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Excerpt from: The Journey Upward Defining Moments in the Life of a Spiritual Psychologist by Marilyn C. Barrick, Ph.D.

Faith is to believe what you do not yet see;
The reward for this faith is to see what you believe.
–-Saint Augustine

         In 1973 my work as a clinical psychologist went through a sudden and dramatic shift. Although I didn’t have the least idea that this was coming, my understanding of therapeutic dynamics was about to  expand in a way I would never have imagined.
         This occurred one evening as I was doing a therapy session in the office I shared with a psychiatrist. My client that evening was a woman I had been seeing in therapy for over six months. I knew her, I knew her psychological dynamics, and I knew the therapeutic direction we were taking. Or at least I thought I did!
         As it turned out, my understanding of my client’s dynamics and the way in which I was used to conducting therapy sessions were about to turn upside down, for which in the long run I have been duly grateful, even though it was challenging at the time.

Cosmic Tutoring

         I recall that therapy session as though it were yesterday because it initiated what I have come to think of as cosmic tutoring in the science of psychology. My client asked me a question and I opened my mouth to reply—and my mind went absolutely blank. It was as if everything I knew about her was erased in that second.  Furthermore, I had no idea what she had just asked me or how to make a sensible response.
         Trying not to panic, I closed my eyes for a moment and offered a fervent, silent prayer to Jesus and anybody else up there who might help me. I opened my eyes again and began to respond to my client’s question. To this day I do not know exactly what I said or what her question had been, but apparently I was on track because she was nodding in agreement. To my astonishment, words and concepts kept flowing from me in a most organized and effortless manner.
         My client was most attentive and pleased with the way this therapy session was going. It was turning out to be especially fruitful in terms of her progress in addressing the complex issues that had brought her into therapy in the first place.
         As for me, I became the amazed observer of a miraculous thought process and therapeutic intervention that was clearly beyond my clinical expertise. I managed to keep my outer composure as accurate interventions tumbled out of my mouth without my having the least idea beforehand of what I was going to say.
         My understanding was clear with respect to the fact that the interventions were correct. However, I was mystified about where in the world they were coming from. I decided that until I understood what was happening, the better part of wisdom was to observe the phenomenon while it was occurring and to figure it out later.
         When we completed the session and said good night, my client and I were both elevated in consciousness—and I was in a state of shock. I thanked Jesus, the angels and whoever else might be helping me, and I went to bed that night excited, baffled and wondering where my professional life was going.
         This unusual kind of therapeutic intervention repeated itself over a period of approximately six months. To my amazement and gratitude, my clients took great strides forward toward healing the traumas that had been so worrisome that they were propelled into therapy. As for me, with every session I learned more about the ins and outs of what I now call spiritual psychology. I progressed from being considerably nervous about the entire drama to looking forward with great interest to what I was going to say next!

What Is My Lesson?

         I realized that it was definitely not me doing this amazing therapy—these higher understandings and fruitful interventions were coming from a higher source. I prayed for the acceleration of my spiritual understanding so that I would be able to continue accessing that level of higher consciousness for the benefit of my clients as well as myself. And I pondered within myself, “What is my lesson?”
         As I prayed and examined the accuracy of the interventions, I began to understand that the lesson was to integrate all that God was teaching me, which meant paying attention to inner guidance in all of my therapy sessions. At the same time, I realized that my expertise as a clinical psychologist was being taken to a higher level, and I was also being propelled a step higher on my spiritual path.
         I began to understand that these remarkable interventions were coming not only from Jesus, the master to whom I had prayed, but also from other ascended masters, whom I later came to know when I was introduced to The Summit Lighthouse.
         Over time I began to realize that when we pray to God for assistance, the ascended masters in the heaven-world do their best to intercede on our behalf even though we may not be aware of their intercession. They prompt us to take right action in accordance with our higher consciousness—our higher values and intentions.

Traveling Forward on My Spiritual Path

         Shortly upon the heels of this discovery, in the fall of 1973, a client of mine introduced me to the teachings of Mark L. Prophet and Elizabeth Clare Prophet and The Summit Lighthouse. Through the teachings of this spiritual organization, I was to discover the culmination of all that I had learned from Christianity, Eastern teachings, Edgar Cayce, Paramahansa Yogananda, and the teachings about the great I AM within us.
         I studied the teachings of The Summit Lighthouse and determined to do my best to master my spiritual lessons as I now approached them with a greater awareness and understanding. And I prayed to Jesus Christ and Almighty God to help me move forward on my spiritual path.
         I began to travel weekly to The Summit Lighthouse center at La Tourelle in Colorado Springs from Boulder,  where I was teaching at the university. And every time, I learned something new that coincided with my own inner understanding of God. How exciting that was!
         I knew I was on track in fulfilling my spiritual mission in life. And I realized that integrating the in-depth teachings of Mark and Elizabeth Prophet and the ascended masters was exactly what I needed to do. So my next step was to attend Summit University, a spiritual university that focused on the teachings of the ascended masters as given by the Prophets. ...