Willing under Control

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.” John 15:1-6

This final reflection on the I AM sayings comes four days before Michaelmas: the festival of will-filled thinking. The ultimate expression of the I AM is will-filled thinking infused with Christed feeling.

We can look at the vine’s branches now as the will. Will is a mysterious force within us. At the foundation of the processes of our physical body lies the unconscious will. It is through the will that we survive as a physical being. If we had to remember to breathe every few seconds we would have died long ago. If we had to consciously digest our food, oxygenate our blood, move fluids around our body etc we would not last very long.

Will can also be identified as that impulse of warmth which develops into motivation; the will to do a thing. It rises up as inner initiative. This means that the will is also about freedom and this fact links it to the I AM for the hallmark of the I AM is freedom. So there are two sides to the will; a side which is unconscious and by it we survive in the physical world and the other side which can be exercised in full freedom.

We often use our will in a withered way. One of these is when we judge others – we impose our will on them. Judgement must always be suspended until we are aware of twelve sides of a situation.

If we become engrossed in an annoyance then our will is withered. The differences we experience in our relationships are the grit that creates the pearl of our being, which is our I AM. It is not about feeling the annoyance, but resisting it. Furthermore, the thing that annoys us in the other person is often something that annoys us in ourselves. The strong I AM always seeks to be objective. The strong I AM lives in freedom and grants others the freedom to be. There is an excellent quote about this, “A friend is someone who won’t allow you to be anyone other than yourself.”

There are many philosophies that encourage people to tackle their difficulties by examining them in the hope of conquering them. This is very hard work and success can be illusive. Rev Mario used to say that the only way to conquer our less satisfactory aspects was to hose them out and focus only of our I AM and Christ.

The only way to do this is to acquaint ourselves with our I AM. How and when do we express our I AM? Primarily through our posture and our movement, through our speech and through our thinking. By becoming more aware of our expression in these three areas we will increase our awareness of our I AM. Then the I AM will have a greater influence in these ways;

1.      in our will influencing our movement and action,

2.      in our feeling in our use of words and tone of voice,

3.      and in our thinking which will become clear and pure.

As our connection with our I AM grows then the light of Christ will irradiate our I AM and we will hear Christ speak these intimate words to us: Abide in me and I in you.

Then we hear the great promise, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.”

If we abide in the I AM and the I AM’s words (not logos here but rhema which indicates speech) abide in us, ask whatever we wish (is the real meaning of the word ‘will’ here). The secret about wishing is that it is fulfilled in the future. So we are told here the esoteric secret that we can determine our future incarnations. This is the true purpose of the will, the freedom to determine our future.

Six months before Rev Mario died he prayed this beautiful prayer which reveals much about our I AM

Jesus Christ, our Lord. So shall it be. Rev Mario Schoenmaker 30/6/96

I hope you have enjoyed this series. I have certainly enjoyed working with it again (and tidying it up). I haven't decided what to do next. My current series of reflections is on the Book of Revelation. If you would like to join the mailing list please email me.