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Word Gems
exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity
Franchezzo
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Universal principle, for good or ill, rules the Dark Realms. We’ve seen, in play, the exacting “grinding the lust for sin out of the soul,” but there is also a universal shining star of delight beginning to rise in those calamitous climes. It is “what we stay alive for.”
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Editor's prefatory comment:
Franchezzo has narrowly escaped a trap laid for him by the vile ancestor.
Now, recovering himself, before continuing his arduous and dangerous missionary work, he is addressed by a superintending Guide.
So much of what occurs in the Dark Realms issues as universal principle, a justice and lesson-plan that all must negotiate. We see this in what we've called the prime directive, that "the lust for sin must be ground out of the soul." This precept applies to everyone, no matter the current world of habitation.
But universal principle applies to good things, too. And the Guide now underscores what Franchezzo already knows, lives by every moment, and can never forget.
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“Take heed now while you yet remain in his sphere, that you do not again lose the sovereignty over yourself which is your own and which no man can usurp unless your wavering will allows him to do so.
'your reward shall come from her'
“I leave you again, my son, to follow still your pilgrimage which will soon, however, draw to its close, and I bid you be of good cheer since your reward shall come from her whom you love, and who loves you, and sends ever her most tender thoughts to you."
Editor's commentary:
I hadn’t thought this through.
While it’s been clear that Franchezzo’s girl, his “angel of light,” as he calls her, has influenced him greatly, even from the first moment he met her, and then throughout his many dangerous missionary escapades – I hadn’t thought this through.
'angel of light'
Time and again, during his rehabilitation, he would credit his “angel of light” as the driving source of his resolve to improve himself, to shake off and to rise above his past life of selfishness.
And even though I’ve known, and written about, the Guides’ instruction that true mates are given to each for their mutual spiritual evolvement; that, without their desire to be with each other, to please each other, to make each other happy; I had relegated Franchezzo’s ardor for his true one, and his resultant fairly-rapid recovery, as an anomaly of the Dark-Realms induced misery.
two universal principles
But there’s much more going on here than one man’s quest to come back both to his girl and to “the light.” We are witnessing another universal principle in play – I call it “what we stay alive for” -- as potent, indeed, far more so, than the impactful rubric of “the lust for sin ground out of the soul.”
rotting and languishing
In fact, these two mega universal principles, I feel, are closely linked. Look at the evidence. There are millions, perhaps billions, still remaining in the Dark Realms – with new ones taking up residence every day – and some have been rotting and languishing there for centuries. Why don’t these hapless throw in the towel, decide to change, and allow the process of “grinding the lust for sin out of the soul” to have its way?
I think the reason becomes clear. They can find no incentive to change. They would rather luxuriate in feelings of revenge, victimhood, or bitterness. Let’s recall in an early chapter, the “angel of light” brought her lover up short with the jabbing comment, “Do you love your feelings of revenge more than me?”
look how fast he changed - so why not the others
And this is real issue, isn’t it? For many, poisonous sentiments are paramount in the mind. But look how fast Franchezzo reinvented himself in the “sewer pits”! In less than a year, he was up and running as a spiritually-motivated, positive-minded man. Why not the others? The answer is clear, he had his reason to “stay alive for” but his compatriots did not.
An image is coming to mind. In “The Wedding Song” we discussed a lesson derived from the story of Adam in the garden; metaphorical, but very instructive, nonetheless.
existential crisis in paradise
Adam had just “named” all the animals. In this exercise of classification, he witnessed that they all had their mates, each had a companion with which to explore life. But Adam sat there looking at all this camaraderie and realized that he had no one. And this sent him into existential crisis. He had no reason to “stay alive for.”
one of the great paradoxes
It is one of the great paradoxes of life and creation. Each of us was, in a sense, created with a perfect soul – complete, whole, immortal, needing nothing – except for one thing, a companion to share all of life.
What Franchezzo experienced in the Dark Realms, his resolve and determination to improve himself just to be with her again, taps into a universal necessity and impetus. We cannot be perfected, to the required degree, without a vision of one’s Darling Companion.
Without her, we might very well rot and molder in the “rat cellar” for thousands of years. And why not? – without her, there’s no reason to “stay alive for.”
'she is your reward'
As the ancient Guide admonished, "she is your reward." Is there another?
What this means is that there's really only one "reward" for each of us. This becomes clear when we consider the status of those who insist on remaining in dark places.
Potentially, seemingly, they have everything. They have immortal life, cannot die, have bodies which cannot be hurt, they could go to Summerland and travel the universe, just for the asking... but they do not.
They're like the bereft Adam. They can't come up with a reason to enjoy life and live happily forever. Romantic love, in this world and in Summerland, said Spirit Guide Margaret, constitutes “all that makes life tolerable”.
Editor's note: Later, after his journeys through hell had been completed, and now, with a much higher spirituality having been attained, Franchezzo entered Summerland and enjoyed a beautiful home -- much of it covered in roses and honeysuckle -- picturesquely situated on a hilltop, overlooking a placid lake. But something, or someone, for this son of Adam, was missing from the happy tranquility:
"Shall I confess that even in that beautiful home there were times when I felt lonely? I had this home, earned by myself, but as yet - I had no one to share it with..."
the higher you advance, the greater one's vibrational essence becomes, the more difficult it is to visit the Earth
"I was often on earth—often with my darling—but I found that with my advanced position in the spirit world I could not remain for so long at a time as I had been wont to do. It had upon my spirit much the effect of trying to live in a foggy atmosphere or down a coal mine, and I had to return more frequently to the spirit land to recover myself."
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