIGHT which is in thee be not darkness.
36 If thy whole body therefore be full of LIGHT, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of LIGHT, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee LIGHT. (KJV)
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34 Your eye is like a lamp that provides LIGHT for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with LIGHT. But when it is unhealthy, your body is filled with darkness.
35 Make sure that the LIGHT you think you have is not actually darkness.
36 If you are filled with LIGHT, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with LIGHT.” (NLT)
Ephesians 5:8-9
8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye LIGHT in the Lord: walk as children of LIGHT. 9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) (KJV)
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8 For once you were full of darkness, but now you have LIGHT from the Lord. So live as people of LIGHT! 9 For this LIGHT within you produces only what is good and right and true. (NLT)
Isaiah 60:1-3
1 Arise, shine; for thy LIGHT is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.
2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy LIGHT, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. (KJV)
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1 Arise, Jerusalem! Let your LIGHT shine for all to see. For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you.
2 Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you.
3 All nations will come to your LIGHT; mighty kings will come to see your radiance. (NLT)
Isaiah 42:16
16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness LIGHT before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them. (KJV)
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16 I will lead blind Israel down a new path, guiding them along an unfamiliar way. I will brighten the darkness before them and smooth out the road ahead of them. Yes, I will indeed do these things; I will not forsake them. (NLT)
Psalm 18:28
28 For thou wilt LIGHT my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. (KJV)
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28 You LIGHT a lamp for me. The Lord, my God, LIGHTS up my darkness. (NLT)
Isaiah 58:8-11
8 Then shall thy LIGHT break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.
9 Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy LIGHT rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day:
11 And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. (KJV)
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8 Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
9 Then when you call, the Lord will answer. “Yes, I am here,” he will quickly reply, “Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!
10 Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your LIGHT will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.”
11 The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. (NLT)
Psalm 37: 5-6
5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the LIGHT, and thy judgment as the noonday. (KJV)
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5 Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.
6 He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. (NLT)
Micah 7:8
8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a LIGHT unto me.
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8 Do not gloat over me, my enemies! For though I fall, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my LIGHT.
Psalm 18:28
28 For thou wilt LIGHT my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. (KJV)
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28 You LIGHT a lamp for me. The Lord, my God, LIGHTS up my darkness.
1 Peter 2:9
9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous LIGHT; (KJV)
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9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful LIGHT. (NLT)
Isaiah 60:19-20
19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting LIGHT, and thy God thy glory.
20 Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting LIGHT, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. (KJV)
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19 No longer will you need the sun to shine by day, nor the moon to give its light by night, for the Lord your God will be your everlasting LIGHT, and your God will be your glory.
20 Your sun will never set; your moon will not go down. For the Lord will be your everlasting LIGHT. Your days of mourning will come to an end.
What other Bible passages or stories can you think of that embody this message of the Light breaking through?
Supplementary Recording
We have posted a second source recording for Chapter 6, “The Light Breaking Through.” This is recording 309A, titled “The Light Breaking Through,” also from the 1960 Seattle Closed Class. The recording is posted on the same page as Recording 308B. To listen by telephone, call 1-641-715-3900 and enter 767432#.