Be the Light of the World

The following is a sermon I delivered at the Oneonta Institute of Spiritual Development: 

Most of us in this room think of ourselves as “lightworkers.” It is our purpose in life to bring divine light and healing to the world. Each of us performs this service in our own way. We can feel the energy of this light when we work with it, but very few of us can actually see it. Some believe that divine light is a metaphor for truth and enlightened wisdom. What do you think? Is divine light really just a metaphor? Is it an energy? Or is it a physical light or flame that can actually be seen in the higher dimensions of existence?

Of all the symbols and metaphors attributed to the Divine, Light is the one found most frequently throughout the religious scriptures and spiritual beliefs of humanity. Followers of earth-based religions have worshiped sun gods and fire gods for thousands of years. The Psalmist wrote: "The Lord is my light and my salvation -- whom shall I fear?" The Quran proclaims: "God is the light of the heavens and the earth."

Anyone who is familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures knows that they are full of references to Light and Fire, starting at the very beginning: And God said, “Let there be light, and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.” (Genesis 1:3-4)

Light is the very first thing that God created from the “formless void” of the heavens and the earth. The author of Genesis does not specify the sun as the source of this light. The sun and the stars were not created until the fourth day! This discrepancy may just be the understanding of the author’s primitive mind. Or is it possible that light actually exists in the universe apart from the sun, the moon, and the stars?

In the 19^th century, British physicist James Clerk Maxwell demonstrated that visible light was merely one small portion of the vast electromagnetic spectrum. Heinrich Hertz discovered the existence of radio waves, and since then scientists have discovered X-rays, microwaves, infra-red, ultraviolet and gamma rays — all invisible forms of electromagnetic radiation. In his book, The Akashic Light: Religion’s Common Thread, T. Lee Baumann, M.D. says: “. . . even in the deepest, darkest vacuum of space, there are over 400 million photons of non-visible light per cubic meter.” This non-visible light may or may not be the original light that the author of Genesis was referring to. But then, our Creator God is invisible to the human eye, just as are these various forms of light.

Dr. Baumann also tells us that “Quantum physics has successfully established that light is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, and that it has characteristics that some describe as consciousness.” Baumann believes that science and the world’s sacred texts support the claim that descriptions of God in terms of light may well be literal – not metaphorical.

We, in metaphysical circles, will agree that much of the Bible is allegorical, metaphorical, and symbolic. So, what do we think about the story in Exodus 3:2 where: “the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and lo, the bush was burning, and yet it was not consumed.”

Moses seems to be an exception to the “rule” that human beings cannot see Divine Light. Notice that it was not God, but an angel of the Lord who appeared in the burning bush. But in Exodus 3:4 we read: “. . . the LORD saw that he had gone over to look,” and “God called to him from within the bush, ‘Moses! Moses!’ And Moses said, ‘Here I am.’”

Moses lived in constant communion with God, obedient to God’s will. I am guessing that he spent a lot of time in quiet contemplation in order to maintain this relationship. After all, God says: “Be still and know that I am God.” Moses must have known how to still the chatter in his own mind so that he could hear God’s voice. Perhaps the years spent in meditation had nurtured his clairvoyant abilities so that he could see the light of God that is invisible to most people.

These are just two of the many references to Divine Light in the Hebrew Scriptures. The Bhagavad Gita, holy book of Hinduism, also contains many references to Divine Light. One of the most beautiful passages is as follows:

The Blessed One said: . . .

I am light in the moon and sun . . .

And brilliance in fire am I . . . .

 (Bhagavad Gita: VII:8-9)

And then:

Of a thousand suns in the sky

if suddenly should burst forth

The light, it would be like

unto the light of that exalted one . . .

A mass of radiance, glowing on all sides,

I see Thee, hard to look at, on every side

With the glory of flaming fire and sun, immeasurable.

I see Thee, whose face is flaming fire,

Burning this whole universe with Thy radiance. (Bhagavad Gita: XI:12-19)

Surely the author of these scriptures had personally experienced the radiant light of God, just as Moses had. In a meditative state, he could have seen the radiance of the non-visible photons that fill the universe.

The Buddhists of ancient times knew about the Divine Light that we meet when we leave our physical bodies; the love-filled light that is encountered by veterans of the Near-Death Experience. A Tibetan Buddhist lama reads from The Buddhist Tibetan Book of the Dead to a dying or recently deceased person. This is a section of that reading:

Now thou art experiencing the Radiance of the Clear Light of Pure Reality. Recognize it. Thine own intellect, which is now voidness, yet not to be regarded as of the voidness of nothingness, but as being the intellect itself, unobstructed, shining, thrilling, and blissful, is the very consciousness, the All-good Buddha.

Zoroastrianism was founded in Persia sometime between 1500 and 600 B.C.E. Zoroastrians believe in a single god: Ahura Mazda, the “Spirit of Light and Good.” The religious rituals of Zoroastrianism are performed before sacred fires, which represent God. The wise men who followed the light of a bright star to find the child Jesus, are widely believed to have been Zoroastrian priests and astronomers.

The child Jesus grew up to be Jesus the Christ, who said to his followers: “I am the light of the world." Jesus was our way shower; his life was a pattern that demonstrated how we can live as bridges of light between earth and heaven. Jesus also said: "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-17)

Traditionally this verse has been interpreted as a metaphor -- with light symbolizing the gifts and talents we use to perform good deeds. But now that scientists have discovered that invisible light shines throughout the universe, we can ask, why shouldn't some of this invisible light dwell within our very own selves?

       Mystics and those who have returned from near-death experiences have had first-hand encounters with the living, intelligent Divine Light. They describe the Light as the embodiment of unconditional love. Whether we can see it or not, we, too, can experience this Light in meditation and prayer, let it fill the cells in our bodies, and radiate it back out to the world.

       It wasn't until nine years ago, when I worked with the CD: Solar Radiance: Becoming a More Perfect Light, Orin Meditations channeled by Sanaya Roman, that I experienced light as an energy that I could invite into my body, be transformed by, and send out to be shared with others. Having reached the understanding that every aspect of Creation is composed of the same Light, Love, and Intelligence as its Creator, I understood that the sun truly is Divine, just as many ancients believed. I enjoyed these meditations during a sojourn to Ocean City, Maryland, where my husband attended a physician's assistant conference. While he was listening to medical lectures, I soaked up the rays of the physical sun on the beach, and encountered the radiance of the sun's soul (solar soul light!).

       Later, back home, I invited a clairvoyant-gifted friend to visit and watch while I meditated with solar light. I knew that this friend had the ability to see what was happening on the higher planes of reality, so I wanted to find out if her observation would verify the experience I thought I was having. She took notes while I meditated, and later told me she couldn't write fast enough to document all of the changes she saw! The first thing that happened was that my face and form grew blurry and blended into my surroundings. Then my face began to glow with a white aura. It became lighter as I meditated on filling myself with more light. When my face and body grew distinct again, it was a younger, taller, and more beautiful version of me. (Gee, I wish I could have seen that!)

       When Sanaya's voice told me to radiate my light out into the room, my friend saw the light in my living room grow brighter, and she felt its peacefulness. During the section about joining with latticework of light in the universal mind, she saw a pattern, like a checkerboard of light, emanate from my head out into the room. Near the end of the meditation, Sanaya says to imagine a more and more perfect light, at which point my friend saw the white light from my face rise higher and higher.

       This experience taught me that the imagination is more powerful than most people realize. While I was imagining the experiences that Sanaya described on the CD, they were actually happening in the spiritual realm that my friend could see. Afterward, I knew with certainty that Divine Light is a real force in our lives, that we can experience it ourselves, and use it to transform the world into the beautiful, peaceful place God meant it to be. It will take many people working with the Light to expand its beauty from the confines of our homes, but the more we work with the Light, the stronger it becomes.

          Something else I have learned about divine light in recent years is that, in the higher vibratory levels of existence, there are many realms of Light, and there are more colors and varieties of Light than we can imagine, and all of them embody different facets of Divine Love. Some of these Light energies take the form of colored rays that infiltrate the earth and all who live here, to aid us on our path to reunion with God. There are seven major rays, one for each day of the week.

          All energies of the seven rays flood the earth daily, but on each day of the week one of the rays becomes predominant, and we can focus on that ray in our meditations. On Sunday, the Yellow Ray of Wisdom, Illumination, and the Mind of God is amplified. On Monday, it is the Royal Blue Ray of the Will of God. On Tuesday we can focus on the Rose-Pink Ray of Divine Love. Wednesday is the day that the Emerald Green Ray of the Divine Flame of Healing and Abundance is amplified. On Thursday, focus on the Golden Ray of the Resurrection Flame. Friday is the Pure White Ray of Purity of the Ascension Flame, and Saturday is the day for the Violet Ray of Transmutation and Freedom.

          There is a lot to learn about these rays and how to use them in your spiritual work. If you’d like to know more, I recommend getting a copy of the book, The Seven Sacred Flames by Aurelia Louise Jones. The seven rays are also referred to as flames. The ascended masters tell us that these immortal and eternal Flames of God will work for us as we work with them. Spiritual progress is brought forth as the result of daily application of God’s laws, God’s energies through the seven main rays, and the clearing of one’s karma and emotional body.

  

I know that most of you are already working with Light in your own ways. If you haven’t tried it, though, I suggest imagining the golden rays of Divine Light, or the color of the ray for that day, entering through your crown, and filling every atom of your body. See the light growing brighter and brighter. Reality arises from the realm of imagination. As you visualize yourself growing lighter, you will feel light and peaceful within. When you feel that you are full of light, visualize streams of light emanating from your body out to the people or places that need healing.

Many believe that the only way to true transformation will come when more people understand that Light is one of the most powerful forces in the universe, and that each of us can use Light to heal our lives and our world. When seen with our spiritual eyes, this inner light will shine so brightly that our bodies will be full of light. Let us radiate our Light out into the world, to bring peace and goodwill to all of Creation.

You are the light of the world - so let your light shine!