The Light in Britain

Continuing in the same vein as my previous post on this blog I would like to draw readers' attention to another channelled message about the spiritual significance of Britain. I know that some people might roll their eyes at the idea of placing credence in any communication that comes in this fashion, but my view is that, if you exercise discrimination, there is wisdom to be found. I would never say that one should place full confidence in any channelled message. Indeed, I think that in the majority of cases channellings come from spirits not far removed from this physical world and so are not interesting in any way. Certainly not in any spiritual way. And that's just taking the ones that might be regarded as genuine into account and ignoring those that are fake, the product of delusion or even demonically inspired. But there are some that do carry the imprint of something higher, and I think the one I am looking at here falls into this category.

The medium in this case was a woman called Grace Cooke and the spiritual being that communicated through her was known as White Eagle which seems an appropriate sort of name for a spirit communicating from up on high. Most of the communications from White Eagle do have a real spiritual tone to them, I feel. There is a strong sense of goodness and purity even if some might find them a little sentimental on occasion, though that may be more of a comment on me than them.

White Eagle generally gave spiritual teachings describing the love and beauty of the higher worlds and teaching a simple way to conform oneself to those worlds whilst in this one. They are what might be called Christocentric in that, though not conventionally Christian, they place Christ at the pinnacle of creation and regard him as the supreme spiritual teacher for mankind. There are several small volumes of these teachings which came out in the 1960s and '70s. The one I am examining here was called The Light in Britain. It was published in 1971 and mostly describes trips made by the authors to certain ancient sites in England and Wales, Avebury, Maiden Castle, Wayland's Smithy and so on, together with some clairvoyant impressions of what may have taken place at these sites in the prehistoric past. But there are also a few messages from White Eagle, one of which, slightly abbreviated, I would like to quote here. With due acknowledgement to the authors of the book, Grace and Ivan Cooke, another husband and wife team.

From "The Light in Britain"

'The Brotherhood of the Great White Light is coming into full and glorious manifestation again.  It will come into the hearts of tried and tested souls in groups of the White Brotherhood which will exist all over the world;  but remember the origin of this Brotherhood of the Great White Light is here in the mystic isle of Britain. The spirit of the god-men who first came to this ancient land of Britain still lingers to inspire the people of this land. When as a nation you understand your great heritage, when you arise in the spirit of Christ, you will draw to yourself all the nations. And although your land may not again be mighty in temporal power, it will once again become the centre of a great spiritual power for it is its destiny to rise again to become a spiritual leader of the world.

Britain would at the present time appear to be in need of strength and help. Some pessimists may think that her power, her usefulness, is fading. But this is not so. We tell you that within the soul of Britain is a light which will raise your whole country to become a spiritual and moral leader of the whole world. Be true to the light in Britain. Rise in spirit and fight the battle of spirit over darkness, over the destruction of the lower mind and the ugliness which now prevails on the physical plane. Make your stand for truth.

Let all your prayer and spiritual effort be dedicated to this end for even thus you will hasten the coming of Christ's kingdom upon earth.'

What is one to make of this? Is it the product of wishful thinking, well-meaning but over-patriotic children of empire seeking new purpose in the world once their empire has gone? Or is there some substance to it? I am reminded that once the political glory of Rome had departed she became the centre of a spiritual empire that was probably the greatest the world has yet seen. That didn't always go as well as it might have done but still the spiritual impact on humanity was profound. Could there be something similar destined to happen here?  My strong feeling is that this is not just spiritual patriotism but insight into a truth that finds a powerful resonance with many people on a level that far transcends petty nationalism. This doesn't mean that other countries may not have spiritual significance and destinies of their own but that of Britain does seem to be important at this time.

The future path of Britain is here connected in some way to her prehistoric past, and to the ancient stones and sacred sites that exist throughout the land which still speak to us in some indefinable but powerful way today. There is the idea that there is a light in Britain, a spiritual force, which is currently dormant but can be revived if we bend our hearts and minds and wills towards that end. But this is no easy matter. Merely wanting to do it is no use at all. There has to be a real spirit of dedication and desire to serve behind our motive. And there has to be proper sensitivity to what this light signifies not just some New Age search for higher consciousness. This means there must be devotion to Christ. If that is lacking then our search is going to be stained by self-interest for only Christ can really take us out of ourselves. And the light in Britain is directly linked to the light of Christ. This is the true meaning behind the metaphor of the Grail, I would say.

The quote mentions the White Brotherhood. This is a name for the company of saints who have kindled the Christ light within themselves and who now serve from the heavenly worlds as guides and mentors for those they think of as their younger brothers, us. In the distant past some of these beings may have lived among mankind but they have long since withdrawn so that we may progress and become fully conscious saints ourselves, not really possible if we are being spoon-fed our spirituality which, to be real, has to come from within. But these guides still serve as messengers from God to humanity for those who are able to raise their thoughts and hearts to the appropriate spiritual level. The law seems to be that we are all links in a chain and the higher serve the lower who, in turn, can learn from the higher so, even though we all have our personal connection to God, we can still call on those who have gone before for aid and guidance. This doesn't replace our relationship with God but can help it to grow.

The two passages I have quoted in this post and the previous one are not connected in any way but they offer a similar message. First and foremost, it is a message of hope. But it is also a call to work. There may be a light in Britain but it is not going to shine unless enough people, as the extract here says, let all their prayer and spiritual effort be dedicated to that end. This means people everywhere because if this light truly is linked to Christ then it may be in Britain but it is a universal light.