Imago Dei

I have been experiencing quite of bit of anxiety lately. Tonight has been worse than most. Stress factors have been increasingly high and, for the most part, I’ve been handling things quite well. I say, “for the most part” because I know that there have been times, every now and then, that I momentarily forget to take the issues one at a time and I begin to feel the weight of all of life’s changes at once. This is not how we were created to live. Psychologically this is not productive.

A recent study has shown that depression may not be a dysfunction from which to hide, run or seek medical attention. For some, depression triggers a function in the brain that we would otherwise not attend to: the ability to categorize and separate each potential stressor and deal with them accordingly. A recent article I read in Scientific American that discusses how depression could potentially be a movement along the evolutionary path of humanity to learn how better to deal with life. This is fascinating to me. Humanity is still in a pattern of growth and along this spiral we are transforming into an increasingly higher being who can possibly dwell on a much different level of manifestation and existence than the current way in which we live.

Genesis and the Torah speak of humanity being created in the “Image of God”. Scholars have debated this for aeons now and most agree that in some way we carry within us some spark of the Divine Light; some piece of divine intelligence replicates itself within our psyche, our DNA, our personalities, somewhere. However the great thinkers and inspired spiritual guides of the ancient Hebrews conceived of it, we are in some way, like our Creator.

“As above, so below,” as Hermes Trismegistus teaches or “As below, so above and beyond,” as the Thrice Great Maynard James Keenan sings. This most basic axiomatic truth of the Hermetic Tradition speaks of the mirror we are of the Divine. We are but the microcosm of the Macrocosmic. We are a small part of the Great Whole. The All in All. In the esoteric orders, this is known as the mystery of 5=6.

This grand design of the Architect is the Truth of our existence and the wonder of our path if we have one and if we understand it correctly. We have been created in this place so that we can bring perspective and character to the Universe within the framework in which YHVH is the commanding presence. And in this sphere of ebb and flow, we carry within our lungs that Divine Breath. As we inhale and exhale we exchange not only that Divinity we carry, but we share it with others as we breathe the same air. We exchange it with creation as we supply CO2 necessary for the flora and fauna. We bring it back in as we take the oxygen from their leafy hands as they give it back. We share this Divine perspective with all creation, as they receive it from us.

As above, so below.

As we learn to evolve and grow and become more like the Above in our little space here Below, surely we must realize that part of that growth is the expansion of what we can conceivably handle both mentally and spiritually.

When our children are small, we give them bite-sized chunks of truth. We even teach them valuable lessons in pictures and moral stories to illustrate abstract truth. As they grow, we begin to share more with them and teach them from lessons more informational and less entertainment oriented. Certainly this may account for how we grow as a human race as well. We must begin to feel the weight of those growing pangs and we may very well feel overwhelmed at times by the stretching that pang indicates within our own mental and spiritual capacities. For many of us, that stretching looks something like what we call depression. However painful or isolating, it helps me to know that this is an indication of growth if I allow it to be so.

I must learn how to take things one step at a time. I must learn to chew my food and not try to swallow it whole. Five does, in fact, equal six. And not only does 5=6, but it is, in reality, more like this: 353 or the great “ABRAhadABRA”.

Not only are we a microcosm of the Macrocosmic, but we are surrounded on all sides by the Creator as we move through this life. We are not a separate, but similar piece of the puzzle. No. We are like a drop of water within the Great Ocean. We are made up of small particles of the Divine, yet we are also surrounded by the Divine as well. We are not the ocean, but we have a home within it.

This is what gives me sleep. This is what halts my anxiety and allows me to focus my energies on things that deserve it and my attention on finding solutions and paths that bring growth, success and evolution. “In the Image of God” isn’t simply part of our past story; it is part of our present reality and our future as well.

Rest well tonight. I will.