Who Do You Think You Are?
“I am the light of the world” “You are the light of the world” Jesus
“The cosmos is within us… We are a way for the Universe to know itself” Carl Sagan
Did you ever see the movie Cocoon? One of my very favorites. I love 2 scenes in the movie in particular - the scene when the aliens are on a boat to go diving at night to find the “pods” off the coast of Fla and Steve Guttenberg’s character who was renting his boat and services, happens to catch the beautiful young woman scientist remove her diving suit and then her earth suit only to reveal her suit of light He did not see that coming. The next favorite scene was when the aliens come back from picking up their alien pod friends who had been in the ocean depths long enough to take them back to their perfect planet. They were keeping them in a swimming pool at a nearby estate, with other pods till departure, that happened to be next door to a retirement home. The retired seniors discovered the pool and decided to go for a swim, only to find as soon as they jumped in the water, they were rejuvenated! The pods with the aliens in them had “charged” the water and made it a fountain of youth, the elders were young in spirit again. When they saw the people who had rented the place coming back, they hid in a closet and watched as these “scientists” put another pod in the pool. The alien scientists then started peeling off their human body suits and became bodies of light. When it was safe the seniors escaped from the nearby hiding place, and fled back to the retirement home, mighty shaken up but enlivened in every way.
Well, they end up being able to go back with the aliens to a perfect planet, and Wilford Brinley’s character takes his grandson fishing for the last time to explain that he’s going away and won’t be able to see the boy ever again – at which point, I’m conflicted feelings all over the place!
Whenever I'm reminded Jesus was said to have said, “I am the Light of the world” and I’m pretty much – “Yep, I believe that”. But then he confuses me by stating just as authoritatively; “You are the light of the world”, and I'd think – wait a minute… now you’re going too far. I can certainly believe it of him, but – of myself? Well, that’s another story altogether. I wonder if I equate it with having to be like Jesus, and well, that is not an easy gig. Either way, no matter what I'm like, I'm lighting something up. I'm showing and teaching something I believe.
Remembering that we are who we are is hard. I remember hearing a story when I was in Practitioner training at CSL and heard this story used to remind us that we are individual expressions of The One Presence, God, and perfect when we get here. The story goes that cathedrals in Europe wanted to start restoring the frescos and gorgeous art that were covered and dull under centuries of soot, dust, and age, but when cleaned off and restored were too bright for the people who had only known them as muted and dark. The restored paintings were then seen as loud and inauthentic looking. When we start doing our Spiritual work we are starting our own restoration. Because too much of the world gets on us as well. We then go through a phase, the great Unity teacher Emily Cady called But then we come to our senses, our path, and hear and see things that start to restore us to our original beauty. That gives me great hope.
Last year, and now again this year, I am studying A Course In Miracles with Marianne Williamson, the foremost expert on the course, and I am learning so much. I remember picking up a copy in around 1979 and reading one paragraph and I fell asleep. It completely overwhelmed me. Then pick it up again in 1985 and has a different reaction – one of head buzzing and agitation. Here’s what I can’t remember – how is it I even had a copy of the workbook? It’s not like it’s a tiny tomb – it’s weighty to haul around, but I had it.
Around this time, I’d started going to Unity, singing at Sunday Services, and going to recovery meetings. My life started to turn around. I was ready for my life to turn around. Transitions Bookstore in Chicago was one of my very favorite spaces to be in. All those glorious books –
And the classes, and the crystals. It was fantastic. I bought several copies of the classic Love Is Letting Go Of Fear by Gerald Jampolsky because it is a terrific introduction to A Course In Miracles, presented in a very simple way.
Last year I saw Mornings With Marianne – ACIM daily lessons, and I signed up. Wow. For me, it was just time. And I am ready to hear the lessons with fresh ears, an open mind, and heart.
Lesson 7. I see only the past.
Yes. I see only the past. Any time I am not ready to give love or receive love, it is because I think I know exactly what is happening, what should be happening, and that I know how to make things happen or not happen – I close my mind to the moment. Really, if I can stay in the Presence, At the moment where God is, and admit that if I can come with a clean slate and an open mind, I am teachable and a little bit more of the soot of fear gets removed, my eyesight clears a little more, and well, there’s just more Light to answer the question – who do I not only think I am, who do I see myself being in the new world?
You are the Light of the world. Shine!!