Golden Thread
The one great love for which your heart longs is the faithful lover who like the bridegroom on his wedding night patiently awaits the arrival of his bride. The Hungry Heart
Do you know why you’re reading this blog? There are many reasons, but it all boils down to this: you have a hungry heart. All of us, in fact, suffer from a hungry heart. The only difference between us, as fellow aspirants, and nearly everyone else in the world is we’re awake enough to recognize it. We long for something…anything that will feed our empty hearts.This fact can be observed all around us by observing the proliferation of music, movies, and books with the theme of the human search for lasting love. We’re all looking for something or someone we can hang on to. Someone who’ll be there when we need them the most. We’re particularly drawn to the blues, jazz, and soul music because the rhythm and lyrics seem to be telling our story.
When I was a girl—and still to this day, but for different reasons—I was stirred by the music of George and Ira Gershwin who were masters at recalling the story of the “hungry heart.” Nowhere was this clearer than in their hit song from the 1926 musical “Oh, Kay!” called “Someone to Watch over Me.” If you remember it, feel free to chime in and switch the pronouns to suit your gender!
“…There's a somebody I'm longing to see/I hope that he/she turns out to be/Someone to watch over me/I'm a little lamb who's lost in a wood/I know I could always be good/To one who'll watch over me/Although he/I may not be the man some girls think of/As handsome to my heart he/she carries the key/Won't you tell him/her please to put on some speed/Follow my lead, oh how I need/Someone to watch over me/Someone to watch over me.”
The Hebrew Psalms
Together we’re going to be exploring this great love and the yearning of the human heart through an examination of the 23rd Psalm in the Hebrew Bible. The Book of Psalms is a compendium of songs and prayers comprised of 150 chapters divided into verses. Their authorship is the subject of debate, but many have been attributed to King David. We’ll examine Psalm 23, which is perhaps the most beloved, in an attempt to discover this special love for which we all long. In this beautiful hymn, David seeks comfort in much the same way as did lyricist, Ira Gershwin, by comparing God to a shepherd. As you read the Psalm, you are encouraged to substitute the word “Lord” for any word or phrase that best reflects your concept of the Divine—that which is eternal, immortal, and all-loving. It makes no difference what you call it, as long as you begin to recognize the source of this higher yearning and aspiration.
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters (waters of rest). 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness (in right paths) for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the shadow of death (the valley of deep darkness), I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely (only) goodness and mercy (steadfast love) shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell (return to dwell) in the house of the Lord forever (for length of days).
1 The Lord is my shepherd
King David who was probably a shepherd in his youth would have been quite familiar with the relationship between a shepherd and his flock. He knew that under right guidance, the flock of a good shepherd would want for nothing. So, in this first verse, we see a man of faith showing us the truth that: If we will allow God/Truth/Light/Higher Self (that which is capable of seeing further than our limited sight) to be our guide, we will want for nothing. In other words, the promise is: If I will sacrifice my will to that which is higher, I will have all that I need to meet any given moment.2 He makes me lie down in green pastures
In the second verse, we are told that this shepherd will lead us to “green pastures,” places which are verdant, life-giving and sustaining. We will also be led beside “still waters” (also translated as “waters of rest.”). Why is this important? One can’t drink from a rushing stream. Or said differently, when we follow the demands of our false self—this divided nature made up of all of its wants and don’t wants—we are drawn into the desert, where we are zapped of our energy and depleted of that which nourishes and sustains us. This is why we long to go home, take a vacation, and break free from the prisons of our lives. The need to escape isn’t actually about escaping the people, places, and conditions around us, as much as needing to flee the prisons of our own self-punishing thoughts and feelings—our unrelenting negative states. But, we know from experience that there are no geographical solutions to self-generated problems. Instead, something or someone outside of the being that created these problems must lead us out of them.
3 He restores my soul
David tells us that his Lord/God/Truth/Higher Self brings new life by leading him down the right paths for his “name’s sake” or, said differently, as the fulfillment of a Higher Will than his own. This concept refers back to the new relationship we’ve discussed in previous writings that stands as a prerequisite for a new mind (metanoia). Through being in accord with and living within the proper order of the higher guiding the lower, we are led away from our own “wrong paths” towards self-fulfillment through exterior pursuits and towards the paths of righteousness or “right” and natural living. 4 The shadow of death
Verse four is perhaps the most beautiful of the entire chapter. A bit of back-story is helpful here to increase our understanding. In the days of King David, shepherds would often lead their sheep through low valleys in the shadows of the surrounding hills to take them to the green pastures and still waters on the other side. Naturally, certain dangers existed there, because neither the animals nor their shepherd could perceive threats from the dark valley as well as they could on the hillside or mountain top, where the range of view was more expansive. In scale we sometimes find ourselves walking through dark periods, when we receive news about our health or some other condition that threatens to usher in pain and suffering of one kind or another. David is reminding us of the truth that if we will allow God/Truth/Light/Higher Self to keep us “strait” with its “rod and staff” (implements for guiding to and fro) we will be safe and comforted. These interior “implements” are the intuitive impressions we receive, when we align ourselves with higher consciousness. Said differently, they are the internal nudgings we call conscience. If we listen, they will tell us what is right and wrong in any situation. To “fear no evil,” means we will neither fear the external, nor the internal “monsters” we meet along our path, because we are anchored in abiding love, peace, and mercy by the presence of our Lord—the light of awareness within us. 5 You prepare a table
In the fifth verse David is probably continuing with the shepherding analogy. It is believed that low tables were sometimes prepared for the flocks in the fields, so they could access their food more easily. It is often said that sheep would frequently be anointed with special oils to keep them safe from infections brought about by insects and injuries. For our purposes it’s more important to understand that if we remain in proper relationship with what is Light, Bright, and True, we will be given the means of overcoming our only enemy—this divided nature comprised all of all of its conflicting and punishing “wants” and “don’t wants.” If we consent to surrender these desires to Heavenly Desire, we will be protected from anything that could possibly harm us, and our cup will “overflow” with the truth-yielding waters to quench our spiritual thirst. 6Goodness and Mercy
In the final verse of Psalm 23, we are given the ultimate promise which holds the key to our eternal longing for someone to “watch over me.” If we will agree to surrender our false desire which causes us to run this way and that in order to seek a sense of imagined fulfillment, we will enter into a relationship with a loving partner who wants only the best for us and who will give us only “goodness” and “steadfast love.” What is required of us is that we “dwell,” or better, we “return to dwell” (over and over again) in the “house of the Lord” (the mansion of Truth/Light/God/Christ/Higher Self) whenever we wake up and see that we have gone astray. It is this perpetual action of grasping and letting go that will provide the welcomed feast for our hungry heart. Exercise: Notice the Hunger
Notice the hunger in your heart and make a special effort not to “fill” it with external pleasures or comforts. Just watch and mine the hunger for the valuable information it offers about you.
No comments:
Post a Comment