8. SLEEP—THE SABBATH...Wheels of Truth
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“When thou goest, it shall lead thee, when thou sleepest, it shall
keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.”
(PROVERBS 6:22)
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In sleep we are united with our Father every night; we become one with the Ancient of days. Prior to falling asleep, students of the mysteries must learn to behold the scintillating white light that shines forever on the great white throne, which is the Secret Place of the Most High, or the Holy of Holies within man. We can imagine that we see this white light and this will completely still the mind. Nothing can appear on this white screen without our permission.
Now we are first in the pool. No man can get into this pool of silence but our “I AM” which is first person and present tense. “But while I am cometh another steppeth down before me.” (John 5:7) That which steps down before you are the idle thoughts such as fear, doubt, despair, self-pity and similar moods. If you banish these evil spirits or moods, Jesus, your own I-AM-NESS will speak softly and say “Rise, take up thy bed and walk.” Then the healing comes. Meditating on the eternal verities and the inner glory and beauties of the Deity, man feels a movement within him, this is the Divine Light and it is visible as a golden yellow light. Words cannot always define and formulate the things behind the veil; there are of course many mystical experiences which we cannot express with words, the ecstasy of heavenly bliss, of love and happiness. Meditation is that inner communion which works like a thief in the night, silently in man’s own soul. This mood cannot be expressed in words or language as it is beyond all formulation into word symbolism. To enter into the Silence, is intercommunion with the Self or Christ within. This is the nearest approach to the invisible.
To receive inspiration in Bible passages, the following procedure will be found very helpful. Begin to imagine and dwell on the fact that in the deep of yourself sits the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords and the Prince of Peace whose dress is white, so also is the appearance of the light of his face. Imagine this Being sitting upon a throne of scintillating light that He may give Light to you. Realize now that your intellect is being anointed by the Christ or Truth. You will find your spine tingles and your forehead becomes moist—this is the “dew from heaven.” “My head is filled with dew,” “Elohim shall give thee of the dew of heaven.”
Many good people think that sleep is intended for rest of the body, an inertia of mind and body. It is believed that a restorative process sets in resulting in a feeling of well-being due to the fact that there is a restoration of physical energy. The reason we go to sleep is to develop spiritually and for no other purpose: therefore it is of paramount importance that we avoid all discordant states prior to sleep. The Divinity that shapes our ends is all wise and has so arranged it that man is compelled to withdraw from the world of noise which is not conducive to spiritual unfoldment. Man is divinely guided in sleep, answers to many problems are given him in the sleep state. Formulas, inventive devices, poems, contents for many volumes, are also given in this dream state. The contents of many chapters in chemical textbooks, and in the engineering laboratories of the world, appeared in a dream, an answer to a request of the dreamer. Sleep, therefore, does not mean rest for the physical body in the sense of inactivity, mental or otherwise; on the contrary, sleep protects one from the confusion, chaos and distractions of the objective sense world. Paul said “I die daily.” Sleep is akin to death, the only difference being that in the so-called sleep of death we sleep a little longer. There is no absence in the One Presence; therefore we cannot go outside ourselves, and all experiences take place in our own consciousness.
Suppose, for example, you want to invent or discover something and you have no precedent to go by, no textbook reference. You may have a vague idea of what you want to invent or discover and that is all. The technique is simple. Learn all you can about it objectively, and then in a passive state dwell on a mental picture of that which you wish to invent; then turn your mental picture over to your subconscious mind and go to sleep. When you awaken be sure and follow the “hunches” you receive. It sometimes comes as an inner feeling that the solution lies in a certain direction or in a certain group of facts. You will find that many times the entire formula or solution may appear in a dream. In such cases it is wise to have a pencil near you as you sleep, so that when you awaken you may jot down the impressions that come to you in your dream. Some say “I never dream.” We all dream and if you don’t remember your dreams simply suggest to your subconscious before you drop off to sleep one word, “Remember.” It knows what you want to remember and will faithfully follow your instructions.
As we all know, the subconscious never sleeps. If you are a writer, teacher, doctor, housewife, or stenographer, you can utilize this great truth to your advantage night after night. Give your subconscious the right mental picture to go to work on each night knowing that it will reproduce your request in exact accordance with your desire.
The book of Genesis says that God rested the seventh day. Some good people reading the Bible literally, seem to think that God was fatigued or needed rest after six days work. Such a conception of course is unthinkable and absurd. “And God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because that in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” This quotation has nothing whatever to do with physical repose or rest. The Sabbath may be any hour or moment of the day or night. It means the supreme satisfaction that follows prayer, an inner knowing that what you prayed for is an established fact in your own consciousness and as “within so without.” Therefore in calmness and in peace you await the external evidence of the inner experience.
We have two ears, two nostrils, two eyes, and seventh a mouth. Through this, as Plato says, “mortal things have their entrance, immortal their exit.” All the food we eat is consumed to tissue, bone, muscle; finally the body disintegrates and returns to the elements. But in the silence, communing with God, when the seven faculties are stilled, the still small voice of the undying God speaks through the lips. This may be the voice of intuition, the voice having healing in its vibration, or it may be the fourth dimensional feeling of “It is finished.” This is the rest or Sabbath of the Lord
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Wheels of Truth, Dr. Joseph Murphy
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