QA174 QUESTION: This new Aquarian Age is said to be the age of brotherhood, and people are talking about the importance of the group in the New Age. This country has been called the country of the rugged individualism, but in the New Age, the group will have more importance. I have seen in my own life that I’m moving toward this. At one time, I rather scorned group activities – packs, gangs, ganging together out of fear rather than something good – but I feel myself drawn toward group activity now, not just the group of this Pathwork, but a wider group. I feel there’s a group soul or group consciousness that expands the individual, that gives more to the individual than the individual could otherwise receive. Could you comment on this both generally and personally?

ANSWER: Yes. I would comment on it first generally. Very broadly speaking, on the evolutionary scale in this respect, it is a constant alternation. It is individual-group, individual-group, individual-group. But as the Pathwork of an individual sees these spiral movements – that one seems to go around the same thing but gets on the deeper level or on a higher spiritual level (which is the same, for deep and high are arbitrary concepts in this three-dimensional world) – so it is with the overall evolution and development of mankind.

The alternation between group and individual has always existed. There was always a phase when through individualism, as it were, the development took place. Each personality was thrown back to his own resources to cultivate them and bring them forth in order to, in the next phase, come together, unite, communicate, interact.

There is so much negativity and destructiveness to work itself out of the human state of development – individually speaking and therefore collectively speaking – for the collective soul is only a sum total of the individuals.

These negative, destructive elements showed up in each such period, so that eventually the phase of individualism would then also bring out the worst – not only to cultivate what has to be learned in this particular period or phase – which may be so obscure that only the very overall vision can make that clear, and not while one is in it.

Then the group would be cultivated again, and then again the negativity would come out so that in the group, it would manifest and destroy unity in the group. This would bring about a dissension so that, again, individualism has to be fostered – symbolically and realistically, both.

This Pathwork teaches both, each as integral necessities. And it is not either the one or the other. Both are of tremendous necessity. The individual sessions and the individual working all by himself are both completely different facets from the group work you’re doing together. Also, from gathering here and listening and taking in what is brought forth and exposing yourself, as it were – it seems that way at first. All this brings you closer together.

Now, the value of group work or group activity is, of course, tremendous – the unity of purpose rather than the separatism that is fostered in the deep human misconceptions. The deep human misconception is: “I must conceal myself. I am different. If the truth were known, I could not be accepted. Therefore I must pretend.” And this brings more and more levels that cover up the real self. Group activity that is meaningful makes this easier.

Also, the either/or of duality is so tremendously harmful. It is “I’m wrong and you are right,” or “I must be right and then you are wrong.” This is the disaster of the human consciousness, because all dissension lies in this.

How can children be protected from growing up with this kind of philosophy and this kind of concept when they see the apparently serious grown-up world in politics trying to settle dissension in this disastrous manner, when the statesmen still do not know any better to solve problems than “I am right and you are wrong. I must not admit I’m wrong in anything, because otherwise you are right and I am all wrong.” Therefore, the destruction of unbelievable dimension could result at this time, unless mankind learns that there is another reality.

It is the same in private lives. In the smallest issue, it is not me versus you. You are both right, and you are both wrong. As long as you do not learn this, you must be in terrible conflict. As long as you cannot afford to be wrong because then you think you are unacceptable, you cannot function with other human beings.

Now, this is the aim in this age. The Aquarian Age brings this nearer, brings mankind nearer to this kind of consciousness, to this kind of development. This can be learned only in a group-purposeful openness, where you can really be open and true, not concealed with all the masks, projecting the images with which you pretend to the world. This will help.

In such a group purpose of truthful functioning lies a tremendous power that applies to the entire universal structure. It influences the energies in the universe. Every smallest little group can be truthful together and therefore eventually develop love – not phony love, not pretended love, not a gesture of love, not a command of “thou shalt love” – but the real feeling that can only come when you are truthful about yourself, no matter how mistaken this or that may be.

Such a group that functions in such honesty does infinitely more on the universal scale than to help the individuals who are in such a group. The value is tremendous. The broadening vibrations, the energies that are released of truthful, unpretentious being with one another, has such an influence, my friends, as you cannot even conceive of at this time.

Quite apart from this collective, overall, universal value, the individual loses the sense of shame and separateness, so that real living can begin. Now, what is, from this general answer, not covered for you personally, my dear?

QUESTION: No, I think it’s covered.

ANSWER: Yes, I think it is.

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