Chapter IX

Reflections On A Conversation With Christ
 And Model Forming

Reflecting on the conversation with my Inner Advisor, its content is both very personal and universal. To the ques­tion of how to assume total responsibility, the answer given was reassuring. It revealed that our responsibility is to be childlike: like an infant, we are to learn by example. Examples are given according to our ability to receive them. We don’t need to be some sort of spiritual superstar. All we need is a healthy spiritual appetite and a thirst for Truth.

Script­Changing People

The next thing that stands out is how precisely we are led to script­changing people. The right people at the right time appeared in my life to replace pain­producing percep­tions in my childhood emotion picture. Guilt loomed large in that picture. So did religious people who didn’t walk their talk. Love and the power of the Spirit were frequently dis­cussed and seldom lived. Many of my Shadows formed around these unhappy perceptions.

The correction process began, in each case, through people who demonstrated a world free of guilt and filled with unconditional love, power and unalloyed happiness. The man who defined happiness in my early image correc­tion was Rufus Mosely, a professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago. He brought the idea of joy in living to a new level for me. He was distinguished for his transi­tion from agnosticism to a mystical devotion to Christ. The professor was also admired for his irrepressible humor. His laughter would light up a room and his natural, insightful humor would fill it with laughter. However, on one occa­sion, a woman who looked like she had been weaned on lemons thought his humor excessive. Offended she asked him, “Do you think that Jesus laughed?” “I don’t know, lady,” he replied, “but he sure fixed me up so I could.” Mosely brought an appropriate levity to spirituality I need­ed. Although your Shadows will differ from mine, the process is identical. When ready, everyone is led to illu­mined people, to inspiring new script Models who serve as Shadow­figure replacements.

The Script­Changing Christ Who Is Everyone

The dialog concluded with an explanation of the role of Jesus Christ in everyone’s life. When I first learned this concept, it was a crucial correction of one of my early erro­neous beliefs. Although I had been taught that he was opposed to any religion but Christianity, he describes him­self as the one whose consciousness of God’s love is a gift to “everyone, everywhere, always” regardless of ones reli­gion or belief system. Further he said that he collaborated with the great spiritual leaders of other religions. What a breath of fresh air that was for me! It fairly blew away the sectarian smog that had clouded out the vision I found in my Light experience: the union of everyone under God. The old Shadow walls of exclusive religion disappeared. Now I knew why. Because he had become Everyone. How could I claim to follow him and not seek to see him where he is, as he is ­ Everyone? At times that vision seems distant. So does the vision of a world lived in peace. But with the heart of a child and the will of a man I choose to hold to these visions until together they become a manifested reality.

The Universal Desire To Be Happy

If all of this seems a bit too mystical, that’s all right. We can unite around a single aspiration, the one univer­sal desire: to be happy. Not everyone wants to be spiritual or brilliant, rich or powerful, popular or sexy, but there isn’t anyone who doesn’t want happiness.

A happy life is the product of a happy mind. A happy mind is a reflection of a happy Ideal. To attain happiness, it is essential that you bring before the mirror of your mind an image of happiness seen in another. A basic question, there­fore, as we undertake the writing of a happy script is, “What is my Ideal?” or “What is my Model?” This query holds the same importance in life­script writing as “What is my motive?” does with behavior. In each case, the answer determines your quality of life. If the mental image isn’t already clear, make it a priority to choose your Ideal, your happy Model for living.

How To Internalize Your New Model

Moving out of your Shadows through forgiveness, you are ready to replace the old, ugly images on the screen of your mind with new, peace­instilling ones. You have asked the Holy Spirit, “What is my Ideal? Who is the Model I need as a replacement for my old peace­robbing Shadow puppet?” Once you identify that ideal person, take the fol­lowing steps:

First, identify the Shadow actor you wish to replace in your emotion picture, a parent, relative or friend of the fam­ily. Next, identify the person who represents your Ideal. There have been a number of examples in the lives of peo­ple you have met in this book. David found his Ideal as the beautiful woman/mother figure born out of his soul. Mai Ling discovered hers in the man she met at a workshop. The Viet Nam vet found his in Jesus. Each ideal met their specific needs. As you ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you will find the right person to replace your old Shadow personality. As with the antagonist, it could be a parent, sibling, friend, relative or public figure, living or deceased. You will be directed to the right person. This is not a guessing game, nor is it an emotional beauty contest. Model forming is a sacred replacement process to be approached with reverence and confidence in the Spirit’s wisdom.

After selection of your Shadow­figure replacement, you are ready to internalize it. Closing your eyes, visualize your Ideal person standing before you. Sense the qualities in this person that you admire and then bring onto the screen of your mind your Shadow, the antagonist. Without dwelling on what made that person a painful part of your past, see the antagonist flowing into your Ideal person. If you meet resistance, if this merging doesn’t happen, it indicates the presence of unforgiveness. To overcome this, imagine your­self turning your back on the antagonist. After a moment, turn around to see him or her lifeless, lying on the floor. As you see the person dead, acknowledge that they had died within your heart. Remember that this is simply a visual

confession. See light descend on the body and invite your Ideal person to lie down and embrace the dead figure. At this point, ask to be shown the broken child within the shad­ow figure. After seeing or sensing the reason for this pain, will to give that unhappy child what you would give to a child you love. Give it forgiveness. See Light from your Ideal figure enter the lifeless person. This will resurrect them and they will open their eyes. If your imagination remains uncoop­erative and you don’t “see” this positive change, will to forgive. This will always initiate forgiveness and transformation of the Shadow. Be assured the Holy Spirit will do the rest. Forgiveness will be realized. Now with the antagonist accepted and blessed by you, focus again on your Ideal Person, your model.

An Affirmation For Internalizing Your Model

The next step in the internalizing process involves the creation of a specific affirmation. Reflecting on what makes your model an emotional gift, consider how these attributes contrast with the ugly qualities in your Shadow antagonist. Since your Shadow figure is almost always a parent figure or surrogate, it may help to review the qualities of an emo­tionally healthy mother and father found on pages 88­89. With these in mind, the affirmation will evolve something like this: If it is a shadowed father/male figure, you may say, “As I relate to my father through the heart of (the name of your ideal father/male figure), I know him to be strong, responsible and loving. He is spiritual. He cherishes my mother and me. He always affirms me. He provides a mantle of security and well­being for our home, and he makes me feel good about my developing manhood/wom­anhood.” If the new Model is a mother/woman figure the affirmation may be, “As I relate to my mother through the heart of (the name of your ideal mother/female figure), I know her to be unconditionally loving and nurturing. She is spiritual, strong and kind. She cherishes my father and me. She is always there for me and makes me feel safe and secure. As I mature, she lets me feel free to be who I am, and I honor who she is.” Immediately upon opening your eyes, write down your affirmation. Review it frequently through the day, and just before going to sleep. Memorize the affirmation and review it daily until it feels comfortably yours. It may take weeks, but it is an investment toward your happiness. One word of caution: At the beginning of your memory work, you may develop an aversion to the process. This is ego resistance; it doesn’t like the destruc­tion of the Shadow it controls. Move through these feelings. It won’t be long until your ego will realize that your true Self is now in charge, and will give up the struggle. As you continue this discipline, you may think of additional quali­ties you want to add to the affirmation. Follow your guid­ance and make the changes. You are the creator.

Enlisting The Soul In Model Forming

This visual process uses the mind to teach the heart to see the Model, the chosen Ideal. This is a vital step, but it cannot stand alone. To enlist the creative power of the soul, use any meditative method familiar to you. If you are unfa­miliar with any, close your eyes and “observe” the process of breathing in and breathing out. You may add as you breathe in, the affirmation, “I breathe in the Spirit,” and “I breathe out Love,” as you breathe out. See a sphere of light in the center of your forehead. Then see the light descend to the level of your heart. At this point, sense the good feelings your Ideal Person provides. Sense those feelings being bathed in that heart­light.

One man in a weekly Men’s Support Group I facilitate told how he used this method. After a bitter divorce, he met a woman who was warm and nurturing. She appeared to be “perfect” for him. Although the relationship was healing, he realized that she was not interested in marriage. Instead of feeling bitter, he was grateful that she, however briefly, had entered his life. The qualities he loved in her were real and had enriched him. Repeatedly, he sat in the silence seeing his heart bathed in the feelings of love, nurture and caring he had received from her. The soul does the rest, internaliz­ing those qualities which enable him to develop a positive feminine image.

Knowing That The World Lives In You

Conscious that we don’t have either the skill or know­ledge to write the happy drama we must produce for our emotion picture theater we turn to the will. We are in charge of undoing each dark image with guidance of our Co­direc­tor and Scriptwriter, the Holy Spirit. By daily commitment to the creative process, our sense of helplessness as a play­er on our personal and world stage gradually recedes. We develop authority over circumstances instead of being a vic­tim of them.

This shift from victim to victor in the world of conflict was explained by one illumined teacher in this way. One of his students said in frustration, “I just get the feeling that you live in a very different world than I do.” “No,” the teacher replied, “it’s the same world.  The difference is, you believe that you live in the world while I know that the world lives in me.”

With this minor perceptual shift we become the creator in each moment. Free of past Shadows, we create the new models or ideals that make inner peace possible. The world lives in you, totally. Anyone who doubts this needs only try it. You are not being asked to be a true believer. If you are unhappy in your skin, or in the world you think is “out there” and beyond your control, isn’t it time to try this process? It will prove itself. No faith in it is necessary; only the willingness to begin to doubt your doubts. Or as they say in A.A., “Fake it ‘til you make it.”

A Happy Marriage Created From Within

The continuation of David’s story represents the shift from “out there” as a victim to “in here” as creator. You will recall that he came for counseling because he hated his wife. The hatred became so consuming that although he was divorcing her, he knew he had a problem he needed to deal with. He vowed he would not stop therapy until he had found the solution. In our first session, he saw the correla­tion between his bitterness toward his wife and his anger toward his tragically dysfunctional mother. His break­through came when a beautiful woman appeared from nowhere, in the midst of an imagery session. She seemed quite real to him, and he felt implicit trust in her. That was an emotional first for him. Until that moment, he had been unable to visualize any woman he could trust. On the level of the subconscious, such imagery is lovely imagination. Lifted to the level of ones soul, it creates as surely as God. David was soon to see how creative it is.

He had moved to Ashland, Oregon where he was employed by the renowned Shakespearean Festival as a craftsmen in set construction. Six months later he called me. He said he had met a new friend and wanted me to meet her. And was I free that evening? “Come on up,” I said, “I’m looking forward to seeing you and meeting her.”

Two hours later the door bell rang. When I opened the front door, there stood David.  His countenance said it all. He was in love. Beside him stood a beautiful, dark­haired, young lady.  David and I greeted and embraced. “Cliff,” he said, “I’d like you to meet Linda.” After welcoming her, I invited them into the living room. As we walked toward the sofas, I ask him if she was the one he had seen in his visu­alizations. “No, but she is just like her!”

When they were seated, I turned to her and said, “Tell me a little about yourself.” She was from New York.  Before coming to Ashland, she was a scriptwriter for A.B.C. Television. I guessed she was in her early thirties. I asked if she had been married. When she said, “No,” it caught me by surprise. A beautiful, bright woman with a charming per­sonality, and she hadn’t been married? What came out of my mouth, I wanted to retract. “Why?” I asked. That was none of my business, but she was gracious. She smiled and said, “Because I have never been in love before, and now I am.” How wonderful.

Seven months later I officiated at their wedding. It has now been six years since their marriage. David occasional­ly comes in for his “tune­up and maintenance.” They have yet to have an angry argument: not one fight to tarnish the love that brought them together. Too good to be true? No, just too good to be simple imagination. They live in a world of marital happiness and spiritual growth because they cre­ated it. David made the shift from a world of misery to one of domestic happiness he created within himself.

That only happens when the soul, reflecting its Source, creates from its vision. The woman who rescued David’s heart was born in his soul. Only then did it appear in the subconscious as “the evidence of things not seen.” And only then did it manifest in the world out there as beautiful Linda. That is the creative progression.

Your Creative Genius For Building A New Model

In the realms of science and art, such a level of creativ­ity is known as genius. It is Einstein knowing that Energy equals Mass times the speed of Light squared ten years before he could prove it in the laboratory. It is Walter Russell with a fifth grade education discovering plutonium years before it was isolated in the laboratory. It is George Washington Carver with little formal education discovering three hundred marketable items in the peanut. His discover­ies saved a substantial part of the agricultural economy of the South from ruin. In art, it is Van Gogh looking through the bars of an insane asylum window and seeing the night sky, as he interpreted it on canvass ­ “Starry Night.”  A copy of that painting hangs on my office wall in honor of beauty seen in the midst of physical and psychic darkness. In music, it is Beethoven writing a symphony for the ages, the Ninth. When he composed it he was too deaf to hear it, but in the chamber of his soul he heard and then wrote it so we with lesser ears could hear it too. It is Ray Charles, his head rocking, singing “America The Beautiful” as nobody else can sing it. In truth, the list of geniuses who bless the world includes your name and mine as well. Our genius allows our souls to re­create the vision of ourselves as we really are. This means that we will affirm, in whatever terms we may choose, that we are infinitely powerful children of God, cre­ated by our creator to create through perfect love and infi­nite wisdom. Regardless of how you compose it, this affir­mation is entrusted to your will, not your feelings. Will power is soul power. Soul power is God power. And God power creates.