Buddhists speak of "samsara," the turning wheel of dukkha, "dissatisfaction, discontent, emotional suffering"; Christians speak of our being "fallen," so from a prior state of innocence, hence living in a "fallen state, world." Could we not now, in our time, call it "the machine"? The bright Light of Spirit blocked out, thankfully not blotted out, by the glut of materialism. So, it is up to you to keep the Light shining, not to worship "the machine." Jesus speaks in the Christian Gospels, "What shall a person gain to gain the whole world and lose the self (or, life, life-force, essence, soul)? Or what shall one give in exchange for their own self?" "The machine" is a death sentence to the heart, even if one keeps breathing. Keep living ... stay alive!
From Pink Floyd, YouTube site: "Welcome to the Machine" is the second song on Pink Floyd's 1975 album Wish You Were Here. The song is said to be inspired by George Orwell's book 1984, in which a man is trying to escape the government which is brainwashing its citizens with TV shows and oppressive rules.
Welcome my son, welcome to the machine Where have you been? It's alright we know where you've been You've been in the pipeline, filling in time Provided with toys and 'scouting for boys' You bought a guitar to punish your ma And you didn't like school, and you Know you're nobody's fool So welcome to the machine
Welcome my son, welcome to the machine What did you dream? It's alright we told you what to dream You dreamed of a big star He played a mean guitar He always ate in the Steak Bar He loved to drive in his Jaguar So welcome to the machine
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We can open to being attracted to Spirit by Spirit. This attraction will happen by allowing it to happen. Most of the time, this being Spirit-charmed is subtle, often unfelt; at other times, it is striking, sometimes startling, and can be so powerful as to be immediately life-changing.
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February 2, 1997
I am driving toward the little Methodist chapel to lead the worship and deliver the message for my friend Steve. Steve and Faye, directors of the prayer house, are in Atlanta. They are leading a ceremony to ordain Lucy Rose an associate. I wanted to go but am glad to assist in serving the little congregation in Steve's absence.
I recall the request that all associates pray for Lucy at about 2 o'clock, imagining the healing light of the Divine upon her body - Lucy is dying of cancer. The first place I feel comfortable stopping at is about 2:02 pm, a graveyard outside of Tarrytown, GA. I pull my little blue chevy to a stop. I get out, looking for a place to pray as hidden as possible from the sight of passersby. I step into a confined area with a few graves and stand behind a tall, green bush. I face the green bush, being reminded it symbolizes life, and hold a little pocket Bible in hand. I pray.
Though I am far from being a biblicist, the sacred text seems to vibrate with supernal force. I seem to be in another world. The prayer seems controlled by another power, something outside my usual consciousness. I can see and feel arms bending to embrace Lucy. I get no sense Lucy will be healed. I do feel she is well-loved and taken care of by Another. The prayer is brief, filled with a faith unforced and not of flesh and blood.
I get into my truck, back out, and begin driving toward the church. Something has opened within; there is a sense a freshness of spirit coursing somewhere within. This I cannot explain.
I am gifted now. I stopped to give something to Lucy. I have received. Somehow, in the simple ritual of prayer, Presence was invited to fill me with Itself, love me, and make love within this solitary yet communal self.
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We need to be open to intrusive, surprising visits of Holiness, and without pursuing them. If we pursue such an experience, we may have one, and, likely, it will be a fabrication. These times are not subject to our management or planning. Being charmed by the Numinous is unpredictable. And when these manifestations occur, the duration is variable. They can last only a short time, then things seem to return to normal. At other times, these visitations last much longer.
I say "seem to return to normal," for the Numinous is always happening. The Numinous is present, so it can happen. There is no gap in experience; yet, there are differing experiences. This is like driving down the road; there is one trip, yet along the way, there are many different sights. The trip is all these sights. The experiences are one experience; the trip is one trip.
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A late uncle, nicknamed Shorty, for he was under 5 feet tall, had a life-altering rebirth experience in midlife. Lying in his bed one night, he could not sleep. He knew it was his God not letting him sleep. He prayed, giving over his life to Jesus.
Shorty felt under a Spirit-spell for about a year. He said it was as though God was manifesting to him without interruption. He could feel this vivid companionship day and night.
Shorty began a ministry working with the aged, visiting with them and giving a message each Sunday afternoon. On his drive to work in the mornings, he would stop for Scripture reading and prayer alone in an upper room at his church. He became a leader in that church. Prior, he did none of these things, though he had been raised in a devout Christian home. When I was around him, I could see the glow on his face. I could feel his joy. He was always smiling. This enchanting time ended, but his devotion to Jesus did not.
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Openness to being enchanted by Spirit calls us to repent. I do not mean repent in the sense of having a big-time pity party loaded with self-centered subjective guilt invited to the boo-hoo. By repentance, I mean what the word means - "turning, returning" ... returning is turning to our natural birthright... turning from the exclusion of the Sacred from our apparently just-ordinary lives... shutting out Sacredness with its wild, bewitching quality... ignoring the charming Grace potions invisible and moving all about us.
We turn from intoxication with the trivial, and we welcome the sublime, and from our grumbling to giving gratitude. Where we had given ourselves to the world of things, now we give ourselves to the Ineffable of it all, including our bodies, which Spirit inhabits and surrounds as Itself. We relinquish sterilized, insipid religiosity and deadening moral legality. We turn from gluttonous consumption and heartless politics. We refuse to live among the dead.
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The Inexplicable breaks through our obsession with distractions and our mindless, mind-numbing monotony and barred hearts. We find ourselves again naked in Eden - "delight." We no longer are hiding our bareness - our innocence. We are grounded in a palpable awareness of the Holy, not as a pious-sounding religious idea but the environment in which we move and breathe.
We invite Presence to disturb us, confuse us, delight us, denude us, overwhelm us, and make love with us. We know what Jesus said is true, for we experience it as our new normal - "The Reign of the Supernal is right here, now, everywhere." And, sometimes, we see this by nudges, like the one I experienced in that cemetery, or with a sudden, invasive, life-altering turnabout, like that of my uncle, Shorty.
