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THE LOST FLOCK OF JETHRO
The Bible says that its stories are allegorical (Galatians 4: 24). Part of the fun of reading the Bible's stories is figuring out what literal truths the Bible stories are allegories of. The literal-historical camp looks for parallels in history, but the Bible is all psychological. Moses, for instance, is the germ state of the Gospel in the psyche. The parallels are all in us: "In the volume of the book it is written of me" (Psalm 40: 7).
Moses became keeper of the flock of Jethro (Exodus 3: 1). This is one of the most important allegories for what it means to us. Becoming a keeper of the flock of Jethro was the hinge-point of Moses' becoming an enlightened, spiritually anointed man, and Moses is us.
What is it to become a keeper or to "tend" a flock? It is simply to think a lot about certain idea, to contemplate or "ruminate" upon it. Ideas focused on a certain, single subject follow one after the other just like sheep in a flock. Moses had this experience thinking about "Jethro."
The Hebrew word yithrow (jethro) means "his excellence." It comes from yether, "an overhanging," which in turn comes from a root meaning "to jut over or exceed" (Strong's 3503/3499/3498). Moses was meditating on someone's "excellence," his "overhanging, jutting-over-the-brim exceeding of capacity." Here is the fun part: what is "his excellence" an allegory of?
The Bible provides some of the answer in the Book of Genesis, chapter 3. Adam and Eve here are an allegory of Moses (all of Genesis is, actually; or vice versa--whichever way you want to look at it). Adam is the divine power of life in Moses, "blood" (Hebrew 'dam). Eve is Adam's divine power of desire from which life springs (Hebrew chavvah, to cause life). She comes "out" of Adam but still in Moses. Genesis 3 and Exodus 3 are parallel accounts of the same psychological event in Moses' consciousness.
In Exodus, it is the Angel of the YHWH (Jehovah) who calls to Moses; in Genesis, it is the Glory of YHWH. Don't be fooled by the Serpent: the ancient symbol for YHWH was a snake (Hebrew nachash), probably because it shines brightly in the desert sun; slides around quietly, stealthily; hisses under foot; and has the power of death in its mouth. The same word in ancient Chaldee meant copper, from the root "to be bright," i.e., to shine. I see Moses, giving deference to a glorious, Shining Being--the Angel of YHWH--who was not some being outside of Moses but was his own imagination. (Believe me, it is possible for your imagination to appear to you and to speak to you as a second person "outside" of yourself, even though there is "outside.")
The power of death in the serpent's mouth is not a bad thing but is the gateway to salvation, for the variance from of the nature of God in our lives, "sin," has to be removed to make room for right. We can't have "in with the good" in our lives until we have the "out with the bad." The serpent's "mouth" that destroys our being unlike God is our imagination. This is the one who calls us as the Angel of God. That side of our imagination is God and knows it; this side has forgotten everything about being God and is, quite literally, as dumb as mud. God, but dumb--go figure. We have to relearn everything! Life is a school.
Moses supposedly had been running around naked--a great shame--and NOT ashamed of it. This is in the mind. Exodus has him living and acting as "an Egyptian," the vulgar carnality of the flesh (if you are an Egyptian, no offense is meant). There was something in the midst of Moses' psyche, however, residual from the nature of God (who he actually was--even God can't stop being God no matter how dumb he gets). We call it the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but it is the character of knowing what is mature and what is immature--of being like God or being unlike God --psychologically; i.e., in attitude and character.
Ignorant from the flip from Godhood into humanhood, Moses had refused to concern himself with it, lest he not get his licks of fun in. But now it was bugging him; he was maturing. When you realize how bad you are, it really hurts. I wonder whether the "jethro" Moses contemplated was the greatness of God's bountiful blessings (like Isaac's 100-fold harvest during a drought) or the magnificence of God himself. His imagination was telling him, "You are screwing up, wasting yourself. You have had enough of wanton dissipation. It would be better to be conscious of Godhood, to be like God, to create a better life for yourself, to be noble, to be wise."
It occurs to me that Moses was led to the Law of Identical Harvest. The Law of Identical Harvest is a "law" because it is part of the nature of God. The only action available to the ineffable Most High is imagining, and by the glorious power of his imagining, what he imagines becomes manifest. The Ineffable's imagining itself was and is "the first Manifestation," and all comes from it: the Imagining of the Ineffable is the Messiah--"As the beginning, the Son of God (the Imagining) creates the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1: 1, Victor Alexander translation, parenthesis mine). The action of imagining was how the Highest "called forth" the universe. When he imagines a thing, it is created, THEN it comes forth into overt manifestation "in due season."
Noah is allegorical of the divine imagining. Moses, as the divine life Adam, rested in the oneness AS God above the "flood" of facts contrary to what he desired, and Eve brought the desired to life (Japheth) by the vivid imagining (Ham) of its nature (Shem). It is the exact nature of what is imagined that comes to into manifestation--the harvest is identical to what is planted: "If you plant wheat, you can bet that what comes up is going to be wheat" (T. L. Osborn). By contemplating "jethro," Moses was imagining the greatness and glory and benevolence of God. Out went the bad and in came the harvest. Good move, Moses!
Like I said, tending the flock of Jethro was the hinge-point of Moses' life. He didn't start going this way until the flock of Jethro was on hismind. Is it on yours, or is it wandering around out there somewhere? We ought always be mindful of the Glory of God and blessings of the Lord.
If you are in need because you did not know previously that you have been creating your world out of your own imaginings, and your imaginings haven't been too hot, take what I have said to heart and humbly approach the holy God within you--who is you, and seek forgiveness. You want to be welcome back in the oneness of God.
For causing what you want, you have to know what you really do want. What you really want is the experience of good things in line with the mature life, an experience that gives the good emotional feelings you desire. Guess what you need to plant? What feelings would you necessarily have now if you have the experience you want: if you were that man or woman having them? You have got to muster them up into a seed to be planted for a future harvest. You are creating "form."
Determine what would necessarily occur if you were that person. Would indicate that it IS true? Imagine the feelings that would exist if you now have what you want. You will have a conglomeration of all the feelings specific to the situation you desire. No other experience in all the world will ever be quite the same. And who will know you then and see you there? Mentally, let them share in your experience.
When you can, enter a meditative state bordering on sleep. Don't fall asleep, but get real close to sleeping. No, don't start imagining what you want right away. Remember instead that holy one within you, the one who became you, who IS your imagination. Rest just being him, and give up what you presently are, and then imagine what you desire. Imagine all the emotions and feelings you would have in the experience. No other situation in all the world will have exactly the same combination of feelings as this one. Rehearse it in your imagining until it "takes on all the tones of reality." Think that you really are there and really see and touch the things that are there. Your perspective should be that you really are there because YOU REALLY ARE THERE. See the world from there, and while you are there in your imagination, fall asleep. Don't worry, you won't get lost in time and space; you are traveling imaginally.
Whether it takes ten seconds or ten minutes, when you feel the confidence that you are where you want to be and are experiencing the situation and feelings you want to experience, you should feel the release that its spiritual seed has been planted. In time it will blossom and bear its fruit. This is the Law of Identical Harvest: "seed after it own kind," means exactly what you plant is what comes up.
Note: Do not be too surprised if your life soon changes, perhaps even radically. There are good things in store for you. And remember, when your imagining causes your world, you have found Him! For some further teaching on same:
How to Use Your Imagination: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKS_QIPet-k
Text: http://imagicworldview.blogspot.com/2014/06/how-to-use-your-imagination-text.html
Mental Diets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnPAsGiQyiI
Text: http://imagicworldview.blogspot.com/2014/06/mental-diets-text-improved-version-of.html
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Imagination Plus Faith: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDGn6KWJh1s
Text: (Realneville.com:) http://certainworld.com/pdf/IMAGINATION%20PLUS%20FAITH.pdf
