Affirmations, Calls & Decrees:

More Insights

(Affirmations Part 4)

The following is an excerpt from a spiritual biography that I'm writing about my spiritual teacher, Pearl Dorris. It provides additional insights on how to use affirmations, calls and decrees - especially for practical everyday things. I hope you find it helpful and inspiring. - Bill Gaum

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Using Affirmations & "Calls" for

Practical Everyday Needs

As Pearl’s understanding of the Teachings deepened she began to better appreciate why our Ascended Sisters and Brothers encourage us to call for anything which is constructive.

In the beginning, she was puzzled by this idea. This is because since we are living in physical bodies on a physical planet, there are many things which naturally need to be accomplished as a part of our daily life which at first glance appear to be rather “down-to earth,” compared to calling for qualities of mastery. But, with growing clarity and increasing joy, she began to see that these normal requirements of everyday living also have their divine purpose. Consequently, she realized that it is perfectly appropriate to “make the call” for such ordinary things as finding a new job, home, or car; calling for an adequate money supply, perfect health, or new, more spiritual friends; as well as divine guidance, inspiration, protection and so on. In fact, she learned that we can literally affirm, decree, or call for anything we, (or others), need to become, attain, have, or accomplish that is constructive. And as Lotus Ray King often said, “The Call Compels the Answer.” (Godfre & Lotus Ray King were Pearl's spiritual teachers.) So as time passed, Pearl, or as Lotus used to call her, “Pearly Gates,” not only came to grasp this sacred truth more clearly, but was amazed to discover how naturally these calls are often answered. She noticed that more and more often, she just happened to be in the right place, at the right time, for the right reason, without having planned or thought about it.

Many years later she would also point out to her students that even though it is a marvelous thing to call for “everyday” types of things, it is extremely important to make sure that whatever we are calling for is truly beneficial. We would never want to make the call for anything that would have a harmful effect on anyone else, or that would be foolish. Neither would we want to make the call for something frivolous or unfair such as winning a game that we are playing with someone.

Why We Need to "Make the Call"

Some people wonder, “Is it really all right to be asking GOD for all these things?” In this same vein, Dr. John Hislop, a deeply sincere student of Sai Baba’s, once inquired of him:

Is not praying to GOD the same thing as begging?

Baba replied:

To beg from an equal, puts you down and him up. But when you ask GOD, you rise up to His level. You must ask GOD. To ask GOD is perfectly all right. It is not begging.

At other times people question, “If GOD knows all our requirements before we even ask, then why do we have to ‘call’ for anything? Why doesn’t GOD just provide all our needs automatically?” Thus, Hislop asked Baba:

But I had thought that since GOD knows each problem, that if it was appropriate to remedy the trouble, GOD would do so without being asked?

Sai responded:

Important answer! No. It is your duty to ask GOD. Words must be said, and the words must correspond to the thought. The thought must be put into a true word. It is true enough that the Divinity knows all. But He requires that the true word be said. The mother may know that to maintain life the child requires food. But milk is given when the child asks for it.1

Thus, we can see how essential it is to “make the call” in order for our Higher Self - our I AM Presence - our Atma, to release into our hands whatever we may require on our journey to freedom.

GOD Usually Answers our "Calls" in Natural Ways

As time went on Pearly Gates’ realization of how naturally our calls are often fulfilled, increased even more. People sometimes have the impression that their calls will be answered with great thunderings in the heavens, flashes of light, and a divine voice of commanding authority speaking from out of a cloud. While it is possible for these kinds of “miracles” to happen, Pearl found that our Creator usually chooses to answer our calls in much more “down to earth” ways that are really just as miraculous. For example, let us say we have lost our wallet. We know it is in the house somewhere, but we can not find it. So becoming very still, we tune into our hearts and say, either aloud or silently, something similar to the following: “I AM the Presence of GOD leading me right to my wallet. And I AM the Presence of Jesus (or the Buddha, Quan Yin, Saint Germain, Mary, etc)) assisting me.” Perhaps we sincerely repeat this two or three more times, and then we go back to our normal activity of washing the dishes, working on the car, or whatever we were doing prior to making the call. Then a few minutes later we might find ourselves thinking, “I had better clean up the living room; my friends will be arriving soon,” or some other such natural thought that results in an activity of some kind. And when we go over and start folding the clothes that are on the sofa, we discover our wallet right under the pile of laundry! We are delighted that we have found it so quickly, and happily think: “GOD answered my call!”

But a few moments later a doubt drives in and we find ourselves thinking “Oh, that was no miracle, the wallet just fell out of my pocket while I was sitting on the sofa and I put the laundry on top of it. I would have found it anyway.” A little more time goes by, and perking back up we think, “Well, maybe my I AM Presence really did do it – after all, I found it very quickly after I made the call.” And we might go back and forth like that for a few hours. A couple of days later, another opportunity comes along to make a call in a similar situation and it works again. Now our confidence is beginning to grow a little more. Thus, the next time we make the call we do it with even greater sincerity, feeling, and power, and the call is answered still again. Gradually we realize that our Mother-Father GOD really does answer our calls. And it usually happens in perfectly natural ways in GOD’s own “divine timing.” As our confidence continues to grow, our momentum in making the call becomes ever stronger and we are able to release the same amount of power in one call as was previously released in ten or twenty calls. Once Pearl got the feeling of it, she was surprised at how naturally this process works in our lives and how quickly the calls are often answered.

Some Goals Will Require More Light Released Than Others

Pearl also found that the amount of Light we need to release in our calls in order to find something like a lost wallet is relatively small compared to the amount of Light required to make us perfect masters. In other words, while we may be able to find the lost wallet with just one sincere call, acquiring divine humility, tolerance, patience, or some other quality of mastery, may require many, many calls and much sincere effort over quite a few years or maybe even an entire lifetime.

In this same way, she discovered that some divine qualities will be easy to acquire, while other ones may seem difficult. And each person will be different. Consequently, we need to be patient with ourselves and have endurance as we determinedly work towards self-mastery while being non-judgemental toward others. She found that there is no short cut, yet, as we sincerely and steadfastly apply these laws, we will gradually begin to see the progress we are making. And as this takes place, the peace and happiness we so much want will steadily grow within us. This is one of the reasons why in later years she would frequently tell her students to, “keep on keeping on.”

Sometimes It Seems Like Things Are Temporarily Getting Harder

Pearl also observed to her surprise, that occasionally as we sincerely affirm a needed divine quality, it seems as though we are temporarily becoming less masterful, rather than more masterful! For example, suppose that we wish to acquire a happy, hopeful, serene disposition in the face of all things. This is really a very, great quality of mastery. Imagine we are sitting in our bedroom or wherever we like to meditate. We have just spent fifteen minutes or so pouring love to our I AM Presence using a devotional Light Meditation, (such as the one on page eleven of Unveiled Mysteries that Saint Germain describes, or Sai Baba’s Light Meditation, or the one which will be described in a later chapter entitled, “The Light Meditation”.) And now that we are feeling more serene, we decide to affirm the desired divine qualities. So staying within this peaceful feeling of meditation, we begin affirming with deep sincerity, “I AM the Presence of GOD’s happy, hopeful, serenity in the face of all things.” And as we are sitting there, we are becoming soooooo happy, hopeful and serene! We are just “oozing” with it, and it seems as though we will never be otherwise again.

The next morning we go into work and our supervisor informs us that because of some scheduling changes, we have only two days to complete what otherwise would be a two-week project. We begin to get a sinking feeling in our solar plexus. Then we receive a phone call from somebody to whom we had promised a favor, and because of circumstances beyond their control the favor has to be done tomorrow. When we get home from work our spouse informs us that the plumbing has just sprung a leak, and it becomes obvious to us that we going to have to stay up late working together to fix it. Meanwhile, the kids are sick with the flu and we are beginning to feel a little under the weather ourselves. All our happiness, hopefulness, and serenity seems to have evaporated and we are wondering how this can be happening when just the day before, we began making such powerful calls for these divine qualities!

Pearl discovered that usually in this kind of situation, an often unrecognized divine process is at work. Our Higher Self, as it responds to our calls for these divine attributes, sometimes observes that we have the strength and sincerity to acquire them in a more rapid way than usual, so it now arranges the perfect circumstances for us to develop them. And what better way is there to strengthen these attributes than to encounter situations which would normally trigger discouragement and hopelessness; try our patience; and ruffle our feelings of serenity. We certainly do not develop these strengths when everything is going smoothly! So when something like this begins to happen, rather than becoming disheartened and thinking, “Oh no, I’ll never be happy, hopeful, and serene in the face of all things,” we need to appreciate how our I AM Presence is arranging the perfect lessons for us, even though at first we do not seem to recognize them as such. In fact, Pearl gradually learned that when we are going through these “trying” experiences, it is actually the perfect time to make our calls – right there “in the thick of it.” In this way, we make more rapid progress than usual, because we are so earnest in our application of the Law while in the throes of the difficult situation. It is helpful to keep this in mind, even though at the time it seems as though we are hardly making any progress at all. So it is important to not get discouraged when the going gets rough. It is simply because of our great sincerity and inner strength, that our own Higher Self is sometimes willing to promote us to this quicker, more efficient, and more demanding, “fast track” of spiritual learning.

Similarly Sai Baba once wrote in a letter to Dr. John Hislop:

Hislop! The harder the circumstances, the more trying the environments, the stronger are the [individuals] who come out of those circumstances. So welcome all these outside troubles and anxieties.2

How Come Our Calls Aren't Answered Instantly?

Pearl also observed that sometimes it seems like a long time before our calls are answered. We may be making calls for months on end without any appearance of progress. In these cases, the Masters tell us to just “keep on keeping on.” Keep up our heartfelt calls. This is because, as Saint Germain mentioned earlier, our calls have to work on the “inner planes” first, before they can “out-picture” in the physical realm. And it sometimes takes quite a few calls to build up a sufficient momentum before the desired result becomes noticeable. Occasionally, after calling for months, or even years, without any seeming progress, we will wake up one morning and the call will have been answered! The problem that we have been calling to have removed, is now gone, or the divine quality that we have been affirming, is now much more clearly established. It simply took that much energy to be released, for it to manifest.

And our Ascended Sisters and Brothers say that we can never call to our Higher Self - Atma - I AM Presence and to them too many times, or for too much divine assistance. Our I AM Presence, the Arisen Host, and Sai Baba are unlimited in every way and can answer any number of calls, affirmations, decrees or prayers from any number of people simultaneously. So we do not ever have to think that we might be making too many calls, or that we are keeping Sai Baba or our Ascended Friends too busy. But we should always make sure it is for unselfish, constructive purposes. And, as has been mentioned, there is nothing wrong with calling for divine perfection. As Jesus said, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect," (Matthew 5:48, KJV). In short, they want us to approach as close as possible to perfection, and how are we going to do it unless we start calling for it and affirming it?

Healing Affirmations

It may interest the reader to know that the great Indian Yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda, also encouraged his students to use affirmations. His book, Scientific Healing Affirmations, contains many useful affirmations for healing, as well as for manifesting various spiritual and material blessings.

Combining Healing Affirmations with Common Sense Health Care

Speaking of health problems, this is another area where Pearl noticed there is oftentimes some misunderstanding concerning the use of calls. People sometimes feel that if they do not receive an instantaneous healing as a result of their affirmations, then their calls have not worked. But this is not the case. Sometimes our I AM Presence will heal us instantly, oftentimes gradually, but more often than is usually recognized, our Divine Parent heals us in an entirely unexpected way – we are guided to the perfect health care professional.

Let us say that we have a tooth that is starting to hurt a little bit and it has become increasingly sensitive to cold things. So we make the following call: “I AM the Presence of a perfectly healthy tooth. And I AM the Presence of Quan Yin (the Goddess of Mercy) amplifying this call.” Then we go about our normal activities for the day. A little while later a friend phones us. And, as we are chatting with them, they just happen to mention that there is a new dentist in town who is excellent, and if we ever need a filling, she would be a perfect one to go to. We think to ourselves, “Hmmm, maybe I should go to the dentist. It would be the common sense thing to do.” But then another thought drives in, and we start thinking, “Oh no, I’m not going to the dentist – GOD is going to heal me.” So we make a few more powerful calls and go on our way.

The next day we buy the local paper, which we have not bothered to look at in weeks, open it up at random, and happen to look right at an advertisement of this new dentist in town. Now we start thinking to ourselves, “I wonder if the Great Ones are trying to tell me something?” And in our heart is growing a soft, warm feeling that we would really like to try out that new dentist. But then that stubborn quality surfaces again and we say, “No! I’m not going to a dentist. The I AM Presence is going to heal me.” Later in the day, an old friend whom we have not heard from in months, phones us. And without us mentioning anything about our sensitive tooth, they proceed to tell us that the students at the dental school at the nearby university do fillings at a third of the regular price. Well, we go back and forth again between the two choices. The quiet, divine prompting growing within our heart, as well as common sense, is telling us to visit a dentist. But our confused emotions and lower intellect are telling us to stay away from the dentist. What do we do? We manage to suppress the divine feeling within our heart and ignore this prompting too.

A month or two later, the tooth is now sensitive to hot things as well to cold, and it is becoming mildly painful more often. The feeling continues to grow in our hearts to see a healthcare professional. And new chance encounters with additional friends, coincidentally keeps bringing up recommendations for this new dentist in town. But still we ignore the feeling and stubbornly think, “I’m not going to depend on doctors or dentists, GOD is going to heal me!” Then as another month goes by, the pain finally becomes so unbearable that we have no choice, but to go to the dentist. And as the dentist is examining our teeth, she kindly informs us, “Oh, it’s a shame you didn’t come in earlier. You would have only needed a filling. Now you need an expensive root canal and a crown.” Regretfully, we think to ourselves, “I should have followed my heart. I knew I was supposed to go to the dentist. I wonder why I ignored all those promptings?”

Balancing Our Heart With Divine Common Sense

It is important for us to always follow our hearts. And if we balance our heartfelt feelings with our common sense, and “feel out” the correct course of action, we will not go too far wrong. We have been spending literally hundreds of lifetimes acquiring divine wisdom, and one of its aspects is “good old common sense.” So our Arisen Friends always recommend that we be balanced about these things, and not become fanatical. This is not to say that we can not heal ourselves directly using only the power of our calls. We can! In fact, it happens more often than one might think. But the important thing is to follow the gentle feelings within the heart, balanced with our common sense. That way we will be able to know when our I AM Presence wants us to heal ourselves only through our calls or prayers, or when It is also guiding us to the perfect health care professional.

It was deeply satisfying to Pearl to realize how our Mother-Father GOD - the Infinite I AM, can work through any part of Its Creation. Whether it is through our prayers and calls alone, or it is through a dentist, ayurvedic doctor, MD, herbalist, chiropractor, or a naturopath, it is still GOD’s love, wisdom, and energy at work. She was also grateful to learn that there is in fact, an Ascended Master named Hilarion, whose main mission is to inspire those in the scientific and health fields to bring forth ever more divine advances in science, engineering, and medicine. Likewise, he helps those working with “alternative” approaches to “rediscover” marvelously useful, but temporarily forgotten or overlooked, wholistic or traditional methods. By combining the inspired, wise, and appropriate use of new knowledge and technology, with the already useful wholistic and traditional methods, and infusing them both with selfless spiritual values, we will be able to move forward bringing peace, wholeness, health, true prosperity, and happiness once again to the children of Earth. In this same way, as time went on, Pearl began to realize that all GOD’s children, whether we are artists, architects, musicians, scientists, carpenters, engineers, chiropractors, doctors, nurses, writers, inventors, farmers, business people, teachers, mothers, fathers, or “little ones;” we are all a part of Divine Creation, and each one of us is an outpouring of the Infinite One’s blessings whenever we act constructively. In the Hindu religion, they express this idea by saying, “GOD has many Hands.” Eventually, Pearl came to feel and know that GOD is the real “Doer” of all the good that comes through any of us.

As Pearl became more adept in her affirming and decreeing, the greater became her realization that every sincere call is always answered. In this way, her appreciation for Lotus’ popular saying, “the call compels the answer,” continued to deepen.

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To Learn Even More about Affirmations,

Calls, Decrees and Visualizations

please click on the following:

Introduction to Affirmations & Table of Contents

Part 1: Affirmations Explained

Part 2: "Affirmations & Calls in Greater Depth".

Part 3: The Sacred Words or "Word" "I AM": To learn more about the crucial importance of the Sacred Words: "I AM", and how they signify our own true inner Divinity and give us access to our own spiritual creative power, and how they relate to GOD's name - and not "taking GOD's name in vain", please click here to go to this article in Saint Germain's Path: The "Word": "I AM".

Part 4: Affirmations: More Insights (current article)

Part 5: Learn How to Create Your Own Personal Affirmations.

Part 6: Useful Affirmations, Calls, and Decrees You Might Want to Try.