I hope you enjoyed my little parable regarding ‘Will’ in my previous two posts.
I’m sure that as many interpretations came to my readers’ minds as the number of readers themselves. Truth comes at the right time and in an appropriate guise when our hearts are thirsty for further Light. All revelation is deeply personal as it swirls around the caverns of our Son starved psyches.
However, let me just share a little something that been doing the rounds of my own unconscious since I last posted.
Many of us believe our wills to be a unique gift given to us by a separated and distinct divinity or in common parlance by a god. Such has been the traditional take on will in the Western religious mindset of the past two millenia.
This model of the will tends to suggest that it is something that constantly requires alignment with Divine purpose; otherwise it will easily slip off and do its own thing i.e. selfishness. The result of such a mindset is big psychic pressure, an intense vigilance that destroys rest and a sense of genuine self-esteem.
So here’s what I’ve been pondering:
Rather than having a will are we not in fact the Divine Will itself?
Our encounter with Spirit hasn’t dragged us back to the Divine Will but rather enlightened us to the fact that we never possessed a separate will in the first place. The sense of individual will is, I suggest, an ego illusion, projected onto our consciousness screen in order to maintain the myth of separation, the very fuel of all religious thought and practice.
Within faith communities separation and rebellion are the necessary prerequisite to conversion and return to Divine Union.
‘Once I was lost but now I’m found!’
However, suppose the story of return and redemption are only etchings on the surface of an even deeper reality i.e. we never really left Divine Will in the first place for we can’t leave ourselves.
Our dream-like state of separation, rebellion and redemption are, instead, virtual tutorials serving the greater purpose of our deepening Awareness of Divine Love and our place within it.
Such a shift in our thinking, especially if we’ve been programmed by a traditional religious model, can have an enormous and life changing effect on our daily life.
We, including all that we seem to experience, are in fact the Divine Will. We always have been, presently are, and always will be within our space-time world. Much of our internal suffering comes through resistance to the reality presented before us, to the storms seemingly coming our way. Awakening to the realisation of our virtual world we afford to ‘go with the flow’ thus paradoxically enabling a change in the reality facing us. In other words, the more we resist the programme, the more we suffer, or appear to suffer.
All power and resources fill the storehouses of Divine Will. As part of that Will may you drink today of your birthright, sharing your Light with those still convinced of their struggle defined separation.
Writer Dylan Morrison 
Your proposition is an interesting one, but has one serious flaw in that you don’t deal with what many call “the dark side” of human reality. If the dark side is included in “Divine Will”, isn’t the concept “Divine Will” itself suspect? And if not, how and why isn’t it?
To me,,it is much simpler — and more realistic — to see both “dark” and “light” as part of the same reality, and follow what the Buddha called “the middle way”, which is to avoid causing any entity suffering, to detach from attachments (i.e., “things MUST be this way!), and to practice mindful living. If there is a “Divine Will”, isn’t it to practice loving kindness and compassion?
To me, it’s a matter of developing a practice discipline that is consistent with this “middle way”, that includes the following:
Learn to love the world.
Every life has a story, and every story is important.
Don’t judge others, love them.
Don’t try to be profound, just be true.
Treat everyone with dignity and respect.
See that there are no ordinary people, there are only extraordinary ones.
Remember to laugh and see humor in everyday things.
Be a servant.
Hi George. Thanks for dropping by and for posting such a perceptive comment.
Regarding ‘the dark side’ of human reality let’s think about how or where we perceive it. In other words where does such a ‘reality’ lie?
Surely it lies within our human consciousness, the screen upon which our virtual education is projected. In other words, the dark side of our humanity, along with the perceived ‘better’ side is just that a perception, and not ultimately reality.
If, as I believe, the Divine is unadulterated Love then there can be no darkness within that Divinity. However the Divine programme within our consciousness may use Jung’s perceived shadow Self and other projections of darkness e.g. our fragmented psyche which clings to Buddha’s ‘attachments’, as tutors working towards enlightenment and illumination of a deeper, more underlying reality in which we’re permanently part of the ‘I am’.
A very weird text within the Prophet Isaiah seems to hint at this:
Isaiah 45 verse 7 ” …I make peace and create evil…..”
Many Christian apologists and translators try to dodge this one but I believe that most Jewish scholars stick to the translation of ‘rah’, the Hebrew word as evil.
What I’m attempting to do in my post is to stretch our perception of reality, way beyond the 5 sense body experience, translated by consciousness into another realm where as mystic Lady Julian of Norwich claimed, ‘All is well’.
Within the conscious realm it is clearly perceived to be anything but; yet within the more real realm of faith lies a knowledge that it is indeed so.
Blessings
Dylan
Dylan, I think this makes sense. I just had an interaction with someone who said “sin shouldn’t happen”. My response is, if it wasn’t supposed to happen, it wouldn’t.
If one assumes an all powerful, omniscient, omnipotent Creator (and, perhaps if you don’t) it follows that all that exists belongs . . . is supposed to be and happen.
God everywhere . . . Love . . . . Energy . . . in all and through all, would imply that All is within . . . there is no ‘outside” . . . All is love and beauty and good . . . all IS well . . . in the essence . . the deepest, purest Reality.
I love Jung’s take on our shadow selves. All shadows, all darkness, result from a misunderstanding of Reality. The more we embrace the entire picture; darkness and light, with love . . . the more we see to the heart of things; the more we recognize, experience and know our true selves . . .
We are part of the eternal Spirit . . . our wisdom flows from Love . . . we can trust the truth that our hearts speak.
Hi Lynelle
Thanks for your encouraging and most enlightening comment.
Yes, I believe that if all emerged from Source, i.e. the Abba of Yeshua then all is contained in His background Reality. That’s why I’ve come to have an affinity with panentheism,’ All in God’, rather than the narrower pantheism of ‘All is God’.
We are all still on this journey of discovery; someday we will know as we are known, when the virtual experience of consciousness ends, its lessons hopefully learnt.
Blessings
Dylan
Thank you for this insight, I experienced a shift.
I am grateful.
Wonderful Valerie.
When this came to me something definitely moved within, bringing such power. Glad you’ve experienced such a shift.
Thanks for dropping by and letting me know.
Please feel free to come by again.
Blessings
Dylan
You have followed the inner logic of monism, Dylan and it is very seductive!, but it contradicts the revelation we are given in Jesus Christ. For example, Jesus said ‘ It is not the will of your heavenly father that one of these little ones should perish’ (Matthew 18:14), yet we see all sorts of abuse of children in the world – some of it from so called Christians. So there must be other wills in operation as well as the divine will. The point of the Lord’s Prayer is to pray the will of heaven onto the earth – this presupposes that it is not already happening!
This is not to fall into the equal and opposite error of dualism – for God is still all powerful he has a permissive will in which he wills the fact of free will if not the acts of free will. And in his middle knowledge (knowledge of all possible futures) God has already taken account of all our free choices and is working them towards his final good purpose (Romans 8:28).
This is why there has always been a strong social justice tradition in the Judaeo-Christian religions which has only recently trickled down into Hinduism and Buddhism, I would say through the influence of Christianity – because if all is one then evil is an illusion, not a reality which should be fought and compassion could be dismissed as ‘attachment’. Monism is also ultimately narcissistic since it teaches there is only One of us here!
As for Jung, he spent a lot of time talking to his ‘spirit-guide’ Philemon and is not a very reliable source of truth!
blessings,
Alan
Alan
Thank you for dropping by. We’ve discussed many issues over the past six months and I don’t think we’re ever going to be of One mind in this conceptual reality. I’m convinced, however, that we’re already One in another dimension where Truth is simply known without any need for potentially divisive debate.
It’s a pity that the ground-breaking Dr Jung can’t answer for himself regarding your take on his theories, having long ago moved to another Reality. As a preacher’s kid I’m sure though that he’s well aware of your world view and would welcome further discussion. If he’s right though there may not be any need for you both to delve once more into the realm of the middle unconscious.
Blessings
Dylan
Hi Dylan,
I’m at the point where I am uncertain about whether we have individual/independent will or not. I tend to lean towards that we do, but I realize that just may be my ego “rearing it’s ugly head” (pun intended). How else does one account for our abbearant behavior? In the Judeo-Christian mythology (bear in mind I am a follower of Yeshua and more or less orthodox, so when I use the term “mythology” I use it in it’s original meaning and in an eccumenical mode) ANYWAY, in the Genesis account both Adam and Eve had the choice to eat or not eat of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil. Choice implies free will. Unless of course one wishes to imply that the Divine intended that they eat and thus intended all the misery that followed (which is something I don’t subscribe to). Of course the noodle-baker is that Papa God planted the two trees right smack-dab in the middle of the garden and having all-knowledge knew which choice would be made. And yet did not interfere in that choice. I’ve given up trying to figure that one out. Somethings are just beyond us in this life.
Besides Jungian Psychology, I’ve also studied Huna wisdom (Hawaiian Shamanic Knowledge). In the Huna tradition it is taught that the soul is made of three parts or “selves”; The Basic (instinctual/unconscious) self, the Conscious (Rational, Logical, Intellect and Ego) self and the Higher (True, Authentic) self. All of which is interesting as I see some resonance in this with Jung’s work. Perhaps that part of us that is in resonance with the Divine Will is the Higher Self. In bringing the Basic and Conscious selves into integration with the Higher Self (which is in union with the Divine) then perhaps the illusions of the false self, the ego and our perception of individual will radically be shifted.
Shalom and Grace. Looking forward towards more.
Hey Wol You better? Good to “see” you again.
Bless,
Sas x
Hi Sarah,
Apologies that I didn’t catch your post sooner than this. Yes, I am doing well; mending and getting stronger everyday. At this point it’s another 2 to 4 weeks before I can return to work. Thanks for asking. Love, Grace and Shalom encompass you.
Wol (Michael)
Hi Michael
Great of you to drop by and share such interesting and honest thoughts.
Our free will has always been the excuse used for the apparent dysfunction in the the realm we find ourselves. In other words it’s all ‘our fault’.
Hence the traditional Christian take that we need saving from ourselves, even though that self was permitted by Divine Love to wreak havoc on ourselves and others, through the contagion of mimetic desire and its ensuing violence, started in the Garden.
My thoughts centre on where all this drama is, as far as we can tell, in fact happening. If, as Yeshua seemed to suggest, there exists a parallel realm or reality that is truly ‘Home’, where we belong and perhaps from whence we came, then what is this conscious stage of existence all about?
I believe that the tears shed and the ego brokenness, so terribly on display here, will be, or indeed always is, consumed by Divine Love there. All suffering will be, or perhaps shockingly, is over in the place where Yeshua claimed to be going. In other words, outside space-time, suffering doesn’t exist.
Is it possible then that such a seemingly awful brokeness, that daily bombards us from our tv screens is itself temporal, and here for a higher or deeper purpose. The excruciating pain that accompanies the brokenness around us is all too real to our fractured conscious self, but is it to our spirit ‘I’, the Divine Presence within?
I guess we live in two realities at once, this temporal one appearing to be all too real whilst the other, more substantial One is interpreted by ego as ‘pie in the sky’ and escapist wishful thinking.
I suspect that for some mysterious reason, our sojourn here can likened to a virtual reality lesson, designed to awaken us to a greater Reality beyond the bounds of the programme. An awakening to Divine Presence and our place within it; maybe Paul had some thouhts along the same lines after his own mystical encounters……’seated with Christ in the heavenlies’… etc
Hope some of these thoughts help Michael as we both try to learn what it means to be manifestations of the Divine Will in our present bodily existence.
Blessings
Dylan
“Living in two realities at once.” Interesting that you would say that. A new TV show premiered last night that has that concept at it’s core. It’s about a police detective who has a tragic car accident, his wife and teenage son in the car with him. He begins to experience two realities; one where his son survived but his wife didn’t. The other reality his wife survived but his son did not. These realities alternate evrytime he goes to sleep and wakes up. So one day he has his son but not his wife and the next day he has his wife but not his son. The name of the show? “Awake”. I’m not trying to promote the show. It’s that I find it all interesting in that I see elements of the concept reflected in Quantum Theory, Psychology and Spirituality. I will stop here as I do not wish to launch into a long dissertation on all that (and bore the heck out of everyone here!) 🙂
Interesting Michael. I love tv shows like that – quirky or out of the box. I guess that’s why I responded to ‘The Matrix’ so well.
Yes, some physicists have a theory of parallel or multiple, even infinite Universes. I guess what I’m trying to communicate here in this blog that this reality in which I’m now knowingly replying to you is not the whole story. One lies outside this space-time reference point where we and I believe Divine Love dwell in perfect union.
It sounds a bit weird but there are many hints of it throughout the Biblical narrative.
Your comments are always welcome Michael.
Blessings
Dylan
A puzzle – if monism is true then the illusion is also God so why would you want to escape it anyway? By saying there are two realities haven’t you already self-defeated monism (i.e. that there is only one reality)?
The world of concepts is populated by endless paradoxes in the guise of puzzles. They are, I would suggest, little signposts pointing towards wisdom and enlightenment; the niggly little contradictions that motivate and empower us to question our present take on reality and move closer to a greater awareness of Divine Source. I believe they’re not to be feared and agonised over by our ego but embraced as guides on the Way Home.
Dearest Michael,
Blessings and Peace.
Sas x
All is Well.
Indeed Sarah – even behind the terrible violence of man to man there lies a deeper reality where we have all come Home. Sadly much of mankind only discover this after death.
Send some love out to me – only because Mother’s saying it’s OK that I’m hanging on.
Love dispatched and on its way!
Thank you x
[…] can also relate to this part of Dylan Morrison’s latest blog ‘Will I or Won’t I ? ~ Part 3‘. “However, suppose the story of return and redemption are only etchings on the […]
Thanks for droppng by ‘Mystery of Christ’.
Dylan, in reference to your comment about outside space and time, would love to share this with you. I had a dream a few years ago. It was like a digital effects lesson in quantum physics. When I woke up I couldn’t remember a thing except one sentence. Not surprising – I failed chemistry in school. But the sentence stayed etched in my mind. It was this: “Mankind does not understand the relationship between time, space and matter.”
Thanks Joan. A most interesting dream and certainly a sentence to remember.
There’s mystery in the whole space-time thing. I’ve found some of the quantum findings to tie in with the teaching of the mystics, both Christian and non Christian. If Yeshua was described by John as ‘the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world’ then reconciliation and union with the Divine has always been – is our sense of separation a virtual training course that we must walk through in this shadowland?
Interesting stuff that I find most Christians don’t like to tackle so well done you! Keep exploring!
Blessings
Dylan