On this material plane,
each living being is like a street lantern lamp with a dirty
lampshade.
The inside flame burns
evenly and is of the same quality as all the rest—hence all of us
are equal in the absolute sense, the essence, in the
quality of our energy.
However, some of the
lamps are “turned down” and having less light in them, burn
fainter, (the beings have a less defined individuality, are less in
tune with the universal All which is the same as the
Will)—hence all of us are unequal in a relative
sense, some of us being more aware (human beings), and others being
less aware (animal beings), with small wills and small flames.
The lampshades of all are
stained with the clutter of the material reality or the physical
world.
As a result, it is
difficult for the light of each lamp to shine through to the outside
and it is also difficult to see what is on the other side of the
lampshade that represents the external world (a great thick muddy
ocean of fog), and hence to “feel” a connection with the other
lantern lamps (other beings).
The lampshade is the
physical body immersed in the ocean of the material world, and the
limiting host of senses that it comes with.
The dirt of the lampshade
results from the cluttering bulk of life experience accumulated
without a specific goal or purpose.
The dirtier the
lampshade, the less connection each soul has to the rest of the
universe—and this includes its sense of connection to other beings,
its sense of dual presence in the material world and the metaphysical
world, and the thin connection line to the wick of fuel or the flow
of electricity that resides beyond the material plane and is the
universal energy.
To remain “lit” each
lantern lamp must tap into the universal Source of energy.
If the link is weak,
depression and-or illness sets in.
If the link is strong,
life persists.
This metaphor to me best
illustrates the universe.
