Strongman

Today, I would like to tell you a little story...

One day, Yeshu’a an Nasiri Ihidaya

was sharing a meal

with some of his inner gate disciples

under the shade of a great oak tree…

"My dear friends,

you have seen me

cast out many pernicious, parasitic spirits —

many invasive, impure, incoherent energies.

What do you think?

What do you see?

Do you not see the Kingdom of Freedom in action —

made

manifest?

Listen deeply, brothers and sisters...

not with your physical ears —

but with the ears of the Heart-Mind —

perceive —

re-member —

re-alize (re-actualize)

their

true

meaning.

If a powerful man has trespassed against you —

through cunning, treachery and deceit —

abused and violated

your free will —

forced his way in to your house

and unlawfully laid claim to your property —

well how can you take back what is rightfully yours

unless that powerful man

is first vanquished

and

cast

out?"

— a literary adaptation of a parable of Yeshu'a an Nasiri Ihidaya, as recorded in the Good News According To Ma'thi, chapter 12, verse 29

mac's field notes:

In one dimension of this teaching,

it is possible that Yeshu'a Ihidaya, in this parable

is referring to liberation from bondage to identification

with what we might call

"the slave self" —

that is,

the false, illusory, acquired, conditioned, conceptual sense of self —

the i-dentity

or

persona

(a greek word meaning: a mask or costume) —

that which we call "i" "me," "my self"

In this literary adaptation of Yeshu'a's teaching,

i have chosen to use the words 'pernicious, parasitic spirits'

rather than the more common word 'demon.'

The word demon means

One Who Deceives

and also

One Who Divides

Eckhart Tolle, in his teachings connects this

with what he describes as “the pain body” —

that is...

the aggregate body of suffering

that arises from

the pernicious, pervasive fear, aversion, craving, clinging, attachment and addiction —

of the slave self —

the shadow self —

the false, illusory self.

The "strong man," as Yeshu'a calls it,

could also refer to a 'Daemon'

(etymologically connected to the English 'Demon,' meaning: 'a Ruler, Lord or Master').

It could also and/or refer to 'Ha Satan'

(that is: 'The Sa'tan,' which means the Adversary, Antagonist, Challenger or Catalyst).

To "plunder the house,"

(as it is often translated) —

or in this literary adaptation

"unlawfully laid claim to your property"

requires that the "strong man" be apprehended and restrained

(that is: captured, subdued and rendered ineffective, impotent, etc.)

so that ownership of the body-mind-spirit complex

can return

to the true Master of the House —

the True Self —

the True Nature

the True Essence —

which takes on individuated consciousness

as a Living Soul —

an In-Spirited, Animated Living Soul.

A familiar metaphorical archetypal trope,

we could, I suppose,

liken it to a King or Queen

who has been magically beguiled —

placed under a spell —

so that he forgets who he is

and thus is no longer able to rule her kingdom —

either he is held captive —

imprisoned in the bedchambers of his own castle —

or is relegated to wander the countryside

as a mendicant —

a beggar.

The "strong man" thus is the usurper of the kingdom —

the False, Illusory, Acquired, Conditioned, Conceptual Sense of Self —

a kind of metaphorical archetypal dark wizard

who has cast a spell of delusion

over the rightful King and heir —

over the entire kingdom,

convincing it’s inhabitants

that the usurper alone is ruler and master.

This metaphorical, archetypal storyline is found in many ancient mythologies,

as well as in many books, movies and television shows.

The usurper, thus has created

a Kingdom of Illusion —

a Kingdom of Slavery.

The rightful king and heir, in the meantime,

languishes under a deep beguilement —

and enchanted slumber.

In this analogy, to emancipate the rightful King,

the usurper must be captured and bound

and then

the True King —

the

True

Self —

must re-awaken,

re-member

and re-alize (re-actualize)

our True Nature —

our True Essence —

our True Power —

our True Sovereignty —

our True Humanity —

our True Divinity —

referred to by Yeshu'a an Nasiri Ihidaya

in so many of his teachings.

So perhaps Yeshu'a was teaching

about the liberation

(that is, emancipation, salvation or healing)

of the body-mind-spirit complex

from the shadowy, illusory house of mirrors of the False Self —

the

Not

Self

and the re-awakening,

re-membering

and re-alization (re-actualization)

of

our

True

Self

as the Master —

the Sovereign —

the King —

the Queen

of our own Kingdom —

our own

body-mind-spirit complex —

free from all interference —

free from all distortion —

free from all illusion —

expressing Itself

in Infinite Variations —

Myriad Manifestations —

in

our

own

unique

individuated

incarnational

experience

of

Life.

And yet still I remain...

not

two.

Awaken and Re-member.

/|\