By Diana Palmares —

My first face to face meeting with Mother was the absolute grace of this lifetime! The years preceding certainly helped prepare me for that moment. Early in life I read a book by Edgar Cayce about karma and reincarnation that made absolute sense to me and became foundational in gleaning deeper insights into other works, such as The Bhagavid Gita.

A major spiritual thrust for me occurred in 1971, as I was led by opportunity to join Paramahansa Yogananda’s Self-Realization Fellowship, where I not only became familiar with the guru-chela relationship, but also with the concept of the Christ Consciousness. As I actively began practicing meditation, my world changed. Truly, another world opened up for me—the discovery of a new part of myself I had not previously known existed—God in me! Spiritually speaking there was nothing more I was looking for. The experience was as fulfilling as life gets, I thought.

Still being rather care-free in my commitment to life, however, I literally had a “wake-up” call while traveling as a passenger in a car which became involved in a major head on collision on a winding two way road in southern France. Hearing my voice scream with the sound and impact of the crash (as I was asleep) I believed I was going to die. I remember asking God to take me, and then awoke to the amazement that I had not died.

This significant turning point in my life slowed me down with lots of time to read and led me to a book about Mother Teresa, Something Beautiful for God. Now I felt inspired and seriously considered joining the Missionaries of Charity which symbolized to me a purposeful way to serve God. But this was not to be, as my life took on a seemingly normal existence and yet one in which I would come to learn of the Ascended Masters.

I married in 1974 and became pregnant with my first child in 1975, which was a key year for me. It all began one morning in May of that year, while I was not getting out of bed to attend a seminar sponsored by the Ascended Masters because I had morning sickness. My husband and I at that time lived in San Diego where he had learned of the I AM Movement and consequently brought home some pictures from their sanctuary. One picture was of the Great Divine Director and the other one of Mighty Victory. These were the pictures that show the light literally blazing out of the masters’ eyes! He kept putting them out on a book shelf and I kept walking by and turning them face down, as I was not at all interested and even feeling “uncomfortable” by their presence.

There was also at that time, a group of chelas who lived in a teaching center called “The White Lodge” north of San Diego, where they published The Crystallization of the God Flame. One day upon a first visit to their bookstore, we were told of a seminar that would take place on Coronado Island the following week-end, and that “Mother” would be there. There was such excitement in the air when they said “Mother,” but I didn’t really get what that was all about. Prior to the seminar, on a different occasion we had also attended a rather low key small gathering of chelas from the White Lodge in which Mother showed up and planned to give a dictation. She told us Saint Germain invited anyone who was not a Keeper of the Flame to sign up on the spot in order to remain for the dictation. We declined at this point, and went home, since we weren’t even sure what it meant to become a Keeper of the Flame. Things were moving too fast for me.

Stepping back to that morning in May—I reluctantly and with great effort, still feeling sick, decided to get out of bed and find out what the great fuss was about in getting to this seminar—especially since my husband was bound and determined to go with or without me! Upon entering the foyer of the hotel, a beautiful focus of the three fold-flame encased in glass caught my eye and Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major playing, caught my ear. I was enthralled by these sensations, and they remained with me throughout the week-end just as they remain within me to this day.

A spiral staircase led up to the room where the seminar The Buddha and the Mother was taking place. After becoming familiar with the atmosphere, I browsed the bookstore and purchased the book, My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord and an album of Mother Mary’s Scriptural Rosary for the New Age, as well as rosary beads since someone had advised me to give a daily rosary for the child. My feelings were now peaceful and I could believe there was something here for me to discover.

Suddenly, that same excitement that had been tangible at the White Lodge during our visit to the bookstore was upon us again. I heard people saying “Mother is coming!” And from the top of the staircase looking down below, outside the window, there she was… walking with some chelas to the entrance of the hotel. Well, without hesitation, I too was caught up in that excitement, and boldly leapt down the staircase and outside onto the garden patio to meet her. Mine is not the story in that moment of holding back. This is a lifetime moment of Mother approaching me, even as I am seeking her in that very moment, and my soul leaps to greet her by being there and being available!!

In the few moments that we spoke, there was a “oneness” that was unsurpassed. I did ask her to bless my child, and placed my hands over hers as she placed her hands on my baby. She then told me El Morya wanted me to know that he would like to name the child upon birth and that we could call her when the child was born, that is, if we wanted to. My husband was also with me, but I was definitely taking the lead this time. In her presence, I was so excited and in the “moment” that it never dawned on me I didn’t know who El Morya was, nor bother to ask. As we departed, I then had to ask myself, “Who is El Morya?” I could only anticipate that meeting El Morya would be as incredibly meaningful and joyful as meeting “Mother” had been.

The Buddha and the Mother revealed many inward teachings to me. I know I was cut free by Astrea on that first day. There were teachings and dictations by Gautama Buddha and Lady Master Venus. The next big event to follow was the Shasta Conference in July 1975. I must give credit to beloved Alice Boscoe who was extremely instrumental in providing encouragement and support that paved the way for us to make it to that conference even as I was at that time 6 months pregnant.

One of the greatest blessings of understanding myself that I’ve received over these 40 years that has carried me through the hard times is simply that I love the guru and the guru loves me.

How grateful we are then, to be so loved by our dear friends in heaven who know our story far better than we do in our outer minds. Even as we tell our story in the way that is most valuable to our soul’s memory, don’t you also look forward to the day when we may read or have read to us the Master’s version of our story from the higher octaves of light? Here we may find many mysteries revealed and the beginning and ending of this drama on Earth as it comes to completion and we rise to meet a new day!