• Man’s emerging divinity, by the Master —
• Questions and answers
• The star heralding Maitreya’s emergence
• Letter to the editor about the 'star'
• Reports from websites
• The Gathering of the Forces of Light
• Maitreya's priorities - excerpts of compilation
• From our correspondents - interview with Todd Lorentz
• Facts and forecasts
• Magazine subscriptions
• Previous issues
• Next update
• Remind me when this page is updated

The Master's article for
Share International magazine, June 2009

Man’s emerging divinity

by the Master –, through Benjamin Creme, 24 April 2009

In all history there has never been a time like the present. Never, in all the cycles which have left their mark on man’s evolution, has there been the same potential for change. This time, therefore, is unique. It portends a change in consciousness so dramatic and far-reaching that new definitions and vocabulary must evolve to describe man as he will become. The main factor in this profound event will be the influence of man’s Elder Brothers, the Masters of Wisdom, led by Maitreya, the Christ and World Teacher. It is impossible to overstate the effect which Their Great Approach will have on the lives and thoughts and behaviour of men. Many times have you heard that man is a potential God; these are not empty words but the very truth of man’s nature and Being. It is a matter of time only until that truth is verified and expressed for all to see. The Masters will give of Their Bounty of harmlessness, wisdom and love, and steer man’s ship safely to the harbour of achievement. Thus will it be. In time, men will take their due places and work together with the Masters for the benefit of all. Thus will men learn the Laws of Life and Love and fashion a future of unparalleled beauty.

Stimulus

The second great stimulus to man’s forward growth will come from far Aquarius. Already, as our sun enters more and more deeply into the field of influence of that mighty constellation, a ferment of change arises in the hearts and minds of men. The essential quality of Aquarius is Synthesis, a quality rarely seen in today’s life on Earth. However, in gathering momentum, the quality of Synthesis will gradually replace, in all departments of life, the fragmentation and disharmony of today. Men will come to understand the meaning of Unity, and to recognize that they are brothers and sisters of one family journeying together on a voyage of discovery.

Grace

When men look back to this time they will see it as a stepping-stone to Grace. Today’s chaotic turmoil is nothing less. From this turmoil will emerge the new forms which will grace the new civilization — new and better forms which will provide for men everywhere, and gratify the hearts of everyone.

Future

Man, himself, is undergoing such stimuli that he may well feel nervous of the future. He sees and understands little of the enormous changes which are already under way and clings vainly to the past. Soon, this fear and nervousness will be replaced by courage and commitment to the work of transformation. Under the guidance of Maitreya and His Group men will lay the cornerstones of the new and better life of which, in their various ways, all men dream.

(Read more articles by the Master)

Questions and Answers

Q. What inspired you to travel to so many countries and campaign for a better world?
A. The most inspiring thing was the contact with my Master, Who lives in the Himalayas. He had given me much information and told me to tell it to the world. He said: “Be prepared to travel far and wide because the invitations will soon flood in” and so it was. I simply went where I was invited to go. I became committed to service and happy to go wherever it took me.

Q. Maitreya has said, "without self esteem you can do nothing." So, what are tiny ways in which a person can increase his or her self-esteem if it is low?
A. Achievement, of any kind, in any direction, increases self-esteem. Therefore all effort should be addressed to the achieving of some goal, large or small; and then steadily ‘upping’ the goal, until the confidence which comes with achievement becomes steady and reliable. Aspiration is the key. If we can inspire the latent aspiration in ourselves and others, self-worth and self-esteem automatically follow.

Q. What reaction does Maitreya have towards the right-wing evangelicals in the United States? They seem extreme and dangerous to me. A. I have no doubt whatsoever that He loves them as He loves you: totally and unconditionally.

Q. In 2008 I visited a friend near the Bodensee (Lake Constance), who told me there is a healing well in the grounds of a riding school in Wiggenweler, close to Bermatingen, Germany. The water has already helped many people. Could you please say if this well is energized with healing properties and by whom?
A. Yes. By the Master Who was the Madonna.

Q. I have been doing some research into the UFO phenomenon. I have read quite a few times on the Share International website that they are our Space Brothers. Are all the different species of aliens our Space Brothers or are some good and some evil? I struggle with the ones that abduct, take control, and cause fear as having a good purpose for mankind. Can you elaborate on this? A. Yes, without exception the people who man the spacecraft we see are harmless. In fact they are carrying out arduous work on our behalf, neutralizing, as far as the Karmic Law allows, much of the pollution which we spew into our atmosphere, oceans, rivers and land. We owe them an enormous debt. For over 60 years the world’s governments have kept from the people the reality of these space visitors and know that they are entirely harmless. Nevertheless, when they can no longer control belief in their existence these same paranoid governments present them as abductors, brutal and seeking control over humanity. None of that slanderous propaganda is true and soon the people of the world will know that for certain. They work with our own Spiritual Hierarchy of which Maitreya is head.

Q. I do Transmission Meditation once or twice a week but I am struggling with all the emotional issues from my past that it brings up. Should I stop doing it or perservere? I have had a tough time in my past and things I have buried keep coming up. What should I do?
A. Persevere. This phase will soon pass.

Q. (1) I live in Australia and I am concerned that we will miss out on Maitreya's television interviews, particularly the earlier ones. Will they be broadcast in Australia? (2) I am also worried that the Day of Declaration speech will take place in our night time when we are asleep. Will we have advance warning to ensure we are watching television at the right time? (3) Will the star be visible here and where should we look?

The star that heralds Maitreya’s emergence

“In the very near future, people everywhere will have the opportunity to witness an extraordinary and significant sign, the like of which has been manifested only once before, at the birth of Jesus. Then, according to Christian teaching, a star appeared in the heavens and led three wise men from the East to the birthplace of Jesus. Soon, once again, a star-like luminary of brilliant power will be seen around the world.” (Benjamin Creme’s Master, ‘Maitreya’s first interview’, SI Jan/Feb 2009)

On 12 December 2008 Share International distributed a news release announcing that in the very near future a large, bright star would appear in the sky visible throughout the world, night and day, heralding the imminent appearance of Maitreya in His first interview on a major US television programme. Since early January 2009 sightings of the star have been reported all over the world and hundreds of sightings have been sent to Share International. We include a selection of the latest reports from the media, Share International readers, and sightings from YouTube. All are genuine sightings confirmed by Benjamin Creme’s Master to be the ‘star’.

Please click for more information and latest photographs of the ‘star’

A new video about the 'star' is now available on Youtube, called “The ‘Star’ sign"

RCN Colombia News, Colombia

Sky Television, UK

On 22 March 2009 Sky Television News interviewed thirteen-year-old Harriet Rogers who filmed what she thought was a UFO hovering above Shrewsbury, England. On 21 February 2009, after a call from her grandmother about a bright light in the sky, Harriet and her father went upstairs to have a look and saw a brilliant ball of light pulsing and changing colours. Harriet explained: “To the human eye, it just looked like a bright light but, on the video camera we could see it pulsing, then suddenly changing colours. They decided to go out and follow the light to try to get a bit closer and they started to notice it was going down beyond the horizon. She added: “This is when you could see with your own eyes that it was pulsing and changing colours. We stopped in a lay-by and rested the camcorder on a gatepost where we got the best shots. We could see how it was getting much brighter than before.” Asked by a Sky reporter if she thought it was a UFO Harriet said: “Yes. It’s come back, it’s definitely come back, literally every starry night.” There have been many unexplained lights in the sky reported over Shropshire recently. The Shropshire Star newspaper reported: “There have been up to 30 sightings of mysterious light objects logged by UFO experts in the last two months [February and March 2009] with at least eight recorded in the last fortnight.” (Source: Sky News; The Shropshire Star, UK)

The Sun, UK

On 16 February 2009 The Sun newspaper included a report from Scott Shepperd of a bright light or “craft” spotted over Colchester, Essex. A video of his sighting was placed on the newspaper’s website. Shepperd had been to the cinema with a friend before he captured the dazzling light in the sky. He said: “As I was about to get in the car to go home, a golden ball of light no higher than 100ft above me caught my attention. I said to my mate to look, he ignored me and said its probably just a plane. I asked him to check anyway and, just as he did, it started moving over the top of us. It was very bright orange and moved very quietly: it had no flashing light which made me question if it was a plane. Quick as I could, I got out my mobile phone to video it but by the time I had got it out and set it up it had moved pretty far away." (Source: The Sun, UK)

Chester Chronicle, UK

“Orange UFO spotted above Chester skies” is the headline in the Chester Chronicle on 30 April 2009. Marty Wilbur was standing on his balcony using his mobile phone when he saw a “pulsating orange light” rising up in front of him at 9.02 pm on 26 April 2009. He filmed the mysterious orange glow as it tracked northwards and disappeared. “I could see this orange ball rising up, at a 90-degree angle, straight up, then it just sat there, sat still for a few seconds. To my amazement it started moving sideways. Right away I recognized it wasn’t something normal that I had ever seen before. There was no sound at all. All you can hear are birds chirping on the video.” (Source: chesterchronicle.co.uk)

Gazeta Alerta, Brazil

On 8 February 2009, during the live television programme Gazeta Alerta in Rio Branco City, Brazil, the film crew spotted an object in the sky changing colour from white, to red, to blue. The live coverage continued as they filmed the object for more than two hours, with more than 25 people witnessing the event. The object moved from east to south and then from south to west. (Source: YouTube)

Milliyet Kemer News, Turkey

On 25 April 2009 at 3.30am a group of security guards outside a hotel in the coastal town of Kemer, Turkey, saw an unusual object hovering over the ocean and photographed it. Security guard Erman Bulut was at the front of the hotel when he saw the hexagonal object doing impossible manoeuvres above the sea and changing shape and colour. He recalls: “At first I couldn’t understand what I was witnessing. I saw this large object rising from the sea. It definitely wasn’t a plane or balloon. It was leaving a trail and it was glowing. My hands were shaking from the excitement. As it descended towards the sea I ran to the beach but then it began to rapidly rise eventually merging with the stars. It was hexagonal, orange and fluorescent. As far as I am concerned it was definitely a UFO. One does not get the chance to see such things often and I feel lucky to have witnessed this. When one takes into account the size of the universe and the number of stars, UFOs and aliens become a certainty.” Erman's co-workers Mehemet Aydin and Sezgin Cesur also saw the object and described it. “It was hexagonal but at times it's shape changed. It descended and then rose, disappearing into the sky. “I didn't sleep all night from excitement” concluded Mr Cesur. (Source: Milliyet Kemer News, Turkey)

All News Web

According to All News Web, formations of UFOs have been seen above cities throughout the world in the first few months of 2009. In China, reports the website, a UFO was filmed by a Beijing tourist on 18 February 2009 in Kashgar in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous region along the ancient Silk Road. “Me and my father were walking through a park near the Science and Technology Complex returning to our hotel when I noticed a very bright and clear object in the sky that appeared too close and too bright to be a star,” said Lee Kwan Hing. “I used a Panasonic High Definition camcorder to take the film. As I zoomed in on the object I noticed that it had the form of a yo-yo and I could make out geometric patterns on the object. Is it a UFO, a satellite or a star?” he asks. “Perhaps an All News Web reader can help Hing solve this mystery,” suggests Michael Cohen of All News Web. (Source: allnewsweb.com)

Photo: © Steve Alexander

Sign of the ‘star’

On 23 April 2009 a large crop formation appeared in a field at Rutlands Farm near Avebury, in Wiltshire, England. The beautiful, symmetrical pattern resembles a star – a central circle surrounded by 16 rays of different lengths – and appeared in a field of yellow flowering canola (oilseed rape.) The formation measures 298 feet at its longest with a 66 foot diameter central circle.

Rape seed, with its thick, brittle stalks and profuse pollen, is one of the most difficult crops to walk in, yet, according to Charles Mallett of the Silent Circle Information Centre, this new formation is one of the “most elaborate and geometrically sophisticated oilseed rape/canola formations that have occurred in British crop circle history … Right now in 2009, we’ve had really huge, serious formations! This has never really happened before – kind of unprecedented.”
Steve and Karen Alexander have been photographing and researching the crop patterns for over 15 years and for the past ten have produced an annual Year Book displaying the best formations each year. On 20 May 2009 Share International asked Steve Alexander whether the complex patterns already appearing in the fields of Wiltshire, England, were unusual for this time of year.

Steve Alexander: “Between April and late May each year we normally see only a few crop circles in oilseed rape crop. Some years we don’t get any at all. In 2009, we have had an incredible eleven formations. What is impressive this year, is the size, and quality of the oilseed rape formations. The formation which appeared at Clatford in Wiltshire was measured at 700 feet in length! Some researchers are expecting a phenomenal summer, as the crop circles at this early part of the season have already out-stripped expectations.”
(Source: temporarytemples.org.uk; earthfiles.com)

(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms the formation was created by the Space Brothers and is a sign of the presence of the ‘star’.)

Letter to the editor about the 'star'

Dear Editor,
I have been seeing in the sky at night a single light that shines more than any other and it has been alone in the sky for the last few days. The light is seen in the West. On Saturday 7 March 2009 we went to a birthday party and we were heading to Albalat del Torongers town. When we were driving there, we saw the light on our left, in a northwest direction, always alone in the sky, which kept our attention due to its brightness – it was more intense than any other star and seemed to be vibrating. We watched it till we arrived and then it disappeared. Was it the star heralding Maitreya’s public emergence?
A.B.P., Valencia, Spain. (Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms that it was the ‘star’.)

Reports from websites

USA: North Carolina – A UFO eyewitness reported seeing an orange glowing object in the sky on the evening of 30 March 2009. The witness videotaped the object, which made no sound and hovered for an extended period in the same place before ascending rapidly into the sky. Four other people saw the UFO, according to the report. (Source: ufocasebook.com)
(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms that it was the ‘star’.)

Missouri – More than 13 witnesses who work at a high-security military complex in Kansas City, Missouri, reported three UFO incidents at the base on 1 and 2 March 2009. Both military and civilian employees working at the Bannister Federal Complex provided their testimony anonymously to a ‘Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) field investigator. Witnesses all reported seeing a glowing gold-coloured ball, but vary in their size and height descriptions due to different points of observation. The sightings took place at 10.30pm on 1 March and the following night at 9.30pm and 10.30pm. One witness described the object as the ‘size of a house’, while others described it as the ‘size of a car’. Some stated that they thought the object was hovering at 200 feet, and others said it hovered at 3,000 feet. Witnesses also said that UFOs were reported hovering over the complex in the past. (Source: MUFON)

The Gathering of the Forces of Light

“People everywhere will be astonished by the reports [of UFOs]. These will include sightings, in unprecedented numbers, of spacecraft from our neighbouring planets, Mars and Venus in particular. Nothing like this increased activity, over vast areas of the Earth, will have been seen before.” (The Master —,‘The gathering of the Forces of Light’, SI March 2007)

China: Shenzhen – Newspapers in the city of Shenzhen in Guandong province received numerous telephone calls from residents who witnessed UFOs on the evening of 23 February 2009. One of the UFOs emitted a blue-violet light before moving away rapidly to the south. One witness, Mrs Zhou, saw three UFOs from her balcony. Two of the three objects moved away rapidly while one remained awhile before taking off. “The last one was emitting the strangest violet light which was very bright” she said. Another witness, Mr Yip, also saw the UFOs and noticed that at least one of the craft was also emitting a blue flame from its underside. (Source: allnewsweb.com)
(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms this was a spacecraft from Mars.)
Liu Pan Shui Cit – A UFO was filmed in January 2009 by a group of firefighters in Liu Pan Shui City in Guizhou province. Wang Jia Wei noticed an unusual, brightly-flashing star moving in a south-easterly direction. Using a video camera, he saw that the object was actually two rotating craft in the shape of spinning tops, or two rotating halves of one craft. The UFO was flashing a variety of colours: purple, red, blue, orange, white and gold. The incident reportedly received widespread media coverage in China. (Source: allnewsweb.com) (Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms these were two spacecraft from Mars.)

Greece: The Greek newspaper Espresso reported a UFO sighting on the Peloponnese Peninsula near the Isthmus of Corinth on 3 February 2009. Numerous people called local police to report seeing the UFO. One witness, Patapios Palaiologou, was driving his daughter to school. “It was a sunny day and the sky was totally clear. Suddenly, I saw a huge object over the small hillside opposite the village where we live. It appeared to be about 400 metres above ground and it was huge, about 300 metres in diameter. It looked like the planet Saturn with a red ring around it and was metallic silver in colour” he said.
According to Palaiologou, the UFO remained suspended for about 10 seconds, and then the ring began to vibrate at a very fast pace. The object started to tremble very strongly and a few seconds later he saw an intense glow on its right side. “Then it disappeared!” he said. Other people witnessed the UFO in the same location that day, and some sightings also occurred a week before. (Source: www.allnewsweb.com)
(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms this was a spacecraft from Mars.)

Russia: Dozens of people in western Russia saw a circular-shaped UFO on January 2009 near Belgorod, near the border with Ukraine, which changed colour from glowing white to electric blue. The UFO periodically emitted a white laser beam in the direction of the ground. Many residents said they experienced interference to their television reception. Witnesses Mr and Mrs Skripov from Gorodishka saw the beam from the UFO hit the road in front of their car. “We are familiar with spotlights and this was not one,” Mr Skripov said. According to witnesses, the object eventually rose through the clouds rapidly and disappeared. The incident was reported widely by the Russian news media. (Source: allnewsweb.com)

Maitreya's Priorities — excerpts from a compilation

We present a selection of quotations on the theme of ‘Maitreya’s Priorities’ from Maitreya (Messages from Maitreya the Christ, and Maitreya’s Teachings – The Laws of Life), Benjamin Creme’s Master (A Master Speaks), and Benjamin Creme’s writings.

I am a simple Man, and simply I make My appeal to you: Trust Me, follow Me, let Me take you into the future time, on the basis of Love, on the basis of Sharing, on the basis of Brotherhood. Let Me show you the way into that state of simple interdependence, of justice, correct alignment with your Source and your brothers. (Maitreya, from Message No. 4)

Let us look at [Maitreya’s] priorities: the establishment of peace; the inauguration of the system of sharing; the removal of guilt and fear – the cleansing of the hearts and minds of men; the education of mankind in the laws of life and love; an introduction to the Mysteries; the beautification of our cities; the removal of barriers to travel and interchange of peoples; the creation of a pool of knowledge accessible to all.

That such a task is not an easy one, not even for the Son of Man, is clear. Ancient habits of division and separation have strong roots, while fear and superstition cast their spell over millions of mankind. But never before, in the history of the world, has a Teacher come better equipped for His task. Maitreya has come to do battle with ignorance and fear, division and want. His weapons are spiritual understanding, knowledge and love; His shining armour is Truth Itself. (Benjamin Creme’s Master, from ‘The Son of Man’)

My heart aches when I see so many needlessly die; hunger and pestilence stalk the earth. Nothing so moves Me to grief as this shame. The crime of separation must be driven from this world. I affirm that as My Purpose. (Maitreya, from Message No. 93)

When the world's stock markets crash, the priorities of all governments will change. The first priority will be the provision of adequate food for all the people; second, the provision of adequate housing; and third, the provision of adequate healthcare and education for all the people as a universal right.

That does not sound terribly revolutionary: enough food, shelter, healthcare and education, which many people take for granted. But there is no country in the world in which all of these pertain as a universal right. When they do, life on this planet will be transformed.
When humanity asks Maitreya: “We accept the principle of sharing. We wish to share. How do we set about it?”, this will be the answer.
There is a group of initiates, disciples of the Masters, who are men and women of great achievement in their own lives, in fields such as finance, economics, public administration. They have worked out a series of interrelated blueprints, plans, that will solve the redistribution problems that are at the heart of the economic problem today. Each nation will be asked to make an inventory of what it produces so that the world's ‘cake’ is known: what we need, what we create, what we need to import. Each nation will be asked to make over in trust into a common pool that which it has in excess of its needs, and out of that common pool the needs of all will be met. A sophisticated system of barter will replace the present system. (Benjamin Creme, The Great Approach)

As a brother among brothers I shall speak for you all, voice aloud your aspirations and hopes; make known the desire of all men for a world at peace; for a just and noble readiness to share; for the creation of a society based on freedom and love. (Maitreya, from Message No. 61)

The goal for humanity in this coming age is the creation of group consciousness, the sense of being integral parts of a Whole. The new energies entering this planet from the constellation Aquarius work in this direction; their intrinsic quality is synthesis and universality.
We are about to witness profound changes in all our institutions and structures – political and economic, religious and social, scientific, educational and cultural. These changes will take place as humanity grasps, stage by stage, its essential Oneness, and adopts the measures necessary to implement that Oneness. (Benjamin Creme, Maitreya’s Mission Volume One)

My Teaching, simple though it is, will show you the necessity for sharing, for the creation of a pool of resources from which all men may take, the substitution for greed of co-operation and trust. (Maitreya, from Message No. 64)

The time is fast approaching when political, economic and religious totalitarianism – denying human freedom, well-being, liberty and the human right to believe what one desires – will be over. A new freedom is awaiting humanity just around the corner. But that new freedom has, above all, the necessity of responsibility. We have to take upon ourselves the responsibility for one another. Maitreya puts it very simply: “Take your brother’s need as the measure for your actions and solve the problems of the world. There is no other course.” (Benjamin Creme, Maitreya’s Mission Volume Two)

The major need today is for the transformation of the structures within which you now live. Your civilization, My friends, is dying nay, it is already dead. Out of its ashes will grow a new beauty whose basis is Love, Justice and Sharing. Make these your aims, My friends, and know the meaning of God. (Maitreya, from Message No. 107)

[It will be Maitreya’s] task to show the way through the quicksand, to lead men safely to established peace and justice. A formidable task but one for which He is well prepared. He will answer the need of men for leadership and guidance. He will reinstate as normal and right a spiritual connotation to life. He will reaffirm men’s worth as potential gods and show them the way to demonstrate that potential. A mighty task but not beyond His strength.

He will lay down certain guidelines, affirm certain priorities. Beyond all others, the task most pressing is the elimination of hunger. Millions starve today while the food that could ensure them life lies rotting mountain high. The world’s poor groan daily under the burden of their lot. He will seek to show afresh that men are One, together in life to fulfil the plan of God.

The next priority is the establishment of peace; little hope remains for man if peace is not secured. The way to peace, He will show, the only way, has the signpost: Justice, written large. Men must learn to share, without which justice is a far-off dream.

The third priority concerns the maintenance of human freedom. Countless numbers now suffer indignities and torture in the prisons of the world, their only crime the crime of independent thought. The Christ will emphasize the need for human liberty without which man is haltered and stunted on his way to God.

Once secured, these three primary tasks will set men firmly on the road to Perfection. Without their achievement man would have little hope to survive. More and more, men begin to see this and seek to find a way to just and lasting peace. Without the acceptance of sharing, they will find, all efforts will be futile, for sharing alone is the key to the future for man. When men share they will know peace. When men share they will enter into their birthright. When men share they will know the meaning and purpose of life. (Benjamin Creme’s Master, from ‘A question of priorities’)

The number one priority is to replace this deeply divisive and cruel economic system with something better. Maitreya has spelled it out many times: the principle of sharing is the only one that will save humanity from self-destruction. The more humanity is conditioned by time, the more it is destroying its own nature, because the creative acts of the soul are coming from a level where time does not exist. If you are totally conditioned by time, you are living in a framework in which your very nature is warped. No matter how ‘educated’ we are, unless we can change the social structures of our life, we cannot change our awareness of life. An awareness of timelessness is an awareness of what life truly is.

Life has nothing to do with time, but only with cycles of activity followed by cycles of inactivity. It is to do with the great outbreathing and inbreathing of cosmos itself. Cosmos breathes out and the worlds are formed, and all activity within the worlds go forward. When a certain point is reached, cosmos inbreathes again and draws all that back into itself. Then a great outbreathing occurs again and the whole process goes on endlessly, infinitely, for ever and ever. That is the nature of life. It is the nature of cosmic life and it should be the nature of our life. It is the nature of our life, but while we are dominated by time, it cannot be demonstrated – hence, the pain, the suffering, unhappiness, the terrible misdeeds of humanity against itself. That violence is born out of a sense of deep grief, frustation and abuse from the earliest times.

Everyone, instinctively, is aware of themselves as a soul. Every child knows itself as a soul. It does not know the name for it, but it knows the feeling, the inner awareness of it. And yet as it grows, it becomes more and more alienated from society. Its soul awareness cannot find expression in today’s society, so it turns against itself as a part of society. Crime, violence and alienation are all the result of this discrepancy between the expectations of the soul, the awareness and expectations of the inner spiritual being, and that which is supplied to it on the outer field by the societies of today. The more powerful societies, like the United States of America, Europe, Canada, Australia and Japan – the G7 economic group – are profoundly at fault here in promoting that state of affairs. They seek to dominate the whole of the world’s economy for selfish greed and power. Market forces and competition, on which all of this rests, are nothing more than the expression of greed, and cannot be allowed to dominate in the future.
What can we do to change this? Create conditions in which there is harmony. Harmony is the number one necessity in losing the sense of time. Whether in an individual or a nation, we cannot have an awareness and response to the nature of true time if we are in an inharmonious state. Practically everybody today is in an inharmonious state, because there is total disequilibrium in the world. That is our spiritual crisis. We have to change the world’s economic structure – not only because it seems more just to do so since it is profoundly evil and unjust; we have to change it or we will destroy the world. It is as simple as that. We must change it so that humanity can begin to live as we (as souls) intend to live – in a society based on harmony and therefore equilibrium. With that equilibrium comes greater and greater awareness of who and what we really are. That is our crisis, our problem for today – to know who we are. (Benjamin Creme, Maitreya’s Mission Volume Three)

Man is an emerging God and thus requires the formation of modes of living which will allow this God to flourish. How can you be content with the modes within which you now live: when millions starve and die in squalor; when the rich parade their wealth before the poor; when each man is his neighbour's enemy; when no man trusts his brother? For how long must you live thus, My friends? For how long can you support this degradation? (Maitreya, from Message No. 81)

Maitreya has come to teach humanity the need for sharing. “Sharing,” He says, “is divine. When you share you recognize God in your brother.” If we accept the principle of sharing, accept that we are one, redistribute the world’s resources and so create justice in the world, we will have peace. It is the only way in which we will have secure and lasting peace. (Benjamin Creme, Maitreya’s Mission Volume Two)

Throughout the world there are men, women and little children who have not even the essentials to stay alive; they crowd the cities of many of the poorest countries in the world. This crime fills Me with shame. My brothers, how can you watch these people die before your eyes and call yourselves men? My Plan is to save these, My little ones, from certain starvation and needless death. My Plan is to show you that the way out of your problems is to listen again to the true voice of God within your hearts, to share the produce of this most bountiful of worlds among your brothers and sisters everywhere. (Maitreya, from Message No. 11)

Maitreya will outline for men the priorities which alone will secure and safeguard planet Earth and all its peoples. The necessity of peace is paramount for without peace all else is lost. Peace, He will affirm, can only be ensured through the creation of Justice. The lack of Justice is the begetter of both war and terrorism. Justice, Maitreya will maintain, can be achieved only through Sharing. Sharing, therefore, is the key to world peace and security.

Maitreya will turn the minds of men more urgently to the ills of planet Earth, itself. Without a healthy and robust planet the future of succeeding generations is in peril. Maitreya will stress the urgency of action now to restore equilibrium to our suffering planetary home, and call all hands, old and young, to this primary task.

The fate of those who now starve in a world of plenty will exercise Maitreya’s chief concern: “Nothing so moves Me to grief as this shame,” He says, and seeks to galvanize the creation of a vast programme of aid for the world’s poor on a scale hitherto unknown.

These are the immediate priorities, to make fast and secure the future for men. Man’s free will is sacrosanct and may not be infringed; the speed of implementation of these primary requirements is subject, therefore, to the will of men. Men now face the choice: to see the world as One and share, and know security and blessed Peace and happiness, or to witness the end of life on Earth. (Benjamin Creme’s Master, from ‘Maitreya’s priorities’)

According to Maitreya, money multiplied by money contributes to the stress of modern life. Money is not the priority; sufficiency is the priority. When sufficiency becomes the priority, it orders society in a different way, creating stability. In this regard, sharing is both a moral value and a method of implementation. This will create a more peaceful atmosphere, in which people will not struggle to make millions. They will fulfil their duties, care for their families, and children will be able to evolve. (Maitreya, Maitreya’s Teachings – The Laws of Life)

All who share the hope that mankind should live in peace together work for Me. Peace, Sharing and Justice are central to My Teaching. Wherever the Light of these Truths shines I turn My eye, and through the channel of that Light do I send My Love. Thus do I work. Thus through you do I change the world. (Maitreya, from Message No. 92)

[Maitreya’s] voice will speak for those who suffer most: the halt, the lame, the outcast and the poor – for all who suffer silently and needlessly. He will galvanize those who long to help their brothers and set in motion the new crusade of service. Thus will it be. Thus will Maitreya inspire the formation of groups of planetary pioneers, whose task it will be to bring succour to the long-suffering needy of the world. A sustained programme of aid, far outdistancing anything so far seen, will quickly restore the lives of those in greatest need.

On all fronts the obstacles to progress will be tackled one by one: the greed and selfishness so prevalent today will give place to a broader view of community; the basic needs of all will take priority; the new concern for nature and environment will be embodied in legislation, universally accepted, and will lead to a wise husbandry of nature's gifts; international travel on a massive scale will reduce the isolation and prejudice which narrows the vision and keeps in ignorance so many millions today; the hold on men's minds of the old ideologies will gradually weaken and give way to a new tolerance and trust.
Thus will emerge a new atmosphere in which the most ambitious changes can take place in a spirit of goodwill. The General Good will replace self interest as a measure of men's actions, and in growing harmony the peoples of the Earth will move forward into the New Age. (Benjamin Creme’s Master, from ‘The path to Divinity’)….

It will not be long, therefore, until the Great Lord begins His open mission, albeit undeclared. Watch and wait with a sure understanding of His priorities, and so miss Him not. (Benjamin Creme’s Master, from ‘See Him and rejoice’)

Sharing and Justice, Brotherhood and Freedom are not new concepts. From the dawn of time mankind has linked his aspiration to these beckoning stars. Now, My friends, shall we anchor them in the world. (Maitreya, from Message No. 105)

From our own correspondents

A sacred service
Interview with Todd Lorentz
by Jason Francis

One Child’s Village is a nongovernmental organization based in Alberta, Canada, run by volunteers who seek to improve the lives of HIV/AIDS orphaned children in Kenya. The volunteers believe that caring for children is a “sacred service” and aim to create the conditions, training, and resources necessary to provide for the physical, emotional, mental and overall spiritual welfare of these orphaned children. Todd Lorentz, managing director of One Child’s Village, was interviewed by Jason Francis for Share International. An abridged version of the interview follows.

Share International: What was the inspiration behind the formation of One Child's Village?
Todd Lorentz: For much of my life I have been aware of the dreadful conditions suffocating the lives of millions of people in the developing world. Like many others, I have always wanted to do something that would have a meaningful impact on their lives.
In 2005, I traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, to speak at a conference called ‘Globalization for the Common Good’. During that visit I was fortunate to meet a man named Charles Ouma Odour who, himself orphaned at a young age, had dedicated his life to helping other orphans. He had formed an organization called Mercy Children’s Center and was caring for dozens of children using his own income and donations from a few well-wishers. I was impressed by his compassion and was inspired to find some way to support him.
On my return to Canada, I started a charitable organization to help Charles and the children. I gathered a few friends and associates together and – almost effortlessly – started our organization. Inspired by the familiar African proverb “it takes a whole village to raise a child”, I began to think about the notion of what ‘my village’ really meant. In a world with one humanity, of course, there are no real boundaries where we can say that we are no longer responsible for other human beings. We all belong to the community of humanity and, for any child in the world, we are all a part of their village and have a responsibility for their welfare. From this idea came the name for One Child’s Village, along with all that the concept of interconnectedness implies.
We made our organization completely volunteer based: no one receives wages or income from the funds  donated to us. We keep our overheads to an absolute minimum and almost all of the funds supporting our work go directly to the welfare of the orphans.

SI: Yearly, how many children are orphaned by the HIV/AIDS epidemic and how many children are infected with HIV/AIDS themselves?
TL: Accurate numbers are sometimes hard to acquire because of the difficulties in surveying populations in impoverished areas. However, UNAIDS currently estimates that there are well over 12 million children in sub-Saharan Africa who have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS. In 2003, there were approximately 650,000 AIDS orphans in Kenya, with 150,000 Kenyans dying each year of AIDS. That number continues to increase dramatically and it is expected that Kenya will have over 1 million orphans by 2010.
The infection rate of very young children is a bit lower than the average national rate of 6.8 per cent among adults. The hardest hit group is young girls between the ages of 15 and 24 who suffer infection rates of 20 per cent. This is the standard in the area of western Kenya where we work.
These are staggering numbers and governments in these developing nations are simply unable to deal effectively with the incredible tragedy unfolding in their communities. The world has largely turned its back on these children and denied them their right to the most basic of needs. These children are the most vulnerable people on our planet and it is hard to stand by and watch rich nations summon up trillions of dollars overnight to bail out investment banks and hedge funds yet fail to allocate even a fraction of that to save millions of lives. You have to ask what has happened to our humanity.
In many areas where we work it is also believed that an orphan brought into your home may steal the blessing from your own family. So these children, after suffering the loss of their parents, are abandoned not only by their country and the world community, but sometimes by their close relatives as well. Eventually, without support, many are left to survive on the streets – often selling their bodies or working as slaves for their subsistence.

SI: How does One Child’s Village address the needs of HIV/AIDS orphans and where does your organization primarily work?
TL: We are currently working in Kenya with two elementary schools, both run by our partners at Mercy Children’s Center. The first school presently holds about 120 students and is located in Kawangware – a slum district in the suburbs of Nairobi. The conditions there are very difficult for the children and, while many of them live with either a surviving infected parent or grandparent, they depend upon us to supply much of their life support. This includes food, clothes, water and everything necessary for their education. It is a heartbreaking situation and it has been difficult to develop this school further because we do not own the property or buildings. Many children were also traumatized by the post-election violence last year and this has created an additional challenge for them emotionally and psychologically.
Our second school, in the rural village of Bumala in western Kenya, supports over 150 students and has progressed more rapidly. Because we own the land there we were able to expand our infrastructure more quickly and in a unique fashion. As a young organization, we were faced with limited funds and so could not afford the initial cost of $150,000 or so needed to build a single modern brick and mortar school. Instead, we studied the methods used by the local village population to build their homes – a type of mud-and-wattle construction – and applied that design to the construction of our school. This enabled us to hire local labor, including some of the widowed HIV-infected mothers of our orphaned children, to help build the school. In this way, a small amount of funding (about $20,000) made a significant impact in the community. We were up and running with a full school years ahead of when we had expected.
This year we are planning further expansions with the hopes of building a small on-site center for an international volunteer program that can generate income to support the school’s operating costs. To build an entire school for 150 children, and have it completely self-sufficient in two years, sounds like an enormous task but, as we’ve shown, it is definitely possible. With more funding, we could duplicate this model in many areas and put thousands of children in school within a very short period of time, while also creating hundreds of jobs in these local economies….

SI: What age are the children that your organization and the Mercy Children’s Center are helping?
TL: We start the children in our school at a very young age – around three to four years old: a crucial formative period for children. Our first priority is to ensure that they are receiving at least some proper nutrition along with clothes, medical care, and rules for personal hygiene. They receive not only a proper education but also a type of parental influence, instruction and personal care that they might not otherwise receive at home. We school them up to the age of about 11 or 12 when we try to integrate them into the public system. Eventually, we would like to build our own secondary and trade schools in order to provide a full education without separating them from their school mates upon whom, because they are orphans, they have built a strong social dependence. These are foundational years for children and a failure in their development at this stage can have an enormous impact on them, and therefore our society, for the rest of their lives.

SI: Could you describe the overall impact – social, economic, academic and emotional – of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on a community as a whole as well as particularly on the lives of children?
TL: The impact on a society is absolutely devastating, and on a scale unheard of in human history. It is strange how we in the developed world have become so accustomed to accepting entire societies being ripped apart by the effects of HIV/AIDS, poverty, lack of water resources, disease, and other critical social issues. We would never stand for such a travesty within our own nations yet express only marginal concern when it happens to our fellow human beings in other areas of the world….

SI: When caring for orphaned children it must be difficult to provide for the emotional needs of children, which are usually taken care of primarily by parents and extended family. How are the love, care and attention needed for a proper emotional and mental development manifested in the lives of children when the parents are no longer there to provide for such needs?
TL: The stability and community that we provide for them in our schools makes all the difference and it is an enormous responsibility for our teachers who are faced with the additional challenges of ‘standing in’ as a parental figure for many of the children.
We have a strong idealistic vision about how we would eventually like to fully support the children but we begin in very practical ways by ensuring that their basic needs are met first. Food, water, clothing and a secure place to live and learn are an essential background to fulfilling higher emotional, psychological and spiritual needs. Many of our children come to us lacking even these basic resources of life. At the same time, we provide structure in their lives and nurture the sense of belonging to a community within the school. We model respect, tolerance and love, and many of them look to their school friends as family.

SI: What type of support does One Child’s Village need to sustain its work and what does your organization and the Mercy Children’s Center need right now?
TL: Certainly funding plays a crucial role in our ability to provide adequate support to the orphans, and our work at One Child’s Village relies entirely on funds donated by public supporters and through various fundraising events. Our focus at this time is to make our current schools self-sustaining and independent of outside aid. Part of our success has been in avoiding over-extending ourselves in ways that are unsustainable. We also rely entirely on volunteers, and are always expanding our volunteer membership so that we can do more.
Beyond that, however, we are in the planning stages of building another new school with additional living facilities for the children. This would allow us to better serve the needs of the children presently living in the slum. The purchase of new lands and construction of both a school and living quarters for 150 students could easily be accomplished for around $150,000 using the models that we have developed so far.

SI: What is needed in terms of long-term development?
TL: What is needed is a comprehensive international plan, along the lines of the Brandt Commission, for changing the global economic policies that prolong inhumane conditions. Poverty is a manufactured condition in the world. It persists because it is deliberately maintained. It is a fallacy to believe that poverty has somehow haphazardly arisen in only the developing nations of the world, or that it is caused by some inherent weakness in  powerful – both within those countries and internationally – that prevent greater development in those impoverished states. Until we understand that fundamental global changes must be made to ensure a dignified existence for all, organizations like ours will remain obligated by our basic humanity and compassion to help those who continue to suffer.

Facts and forecasts

The planet, trees, UNEP and you

“If men are to save this planet from the results of global warming they must do infinitely more than is planned to limit carbon emissions, and in a shorter period of time than is generally accepted as necessary. Men have been slow to recognize the dangers, and even now many refuse to take the problems seriously. Such attitudes, there is no doubt, put in jeopardy the future of planet Earth. At most, men have ten to fifteen years in which to establish a balance before irreparable damage is done.”(Benjamin Creme’s Master, May 2009)

It could be done – one tree for each person on our planet. The countdown to World Environment Day (WED), 5 June 2009, has started and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) has an ambitious tree planting plan: 7 billion new trees to be planted before the UN Climate Convention in Copenhagen in December 2009. The UNEP is calling on everyone around the world to ‘plant a tree and play your part’.

Under the theme “Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign,” UNEP is encouraging people, communities, organizations, businesses, civil society and governments to enter their tree planting pledges. The objective was to plant at least one billion trees worldwide every year but now the UNEP has set a new goal of planting 7 billion trees – one for every person on the planet – by the end of 2009. The campaign strongly encourages the planting of indigenous trees and trees that are appropriate to the local environment.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said: "If we are to reach the goal of 7 billion trees planted by the crucial UN climate convention meeting in December, UNEP needs your support, from schools and associations to governments, businesses and individual citizens"
"Make the run up to WED a tree planting time, indeed make it one today – if half the people on the planet get out and plant just one sapling in May through to 5 June then the campaign is just a whisker away from success: a powerful statement too to world leaders and the need to ‘Seal the climate Deal’ in less than 200 days time," he added.
The UNEP campaign is innovative and inspiring; it has a website dedicated to this programme encouraging active participation by all and urging those involved to pass on the message through social networks such as Twitter where you can register your pledge and let others know. The UNEP is pledging to plant a tree for every twitter follower who joins in between now and 5 June – a useful way to make each tweet count.
The World Organization of the Scouts Movement have pledged their participation in the global tree planting drive. Priority countries for tree planting activities by Scouts include Mexico, India, South Africa, Georgia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Hungary, Philippines, Brazil and Australia. Through this initiative the Scouts hope to plant 65,000 trees or more.
The World Environment Day global tree planting drive is the first in a series of mass participation events planned as part of the UN-led "Seal the Deal!" campaign in the lead-up to the UN climate convention meeting in Copenhagen.
As part of this campaign, UNEP is also encouraging Chinese youth to register their awareness-raising activities through Xiao Nei – a Chinese social networking site. (Source: UNEP press release)

Barter

“In this coming Age, mankind will evolve several methods of dealing with the problems involved in implementing the Principle of Sharing. ... Through a sophisticated form of barter, the world’s goods will be shared until such time as man’s inner divinity awakens in him a desire for a simpler method of structuring his economic life.” (A Master Speaks, February 1982)

With an expected economic decline of 10 per cent this year in Singapore, small and medium sized businesses are increasingly turning to barter. Through BarterXchange, a network of 600 enterprises, companies in the northern part of the city state earn credits by offering their services and skills, which they can then use to obtain what they need from other members. (Source: BBC News Online)

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First published April 1999,