Metaphysical Bible Meditations - 8/24/17

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Hello again, readers! Today we'll begin our exploration of Luke Chapter 11 with verses 1-4, which detail Jesus' teaching the Lord's Prayer to the disciples.

"And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth."

"Our Father, which art in heaven..." Here, contrary to orthodox Christian belief, Jesus is not counseling us to pray to a personal God, dwelling far off in some remote corner of space, but rather is telling us to turn to the One Source, Power, Cause, and Substance, which indwells each of us in our subconscious mind.

"God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:24

Webster's defines Spirit as "an animating or vital principle held to give life to physical organisms." As research in psychology and neuroscience has increasingly revealed, the vast majority of our biological processes, behaviors, actions, ideas, thoughts, and emotions (good, bad, or indifferent) are governed by the imprints made upon the subconscious or unconscious mind by our environments and the beliefs and opinions of parents, teachers, relatives, and peers. It is this "vital principle" that we are to "worship in spirit and in truth" by being discerning in the thoughts, attitudes, concepts, and values that we entertain and form our philosophy of life around. To paraphrase the late Dr. Joseph Murphy, author of The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, the law of life is the law of belief: think good and good follows; think evil and evil follows.

With that established it logically follows that Heaven, rather than being a material realm where a personal God dwells, is symbolic of the state of conscious awareness of and union with the Divine Ideals of peace, harmony, love, compassion, wholeness, and vitality.  Even Saint Augustine, that most orthodox Church Father, thought as much, writing in his commentary on the Sermon on the Mount that heaven is "in the hearts of the righteous, as it were in His holy temple."

Furthermore:

"...God is not contained in space. For the heavens are indeed the higher material bodies of the world, but yet material, and therefore cannot exist except in some definite place; but if God's place is believed to be in the heavens, as meaning the higher parts of the world, the birds are of greater value than we, for their life is nearer to God. But it is not written, The Lord is near unto tall men, or unto those who dwell on mountains...

And for the purpose of showing this, when we stand at prayer, we turn to the east, whence the heaven rises: not as if God also were dwelling there... but in order that the mind may be admonished to turn to a more excellent nature, i.e. to God."

And as Jesus himself said, "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17: 20 -21, emphasis added).

"Hallowed be thy name..."

As written in the book of Exodus, God reveals his name to Moses from the Burning Bush as "I Am That I Am" (Exodus 3:14). A name is representative of the nature of the person, place, or object that it is affixed to. In this case, the name of "I AM" is indicative of unconditioned consciousness. We are to "hallow" the name of God (the subconscious) by meditating on "whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report." (Philippians 4:8) We take this name "in vain" by wedding it with false and destructive beliefs such as "I am weak", "I am poor", "I am unwanted", "I am a failure", etc.

"Thy kingdom come..."

This represents the manifold blessings (physical, material, intellectual, spiritual) which are born of joining wholesome, constructive concepts and imagery to the creative, receptive mold of the I AM (subconscious mind).

"Thy will be done..."

The "will of God" here refers to the plan of growth, unfoldment, and evolution of the indwelling Word (Christ Consciousness) of every individual soul.

"But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it." Deuteronomy 30:14

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men." John 1: 1-4

"As in heaven..."

Heaven, as we've discovered, refers to the mental state of conscious unity with the Divine Essence.

"So in earth..."

The realm of earth, metaphysically, refers to the objective, three dimensional plane on which the contents we impregnate our subconscious minds with are given physical manifestation on the screen of space. This is at the heart of the well known Hermetic axiom, "As within, so without."

"Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil."

"Our daily bread" is the bounty we receive when we tune in to the Infinite Storehouse, which "knoweth what things" we have need of and will bestow to us "pressed down, and shaken together, and running over" when we ask in confident faith. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." Psalm 23:1

"The forgiveness of sins", when stripped of the sense of wallowing guilt and self pity with which it has unfortunately been equated, is nothing more than the active cleansing and renewal of the subconscious mind, sifting out our false beliefs and perceptions, and cultivating new ones through dedicated and affirmative study, prayer, and meditation. We are also to "forgive" others who may have wronged us by changing our view of them, seeing them in a new light by wishing for them all the blessings of life. In doing this they no longer hold the "debt" of our previous judgment of them.

God, or Universal Spirit, being Love itself, does not "lead us into temptation." It is the metaphorical devils of ignorance, fear, and jealously which divert us from the path of perfection, leading us into limitation and calamity of all kinds (see James 1:12 - 15). Jesus, knowing this, was simply telling us to affirm and cleave to the good in thought, word, and deed, which "keeps us from evil."  

I hope you enjoyed today's content! Until next time, keep on keeping onward, upward, and God-ward.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider making a small love offering at the Paypal link below. Thank you!

paypal.me/CMacCormack

Honor Your Father and Mother

Photo credit: https://lifehopeandtruth.com

If we are to render true honor to our parents we must: Understand and forgive them their shortcomings, then transcend them by incorporating and building on their strengths in ourselves.

All of us, having been reared in a society in which the Judeo - Christian strain of ethics is deeply embedded, have undoubtedly heard at various times in our lives the injunction to "Honor your father and your mother" (Exodus 20:12), which of course is one of the Ten Commandments. A noble sentiment, but one that is sometimes taken (along with other parts of the Bible) at face value: Even, unfortunately, to the point of enduring abuse – physical, emotional, and psychological - from a parent or guardian.

 While the vast majority of such abuse is visited upon children by their parents/guardians unconsciously, it sadly brings with it both immediate and long lasting detrimental effects on physical, emotional, and psychological well-being. According to the latest research published in April 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cited the following findings regarding the effects of Child Maltreatment:

- “Abuse and neglect during infancy or early childhood can cause regions of the brain to form and function improperly with long-term consequences on cognitive and language abilities, socioemotional development, and mental health. For example, the stress of chronic abuse may cause a "hyperarousal" response in certain areas of the brain, which may result in hyperactivity and sleep disturbances.”

- “Children who experience abuse and neglect are also at increased risk for adverse health effects and certain chronic diseases as adults, including heart disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, liver disease, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high levels of C-reactive protein.”

- “In one long-term study, as many as 80% of young adults who had been abused met the diagnostic criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder at age 21. These young adults exhibited many problems, including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and suicide attempts.”

- “Children who experience abuse and neglect are at increased risk for smoking, alcoholism, and drug abuse as adults, as well as engaging in high-risk sexual behaviors.”

This, it would seem, is an all too vivid demonstration of how "the sins of the parents" can be visited "upon their children; the entire family is affected--even children in the third and fourth generations." (Numbers 14:18) All of this information begs the question: How can we truly honor our parents and guardians, if we are continuing to deal with the wounds generated by their abusive behavior?

Forgiveness

The first step, so beautifully articulated by Jesus, is to forgive:

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!” (Matthew 18:21-22)

Forgiveness, as modern medicine has discovered, is one of the most potent of healing balms. It helps to clear out the poison pockets of pain, rage, and anger that have welled up in our minds and hearts, keeping us bound in depression, frustration, and physical illness. As the late Dr. Joseph Murphy wrote in his classic self - help best-seller The Power of Your Subconscious Mind:

“Forgiveness of others is essential to mental peace and radiant health. You must forgive everyone who has ever hurt you if you want perfect health and happiness. Forgive yourself by getting your thoughts in harmony with divine law and order. You cannot really forgive yourself completely until you have forgiven others first.” (Chapter 17, “How to use your Subconscious Mind for Forgiveness”)

Part of forgiveness includes, as difficult as it is, being able to step back and objectively look at our childhood and upbringing. This can allow us to understand that our parents and guardians were ultimately doing the best they could with what knowledge and experience they had at their disposal. It also grants us the opportunity to realize that in no way do children bring on themselves such injurious behavior, which is entirely a result of their parents’ psychological conditioning and response patterns. This aids in dispelling any notion of guilt over whether we acted in a way warranting such treatment.

It is also important to note that forgiveness is not synonymous with reconciliation or reengaging in a relationship with the person(s) you are forgiving. As Dr. Murphy wrote, “I feel sure you know that to forgive the other does not necessarily mean that you like him or want to associate with him. You cannot be compelled to like someone…We can, however, love people without liking them.” (Ibid.)

 Love is nothing more than the fulfilling of the Golden Rule, to “Do to others as you would have them do to you”. To forgive is to give for – to give peace for discord, love for anger, and joy for mourning. This is the essence of Jesus’s teaching to “Love your enemies and bless them that curse you”. (Matthew 5:44)  When we can think of the other person in a spirit of peace, wishing them all the blessings of life, we can move forward in the healing process.

Seeing the Good

Once clarity of mind and lightness of heart have been achieved through forgiveness, we can begin to truly honor our parents. A good place to start is by consciously sifting the wheat from the chaff, identifying and incorporating the choice qualities of our parents into our own personalities and consigning the undesirable ones to the fire to be forgotten. Paul expressed this process succinctly in his letter to the Philippians:

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8)

It is through adopting our parent’s strengths and transcending their weaknesses that we render them the highest honor. This was perhaps most poignantly illustrated in the final film of the original Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi. After a vicious lightsaber duel, Luke Skywalker is goaded on by Emperor Palpatine to strike down his father Darth Vader, who before turning to evil was the Jedi hero Anakin Skywalker, and to take his father’s place as the Emperor’s apprentice. Luke, after a moment of temptation, tosses away his lightsaber, firmly proclaiming, “You have failed, your Highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me.” By forgiving the sins of Darth Vader and embracing the virtues of Anakin Skywalker, Luke transcended and ultimately redeemed his father from the dark side.

We must do likewise by confronting the ghosts of traumatic childhood memories and, viewing them in the light of mature understanding, declare that they will no longer hold dominion over our lives. The process is not easy – most if not all of us will undoubtedly experience a long night of trial in our own mental Gethsemanes – but, anointed with illumined Reason and girded by Faith, we shall be able to faithfully fulfill the commandment to truly honor our parents.

If you enjoyed this post check out my author landing page over on Amazon.com, for a listing of my independently published works.