INNER LIGHT MInistries Journal December, 2009
Calming The Seas
Volume 21 Number 3
by Jim Gordon, President of ILM
I
(from The Solution Is Loving, April 16, 2008)
f we look at the story of Jesus approaching the disciples’ boat caught in a great storm while Jesus is walking on calm water, we can begin to see beyond the parable and understand a great teaching that the story is sharing. Jesus was walking on calm waters and wherever he stepped, the waters calmed, the storm quieted. Jesus, a spiritual teacher, was ever holding that essence of the quiet, of the stillness, of the Beingness that is God, and he offered it to others that they themselves might begin to live it all the time – every day, every breath, every moment. As Jesus approached the boat, the disciples witnessed something very profound. They had created a great storm amongst themselves and they did not have a solution. The storm was only getting bigger, the waves were growing in size, the disturbance was all upon them, and they did not have a solution, a way out of the storm, and they were afraid of sinking into the sea. They were afraid of getting caught back up in the world … and they were. So, Jesus came into the storm of their conversation, into their disturbance they had created, and Jesus calmed the sea. He brought to them centeredness, calmness, quietude once again, and helped them to see the truth in a spiritual way, through a spiritual focus, and to let go of trying to do it in the way of the world. Whenever we try to do the way of the world, we get caught up in the ‘world-wind’, in the great waves, in the disturbance that this world is ever moving in, and then we get lost, we forget, we forget the truth of who we are, the truth that dwells within us … we forget the truth that leads us back into the calm seas, into the peaceful place. And what do all spiritual teachers do? They bring Loving. It is the Loving that calms the seas; it is the Loving that brings us to that place of peace inside. And so it was with Jesus – he walked towards his disciples in Loving, and it was the Loving that calmed the seas.
In truth, if we are in disturbance in our own personal lives, if the sea of our life is in an uproar, if the waves are getting bigger and are ever trying to draw us back down into the world again, all we have to do is focus ourselves back into that centeredness, back into that place of Loving inside of ourselves, and all will become still. It is the Loving that quiets the seas. It is the Loving that lifts us above the seas so that we no longer are caught up in the storms of the world, and then we truly do live and dwell above the water, above the sea of life of this creation. But it is learning how to do that that is our spiritual quest – it is learning how to choose back into the Loving over and over, and allowing the Loving to lift us once again above our own disturbance and above the disturbance of this world, until finally we realize that that’s the truth of it. It’s easy to get caught up in our own problems, and it’s easy to get caught up in the storms of this world. There has always been famine, disease, war, hatred, bigotry upon this planet – that is the way of this creation, that is the disturbance that is ever in action here; it is the constant movement of action, reaction, more reaction, and so on, that is ever lapping in our consciousness trying to pull us back down into the disturbance. If you’ve ever been in the ocean, you know one thing to pay attention to is the riptide – that movement of a current will just drag you down and out into the ocean, and no matter how hard you struggle, it’s almost impossible to get free of it. And what do they suggest you do to get out of it? Don’t struggle against the riptide, just relax – and it is in that relaxation from the disturbance inside ourselves that we come into stillness, come back into the Loving … and then, the waters will calm. The key is to be present in the moment. Be present in God. Hold your attention in loving God and in God Loving you, and wherever you go the storms will be quieted. Choose back into the true direction that you want to go; rise above the sea of life; rise above the oceans of disturbance in this creation, and stay free as a liberated soul. .