Ascending |
They should seek the Lord, if haply they might find him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
- Acts 17:27
In “New Thought” and metaphysical circles we often hear statements such as “I pray and meditate daily knowing that God is working though me.” That is quite a true statement; however, we also need to acknowledge that we are working through God. Not only are we expressing Truth of the Spirit of God within us, but we are also expressing Truth within the God Presence. For the Universe is the Physical embodiment of God. Grasping this profound truth helps us to fulfill the Delphic injunction to “Know Thyself.” In Knowing ourselves, we also come to know the ONE in Whom we live, move and have our Being.
Let us begin to unfold this truth by going all the way back to the beginning of this round of manifestation and take a look at the creation scene as described in the Bible.
- “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” (Genesis 1: 1-2)
Here we have
God as Father = Power or Will
God as Son = Love and Wisdom
God as Holy Spirit = Active intelligenceIn the beginning the earth was formless, empty and dark. At the point in our lives when all seems dark and dreary, when we feel empty and nothing seems to be taking shape, it is at that very moment when we are poised at the brink of a marvelous outpouring of creation.
The First Great outpouring of God was of the Holy Spirit, that aspect of itself that is “Active Intelligence” to move upon the "Water Element" and stir up our desire to express God’s “Will to BE.” Then God went about the business of creating, that is of forming the shapeless earth and filling the void with life.
The Second Great Outpouring was the Logos, the Word of God spoken with the Love and Wisdom that it is. It sounded forth the note that shapes and forms and calls forth life.
On the First Day of creation, the Word sounded and called forth “LIGHT” - the “Fire Element” and fformed the day and night.
- “And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.” (Genesis 1: 3-5)
On the Second Day, still giving shape and form, the Word sounded and called forth the expanse, the “Air Element,” that separated the waters above (higher aspirations) from the waters below (lower desires).
- “And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning--the second day.”
(Genesis 1: 6-8)The Third Day is still forming, and the Word sounded forth and formed the “Earth Element,” the seas, dry land and vegetation.
- “And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1: 9-10) “Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the third day.” (Genesis 1: 11-13)
Now that we have the four Elements: Fire, Air, Water and Earth - the builders of forms fit to be vehicles of expressions of Spirit, the next three days constitute another phase of creation, that of filling all the emptiness.
On the Fourth Day God sounded the Word and filled the Light with the sun, moon and stars.
- “And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. God made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the fourth day.” (Genesis 1: 14-19)
On the Fifth Day God spoke the Word and filled the waters with fish and sea creatures. He filled the expanse of the sky with birds and winged creatures, and gave the command to “Be fruitful and multiply.”
- “And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." And there was evening, and there was morning--the fifth day.
(Genesis 1: 20-23)On the Sixth Day God's Word sounded and filled the land with living creatures, live stock, creatures that move along the ground, wild animals, all according to their kind.
- “And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1: 24-25)
Then God finally formed man/woman in His/Her own image and likeness and established our realm of dominion.
- “Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
(Genesis 1: 26-28)God filled the vegetable kingdom with every green plant for food. to sustain the animal kingdom.
- “Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant for food." And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day.” (Genesis 1: 29-32)
All of creation is God pouring Itself out into expression, and of course, THAT’S GOOD!
Now let us take careful note of the realm of dominion given to us. This is an important metaphysical concept. We were instructed to “Be fruitful and multiply, and rule over...”
1- the fish of the seas - Water Element (our emotions)
2- the foul of the air - Air Element (our thoughts)
3- creatures of the earth - Earth Element (our bodies)In other words we were given dominion over our threefold nature of our physical, emotional and mental world. Notice, however, that our realm of dominion does not include the Fire Element.
To gain an understanding of this fact, let us take a look at the mystical book of John.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." (John 1: 1-5 )
In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
The Word = Logos = Light = Life = Light of Humanity.God did not give us dominion over the Fire Element because it is this Spirit in us that is the Spirit in all. It is the Life that is the Light of man. The Spirit is indomitable, and once we have mastered our threefold nature, we are then operating in the world from the level of the Soul. The Soul is the vehicle through which Spirit expresses freely. We can access the Fire Element (Spirit) at any time simply by tuning in to our own Inner Being. It lives and moves, and has its Being in us just as we live and move and have our Being in God.
"The God who made the world and everything in it, is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, `We are his offspring.' (Acts 17: 24-28)
Just how do we live, move and have our Being in God? This is where that injunction to "Know Thyself" helps us.
Our physical body is composed of millions of tiny little lives. Every atom of matter is a life expression of God. Each has a "will to be" from the Father. It is animated by the Holy Spirit - Active Intelligence, which gives it consciousness, and the Love aspect of the Son makes its internal light attractive to other atoms. These tiny little lives respond to this attraction by joining in harmonious relationship to form cells ---> tissues ---> nerves, blood, muscles, bones, organs ---> systems ---> body of expression, i.e. the equipment through which the soul experiences life on this earth plane in material form.
I, the thinker, am the Logos of my body. When I, as the thinker, decide to change my mind, I can refocus my thoughts. My brain cells respond with thoughts of the new direction of focus. Since energy follows direction of thought, my body must also follow the new direction. All of the tiny little lives that form the various systems within my body are swept into activity and motion by the direction of my will. Whatever direction I decide to turn, my body follows my thought. Whatever purpose I decide upon, the body works out my purpose.
This same process is carried out on all levels of existence. Each human being is a tiny cell within the body of the Logos. The difference is that the cells of our own body do not make choices. They simply follow the line of least resistance to fulfill their purpose appointed by God. Humanity, however, being made in the image and likeness of God, has self awareness and free will. When our consciousness is centered in our lower nature, we are simply swept into activity by the tide of collective human consciousness. As we raise our consciousness to the higher realms (a function of our own will) we realign ourselves to function from the realm of the soul that we are. We can then make a conscious choice to join with others (who are also functioning on the level of Soul) to form living active centers of light within the body of the Logos. This is the body in whom we live and move and have our being. When we are conscious of living in this body, we make a decision to to participate in God's plan to raise up all humanity.
The Soul, being who we are, has dominion over our threefold lower nature - our earth (physical body); our waters (emotions - astral body); our air (thoughts - mental body). As we fulfill our purpose, i.e., the purpose of the soul that we are, to gain experience through the body and to transform our desires for the things of the world of forms into aspirations of the Spirit, we come to recognize our Oneness with the indomitable Fire Element, the Spirit of God.
As the Soul comes under the direction of Spirit, it in turn directs it's vehicle of the threefold body, and all align to respond to the higher call of the Logos of Love and Wisdom.
I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4: 1-6 )
We are called to fulfill the will of God as sounded forth by the Logos of humanity. This second aspect of the Holy Trinity imbues our world with Love and Wisdom. Choose this day whom you shall serve. I invite you to choose to be a conscious center of light within this Holy Body in whom we live, move and have our Being - in Whom there is no fear.
And so it is.
© 1997 - Carolyn Odom Burleson, Ph.D.
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