Christ Enthroned in Man —3— Strength

The realization of the Jesus Christ presence as sustaining strength is a stronghold in the consciousness of man that fortifies him against all adverse conditions. Nothing so uplifts, nothing so frees from care and worry, nothing so brings the thought of victory as being established in that sustaining strength which cannot know weakness. To have the strength of character that makes life seem effortless, nonresistant, is to have the inward joy that no man can take away.

When Jesus withstood the temptation in the wilderness He proved beyond all question that He possessed the strength of character that the Almighty required of Him. Man today is working for this same unfoldment. For him to be established in the consciousness of sustaining strength means that he has overcome as Jesus Christ overcame; perhaps not to so great a degree; nevertheless the joy of the overcomer is his. When man holds his ground in the face of temptation and refuses to yield to the allurements of the world or of sense consciousness, no doubt the very angels shout for joy. True strength of character, though nonresistant, withstands the tricky, treacherous movements of the Adversary in any guise; all shafts of error directed its way meet with defeat.

Among the apostles of Jesus Christ Andrew symbolizes strength. The strength center in man is in the small of the back. Spiritual strength, the fruit of prayer and of meditating on strength, is born in the silence of the soul and reflected into the body at the strength center.

The eagle is the symbol of strength and victory. Solomon, meditating on the marvelous outworking of God’s unbreakable laws, said that one of the things “which are too wonderful for me” was “the way of an eagle in the air.” The eagle is the expression of abounding strength. He mounts up into the air to an unbelievable height and from this altitude focuses his eye on the ground below and spots his prey. He rises above the cyclone; he out-flies the wind. As is the way of an eagle in the air, so is the way of man when he fully realizes his divine sonship. The man who deems himself to be finite, to be apart from the Infinite, cannot know of the possibilities of spiritual man; cannot dream of the possibilities of spiritual man.

All strength is from God. However its manifestation is according to the mold of thought into which this precious essence is poured. Often man appropriates and tries to use spiritual strength in worldly ways. This always leads to failure. In the 17th chapter of Ezekiel Jehovah presents a riddle to the house of Israel (Ezekiel 17). An eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers, evidently from Babylon, comes unto Lebanon, takes away the top of a cedar, cuts off the topmost of the young twigs, and carries the cedar top to a land of traffic, to a city of merchants; he also takes good seed from the land and plants it in fruitful soil, beside many waters. The growth that springs from this planting is of low stature, the branches turn toward the eagle, and the roots are under him.

The solution of the riddle is that the eagle of Babylon that comes to Lebanon is an organized aggregation of strong, selfish, worldly thoughts, intent on trafficking in spiritual powers. The scheme proves a failure. Spiritual unfoldment is attained by each individual soul’s establishing conscious at-one-ment with the Jehovah mind through Jesus Christ. Therefore it cannot be bought or stolen; the unbreakable laws of the Infinite insure against all such attempts.

Truly to live the life one must be spiritually strong. One must withstand every test. Spirit’s symbol of vigor, success, and victory is the garb of joy. We are joyous only when we are strong physically, mentally, spiritually. It is said that actors have been killed by having criticism, often of an unjust character, hurled at them. Their need was for the unfoldment of a strength of character that can handle prejudices and jealousies without resistance. If such souls had been versed in present-day metaphysical teachings, they would have known that Truth needs no defense; they would have known how to wrap themselves about in the protecting mantle of the Lord; how to rest quietly under the shadow of the Almighty during an onslaught; how to emerge strong and joyous after attack has spent its fury; and how to live life so that criticism may seem only a jest.

In Ecclesiates, the 12th chapter, a sorrowful picture is drawn of man so weakened by evil that life is a burden (Ecclesiastes 12). His senses all buried in darkness, man is ready to welcome death; he is waiting for the “silver cord” to be loosed and the “golden bowl” to be broken so that he can hide himself in the grave.

The “silver cord” here referred to may be compared to the spinal cord, that runs along the inner walls of the spinal column; the “golden bowl” is the abdominal wall that contains and supports the digestive organs. When “the silver cord” is loosed, and “the golden bowl” is broken, death results.

Death has no part in the life of the real man. His senses are keen and illumined. The ever-unfolding, ever-renewing Spirit of infinite strength sustains him, and he goes from glory to glory. Realization of spiritual strength at the strength center, the small of the back, acts as an invigorating tonic to the “silver cord.” Spiritual strength flows freely along the nerves and penetrates into every cell and fiber of the “golden bowl.” The whole body temple is uplifted and vitalized.

For the exercise in the silence, first follow diligently the outline given in the first exercise in Chapter I. Realize your I AM identity with Being. With your conscious mind realize that the light of Spirit is descending from the spiritual center in the crown of the head. Then with the attention at the point designated as the great solar nerve center, back of the heart and stomach, repeat the invocation. Realize that you are in the presence of pure Being and immersed in its light. As you continue, you will come into the conscious knowledge that you are wrapped about in a mantle of light (pure understanding) ; that your feet are shod in sandals of light, and that every impulse of your soul is to ex-‘ press fully the Christ of God.

Next, for the special unfoldment of spiritual strength, you will continue to allow the Presence to dwell at the center of your being. Then affirm:

I am one with infinite strength.

Next allow the Presence to drop to the small of the back and realize that the light of Spirit—which you feel but do not see—is descending from the crown of the head and organizing itself at the strength center. During this outpouring hold steadily to this thought:

I am one with infinite strength.

You will feel new strength awakening within you. Next let the Presence ascend to the power center at the root of the tongue; then hold steadily to this thought:

I have power to express the sustaining strength of Spirit.

Now allow the Presence to descend to the life center, the lower part of the abdomen. There affirm:

The pure, undefiled life of Jesus Christ is expressed in and through me, and I am strengthened and sustained in all my ways.

Next allow the Presence to return to the great center of being just back of the heart and stomach. There take up this word:

The joy of the Lord is a wellspring within me, and I am established in divine strength.

Dwell consciously at that point, knowing that you are firmly established in the garden of spirituality within your own soul, that the light of Spirit is descending from the spiritual center, the crown of the head, and that new strength is flowing to every part of your whole being. The truth is that man’s whole body temple is the garden of God and that every cell and fiber is made sweet and strong by this baptism of the Holy Spirit. You have a strong hold on the body temple when the I AM, the Christ, is established in your consciousness and is free to express itself from the very center of your being.

Close the exercise by repeating the Lord’s Prayer.

It is well for the sake of balance, after you have finished the exercise, to throw the attention for a time into the palms of the hands and tips of the fingers, also into the feet, and then even beneath the feet, realizing that you are planted on the firm foundation rock of Truth.

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