This is a day that’s been observed since 1952 worldwide that coincides with this Festival of Goodwill: it’s called World Invocation Day.
Robert: Welcome. Inner sight is simply seeing that which is always present but not yet fully recognized. You have within you the ability to see yourself and the world around you in a new way, with new eyes, so stay with us and together we’ll look at the world and ourselves with Inner Sight. Today’s topic is the Festival of Goodwill and before we explore that topic we have to give credit to Alice Bailey, the founder of the Lucis Trust organization. She wrote twenty-four volumes of spiritual philosophy literature. All the dialogue that you hear on this show emanates from the works of Alice Bailey, as does the following thought: “The hope of the world lies in the development of goodwill, not peace as the word is usually interpreted, but the cultivation of a spirit of goodwill intelligently applied.” Can you tell us something about the Festival of Goodwill?
Sarah: Yes, it’s the third of the three spiritual festivals. We’ve talked in past programs about the Festival of Easter, which is the great Western Christian festival, the Festival of Wesak, which is the great Eastern festival that’s observed by Buddhists worldwide, and which in the Ageless Wisdom teaching is seen as a festival in which not only the Buddha, but his brother, as he is called, the Christ, cooperate together to release the forces of enlightenment into humanity. Now at this third festival, the Festival of Goodwill, the Christ representing the Spiritual Hierarchy or the Kingdom of Masters releases the energy of pure love into humanity. All of these three spiritual festivals recur each year. They form what is called the higher interlude of the annual cycle. This is the time of year—these three festivals—when spiritual stimulation is said to be the most acute and powerful. And these three festivals coincide with the three full moons of Aries, Taurus, and Gemini. Those of you who are astrologers, don’t call us up and tell us that these are actually the full moons of Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius. We know that. But because the Ageless Wisdom regards the position of the sun as of real spiritual importance and not the moon, they are called in the Ageless Wisdom the festivals of Aries, Taurus, and Gemini. Those of you who aren’t interested in astrology, never mind. (laughter) So at this Festival of Goodwill, there’s an element of release, wouldn’t you say, of completion, about the flow of energy that’s poured into human consciousness?
Dale: Yes, this energy was— as you recall from our discussion on the Wesak Festival— actually released by the Buddha and received by the Christ at the Wesak Festival, and then it’s been held by the Christ in the hierarchy for the period of one month to be released at this time of the Festival of Goodwill. And this is the time when the Christ and the hierarchy come together and distribute this energy actually into human consciousness by using the energies of the mantric sounds of the Great Invocation.
Sarah: And that brings up a day that’s been observed since 1952 worldwide that coincides with this Festival of Goodwill: it’s called World Invocation Day. It’s a day to be observed throughout the world in June when the Great Invocation is sounded in churches, in gatherings, meditation gatherings, it’s posted in newspapers, it’s distributed in print, it’s sounded over radio and television stations worldwide, and in many of the seventy-five languages that the Great Invocation has been translated into. That’s the prayer that ends each of these programs for those of you who listen regularly. So, it’s known, you could say, exoterically or in its outward form as World Invocation Day, and it’s a day of worldwide prayer and appeal. What I find interesting about this festival, which is called sometimes the Festival of Humanity as well as the Festival of Goodwill, is that it depends upon the active engagement of humanity’s cooperation to be effective. The writings of Alice Bailey say that the forces of reconstruction are released at this time. These are spiritual energies that foster the rebuilding of the outer aspect of life on earth, the institutions you could say, the objectified living of our world are stimulated by these inpouring spiritual energies.
Dale: And the energy of goodwill is probably the strongest building energy that is available if humanity has the will to use it. And certainly, the world right now needs a considerable amount of reconstruction, even at the physical level.
Sarah: Especially when you think of the war in Iraq and in Afghanistan.
Dale: And not only at the physical level, but there needs reconstruction at the mental level, too, because certain ideas have to be reconstructed, which will lead to a more balanced and peaceful world.
Sarah: I think people probably aren’t accustomed to thinking of ideas as something that is constructed or that is a form. But in fact, ideas are what are called thought forms. They are constructions of our minds and they guide and mold the whole pattern of our thinking.
Dale: Absolutely, and it’s in fact the constructions and reconstructions that go on in the mental processes of human consciousness that are the most potent really and the most effective because that’s where all the building really begins.
Sarah: This was the great discovery of the Buddha when he made his enlightenment. He attained release from the grip of desire and from the grip of the material plane and from the illusion that we are separate from one another, separate from our fellow human beings. He was released from the grip of all those forms and probably the most conditioning and powerful forms are those ideas that we live by that we think make up the reality of the world; many of them are erroneous and need to be discarded.
Dale: Right, many of them are just glamours and the illusions that we’ve created around ourselves and these have to be broken down and rebuilt in a new way.
Sarah: And that’s what lies behind the release of these courses of reconstruction at this festival. So, it’s a Festival of Goodwill. It’s also the Festival of Humanity because humanity has to do this reconstruction on the physical plane. That’s where our responsibility comes in. The inner divine powers stimulate our capacity to do this reconstruction, but ultimately it’s up to us to rebuild the world we live in.
Robert: You hear the word goodwill a lot, and it’s almost become a cliche, phrases like peace on earth to men of goodwill. So, we hear these references to goodwill very often, but what does it really mean?
Sarah: Goodwill is really a tremendous potency, but one that’s been undeveloped, basically, within humanity. It hasn’t been recognized as a real potency. I think too often, goodwill is thought of as kind of passive, reactive, position, a kind of empty but harmless response to the world when in fact it’s a conditioning and creative force.
Dale: It’s humanity’s first attempt to express love and that comes from the writings of Alice Bailey. It’s a rather unique way of looking at goodwill because it is our first attempt to express the energy of divine Love in the world. And it is a very constructive energy. It’s a building energy that is needed to build right relationships because these right relationships are the forerunners of peace. Everybody is striving and crying out for peace in the world, but until there are right relationships between all peoples and nations, there won’t really be peace.
Sarah: And goodwill is something that we can all begin to experiment with in our own personal lives. If you think of a particular relationship or a particular problem that you have, either with another individual or with a group of people or with your co-workers or whatever, try considering the resolution of that problem through your own efforts to bridge the gap or cleavage in understanding. In other words, make the effort to go out to that person or that group with an attitude of positive, constructive, healing energy. Not to settle a score, not to put anything right, simply the energy of goodwill that crosses the gap between you; you might be amazed at the response. One classic example occurred when Anwar Sadat, the president of Egypt, went to Israel. Egypt had been at war with Israel in the 1968 war and again in 1973. Finally, having had enough of war, Sadat made the very courageous decision to go to Israel and meet with Begin, and it was an astonishing expression of goodwill, I think, and it led to the signing of a peace treaty that has been observed till this day. You can apply that same kind of creative bridging commitment to resolution of conflict in your own life, and probably in a multitude of ways. Stop trying to settle a score, stop trying to be the one who’s right, and just be the one who makes the first step toward a new beginning.
Dale: And this goodwill doesn’t just occur, just doesn’t pop up out of the blue. It has a divine connection. It has a divine Source, and the Source of goodwill is what they call the Will to Good, which is a divine Energy that emanates from the highest spiritual point on this planet from that center called Shambhala. It’s the will to good, the will that builds for the whole and not just for the part.
Robert: In what ways is goodwill working out in the world?
Sarah: Well, I think you can see a lot of examples of it. One of the interesting examples of goodwill that I encountered this week, reading about the war in Iraq—I think this is an example, maybe you won’t agree—it was kind of a strange thing I read about in the papers. There was a problem surrounding a mosque in one of the cities in Iraq where the imam, who had been imprisoned by Saddam’s government for some twenty years, asked the U.S. troops that were in the area to give him protection within the mosque. So, they did. The troops approached the mosque on the request of the imam, but he had forgotten to tell his people. The townspeople, who had been receptive and positive toward the soldiers, suddenly became disturbed. A crowd started gathering around the mosque as these soldiers were present and things became very disturbed and threatening. The people were unhappy. They didn’t think the soldiers should be anywhere near their sacred mosque. It was one of the most sacred sites in Iraq. Well, as the newspaper described it, the commander of these troops got a microphone in the midst of all this unrest and this crowd that was gathering and very calmly said, “Soldiers, drop to one knee and point your gun to the ground.” So, all the soldiers dropped to one knee, pointed their guns to the ground, and their officer said, “Now, smile.” And to me, that’s hilarious because it’s such an American thing to smile. My European friends tell me Americans smile too much. But those people stayed on their knee with their guns pointing to the ground, smiling, and the whole situation evaporated, the tension evaporated, and it was okay. I thought, well, hilarious as it must have been to witness, maybe that’s an expression of goodwill on a very basic level, having to do with body language and with all the symbolism that frightened people can muster up to display harmlessness. We can all mull over that and think of perhaps more creative ways to express goodwill, but… Another aspect about goodwill is that it reveals cleavages. It’s not all smiley faces and reaching out hands across the ocean. It can reveal cleavages, according to the writings of Alice Bailey.
Dale: Yes, and also it can reveal the great love that is in human hearts. You asked the question, how is it working out in the world today? I think those examples again back in Iraq of the relief agencies that are doing their selfless work, they’re providing food and medical supplies: Doctors Without Borders, the Red Cross, Save the Children and all the other Catholic relief organizations that are providing selfless service to the very basic needs of these people. These are just a few examples of goodwill, the energy of goodwill manifesting in the world, because there are countless numbers of examples like this all over the world that are happening. We have to take these into our heart and know that humanity is good in its heart. .
Sarah: Another aspect of goodwill that I think needs emphasis is that it’s not passive; as I said before, it’s a creative energy. It’s something that, as I understand it, human beings have to learn to muster up, so to speak, in their own consciousness, in their own attitudes, and apply. Whereas the desire for peace can often be quite passive, a kind of helpless, hopeful waiting, but in a sense rather negative in that it doesn’t attempt to redirect or control or reconstruct. It’s a more passive waiting for the cessation of conflict. Goodwill, on the other hand, is a creative bridging force that can sometimes be expressed even in the very midst of conflict; that’s often when it’s most powerful. Conflict has a way of creating a space for goodwill if we could recognize it. And I think we can only make sense of that by experimenting with it in our own lives. The next time there’s a conflict of any sort, try to remember, try to have the presence of mind to be a force for the resolution of conflict rather than deepening the schism.
Dale: That’s where it really starts, is with the individual. It’s a thing you don’t have to think about only in theory, you can begin to apply it in your own daily life, in your family, towards your family members, and your friends and co-workers. There’s that example that you gave earlier about the troops kneeling down and smiling. A smile is kind of a universal language that everybody in the world understands. They couldn’t speak the same language between the troops and the Iraqis but they all understood a smile and that it conveys a tremendous amount of information there and love.
Sarah: The writings of Alice Bailey speak of goodwill as the saving force of the world and she wrote that it is in fact the only thing that will save the world, meaning that whatever redemption is possible for our poor, troubled world, it’ll have to come through a change in human hearts and minds and through human beings taking the initiative to put things right. And I think we can see that so sincerely and ardently underway in the world. There’s a lot that’s wrong, but there’s so much good being demonstrated by so many groups, the ones you’ve named, the humanitarian groups. We can see it though in all fields where people are really trying to redeem the circumstances that they’re in. We see it in the field of economics, in science, in education, in religion, in culture. You see people engaged in trying to establish bridges with others, trying to redeem old conflicts, trying to collaborate to understand, to overcome the separation that has existed in whatever field you’re speaking of you can see great attempts being made. To me, this is the hope of the world. Sometimes they get it wrong, but a lot of the time, incrementally, progress is being made, and I think we have to believe in that.
Dale: And that’s one of the reasons why we have this celebration, this Festival of Goodwill at this time of the year, because those very strong energies are available to work with in meditation and they help strengthen that and stimulate that love that’s already in the human heart all the more. So that’s one reason why the Great Invocation itself—which we say at the end of each program—is so vital and so needed because it invokes the very energies of love and light into the world so that we can use it.
Sarah: Yes, the Great Invocation itself is such a tremendously potent formula for energizing the goodwill in the world. People may not realize that if they worked with the Great Invocation on a daily basis, they could do so much to strengthen the expression of love and goodwill in the world and ignite it as a little flame within human hearts. People long for peace, and we’ve heard such a cry for peace, and it’s perfectly understandable; we do all want peace. But for peace to exist, I see it as more of an effect or an outcome when there is, in fact, a true goodwill present in the world. So rather than praying for peace, I think we should work for goodwill, and every one of us can start within our own circumstances. Every one of us has a set of relationships and a set of problems that we are dealt, and we can begin to apply goodwill in those problems and relationships by being the first brave one to take a step toward the other, whoever the other is. Make an effort, and I think you’ll see that the response that is evoked more than meets your own initial step. People—most people—are decent at base and hungry for a chance to overcome cleavages. They just don’t know how. So, one has to make the effort.
Dale: And I think there is a great transformation in the process of happening here in the world and this is what we also have to be aware of. We’re advocating goodwill not just because it’s a nice thing to do, but it’s because there are tremendous things on the horizon for humanity, tremendous responsibilities and new ways of living together in our interdependent world that are just over the horizon, so this expression of goodwill does have a purpose in mind that is far-reaching.
Robert: Should we limit our goodwill? As I listen to you, I’m intrigued by the power of goodwill, but should we limit it to friends only, or should we give goodwill to our enemies?
Sarah: Especially to them. Because then they can stop being enemies.
Robert: I guess like Christ said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”
Sarah: Or bless your enemies; they’re your greatest teachers.
Robert: Okay. You have been listening to Inner Sight. Now we would like to close with a world prayer called the Great Invocation. It’s a call for light and love and goodwill to flow into the world and into our hearts. Let’s listen for a moment to these powerful words.
Sarah: Closes the program by reciting the adapted version of the Great Invocation.
(This is an edited transcript of a recorded radio program called “Inner Sight.” This conversation was recorded between the host, Robert Anderson, and the then President and Vice-President of Lucis Trust, Sarah and Dale McKechnie.)
(Transcribed and edited by Carla McLeod)
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