Imagine a flight from Bogata/Columbia to Paris/France.
On board are two passengers, one who is terrified of flying, and another who has just escaped from a Columbian jail !!
For one, the flight will seem like a endless series of confrontations with potential death as the plane negotiates the turbulent weather conditions, while for the second those same sensations will make them feel alive and vibrant.
The external stimuli are the SAME for both, but how they interpret those sensations on an individual basis will determine their own experience.
Each will describe that same ‘reality’ as if they were experiencing two completely separate events !!
It is their respective ‘state of mind‘ which will determine their reality. Their ‘state of mind’ may also be described as their ‘negative’ self, the location where previous experiences have been recorded for analysis and development into a negative self, ready for projection into the positive self. You past experiences can become hard wired in a way which causes you to filter your reality in a very myopic manner.
WR is attempting to teach you that you have the power to co-create your own version of reality. All possibility is available to you at any one moment. Your level of consciousness is an indicator of how your mind’s antenna receives the Cosmic transmissions from Source. When you live an inspired life you Know you are evolving and growing as intended by the Creator. If you decide to live in fear, you prolong your own agony
How you choose to interact with the physical world is determined by how you have assembled the qualities, properties and character of your own metaphysical negative SELF. These are qualities of mind. You are free to change your mind, to develop it, to expand it. The result will be evident in your physical bodily expression, because the light of Mind will now be passing through a new negative SELF, and of course this will result in a new manifestation and projection of the positive SELF.
In short, as you grow, develop and make decisions based on your experiences, you are constantly REWRITING an UPDATING you own patterned thought-bodies. Therefore, a new you is projected. If you negative SELF is very fear based then that is the expression you will project to all those around you.
The works of an artisan stone mason are obvious when compared to a run of the mill builder. The negative SELF of the artisan is more refined/sharper and so the projections will reflect that, in his attention to detail, and higher quality finish. His thought patterns have a higher resolution which must be adhered to.
If you decide to live in fear, then you will manifest expressions of fear in your own reality tunnel, and with ‘like attracting like’ your inner self will thus fulfill the outer reality for you. If you project fear, it will be reflected back to you. You have the power within yourself to change your life experience, by changing the pattern. You metaphysical is not hard wired, unless you decide to do so !
Can you ‘see’ the REFLECTION of the artisan’s mind in his work ? Do you think it is possible to get a ‘sense’ of the mason from the quality of his work ? Would you say his work was a REFLECTION of the man himself ?
Your positive SELF is THE projection of your negative SELF, sometimes referred to as your shadow self, while your actions in the positive are reflected to all. Do you think your projected SELF will ‘attract’ like minded people ?
Do like conditions therefore seek balance in like conditions. If you like to play tennis, it make sense that you will gravitate to places where other tennis players accumulate, in order to find ‘balance’ in a like minded environment.
This is a marvellous metaphor and typical of the clarity that is inherent in the teachings of Mr Russell. However your ability to refine and simplify his message is really something superb. Thanks you again.
Now, for all of us, the challenge is to take this knowledge and apply it to ourselves. If done as any artist does when learning his discipline, the result will be similar to the life of mr russell himself. There is no limit to the power of this teaching….
Absolutely agree…thanks Ed 🙂