Spiritual Metaphors
It's fascinating to think about the Spiritual Metaphors we use.
In today's culture, not too many people really resonate with the agricultural metaphors of our ancestors. And not just for spiritual things. Our brains are compared to computers. Spiritually, we can think about the Law of Cause and Effect like a computer too. Just like the computer phrase "garbage in/garbage out", the Law can only work on what it is given. There is something really important about this metaphor that helps get at the impersonalness of the Law. This metaphor also helps us avoid any sentimentality about our prayer work, and completely removes the idea that answered prayer is the result of us being good or being rewarded for being good. The computer doesn't care who does the inputting--if you follow the rules it will work, period. And if you don't, it won't.
I notice for myself that while this metaphor works on many levels, there is something about this metaphor that is missing. And, of course, any metaphor, when pushed too far, will break down because the physical world is, after all, finite, and the Infinite Reality is, well...infinite. So we are probably going to need more than one metaphor (or myth or image) to describe something that is actually operating on the level of Infinite Reality.
So another metaphor that helps round out the way the Universal Law and Principle of Cause and Effect works is the growth of a seed into a plant. While the obvious use of this metaphor is that the seed can't grow into anything other than the kind of seed it is, there is also a part of this metaphor often not stressed--and that is the part about "growing."
The fact that the seed "grows" is one of the really important aspects of this metaphor and captures two things that gets left out in the computer metaphor. The first is the inherent nature of the seed to grow. It has an innate impulse toward life and self-expression (we call it growth). Given reasonably supportive circumstances, we don't have to DO anything to make it grow. This is a marvelous reminder of how completely the Universal Principle is on our side. We are designed toward life and greater self-expression. We don't have to 'meditate more' or become something that we are not in order to be on the path toward growth. We just have to follow our natural impulse. This is also true of our word/thought/intention (the seed) that we plant into the Law. We don't have to DO anything to make it grow naturally. All we have to do is follow the inner impulses that show us the next action or step to take. But we don't have to WILL the seed's intention to grow.
The second thing we are reminded of in this metaphor is the time and process necessary for things to grow in physical reality. The computer metaphor tells us more about spiritual reality-it is done in consciousness immediately. But on the physical level, there may be time and steps in a process necessary for the actual reality to come about. Sometimes we become very impatient, because we want the instantaneous demonstration we get from our computers. Well, it doesn't always work that way. Surely in physical healing, it can. But in relationships, if you want one and don't have one, there is still the time and process necessary to meet someone, court them, fall in love and finally be in relationship. The difference, of course, is that because we know our intention is growing into reality, we can enter into and go through the process with calm confidence and cheerful expectancy of a good result--rather than with fear, doubt or uncertainty.
What metaphors work for you?
- 1 year ago
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