Welcome Back!
Have you guessed what the key to unlocking Your Heart’s Desire is?
You know that Your Heart’s Desire is the Voice of God whispering inside of you. You know you need a clear channel.
But how do you get one?
This week Fox leads you closer and closer to the edge of the threshold.
He expands on the idea that the channel needs clearing
and even gives a gentle, humorous example
of what having a blocked channel is like.
I am giving more than your usual one or two paragraphs from Emmet Fox
not to rush you along, but because they fit together so well.
Like last week, there will be little commentary
and only a handful of questions and exercises.
Two weeks—that’s when the method for how to clear the channel gets revealed
and also the method for listening to the voice of God within you.
Consequently, some of the excerises get a little more challenging.
Be ready, and
stay tuned—literally.
Paragraphs 10, 11, 12, and 13, by Emmet Fox
“People work so hard to bring health to their bodies; to bring prosperity, to bring happiness, to bring success into their lives; to bring artistic or literary gifts or talents within their grasp, to bring great new ideas from the outside; and of course, they continually fail, because we cannot “bring” a single one of these things from the without to the within. The actual development is just the reverse—they have to be released from the within that they may appear on the without. In short, we have not to build on from the outside; our task, as Browning says, is “to set free the imprisoned splendor.”
This process, the true manner of nature’s working, is well illustrated by a simple anecdote. A certain man was working in his garden, assisted by his little girl. She had undertaken the interesting task of watering the lawn by means of the usual rubber hose. Matters proceeded harmoniously enough until she suddenly cried out in disappointment: “Daddy, the water has stopped.” The father looked over, and, taking the situation in at a glance, said quietly, “Well, take your foot off the hose.” The child had inadvertently placed her foot and most of her weight upon the soft rubber pipe, and thus, by her own action, shut off the water that she needed. She, of course, removed her foot at once, whereupon the water again flowed freely.
Five minutes later, she once more cried plaintively: “Daddy, the water has stopped again.” Her father glanced across and observed that now she had placed her other foot upon the hose. He replied: “Well, take your foot off.” The child did so, and again the stream flowed freely, and, as she had by this time learned that lesson, she did not repeat the mistake, and completed the interesting task she had chosen, with much satisfaction to herself.
The ultimate cause of all our troubles is just this. Behind all secondary and proximate causes lies the same primary mistake. We have been acting like the little girl in the story; we have been pressing our feet and the whole weight of our mentality upon the pipe line of life, and then complaining bitterly because the water does not flow. Man’s business is rightly to handle his Divine Spiritual energy, and when he does this, he has found his true place, and then all goes well.”
Commentary, Questions, and Exercises
These paragraphs largely speak for themselves, so little will be added here by way of commentary. It would do us well however to really let the idea of things growing from within sink deeply in our souls—as an image. The “from within to without”—“the true manner of nature’s work,” is such a comforting truth. Imagine an oak tree sleeping inside an acorn. Imagine a butterfly swirling into form within the cocoon. Picture a dragon fly emerging from the split back of the nymph clinging to the post of a pier. Think of the eagle curled inside the egg. Realize that your voice—(go ahead, sing a note or two)—comes from within. Your ability to learn to talk, walk, read, and so on, believe it or not, all come from within. Sometimes we need catalysts from without—teachers, workbooks, etc, but everything—the entire essence of the All Creative Intelligence of the Universe is within us. Now that’s awesome.
Let the image of the little girl unwittingly standing on the hose trying to water her father’s garden also rest easy in your heart. There is no blame. The father never scolds or chides his “assistant.” He simply quietly offers the solution to her dilemma (“still, small voice?”). The same is true for us when we call out to God: “Daddy, nothing’s flowing, nothing’s working in my life.” To which He will gently and quietly respond—“Get your mental weight off the hose.”
What is the mental weight? It’s focusing on the negative, on the problems, on our weaknesses and mistakes, our past traumas and hurt, our blame and victim consciousness, our fears and resentments, and so on. We must lift our consciousness above the problem—off the hose—and let the solution—the Water of Life, the Water of Truth flow freely through us—and then “all goes well.” Notice too that the channel is fragile and somewhat easily blocked. Notice also that the story says she eventually completes the interesting task “she had chosen.” You are in the process of choosing right now as you study these lessons. You are assisting your Father’s work. And every one of the tasks you complete helps clear the channel.
But how you keep asking, is the channel actually cleared? The answer is revealed over the next few weeks, so keep coming back.
Questions
1). Do you agree that all things—all changes come from within?
2). Do you believe you have the Infinite God inside you right now?
3). Do you believe you hold within yourself “imprisoned splendor?”
Exercises
1). Reflect on the story of the little girl watering the garden. Emmet Fox believes that the soul is essentially female in nature. What sort of garden do you believe your soul is watering?
2). Reflect on your ability, willingness, resistance to—whichever– to call God, “Daddy” or some other earthly term of affection–whether masculine or feminine. Pick a word that a child might use for a parent or guardian and experiment using it this week to refer to God.
3). Reflect on the idea that you are responsible for the clear flow of Infinite Energy. How does that make you feel?
Copyright Joseph Anthony of the Wonder Child Blog