-7-
Personal
Revelation
We have discussed in this chapter the
universal messages and God's possible method of collectively inspiring
humankind. Anyone feeling close to God would not find it alien to think that
God might communicate values that we tend to overlook in our egocentric
pursuits. Universal brotherhood, compassion and generosity, love, humility, and
looking beyond material possessions: are all things it seems easy for human
beings to loose sight of. What the collective revelations are really saying is:
there is a lot more to the cosmos than is perceived by our limited senses, and
that these idealistic principles can serve us much better than the selfish
ideals so easily adaptable to the ego driven world we live in and the magical
beliefs we cling to.
But what of the personal
aspect of the Divine Paradox?
Is there any help to aid us in sifting through the personal dilemmas we face
from day to day? Are there ways God might help us in our unique diversity that
might pertain to our special needs? What of our individual responsibility
before God, which is really our messiah ship; or more aptly put, our reason for
being?
The answer to these questions is that in a
paradoxical recognition of the Divine Image we can apply both the personal and
impersonal aspect to the Creative Force, giving us the ability to recognize
both collective and personal inspiration without any argument over which
is-correct; for both are in fact correct.
The paradoxical reality to the Divine, allows
us to accept the Creator as being the impersonal God that some of the Eastern
religions see so clearly. This Impersonal aspect of the Divine does relate to
the whole of the cosmos and the interconnectedness of all things, which in
reality; is the connection to the Creative Force. Put another way, God is all
things because nothing can be unless being itself is a part of it.
At the same time, the more Western view of
God as being a personal God Who is concerned with the
life of every aspect of Creation is also a valid perspective. Both views become
correct without negating the validity of the other. If we were to open our
minds, accepting God beyond the limits we have placed upon Her,
we would have no problem seeing this.
To reflect upon this concept for a moment,
such an idea does follow logical thought patterns. God can be both, for how
could the Creator care about the whole of His creation, if She
is not concerned with each individual part? Any true craftsman knows, one cannot have a truly great work of art if each aspect
of the object is not treated as a most valuable part. When we study the natural
order around us; and if we are contending it was created; we cannot reach any
other conclusion than: this Creative Force sees every aspect of the creation as
being vitally essential to something else in it; thus, She must care about
every part. Even the gospels support this concept:
Are not sparrows two a penny? Yet without your
Father's leave not one of them can fall to the Ground.
(Matthew 10:29)
As for personal inspiration to the diversity
of creation apart from humans, one might logically hypothesize that a personal
revelation, of sorts, takes the form of a revelation that is coded into the atomic
or genetic structure of the individual thing we are talking about. In other words, that which makes it unique from all other things
and gives it the directive of its purpose. In the strictest sense we can
define this as Divine revelation because such comes from the Creative design
and manifests Her Will in the reality of the things existence.
Even we, as human beings, have this same type
of revelation which makes us unique individuals. We see the example of this in
our genetic code. And we can define this as a revelation because it is from
God, it is truth (we are what we are and very unique), and it is self evident
(in that we exist). This code is what makes us what we are and it was
determined by the creative processes that have been in place since the
beginning of time - thus, it becomes our personal imprint from the Creator. Of
course, these are revelations that involve the Will of God. They are a direct
result of His thought and design, making us who and what we are as individuals
and as a species, and they are fixed.
Now, because we are self-determining in our
purpose and have great laxity in how we inter-relate to the rest of creation,
there are other forms of personal inspiration by which God can communicate with
us.
We as human beings have the added dimensions
of ego-consciousness, reasoning, self-determination, and the ability to share
in the creative process unlike any other creature we know of. We face a lot of
choices in how we interact with the creation around us. Our purpose in the
cosmos is not really self evident, nor, is it as clear as that of a rock or a
bee.
In light of those added problems, it seems
logical that we should look for inspiration that might guide us in our attempt
to live life to the fullest that God intended. While the collective
inspirations which we have talked about provide us with the ethics, it is often
hard to translate them into the living of our everyday lives. We all need not
hang on crosses, see burning bushes, or experience great floods, but the
metaphors in these symbols may serve as ideals to live life by. The problem
with the collective inspirations is that they do not always help us find the
personal purpose and direction which may be uniquely ours.
It is the responsibility of any religion to
encourage a personal relationship between an individual and God so that the
individual might be able to see the inspiration of God to them at this personal
level. A responsible theology will recognize the importance and necessity of a
Personal Inspiration that helps one understand the collective ideals according
to the diversity of our individuality.
Religiously, we have made the mistake of
trying to dogmatize the collective; and thus,
replaced the idea that God can personally communicate with each of us. We can
see the problematic result of this in the different interpretations of the
Bible that have lead to division and sometimes even conflict. It is clear that
the collective ideals mean different things to different people. Judaism,
Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism all have the same problem with a variety of
interpretations of their sacred works. This happens because collective
inspiration is general; expressing ideals in symbols that are meant to be used
with the personal inspiration, which then allows it to be personalized into
one's own life.
Divine absolutes or dogmatic truths are not
possible from sacred stories because they are not designed that way. As stated,
Divine Revelation that is the absolute Will of God is actualized and
self-evident, needing no interpretation or assertion by human beings. The
ideals of the collective inspiration as expressed in the myths, sacred
writings, and the like are not absolutes, but a self help guide to be used in
conjunction with our personal purpose. They are not God's Will, for God's Will
is always actualized. These things are God's road maps to help us live life to
the fullest potential according to the way God designed us. They are that which
can help us rise above animal instincts to manifest the Image of God in which
we are made.
The collective inspirations should lead us in
such a manner that we can hear the inspiration of God in our own life. They are
the road maps that can lead us to a self-discovery process that will help us
find the individual purpose for which we exist. God's Will for any individual
is not in any scripture and cannot be found in any creed; because, our purpose
in the creation, and our contribution to it, are
uniquely ours. Purpose is within us, and we must do the work, striving to
develop the relationship where we can see what God desires of us. God has given
us life with choice, and in that choice it becomes our responsibility to
discover our own purpose. By giving us that choice, God has allowed us to
express our love for Him of our own free will. She is allowing us to share in
the Essence of His Nature; that is, to experience the joy of loving. When we
reject love, we reduce our lives to mere existence which is not much different
than animals. We respond to our primordial needs of survival, comfort, which because
of our choice can be selfishly oriented. Love allows us to transcend existence
and share in the Divine quality that can raise us to a higher state of being.
Before going on, we need to briefly explain
just why we need a personal inspiration; why the collective inspirations cannot
be dogmatized; and why God's message is not a one
size fits all! The collective inspirations tell us to love one another. They
give shining examples of the way such love can be expressed as demonstrated in
the Gospels of Christianity or the various tales of the Buddhist's and Hindus
in the East. But none of us are exactly alike, and what might have been needed
in Jesus' or Buddha's life may not be right for our lives. The gospels are
truly wonderful guides for human behavior, but to personalize them we must be
able to see what God desires of us at a very personal level in the reality of
our world today. For some, the love preached in the gospel may be in their
relationships with a very few people. For others, God may want them to reach
out to masses. The only way we can know this is by becoming attuned to the
personal inspirations that are given to us as individuals and apply to our
personal reason for being.
Because of an ever changing world and the
diversity of human thinking and participation in that world, it is the
responsibility of any religion and the theology on which it is based to
encourage a relationship of an individual to the Divine where that individual
can accept and recognize that God has personal inspirations for them.
In the world of psychology, Carl Jung
stumbled upon what theology could construed as this
type of inspiration. In fact, no matter how Jung tried to disassociate himself
with the religious implications of his observations, the responsible clergyman
cannot ignore those religious implications.
To quote Jung:
I have to admit the fact that the UNCONSCIOUS MIND IS CAPABLE AT
TIMES OF ASSUMING AN INTELLIGENCE AND PURPOSIVENESS WHICH ARE SUPERIOR TO
ACTUAL CONSCIOUS INSIGHT, There is hardly a doubt that this fact is a basically
religious phenomenon, which is observed here in a case whose conscious mental
make-up was certainly most unlikely to produce religious phenomena. I have not
infrequently made similar observations in other cases and I must confess that I
am unable to formulate the data in any other way.
(C.G. Jung,
PSYCHOLOGY AND RELIGION, Yale University Press, c1938, p45)
My psychological experience has shown time and time again that
certain contents issue from the psyche more completely than consciousness. They
often contain a
(ibid,
p49)
Such observations cannot and
should not be ignored in any attempt to examine man's relationship to a
Creative Power.
At the risk of getting long winded, before we
continue to develop this idea of a personal inspiration and revelation, we need
to interject notes of caution as this ideal could stand the potential to be
every bit as psychologically misleading, projectionary,
and self serving as many of the theological concepts we have already addressed.
We see some of the greatest danger in these
personal inspiration concepts in many of the 'New Age' postulations that are
present in our society. The idea that we can tap the cosmic powers, or the
power of God, for wealth and personal gain in some magical way is a concept
that is at odds with the collective inspirations, for such ideals leads us
toward selfishness and away from community, which is the fundamental ethic of
the collective inspiration.
In reaching the Divine nature within us, we
embark upon a paradoxical journey. Very often the results are confused, and
some mystics proclaim God can only be found within. But because God is both one
and all at the same time, just as now is beginning and end at the same time, to
fully discover God means that we can see Her in both
phases at the same time. To discover God within is to recognize Her without. To see God in the magnificence of His creation
is to recognize Her within the self.
When God is too externalized, as he is in
some religions, where she is in a church or heaven or on some distant throne,
we are out of balance in our concept of God. If God is too internalized to the
point where we see ourselves as gods, able to will our lives as we choose, we
are also out of balance. The discovery of God and Her message within should
lead us to see the reality of God in everything around us,
from the creatures we share this planet with, to the cosmos, and most
importantly to our fellow man. Finding God within will help us overcome ego
driven pursuits and concentrate on giving glory to God in the external things
we see; that is, giving our glory to God in our treatment of Her Creation!
Another problem in developing this concept of
personal inspiration is in the potential to manipulate and misuse the ideal. We
have to be careful that such a concept isn't used as a tool for one individual
to try to gain control over another individual. Personal inspiration is just
that, it is not God telling us what other people should do! It applies to our
decisions and our living of life, not some revelation by which we judge another
or tell others how to live.
We must also avoid encouraging individuals to
be dependent upon, or worse yet, controlled by
inspirations which are personal in nature. As with all revelation, such is
always subject to misinterpretation by the individual receiving it, and it is
meant to be a guidepost to the living of one's life in a practical manner;
never a dictation of such, for God gives us control over our actions.
Like most things given by God, we can only
speculate that God gives such inspiration out of a sense of love and
connectedness, therefore, we can never come to expect or demand it. And, like the
collective inspirations, this personal inspiration may not always be to Our liking, therefore, it takes objectivity and a
willingness to look for what the message is truly trying to say.
As with developing all responsible religious
or theological positions, the idea of personal inspiration must avoid the
pitfalls of becoming selfishly oriented; becoming delusional magical formulas;
becoming that which leads to indifference, self-righteousness; or, promotes a
concept that God is going to solve our problems for us. Personal inspiration,
if it is to be seen responsibly and in balance, will lead individuals to
improve in areas they might be lax in. It will help them to better know
themselves, and ultimately help them to make some kind of difference to the whole
according to their ability and means to do so. Realization of such a personal
connection to the Creative Force should ultimately lead an individual to
realize their connectedness to the whole of creation, just as God is part of
all the creation.
Theologically speaking and responsibly used,
concepts like personal inspiration could be a powerful tool to help those who
wish to guide in God's Kingdom (clergymen). This personal inspiration could aid
a minister in his relationship and understanding of individual members of the
congregation. Clergymen need to remove their religious biases and reach out to
help individuals discover God's message from a healthy spiritual standpoint,
just as the analyst does in promoting good psychological health. Those in the service
of God must realize that God could express ideals and inspirations that may
differ from our preconceived ideas of what She might
say. In helping a person discover their personal inspirations, we need to be
careful to understand the way the other person thinks, and be objective enough
to be able to walk in their shoes, so the unique symbols to them are not made
to fit our personal agenda.
In this ideal of personal inspiration the
Clergyman must also realize that he or she cannot serve the soul exclusive of
the realities of the needs of the body, the needs of ego, and the natural human
biological functions; for these too are as much a part of the whole individual
as is the spirit or soul. Only by being objective can one in fact serve this
role. The minister must never act as an agent which
declares God's will, or seeks to interpret according to their personal beliefs
what God speaks to another. Fear and guilt must be avoided as agents of
persuasion at all costs. Instead, we need to encourage individuals to find the
reality of God's inspiration in the self, for in the end it is the self which
must discover what God seeks of it.
Religions' greatest role is to lead men to
God. But, if religion cannot put trust in God's ability to talk to any
individual, it really proclaims God's inability to have a personal relationship
with human beings. If we can only approach God through the directives of
religion, then, the unconditional love of God which is preached becomes a
falsehood. We assign that unconditional love a condition (church rules), which
then makes it conditional.
While admittedly, there is a great danger of misrepresentation in such religious speculation as
personal inspiration; without the acknowledgment of personal inspiration
religion cannot cite the inspiration of any human being for any reason. If God
is capable of communicating with any man, then, He is capable of communicating
with all of us. And without the concept of personal inspiration religion cannot
adequately serve the needs of individuals in their religious community. It is
not God who lacks in giving inspiration, its the human
inability to listen that is plaguing the world around us. While responsible
theology must take great caution in approaching this concept, it cannot avoid
it out of a sense of fear or to serve its own needs.
With some of the cautions already addressed,
let us now discuss what we mean when we talk of personal inspiration and some
of the variety of forms it can take. Admittedly, western faiths are so out of
attune with this concept that it will take years to incorporate its value into
the religions of our world. We could learn greatly about these forms of
inspiration through the study of Eastern faiths as well as the Native American
cultures we have so often ignored.
Like the collective inspiration, this
personal inspiration can take many forms. It manifests itself in intuition,
serendipity, hunches, feelings, coincidence, the inner voice, our God given
natural talents, and very often in our everyday world of dreams.
We are going to start with the last item
first. Many psychologist have seen for years that
dreams are a powerful tool to gain insight into the core of the human mind. If
we look to the collective revelations we will see the significance of dreams
over and over. Even in the Christian Scriptures, dreams are cited on numerous
occasions as the deliverer of messages. We have Joseph's interpretations of the
Pharaoh's dreams, and Jacob's dreams from the Old Testament. In the New
Testament we have the angel coming to Joseph in dreams to deliver God's
messages. The Native American cultures recognized the importance of dreams,
understanding them to be almost another state of being. Myths and inspiration
for eons reflect the images of dreams and their importance in our lives.
With the mind of Freud dreams took on a new
dimension, with the emphasis placed upon their psychological significance
rather than any spiritual implications. And as psychology entered the world of
dreams, religion and theology seemed to step back from it with some religions
actually teaching that it was sinful to seek dreams for guidance of any sort.
But along came Carl Jung and expanded, not only the psychological significance
of dreams, but also offered the theologian and clergyman a spiritual tool whereby
they could help to guide individuals. In his contribution to a work entitled
"MAN AND HIS SYMBOLS", Jung states:
The general undervaluation of the
human soul is so great that neither the great religions nor the philosophies
nor scientific rationalism have been willing to look at it twice.
In spite of the fact that the Catholic Church admits the
occurrence of somnia a Deo
missa (dreams sent by God),
most of its thinkers make no serious attempt to understand dreams. I doubt
whether there is a Protestant treatise or doctrine that would stoop so low as
to admit the possibility that the vox Dei
(Voice of God) might be perceived in a dream. BUT IF A THEOLOGIAN REALLY
BELIEVES IN GOD, BY WHAT AUTHORITY DOES HE SUGGEST THAT GOD IS UNABLE TO SPEAK
THROUGH DREAMS?
I have spent more than a half a century in investigating natural
symbols, and I have come to the conclusion that dreams and their symbols are
not stupid and meaningless. On the contrary, dreams provide the most
interesting information for those who take the trouble to understand their
symbols. The results, it is true, have little to do with such worldly concerns
as buying and selling, but the meaning of life is not exhaustively explained by
one's business life, nor is the deep desire of the human heart answered by a
bank account.
In a period of human history when all available energy is spent
in the investigation of nature, very little attention is paid to the essence of
man, which is his psyche, although many researches are made into its conscious
functions. But the really complex and unfamiliar part of the mind, from which
symbols are produced, is still virtually unexplored. It seem incredible that
though we receive signals from it every night, deciphering these communications
seems too tedious for any but a very few people to be bothered with it. Man's
greatest instrument, his psyche, is little thought of, and is often directly
mistrusted and despised. "It is only psychological" too often means:
it is nothing.
(MAN AND HIS SYMBOLS, C.G.Jung, Laurel Books of Dell Publishing, c1964 by Aldus
Books,p93)
Of
all the schools of human thought, it is religion by far that is most neglect in
the recognition of the possibility of Divine guidance at a personal level. In a
Western theology that recognizes that man is made in the Image of a God that is
in fact part of every human being, the possibility of God's Voice within that
individual is vastly overlooked. Churches often emphasize the collective
messages, which are often distorted; overlooking the personal which is often
what is necessary for the individual to live in the collective design. It is
not only important that an individual understand that we all need to contribute
as the collective messages imply, but we also need to find out how to
contribute - in other words, our individual purpose for being.
In the tradition of paradox, a society cannot
change if individuals do not change; and individuals are not apt to change
unless the thinking of society changes. It starts with each and every one of us
and it begins with a search into the depths of the self to understand why we
have been gifted with life. Our relationship with God can never be complete
unless we have some understanding of why we are here. This has little to do
with our career choice, or our accumulation of resources, or even how many
checks we write out to the church.
Watching our dreams and looking to their
symbols can be a powerful tool in telling us when we are out of sorts with the
depths of our soul. They can help us find and understand our purpose. They can
gently guide us in making some of our choices. But we have to acknowledge their
help, as well as learning to understand their language of symbol.
In the concept presented here, one might
analogize the symbolism of dreams for an individual, to that of the world of
mathematics for the physicist. Just as the material world and its processes can
be represented in numbers, so too, the world of emotion and feeling can be
related to personal symbols. By learning to read these symbols and by paying
attention to them, we can gain a valuable insight that benefits the totality of
self; which is: body, ego mind, spiritual mind and our connectedness to the
All.
Jung addresses the religious significance of
this ideal of dreams as insight into the soul:
Even the believing Christian does not know God's hidden ways and
must leave Him to decide whether he will work on man from the outside or from
within; through the soul. So the believer should not boggle at the fact that
there are somnia Deo
missa (dreams sent by God) and illuminations of
the soul which cannot be traced back to any external causes. It would be
blasphemy to assert that God can manifest Himself everywhere save
only in the human soul.
(C.G. Jung, PSYCHOLOGY AND ALCHEMY,
Col. Works Vol 12, Bollingen
Series, translated R.F.C,Hull,
1952, p10)
This section is not intended to tell us how
to interpret dreams, either as counselors or as individuals. There has been
much work done in this area that can serve anyone in the basics by authors like
C.G. Jung and many of his contemporaries. From a religious standpoint, these
sources can be good places to begin, but theology needs to credit and approach
this concept with renewed devotion and dedication. Much work still needs to be
done.
There should be a word of caution inserted
here. In the tradition of Jung, we must realize that we can not put out dream
books, or declare dogmatic interpretations to the symbols of dreams, for the
symbolism that God chooses is always subject to the impressions and personal
interpretations of the individual who is receiving them. Like the psychologist,
the clergyman must come to know and understand the individual, if he or she is
going to help them better relate to God - especially, when helping them
interpret dreams. And, just as a psychologist would be considered neglect if
they ignored one's spiritual beliefs, a minister becomes neglect when they
ignore the realities of one's physical psychological ideals.
Other areas of personal inspiration are also
ignored in our mainstream religious ideals; although people sometimes recognize
God's hand in things. Orthodox religions are often so preoccupied with God's
power and supernatural wonder that the faithful become blinded to the more
subtle interaction of God in their lives - such as, the serendipity of being in
the right place at the right time. Or, the hunch, or
intuition, which helped us to avoid a big mistake or proved to be beneficial in
some way. Even our God given natural talents can be an inspiration from
God, as they may be given to us by God as an aid to our personal spiritual
development, or they may be used to benefit others through us. We are not
proclaiming that such things are always God's subtle influence in our lives,
but too often we overlook the fact that they can be.
The point is,
responsible theology must help us to see that God is a Creator who plays an
active, yet subtle, role in the creation. Sadly, and too often, the Image of
God projected by theology emphasizes God's power. We look for God to control
nature by suspending the laws of nature or displaying feats of amazement and
wonder. In such vision, we loose sight of the most amazing of God's feats;
which is, the existence of reality itself. Once we
begin to see Creation as the miracle of all miracles - the power of God
manifested in our everyday lives - only then can we see that God is an active
participant who works in subtle ways within the framework of the reality She
created.
If only we would quit looking for magical
signs to see the reality of God, and objectively examine our own life - in such
objectivity, it would become very clear to us that God does walk with us in our
everyday lives - even when we do not acknowledge it. In such an objective
examination, we could see that God helps us and works subtle miracles that help
us bring good from the bad and miracles that empower us to learn from our
mistakes. Such is all part of God's gift of revelation which comes to us in
hopes that we will utilize it in a manner which makes us better people.
Contrary to many theological arguments, man is not evil, he simply makes wrong
choices based on a limited ego driven perspective. To overcome the obstacle of
ego we need to see the bigger picture. This is much more possible if we look for
the advice of God in the many forms She offers it.
There is a Biblical metaphor that gives keen
insight into how we should approach the Voice of God within our own being:
And he said, go forth, and stand upon the mount
before the Lord, And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind
rent the mountains, and break in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord
was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake but the Lord was not in
the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the
fire. And after the fire, a STILL SMALL VOICE.
And it was then, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle.
(King James
Bible, I Kings 19: 11-13)
It was in the STILL SMALL VOICE that
Elijah recognized the Divine. To often we look for God's messages in the grand
- in the raging winds - in the earthquakes and the powerful fire. But God has
never forced anyone to listen to Him. She doesn't command us, for if He did we
would have no choice but to obey! God's grand performance is the creation
itself, and it takes concentration and devotion to recognize the subtlety of
the STILL VOICE which moves through it; a Voice that speaks to the
depths of the human soul.
8-The Absolute Revelation-God's Will Manifested
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