Ezekiel 3: 1, 3, 4, “Man, eat….Man, swallow….Man, go and tell….”
God’s instruction to Ezekiel repeatedly begins with God addressing Ezekiel as “Man”. I am struck by the focus to the “Man” Ezekiel versus the personality Ezekiel. It is as if God was calling to something greater than the ego or personality known as Ezekiel. He was calling forth the aspect of Ezekiel that is created in the image of God—his humanity.
We are all recovering from centuries old, erroneous beliefs that human beings are lower than low and that the human condition is to be loathed. We are still escaping from the belief that we are born sinful. Yet, God engages, instructs, fortifies, and commissions “Man.” “Man”, shorthand for humanity, is created in the image of God. (Genesis 1)
As humans, we are expressions of God. Psalm 8 beautifully affirms this while stating, “What is man that thou hast created him a little lower than the angels?”. The New English Bible translates the same verse, “”yet thou (God) has made him (human) little less than a god.” We have God given powers to mediate between biological and spiritual energies. We have been commissioned by God to tend the physical realm while honoring the presence of God within and around us. fxd
Humans have a bad rap as we have struggled to realize that we are more than reflective, automatic, impulsive, and instinctive responses. A quick review of the history of mankind shows the atrocities of our barbaric, unfeeling animal nature. We can all call to mind times we’ve reacted coldly out of the instinctive fight or flight response. We may have realized it was out of proportion for the present situation, but it still prompted our actions.
Our humanness is the mediating consciousness between our animal and divine natures. To be human is to embody the nature of God (our divine essence) in our body and mind; it is to live in a state where our instincts and our desires are at one with our Divine Essence, our soul. It begins as our cellular consciousness responds to our seeking, relating to, and opening to the essence of our true nature, which is God’s nature.
We embody the essence of the Divine in our earthly life when we utilize consciousness. We have a God given capacity for consciousness that allows us to direct our attention and energies, to look beyond surface appearances, to see the big picture, to make choices, and to create with vision. When we realize that we are more than our automatic responses, we can consciously access the presence of God within our body mind.
We associate being human with these qualities: “humane, philanthropic, kind, gentle, polite; learned, refined, and civilized.” To be human is a state that we cultivate; it doesn’t happen just because we are born into a human body. We have to consciously learn and refine our abilities to mediate what goes on inside of us--the various impulses, desires, and phantasies. The inner tension between our ego or personality and the afore-mentioned unbidden messengers of our larger Self has to be acknowledged, known, and explored. We have to listen to what the voice of God Within says in all our internal stirrings.
God instructs Ezekiel, “Man, eat…swallow…go and tell.” It is not enough for “Humans” to hear; we must ingest, digest, and assimilate what we experience. It must be grounded in our body. (The word human comes from the word humus, which means earth.) Taking in is key. The earth takes in our seeds to grow what is planted. We have to receive what our larger Self offers, so the energies can be digested. Then, our sense of self and ways of responding, to our selves and others, becomes more human.
Inner Reflection
Where are you struggling to be human? What are the reflexive ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving that interfere with your consciousness? When do you get ungrounded? Where are you being called by God Within to assimilate emotions, impulses, and their resulting one-sided thoughts? Dialogue with these bits of yourself. Listen to what each has to offer and hold it with the desire to become more human. Feel God Within call you to live the fullness of who you as a human being.
Showing posts with label Ezekiel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ezekiel. Show all posts
November 6, 2015
June 17, 2011
Ezekiel 11: 19, An Undivided Heart and a New Spirit
Ezekiel 11: 17-20, An UnDivided Heart and a New Spirit
v. 19, “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.”
The heart of flesh is a feeling heart. It has life; it quickens; it stirs. It is not passive, inert like stone. We are born with a heart of flesh that makes itself known in our desires, impulses, longings, images, dreams, and gut/body knowing. As we experience other’s disapproval or disdain, or we meet obstacles in acting from our heart, the heart of flesh can become a heart of stone. In this case, the stone represents a coldness and hardness to life.
Our life force becomes blocked, stagnant. It begins to rot in negative feelings, images, and thoughts. Our actions don’t flow from the truth of our nature. We give up following the path that we know is right for us; we end up confused. We go along with the people around us even when it feels wrong in our hearts and minds. We find ourselves half-hearted, not whole-hearted about who we are, our relationships, our day to day lives, because the totality of who we are is not present. We give up being clear-hearted, full-hearted, and strong-hearted out of fear of being rejected or abandoned. In the meantime, we are abandoning ourselves.
Carl Jung talked about an organic process called “The Transcendent Function”. The Transcendent Function provides a unifying, or uniting third when we can consciously hold the tension of opposites within us. The opposites may be as mundane as wanting to lose weight by passing up sweets and majorly craving your favorite dessert. Wherever we are in conflict about what we think, feel, or want to do, we can identify two opposing bits. When we can flesh out the opposing desires, see the bit of our self (ego/personality) and Self (totality of our psyche/soul) in each, the Divine Within (or Self) can activate the Transcendent Function and something in us shifts. It is as if we are given “an undivided heart” and a new spirit.
To move towards the undivided heart, we must be willing to feel, know, and relate to the split up pieces of our soul as they present in our feelings, moods, thoughts, images, fantasies, experiences, etc. Our culture has demonized aspects of the human experience (i.e., anger, sexual desire, allegiance to one’s soul over the outer collective); we have been taught to deny and pretend we don’t feel certain ways. This has resulted in division within our hearts and souls . To stay whole, we need to see and accept what we are experiencing internally; then, the split off bits of self can be reintegrated.
I often use the image of a pie shape. Disowned or denied slivers float around disconnected from the center; they are not held with the totality of the pie. Feelings, thoughts, images, etc. that are floating around, disconnected from the whole, have a lot more volatility, unpredictability, and power than those connected to the center. Every felt sensory experience has its rightful place. When we consciously relate to what goes on inside us, the conflicts have a chance to be healed by the Self/God Within. Our ego’s part is to stay with the tension and struggle of the opposites, with an eye towards understanding each fully and deeply. In this way, we invite the Transcendent Function.
Take a few minutes to reflect on the state of your heart. Where do you feel divided? Hold the image of being strong-hearted, full-hearted, clear-hearted, and whole-hearted. Be willing to look at and relate to whatever feelings, desires, images, and thoughts keep you from this unity. Invite the Inner Divine Spirit to help you flesh out what needs to be known, and to hold any seeming opposites. In this way, open to the unity of your psyche/soul.
v. 19, “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.”
The heart of flesh is a feeling heart. It has life; it quickens; it stirs. It is not passive, inert like stone. We are born with a heart of flesh that makes itself known in our desires, impulses, longings, images, dreams, and gut/body knowing. As we experience other’s disapproval or disdain, or we meet obstacles in acting from our heart, the heart of flesh can become a heart of stone. In this case, the stone represents a coldness and hardness to life.
Our life force becomes blocked, stagnant. It begins to rot in negative feelings, images, and thoughts. Our actions don’t flow from the truth of our nature. We give up following the path that we know is right for us; we end up confused. We go along with the people around us even when it feels wrong in our hearts and minds. We find ourselves half-hearted, not whole-hearted about who we are, our relationships, our day to day lives, because the totality of who we are is not present. We give up being clear-hearted, full-hearted, and strong-hearted out of fear of being rejected or abandoned. In the meantime, we are abandoning ourselves.
Carl Jung talked about an organic process called “The Transcendent Function”. The Transcendent Function provides a unifying, or uniting third when we can consciously hold the tension of opposites within us. The opposites may be as mundane as wanting to lose weight by passing up sweets and majorly craving your favorite dessert. Wherever we are in conflict about what we think, feel, or want to do, we can identify two opposing bits. When we can flesh out the opposing desires, see the bit of our self (ego/personality) and Self (totality of our psyche/soul) in each, the Divine Within (or Self) can activate the Transcendent Function and something in us shifts. It is as if we are given “an undivided heart” and a new spirit.
To move towards the undivided heart, we must be willing to feel, know, and relate to the split up pieces of our soul as they present in our feelings, moods, thoughts, images, fantasies, experiences, etc. Our culture has demonized aspects of the human experience (i.e., anger, sexual desire, allegiance to one’s soul over the outer collective); we have been taught to deny and pretend we don’t feel certain ways. This has resulted in division within our hearts and souls . To stay whole, we need to see and accept what we are experiencing internally; then, the split off bits of self can be reintegrated.
I often use the image of a pie shape. Disowned or denied slivers float around disconnected from the center; they are not held with the totality of the pie. Feelings, thoughts, images, etc. that are floating around, disconnected from the whole, have a lot more volatility, unpredictability, and power than those connected to the center. Every felt sensory experience has its rightful place. When we consciously relate to what goes on inside us, the conflicts have a chance to be healed by the Self/God Within. Our ego’s part is to stay with the tension and struggle of the opposites, with an eye towards understanding each fully and deeply. In this way, we invite the Transcendent Function.
Take a few minutes to reflect on the state of your heart. Where do you feel divided? Hold the image of being strong-hearted, full-hearted, clear-hearted, and whole-hearted. Be willing to look at and relate to whatever feelings, desires, images, and thoughts keep you from this unity. Invite the Inner Divine Spirit to help you flesh out what needs to be known, and to hold any seeming opposites. In this way, open to the unity of your psyche/soul.
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