Reflection
Photo by Guzman Harquin
There is no moonlight. Think about it! Moonlight is simply an expression of sunlight.
Likewise, each of us is an inseparable expression of our divine source.
As a drop of water is one with the ocean,
a ray of light one with the sun,
even so God
and [the divine image and likeness]
…are one in being.
The Scripture reads: ‘For in Him we live,
and move, and have our being.’¹
— Mary Baker Eddy
Analogies like these are immensely useful, but beware as they often contain two! Still, they are helpful as we expand our conscious awareness.
Man[ifestation] is not a thing that reflects God
but is expression itself.²
— Bicknell Young
Analogies help illustrate that our essence is divine—that we are literally God in action. Like a wave is the activity of the ocean.
[We are] the action of the God-idea.
— Betty Albee
For example, referring to speech, the Hasidic Masters say,
A person is like a ram’s horn;
the only sound you make
is that which is blown through [as] you.
Were there no one blowing into the horn,
there would be no sound at all.³
I and my Father are one.
— John 10:30 KJV
The Kingdom of Heaven is within you.
— Luke 17:21 KJV
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
— I Corinthians 3:16 KJV
The nature of Heaven belongs to
[the divine man-ifestation,
God’s image and likeness.]⁴
— Yin Fu Ching 1:3-4
I am Totality.
— Brihad-Aranyak Upanishad, 1.4.10
Totality? Really? Yes. We are what God is being. As a contemporary Chabad rabbi says:
It’s as though we are
God's avatar in the world.⁵
— Tzvi Freeman
The absolute reality of God…
fills the entire expanse of existence
as we know it.
There’s no space possible
for any other existences…
The objects in our physical universe,
the metaphysical truths we contemplate,
our very selves…
do not exist in their own reality.
They exist only as extensions of Divine energy…⁶
— Menachem Mendel Schneerson
The absolute reality of God cannot be bounded
by the things we perceive:
there is no room for anything but God.
All things of matter and mind,
indeed our very selves,
exist only as a manifestation of the Divine.⁷
— Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Reflection does nothing,
but it is the doing that is Mind.
Mind is the source of the knowing;
Mind is the source of the seeing;
Mind is the source of the being.
The result is called reflection.
Man[-ifestation], therefore, is reflection.⁸
— Clarence Steves
Reflection [is] total Self recognition.
It is the key to everything.⁹
— Richard Booker
See also Our Spiritual Identity and Spiritual Qualities
Waves of the Ocean
[1] Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 344 / [the divine image and likeness] replaces “man”
[2] Bicknell Young, Bicknell Young Notes of 1936 Primary Class Instruction, available on Amazon, p. 53
[3] Arthur Green & Barry W. Holtz, Your Word Is Fire: The Hasidic Masters on Contemplative Prayer, (Jewish Lights Publishing, 1977), p. 63 AX 5964
[4] [the divine man-ifestation, God’s image and likeness] replaces “man”
[5] Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, Kabbalah & Healing: A unique approach for healing professionals https://www.chabad.org/multimedia/audio_cdo/aid/1426643/jewish/Kabbalah-Healing.htm 09.15.2023
[6] Roger Walsh, The World’s Great Wisdom: Timeless Teachings from Religions and Philosophies, (State University of New York Press, 2014), p. 9 see also: Rami Shapiro, Minyan: Ten Principles for Living a Life of Integrity, (Bell Tower, 1997), p. 31
[7] Menachem Mendel Schneerson, @One Daily Message from Rami Shapiro, November 26, 2001 AX 3893
[8] Clarence Steves, Selected Addresses of Clarence Steves, C.S.B, Healing Unlimited, 1999, p. 105
[9] Richard Booker, Notebook 99: The Power and the Glory, (The Institute of Metaphysical Science, unpublished), p. 45 AX 8103
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