This morning I am reflecting on a short message written by Emmett Fox, called "Raise the Shades". In it, he uses the classic New Thought analogy for finding the Good of Life and a path to spiritual healing: you do not fight with darkness. Whether "darkness" is the idea of evil, or some difficulty or illness that is a source of anxiety, or a dark view of your life and your relationships, deep faith places it's attention on the Good that underlies life. "When you switch on the light in a room you do not have to chase the shadows out through the door or window. The light floods the room, and all is well, for darkness is not an entity; it is only the absence of light". (Emmett Fox)
Over the course of the Pandemic, I have written many times on "feeding" the light. Emmett Fox moves us beyond any sense that we must put forth personal prayer effort to "create" light. That would be like sitting in a dark house with every window closed and shades pulled down, while we work to make the sun shine brighter, so the rooms too will be brighter. Rather, the teaching has always been that the Good that we are seeking is here. Our prayer and spiritual practice is to lift the shades and open the windows of our minds and hearts to the Light all around us. This doesn't deny our opportunities to participate in society and cultures' attempts to better the conditions of the world through scientific breakthroughs and medical advances, through social reform and avenues of justice, and through challenging our human destruction of nature and our environment; it means the source of our direction, creativity, and progress is spiritual Light in an ongoing process of God's unfolding Good.
This Sunday, pull up the shades and open the windows. Yes, today may be extraordinarily hot--all the more reason to grasp the metaphor of Light. (Susan Nettleton)
For poetic contemplation on opening your window follow the links: