Let Your Light Shine

Recently an analogy for what is taking place on the world stage came to mind when I remembered a passage I read some time ago.  It comes from Jesus & Mastership: The Gospel According to Jesus of Nazareth and has to do with one of many initiations Jesus experienced in his travels to India at age eighteen:

    As these tests continued I realized I was being placed in real life situations, causing me to use my knowledge of Truth principles in order to overcome them.  I thanked my Father-God (he also calls God our Father-Mother God) for guiding me in all I was doing.  A feeling of assurance filled me and I was at peace. 
    This feeling of peace continued as I was led to a room in the lower part of the monastery.  As I entered I could see nothing as it, too, was pitch black.  It sounded like an empty dungeon as the heavy metal door clanged shut after my guide.  I stood there in the silent darkness for quite a while to determine if anyone else was there.  There was no one, only the sound of my breathing.  I concluded there was no furniture in the room as I slowly felt my way around.  In one corner there was some damp straw on the floor and I stood as long as I could and then sat down upon it. 
    The dampness of the straw soon penetrated my outer garments, chilling my body.  Have you ever been in total darkness for seeming endless hours?  The feeling is quite eerie.  As I sat there I began to wonder what kind of a test this was to be.  They told me nothing prior to leading me to the room, nor had my guide said anything.  I began to be hungry and thirsty and wondered if they would bring me something to eat and drink. 
    Then I heard something scurrying around me.  What could it be?  Was it rats?  Yes, it was rats and then more rats.  They became braver and braver and came closer and closer as I sat there hardly breathing, not moving or making a sound.  They ran across my legs.  Then one nipped me, then another, and another, and another.  I was alive with large hungry rats and seemingly no way to protect myself.  Fear began to seep through me as I began to kick my legs and swing my arms, trying to drive them away, but the more I fought them, the more they bit me.  Then I realized this was not the answer; this was not the way to free myself.  I was resisting them and resistance attracts more resistance and the opposing force. 
    I knew physical force would accomplish nothing.  I needed to use my spiritual understanding.  I turned my thoughts to God, knowing His protective love surrounded me at all times.  I relaxed and sat still and prayed, asking God for help.  I remembered the previous test and the results that were obtained by meditating on God light and love.  So I began meditating on Light. 
    I saw myself as a center of His light and love.  His love was flowing through me and from me.  After awhile I realized the rats had stopped biting me and the room was no longer pitch black.  There was a soft glow of light filling it.  The rats had gone and I was at peace.  Fear had long since departed and I was no longer hungry or thirsty.  As I sat there filled with God love and peace, it seemed as though the Father spoke to me, “Remember, My Son, you are never alone.  I am in you and you are in me.  As long as you hold this thought you can do all things and nothing or no one can harm you, unless you let it.”
    I knew I would always remember this Truth: nothing or no one can harm me, unless I let it.  Shortly the door opened and my guide entered.  He told me I had been there three days and two nights.  When they saw the rats leave, they knew I had conquered my fear and had risen to new spiritual heights.  Thereupon I returned to my quarters to refresh myself and rest. 

And here’s another from Mother Mary from a different book to support the idea of Jesus’ training and initiations:

    When we went into Egypt, we were subjected there, to a great many experiences which tested our faith and power of concentration, even beyond that which we knew in our natural home environment.  Early one morning, I remember walking out of our small dwelling and looking toward the river, Nile, where Jesus was playing.  I saw that beautiful boy in close proximity to the largest crocodile I had ever seen!  The great creature’s mouth was open.  For a moment I confess I thought that perhaps this was the end of our dream and yet I did not allow myself to let fear register - at least not for more than an instant!  Then as I stood, do you know I realized that the creature was smiling - a great, toothy grin and I was relieved.  I did not even go down to the water to suggest that my boy come back to a place of comparative safety.  I do confess, however, that I remained near the door, as I looked upon them, holding the thought of his God protection, until the crocodile finally went back into the water and swam away.  My dear son, feeling nothing unusual about the experience, waved to me and went on his way. 
    When one has a cosmic mission, it is difficult to keep from over-solicitude and yet maintain that terrific inner concentration and fidelity to the “Immaculate Concept.”  It was difficult to see that small child going through the rigorous disciplines at Luxor.  Those of you who have been in Egypt know something of the heat of that country during the day and know how carefully young children are guarded, especially during the hours of high noon, when the sun is at its zenith.  Yet, from early morning until well into the afternoon (when the sun was setting) I had to abide outside those temple courts, waiting for him.  Sometimes, when my son would come out, there would be beads of perspiration on his forehead and deep circles under his eyes.  He was taking disciplines from which full-grown men and women have shrunk - yet it was not for me to interfere.  It was my obligation to give him complete freedom and yet, in that freedom, to hold the concept in which there was no shadow of fear.

    I like the smiling crocodile bit.  These rats in the cellar of Jesus’ fear initiation seem analogous to the rats in the underground tunnels and cities (though I only call them rats for the sake of this analogy because I believe love alone will transmute them), not to mention all the other rats lurking within our hidden and repressed fears.  I can’t help but think that we are going through similar trials where we will be, of necessity - because we cannot take our fears into the fifth dimension(?), confronted with and need to overcome how we react to the vicious bites of fear.  Should we give our attention to fear and try to resist by force or should we let go of the need to be in control and trust in God and the divine mystery?  The Immaculate Concept?  Another subtle twist of far-reaching deception?  Mother Mary says she needed to “hold the concept” which would go a long way to placing primary emphasis on the power of one’s attention to have a tangible effect on the outcome.  As Tony Burroughs put it, “The key to manifesting is to see it as a ‘done deal’ - to picture the end result from the beginning - and hold that VISION until it comes to you in real life.“  Synchronicities abound - very exciting - it seems everything I read relates to the subject at hand!  Even Angelika Whitecliff put it nicely when she said the surface stuff is not important anymore unless you decide to put your energies behind it. 

The message we seem to be finding again and again that the best way to survive the coming changes with as little turmoil and pain as possible is to reconnect with our Creator (Native Americans, Mayans, indigenous peoples, etc.) comes through loud and clear for me in this initiation passage.  I share this analogy because it provides a profound and hopeful way to view the more threatening aspects brewing on the world stage, one that has potential for real self-empowerment, for as Ian so aptly stated, “all we should be doing is looking inside ourselves, lift our vibrations, lift our thoughts, lift our hearts to the Divine. Look within and find the wisdom, there is no need to search elsewhere, the truth is within just open up and listen to the voice within.” 

Something rings true in “let your light shine” and I think Jesus gave a vivid example of how to do this, of where to place our attention in times of great fear.  For, as he stated so nicely, “Resistance attracts more resistance and the opposing force.”  I heard it said somewhere that, “One with God is a majority.“  I like that.  It seems to support this analogy and the idea of taking our attention off the rats and putting it back where it belongs - on the beauty and divine mystery of life; on trust, forgiveness, compassion and gratitude.  God is in us and we are in God.  May we all focus our attention on the Immaculate Concept for this beautiful Earth and for our brothers and sisters and bring it into manifestation.

With the fullest intention of love, light and encouragement,

Francis