How To Calm The Storms In Your Life
Thursday, April 21, 2016 15:27
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‘There is a spiritual giant within you, which is always struggling
to burst its way out of the prison you have made for it.’
to burst its way out of the prison you have made for it.’
We all have ‘storms’ in our lives from time to time. Of course, I am using the word ‘storm’ largely but not entirely metaphorically, because many people have to endure storms in the literal sense as well. We hear about that all the time.
A ‘storm’ may take many forms, for example, sickness, death of a loved one, loss of a job, financial woes, emotional upsets (eg fear, anxiety, anger and hatred), and so forth. In fact, any of the problems and stresses of life is a ‘storm’, metaphorically speaking. Now, I am not advocating a simplistic, one-dimensional solution to ‘storms’. I try not to dispense cheap optimism. Life is very tough, and quite unfair at times. Depending on the nature of the storm, professional assistance will often be required to overcome it.
The Bible is a collection of books on the subject of human psychology, both ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’, containing numerous stories depicting the human condition in all its many forms, some of them sordid and others quite lofty. All of those stories, and the events depicted in them, are really states of consciousness occurring in our own minds. Those who seek to interpret the Bible otherwise are, with the greatest respect, gravely mistaken, but that’s for another day.
Now, the story of Jesus calming the storm is well known. It is an allegory—never forget that. For starters, we have a storm over a lake. The reference to ‘storm’ is fairly obvious, but what about ‘water’, in this case, the Sea of Galilee? Well, in scared symbology ‘water’ is a symbol for, among other things, mental movement and, in particular, the emotions. In other contexts, water can be a symbol of the human soul. Then there’s the ship, which may be seen to be a symbol of the human body. And we have a voyage or journey in the nature of a trial or tribulation.
The story goes like this. Jesus had been teaching near the Sea of Galilee. Afterwards, he wanted a respite from the crowds so he decided to take a boat with the disciples to the opposite shore where there were no large towns. The Bible reports that not long after they sailed, Jesus fell asleep and a storm arose. Now, the Sea of Galilee was known for its sudden raging storms. We read:
‘The waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But [Jesus] was in the stern, asleep on the cushion’ (Mk 4:37–38).
The first point to note, other than the fact that Jesus needed to rest just like the rest of us, is that Jesus’ sleep was deep and sound, even through the storm which was ‘already filling’ the boat. Yes, Jesus was asleep on the cushion in the stern of the boat. The disciples were filled with fear and apprehension, but they were smart enough to awaken Jesus. I will have more to say about that matter shortly. So, the disciples woke Jesus and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’ Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Peace! Be still!’ We read in the Bible that the wind immediately died down, the storm subsided and, what’s more, there was a great calm. Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’
The word ‘faith’ is much abused. I am not in favour of ‘blind faith’ or some sort of ‘leap of faith’ into the unknown. In a practical sense, faith, as I see it, means acting with courage, confidence and perseverance despite what may be going on around you or inside of you. Faith refers to a special kind of knowledge (no, not intellectual knowledge) and understanding that one can ‘ride the waves’, no matter what life dishes out. No wonder Jesus reportedly said, ‘You will know the truth and the truth will set you free’ (Jn 8:32, emphasis added). Faith is not synonymous with religious belief. I have seen many people of great faith, in the sense in which I am now using the word, who have no religious faith at all. True faith is knowing the truth about any given situation, and understanding that there is always a solution to any problem that may beset us. Faith is not wishful thinking. It sees the real and the ugly but knows that the power to overcome or rise above whatever may be the problem or issue is always available.
Now, within each one of us is something that the Quakers refer to us ‘peace at the centre’. Quakers cultivate such peace. We allshould, whether or not we are Quakers. The ‘peace at the centre’ is calm and tranquility, even in the face of the worst storm imaginable. When a storm calms, say the words, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Saying those words will not make the storm away, but it will help you to get in the right frame of mind to respond appropriately to the storm, whatever it may be. Unless we are still, our response to the storm will be all wrong.
Know this—there is, within each of us, a ‘sleeping giant’. When we awaken that sleeping giant, we find the power to respond appropriately to any storm. This giant of which I speak is an inner potentiality. It is a power and a presence, the very presence of life’s self-expression in and as you, the person that you are. Here’s something else—this presence and power manifests itself as peace and calmness, even in the midst of trouble and turmoil.
You may not know this, but every character in the Bible—even the person of Jesus—is you, yes, you at some stage or other of your life and development. That’s right. Every character in the Bible, whether a real, historical person or not, represents a condition of consciousness and a quality—good or bad—of character or personality. And that goes for the person of Jesus as well, for he is therepresentative human being par excellence. He is every man or woman on the path of life—well, every man or woman who knows how to calm the storms of life. The ‘Christ’ is ‘peace at the centre’, the peace that passes all understanding, and the power that makes all things new. The ‘Christ’ is not a person but a principle, a state of attainment. The ‘Christ’ is the perfectidea of what a man or woman can be and in truth really is. As such, it abides withineach one of us as our potentialperfection as well as inner peace and power. The New Testament speaks of ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’ (Col 1:27). Esoteric Christians refer to this inner presence and power as the ‘Christ within’, for it is not to be found afar off. Now, when we combine ‘Jesus’ with the ‘Christ’, we have a fully functioning man or woman under full sway of their inner potentiality and vital powers—the perfect human being in actual expression. No, I am not talking about accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and that sort of thing. That is a gross carnalization and literalization of what is otherwise a very important myth as well as being a misrepresentation and distortion of the true metaphysical position. We are all Christs in the making.
To find ‘peace at the centre’ is more than just finding peace. One finds power as well—yes, the power to triumph over any adversity. I will use another analogy. I live by the beach and I love body surfing. Now, some waves are fairly small such that you can just go over the top of them. Others are bigger, and you must go through the middle of them. Still others are even bigger, with some being so big that all you can safely do is go under the water and head for the bottom. There you find stillness and calmness. You can see and hear all the turbulence above you but you are safe at or near the bottom and you simply wait until things calm down before you surface again. Then there are other waves which are just perfect for surfing.
There is peace and harmony at the centre—and power, too. The power to climb over any mountain, go around it if need be, or simply go straight through the middle of it. In order to know that peace, and find and use that power, you must awaken the ‘sleeping giant’ within you. Then you will have the power to overcome any adversity. Not only that, but the storms of life need not overwhelm you anymore.
‘Peace! Be still!’
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Source: http://ianellis-jones.blogspot.com/2016/04/how-to-calm-storms-in-your-life.html
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