The Language of Soul (October 2013)

Class Replay

 

Lesson Welcome and Introduction

“The Bible and the prophets can be understood only by those who arrive at that place in consciousness where the writers were when they gave forth their messages.  It requires the same inspiration to read the scriptures with understanding that it required originally to receive and write them. “ Christian Healing, p. 74. 
 
NEW 6 WEEK CLASS STARTING ON THURSDAY, OCT. 3.   7:00-8:30 
 LANGUAGE OF THE SOUL:  LEARNING TO INTERPRET THE BIBLE METAPHYSICALLY.
 
The Bible is the basic textbook of Unity and was the basis of every Sunday lesson of the Fillmores.   It chronicles the evolution of the soul from Genesis to Revelation.  The Bible is His story and therefore our story, and by learning this language of the soul, we are able to validate our experiences along the path, and gauge where we are in terms of our relationship to God.    The Bible can only be understood by those who arrive at that place in consciousness at the place where the authors were when they brought forth their messages.  A contemplation method called lectio divina will be offered.
 
As in any language, there is  a vocabulary and a grammar and after these first 6 sessions you will have a basic framework that will allow you to continue your interpretation of the Bible on your own.   In this first session, there will be a sheet on What Is the Bible, quotes from Charles Fillmore, and introduction to basic metaphysical concepts such as the nature of God, our relationship to God, and the trinity.  There will also be an introduction to the Metaphysical Bible Dictionary and the Revealing Word, the former containing the meaning of names and places and the latter, common nouns.  After all the tools have been introduced, we will go to the Bible and read the Creation Story in Genesis 1 and metaphysically interpret it and for each of the weeks that follow, we will work with another of the allegories of Genesis.  If there is sufficient interest we will continue with more courses in different sections of the Bible.
 
If you are interested in taking this class, please pre-register with Eleanor at reveleanor@newfoundationunity.org.  For those who need SEE credit, perfect attendance is required and completion of all homework assignments.  
 
I am really excited to be experimenting once again with streaming a class.  I will encourage you to call in, ask questions, make comments and go over homework assignments. 
 
 
WHAT IS THE BIBLE?

 

  1. A symbolic account of the experiences of the human soul as it unfolds and grows into the image/likeness in which it was created.
  2. Humanity’s textbook of self-discovery.
  3. Word of God--An account of God’s idea of Himself expressing fully in human form.
 
ELEMENTS OF INTERPRETATION
  1.  LOVE OF THE BIBLE:  An awareness of your relationship to the Bible as the story of your spiritual journey and a commitment to enhancing it through prayer, meditation, contemplation, study of Truth, and study of biblical history as a cultural framework.
  1.  KNOWLEDGE OF THE MEANINGS OF NAMES of persons, ;laces, or things.  Etymological and metaphysical.  Name changes are an indication of a change in the meaning or consciousness.
  1.  KNOWLEDGE OF PARALLEL PATTERNS OR PHRASING:  Examples:  Moses and Jesus; John 1 and Genesis 1.
  1.  KNOWLEDGE OF NUMBERS:  In Hebrew, numbers are letters and refer not to specific amounts of time, but to phases, cycles, or states of consciousness.  For example 1 always references the divine; 7 represents completion of a cycle or manifestation such as the 7 days of creation; 10  represents perfect balance of male and female, thinking and feeling.k
  1.  APPLICATION:  Identify with scripture through meditation and contemplation and affinity with the characters; sort out and list the key symbols and actions used in a particular scripture, describe metaphysically and reduce the meaning to a single word or brief term and integrate the metaphysical meanings of the symbols and actions back into the passage and write a short summary; consicer the passage in relation to yourself, your life, and in the world.  How can the Truth it teaches be put into practice?
 
QUOTES FROM CHARLES FILLMORE 
 
“An allegory is a description of one thing under the image of another. It suggests but does not specifically state a meaning. A key to its interpretation is necessary, and this is usually given in the proper names that are used. By the employment of such symbols the Bible describes man in his wholeness, spirit, soul, and body. The names of men, places, tents, temples in every case have a meaning relative to the character of man. Mental states are thus described, and it is important that the individual who seeks spiritual wisdom for his regeneration shall be able to understand the allegory by use of the key hidden in the names. “    Mysteries of Genesis, p. 231.
 
“Every lesson of Scripture illustrates some phase of mental action and can be applied to each individual life according to the need that is most pressing at the time of its perception. If you do not look for the mental lesson when reading Scripture, you get but the mere outer shell of Truth. If however you have the proper understanding of the characters in the narrative, knowing that they represent ideas in your own mind, you can follow them in their various movements and find the way to solve all the problems of your life. This does not mean that a study of the written Scriptures will itself solve your problems unless you come into the apprehension of the real Scriptures, the Bible of the ages, the Book of Life within your own consciousness. But a study of the outer symbols as given in the written Scriptures can and should lead you into the understanding of the Truth of Being. “   Prosperity, p.179.
 
“The New Testament is a sealed book to one who has no knowledge of these laws of mind.  It is a secret manual, and reads like an ordinary narrative unless one has the key that unlocks its hidden meaning.  Practical Christianity gives that key, and he who knows all the principles of its philosophy can enter the holy of holies of the Bible; he can penetrate the mysteries of the Scriptures of all peoples.”      The Essential Charles Fillmore, p. 55.
 
To know that every word and sentence of Scripture veils a spiritual Truth is the first step in unraveling the gospel.  Spiritual truths cannot be expressed in language that will carry correct concepts to the mind.    The Essential Charles Fillmore, p. 197.
 
“... as man develops in spiritual understanding, it reveals itself to him, ...the Bible explains the spiritual character of man and the laws governing his relation to God.  These are symbolically set forth as states of consciousness, illustrated by parables and allegories....Jesus Christ was himself a parable.  His life was an allegory of the experiences man passes through in developing from natural to spiritual consciousness, hence the Bible and the prophets can be understood only by those who arrive at that place in consciousness where the writers were when they gave forth their messages.  It requires the same inspiration to read the Scriptures with understanding that it required originally to receive and write them.”  Christian Healing, pp.73-74.
 
“The Bible is a textbook of absolute Truth; but its teachings are veiled in symbol and understood only by the illumined.  Atom-Smashing Power of Mind, p. 162.
 
“Those who read the Bible after the letter have invested all kinds of imaginary notions as to the conditions under which God and His angels live and as to the location of heaven.  Their minds being fixed on things, they have not conceived of the realm of ideas, and they are therefore totally ignorant of the true teaching of the scriptures.” Jesus Christ Heals, p. 71.
 
“The Bible will be more readily understood if the fact is kept in mind that the words used have both an inner and an outer significance.  Studies historically and intellectually, the external only is discerned and the living inner reality is overlooked. “ Mysteries of Genesis, p. 11.
 
“Since the human race is made up of individuals all patterned after the one divine-idea man, we can see in the history of these Bible characters the story of their own spiritual development both as individuals and as a race.”  Mysteries of Genesis, p. 159.
 
“An allegory is a description of one thing under the image of another.  It suggests but does not specifically state a meaning.  A key to its interpretation is necessary, and this is usually given in the proper names that are used.  By the employment of such symbols the Bible describes man in his wholeness, spirit, soul, and body.  The names of men, places, tents, temples in every case have a meaning relative to the character of man.  Mental states are thus described, and it is important that the individual who seeks spiritual wisdom for his regeneration shall be able to understand the allegory by use of the key hidden in the names.”  Mysteries of Genesis, p. 231.
 
“Every lesson of scripture illustrates some phase of mental action and can be applied to each individual life according to the need that is most pressing at the time of its perception.  If you do not look for the mental lesson when reading scripture, you get but the mere shell of outer Truth.  If, however, you have the proper understanding of the characters in the narrative, knowing that they represent ideas in your own mind, you can follow them in their various movements and find the way to solve all the problems of your life.  This does not mean that a study of the written scriptures will itself solve your problems unless you come into the apprehension of the real scriptures, the Bible of the ages, the Book of Life within your own consciousness.  But a study of the outer symbols as given in the written scriptures can and should lead you into the understanding of the Truth of Being.”  Prosperity, p. 179.
 
“To know that every word and sentence of scripture veils a spiritual Truth is the first step in unraveling the gospel.  Spiritual Truth cannot be expressed in language that will carry correct concepts to the mind.”  The Essential Charles Fillmore, p. 197.
 
“By the employment of many symbols the Bible describes man in his wholeness--spirit, soul, and body.  The symbols used are men, places, tents, temples, and so forth.  The name of every person mentioned in the Bible has a meaning represent representative of that person’s character.”  Christian Healing, p. 72.
 
LECTIO DIVINA
 
lectio--sacred reading
  1.  Quiet yourself with a moment of prayer
  2.  Read the passage slowly and alous
  3.  Allow your attention to be drawn to a sentence, phrase, or even a word
  4.  Be open to it; stick with it and follow the lead.
 
 
MEDITATION
 
  1.  Allow all your faculties to begin to work with the passage.
  2.  Engage the text.  Invite it into the core of your being.
 
ORATIO--prayer
 
  1.  See if the text wants to shape itself into a prayer for you.
  2.  Feelings may be a prayer as well as words.
  3.  This step will not always happen for you
 
CONTEMPATIO--contemplation
 
  1.  Rest in God
  2.  This is the same as Centering Prayer.
 
 
Lesson 1 Creation
 
“In the 1st chapter of Genesis it is the great creative Mind that is at work.  The record portrays just how divine ideas were brought into expression.  As man must have an idea before he can being an idea into manifestation, so it is with the creations of God... The First chapter of Genesis describes the Ideal creation.”  Mysteries of Genesis.
 
“God is a mind force carrying forward creation under mental law.  That law may be known to anyone who will follow the example of Jesus.  We are the image and likeness of this great creative Mind, and being in a certain aspect of our mind just like it, we can through mental adjustment attain the same conscious unity that Jesus did.”  Mysteries of Genesis
 
“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.  The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.  Gen: 1-2.