Your  Sea  of  Galilee

from  Emotional Stability

Uranda   March 1, 1953   Class

This morning let us meditate upon certain of the beautiful words our Master spoke as He neared the conclusion of His earthly ministry, while He was in the process of conveying to those who elected to follow Him—whether then or now—the responsibility and the privilege of that ministry which He had begun during His sojourn here among men. “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.” How few there are among those who have sought to follow Him who have reached the point where they could obey this commandment, where the meaning of the Master's word was given form in the life of a human being. But if we are to accomplish that to which we are called, if we are to have meaning to the children of men, this commandment must become more than mere words, it must become a living reality in us. “Let not your heart be troubled.” We have recognized that the heart is the emotional realm, or the feeling realm, and if we watch the pattern of life for even a week or two in those who think themselves to be Christians, generally speaking we will find that their hearts are troubled about something—disturbances of the day, in little things, or the larger disturbances and distraught states due to world conditions or some other thing. But the Master said, “Let not your heart”—let not your feeling nature—“be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.” Perhaps we should pause for a moment to consider the reason why these words are of such vital significance to us.

The mind of man, his capacity to utilize intelligence, to think and to reason, does not have within it the capacity or the nature which makes it possible for the mind to directly and of itself contact the spirit. The mind in and of itself, except from the standpoint of observation with respect to results, cannot contact any spirit. With the mind and its processes of perception, through seeing, hearing, etc., we may become aware of the working of some ill spirit such as fear or greed, self-centeredness, as it manifests in someone round about, but the mind cannot directly and of itself contact spirit. The mind can function only on the basis of the various patterns of perception available to it. We can become aware of things external to ourselves by visual sight, but if one has lost the privilege and responsibility of visual sight, then he cannot use his own eyes, at least, for purposes of determining, for perceiving, that upon which the mind might work. If we cut off the capacity of hearing, then from the external standpoint we have only the capacity of touch, physical feeling, left. If we cut off all three, the channels of perception by which the mind may become aware of something upon which to operate are shut off, and the mind is consequently imprisoned. If we become aware of a human being who has lost both sight and hearing, we recognize that such an one is living in a very limited world and only a little awareness can penetrate to a point where the mind has something upon which to function.

These channels of external perception are of vital importance to us, and we properly appreciate the ability to see with our physical eyes. It is a wonderful blessing, this ability to physically see and to hear—to hear the sounds of music, to hear the birds singing, to hear the voices of friends and loved ones, to hear the laughter of little children, all of these things. And through sight and hearing most of the things of which the human mind becomes aware are perceived. But outside of observing results of the working of some spirit in someone else, through sight or hearing, the mind cannot, even by these channels, detect or know for itself the things of spirit, whether the spirit be of God or of some ill source.

We recognize that most human beings are using the heart, the feeling realm, this pattern of perception—the ability to perceive spirit—to bring into the realm of the awareness of the mind the movement of evil spirits, the spirits of shame or fear, greed, self-centeredness, whatever such evil spirits might be. But this, the feeling perception pattern, is the only means by which you or anyone, any human being anywhere, can become personally aware in your mind of the reality of the spirit of God. Just as physical sight is of such vital importance to us, or physical hearing, so is feeling perception; for it is by the working of the heart that you have the privilege of perceiving for yourself the working and the meaning of the spirit of God. By the working of the heart, the feeling nature, you can know for yourself in your own mind, just as surely as you can know something for yourself in your own mind by physical seeing. Therefore we might well call the heart, or feeling nature, the eyes of the spirit within you.

This pattern of perception, this ability to see, to comprehend, to become aware of spirit, is generally speaking so distraught, so filled with turmoil, so subject to opposing forces, that there are waves of emotionalism, and fear causes one storm, shame causes another, self-centeredness another. Because this pattern of perception is, generally speaking, attuned to every ill thing that passes, in the sense of feeling, the human being reacts and becomes subject to that which is external to himself. He is not his own. If anyone says an ill thing, does something wrong, there is an emotional upheaval and he is subject to what someone else has said or done. “Let not your heart be troubled,” let not your feeling perception, the means by which you can become aware of the spirit of God, be troubled. Do not use this ability to bring things of spirit into the range of your mind to become aware of every ill thing round about, to become subject to it, but turn the eyes of your spirit to God. “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help”—the eyes of the spirit, your heart, your feeling nature.

All too often human beings imagine that what they feel should be allowed to control without respect to the mind or intelligence. But this pattern of perception, which is of such vital importance to us if we are to become aware of our relationship to God, must be seen for what it is: the means of perceiving things of spirit, whether of the spirit of God or of some evil spirit which has been released by some human being here on earth. This means of perceiving spirit is not to control but it is to convey something to the mind, where that which is conveyed can be subject to reason, logic, a considered awareness. You have no doubt known people who use the ability to perceive things of spirit to perceive only ill spirits, and who have never thought, apparently, of letting this that is perceived be subject to intelligence, to be measured, to be rejected or accepted in relationship to one's own life.

While there are storms of upheaval, disturbance and distortion in the heart it is possible to perceive the types of spirit which emanate from storms, upheavals and distortions; but it is not, in such a case, easily possible to perceive the spirit of God. When the heart becomes serene and tranquil, when the human being responds to the Master's word, “Peace, be still,” when the human being, in memory of that outworking on the Sea of Galilee, sees that Sea of Galilee as an outer symbol of his own heart, he can begin to know the way, the truth and the life. For it is upon your heart, the Sea of Galilee within yourself, that the Master can walk and not hurt it. Only one who is an expression of the divine can walk upon your heart, your Sea of Galilee, without sinking into it and hurting it. We have very often heard the expression, “Someone walked upon your heart,” and hurt it, crumpled it. Yes, when any human being who is not controlled by the divine pattern walks on your heart you get hurt. But the Master can walk upon your heart and not hurt it at all; the Master's touch upon your heart will bring no injury.

We remember when the Master was tired—He had been ministering long and He was asleep in a boat crossing the Sea of Galilee—and a storm arose, and the disciples became fearful. They forgot that the Master was actually in the ship, the ship of life. But they awakened Him and said, “Lord, save us: we perish.” Desperation. Because there was a storm on the Sea of Galilee there was a storm in their own hearts, and they were fearful. He said, “O ye of little faith.” There was no storm in His heart. But He lifted His hand and spoke to the elements: “Peace, be still.” And lo, there was a great calm, and even the disciples marveled and said, “What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!”

But that outworking is supposed to convey to you a significant lesson, for your heart is your Sea of Galilee. You have no doubt let the Master minister around the edges of it, upon the shore, bringing a little healing here and a little healing there, speaking some words of truth which were comprehended. But while there is a storm on your Sea of Galilee and the waves are running high, you cannot perceive the things of God, the spirit of God. You may intellectually comprehend something of the cold idea of truth, but you cannot perceive the spirit of it, you cannot perceive the thing that gives truth life and meaning and lets it be a vibrant, living thing within yourself. You cannot evaluate its true nature, because if you have perceived through visual sight or hearing an idea which relates to truth, and you think that thereby you know the truth, you have left out that which makes the truth have meaning. You have only seen the form, the shell, and the living reality of that truth has been ignored, until it is perceived through the feeling nature, or heart. So when you yield to the word of the Master, “Peace, be still,” and let the storm on your Sea of Galilee be calmed, you may be amazed, when you truly yield, that the power of God working today in you is well able to still those waves of emotional turmoil, still the waves of fear or whatever else they may be, that there may be in you a great calm, that you may begin to know serenity of spirit, tranquility of heart. And then, through your Sea of Galilee, you begin to perceive the spirit of God as it is—not as it seems to be through the mountainous turmoils of your own heart, where the perception is distorted, but you begin to perceive the spirit of God as it actually is—and you begin to let that which is of the spirit of God penetrate to the awareness of your mind.

Because man has for so long, by the use of his mind, judged between the various levels of spirit of which he is aware in the outer world, he is inclined likewise to use his mind to judge the spirit of God. But this tendency remains only while there are waves upon the Sea of Galilee, while there are distortions, while one is not truly seeing the spirit of God; because, when there is a true calm and true perception, and one perceives the spirit of God in relationship to himself—he begins to be aware of it with his mind in a true sense—he finds there is nothing to judge, nothing of which to say, “Well this that comes from God I'm going to reject; that that comes from God I will accept.” The mind is the means by which you become aware of that which you perceive, aware in the sense that permits you to think, to enjoy, to appreciate, to use intelligence. But while the Sea of Galilee in you is distraught and disturbed you cannot perceive the spirit of God, you cannot know the truth of the spirit of God, know its beauty and wonder, you cannot think intelligently about the spirit of God. No wonder the Master said, “Let not your heart be troubled,” for while the heart is troubled one cannot know God. He may develop ideas about God, but he cannot know God. One may have ideas about the spirit of God, or about what the spirit of God is supposed to have conveyed, but he does not know the spirit of God.

I have so often, through the years of my ministry, touched the lives of human beings who said, “This, or that, was conveyed to me by the spirit of God. I know it came from the spirit of God, and I'm going to believe it and I'm going to be governed by it.” And yet these things were contrary to that which others said they had received from the spirit of God, and if one listens to all of these voices saying, “I received from the spirit of God,” he hears only a babel, confusion, a contradiction of distortion. What did these presumably honest but definitely misguided human beings actually perceive? The spirit of God was at work, yes, but they did not have a calm and tranquil Sea of Galilee; there was a storm of some kind. And when the waves were there upon the sea, even though the sunlight of God's spirit was being reflected it did not give any true pattern of the spirit; it was distorted.

Perhaps the human being says, “I did have an inspiration from God.” Well, the inspiration of God was there, but did you ever see the moon reflected upon a lake at night where the water was still, absolutely smooth? A beautiful sight. But did you ever see that same water distraught and disturbed by the wind so that there were waves, and the moon was there and shining? What about the moonlight reflected? Perhaps a little of it dancing upon the waves, depending upon the circumstance, but it was distorted—no true picture. The human being might look at that distorted reflection pattern and say, “I know that is the reflection from the moon. I have seen it on this wave; now I know, I'm convinced.” Oh yes, it was a distorted reflection but not the true one. And those who are so quick to believe that they had some inspiration from God when it does not fit the pattern of reality may have seen a beam of moonlight reflected from the waves in some distorted pattern—and it was from God—but they could not perceive the true nature of the source. So not until your Sea of Galilee has become calm and tranquil, not until you can begin to perceive without distortion patterns, can you begin to know with your mind the true nature of God and that which comes from God. Until you let your Sea of Galilee be calm, no matter what inspiration you may think you have, no matter how true that current of inspiration might be, your awareness of it must change still more. It must change or you will not be true to your own inspiration. So many people have a distorted pattern of perception of inspiration coming from God, and then they think that to be true to God they must be true to a distortion, which is not the case at all. Your awareness of the things of God must change and keep changing until the Sea of Galilee in you is mirror-smooth, until it has become the sea of glass through which you perceive the things of heaven without distortion.

We look through a pane of glass in a window and, even though it is clear, very often there are distortions. You look out and you see some peculiar, freakish shape on a tree, but you do not forthwith begin to swear that that tree is thus and so. You have sense enough to know that there is a distortion in the glass. Perhaps you open the window and take a look. Let us open the window and take a look at the things of heaven. How? By obeying the Master's commandment: “Let not your heart be troubled.” For as soon as you yield and let your emotional nature, your feeling perception, become calm and serene, you can begin to see the things of God as they are, and the ideas in your mind will have to be readjusted step by step to fit the things of God as they are. You will have to yield some pet points and ideas and concepts, because you begin to see the things of God as they are and your distorted vision is no longer standing in the way. So, first, it is only through the heart that you can even perceive the things of spirit. But perceiving the things of spirit on a distortion basis does not bring to the awareness of your mind the truth of spirit or of that which spirit would convey. And when you begin to let the waves be calmed they are no longer mountain-high, but there are still some waves. Even though you are seeing more clearly through the perception of the heart, you do not yet see truly. I have seen people who reached a point where they began to see, when there were just little waves, no longer the mountainous ones, and they said, “Oh, now this is it! I see! But this doesn't quite fit with what Uranda says, it doesn't quite fit over there, it doesn't fit here. Now that I have the inspiration from God no one can tell me anything else. I'm going to live my life this way. I'm going to be true to this lesser distortion pattern.”

Blessed ones, you cannot truly know until your Sea of Galilee has become the sea of glass for you. And then that which you perceive from the spirit of God will be in harmony with that which is truly perceived of the spirit of God in every other. For the spirit of God does not contradict itself, ever. If there are contradictions it is only because there have been distortions in perception. With the mind itself, merely using the physical vision, the physical hearing, you can learn something about truth, you can perceive something of the form of it, but it is still cold and dead, it has no true meaning. You cannot use it. You can never use truth; you can only let truth use you. But it cannot use you in the true living of life until you let that which you are aware of intellectually with respect to truth be filled with the living fire of the spirit, truly perceived because you have obeyed this commandment: “Let not your heart be troubled.” Why? Because you believe in God, have trust, faith, confidence, and a recognition that believing in distortions only brings one to some sad end. It cannot be any worse than that out there. If we believe in God, if we trust Him, it cannot be any worse than that. Why not do it? Why be so afraid to truly trust God, to yield to His love, to let the Master's word calm the Sea of Galilee in you, that you may know the great calm and begin to be aware of the truth of God as it is, begin to be aware of His love, begin to truly live? And then all of your ideas and concepts and beliefs must be adjusted and readjusted until they are in perfect harmony with that which is coming to you through the sea of glass clear as crystal and your Sea of Galilee has become the place where you have come to know the Master. Why was His life and ministry given the setting around and on the Sea of Galilee? Simply because you cannot come to know the Master, you cannot come to know God, except around and on and in your Sea of Galilee. And that sea is within you now, that you may know God. Not just know about Him, but that you may know God. So let it be.

© Emissaries of Divine Light