(Posted on: March 4, 2013 by David McMillin)
Are ye not all children of God? Are ye not co-creators with Him? Have ye not been with Him from the beginning? Is there any knowledge, wisdom or understanding withheld if ye have attuned thyself to that Creative Force which made the worlds and all the forces manifested in same? (294-202)
For, the soul being a part or a shadow of the real spiritual self, it controls or rules the universe rather than being ruled by same. But, they that have entirely put on a consciousness are ruled by same. Hence, as each individual entity accepts and lives by this or that awareness, or consciousness, it gives power and spirit to same. Thus is each soul, each entity, a co-creator with that universal consciousness ye call God. (2246-1)
In this lesson the concept of light and shadow relates to how we know what's real and true. The materialistic philosophy that is so common in our modern world says that material objects are real and that spirit is not real – that spirit is an illusion. The Cayce readings and virtually all the great spiritual traditions take the opposite view – that spirit is ultimately real and world of material objects is the illusion, since material objects will pass away but spirit is eternal. This will seem like a paradox for sure. But that is the nature of all great spiritual traditions – they recognize the inherent paradox of human experience – that of spiritual beings in a material world.
So as we look around and see material objects that appear so permanent and real – it is really a shadow world. We’d be better off as souls to recognize the illusion and not get too caught up in it - not become so materialistic that we lose sight of our spiritual heritage as companions and co-creators with the Divine. Yes, we must attend to our material needs (hence the exercise on finances), but the material side of life is not the ultimate destination or end point for the soul. Perhaps we would be better off to put our faith in the unseen realm of spirit that is the ultimate source of reality. But that is an open question isn’t it, since we all have will and can choose our ideal way of approaching life?
From a metaphysical perspective, any object in this material world is a shadow projected from the unseen realm of spirit. For example consider a building, any building. Initially some people were moved by spirit (movement and motivation are attributes of spirit) to create the building. The spiritual ideal that moved them need not have been a very high ideal. In fact, it may have been a greedy, selfish ideal. The energy of spirit can be misdirected. Or maybe the building was an inspiring cathedral. It’s a matter of how they chose to use their divine gift. At any rate, these builders then used their minds to imagine what the building would look like. These mental patterns were put into drawings and specifications before the digging and building actually began. 
This process is like the ideals exercise – from spirit through the mind into physical reality. That is the way everything comes into physical reality. The physical structure will eventually crumble and fade away. But the spiritual intent and motivation will always be part of the soul patterns of those individuals who created that building. Which is ultimately more real? The material building (shadow) or the spiritual energy that created it (light)?
That is the gist of this lesson – putting our faith in the unseen realm of spirit (the Creative Energy called God) into action through a spiritual ideal. By materializing the spiritual ideal, the physical dimension of human life becomes sacred. Our physical needs are met by the power of Spirit flowing through us. We move in the direction of our Source, developing our gift as conscious co-creators with the Divine. Keep the faith.
Holistic Materialization – This video segment describes how ideals create our personal reality. It includes examples from my experience as a building contractor.