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\u201cThere are very few human beings who receive the truth, complete and staggering, by instant illumination. Most of them acquire it fragment by fragment, on a small scale, by successive developments, cellularly, like a laborious mosaic\u201d (Ana\u00efs Nin).<\/p>\n
TO BE \u201cILLUMINATED\u201d MEANS TO BE \u201cENLIGHTENED.\u201d In our language, light is very often used as a metaphor for knowledge or understanding; so when we speak of \u201cillumination,\u201d we are saying that someone has \u201cseen the light.\u201d A previously unrecognized truth has \u201cdawned\u201d on them. What was dark is now \u201cas clear as day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Illumination is a more important thing than we sometimes give it credit for being. If our character accumulates from our conduct, and our conduct grows out of our thinking, then it\u2019s a matter of great importance whether our thinking is accurate or not. If we\u2019re \u201cin the dark,\u201d we may imagine that we \u201csee\u201d some things that are not actually there. Even a little \u201cenlightenment\u201d can help us to see what is really there and what is not \u2014 and once we accurately judge the nature of the reality we\u2019re dealing with, our actions can be appropriate to that reality.<\/p>\n
But as important as it is for our minds to receive illumination, most of us find that gaining greater light on significant subjects is a gradual, and sometimes painstaking, process. On very rare occasions, we may get some tremendous flash of insight that opens up entire vistas of understanding all at once. But more often, our understanding grows slowly. Most of us get a more accurate view of reality, as Ana\u00efs Nin suggests, \u201cfragment by fragment, on a small scale.\u201d The process is well worth it, however, even when it seems unbearably slow.<\/p>\n
Whether big or small, those moments of illumination \u2014 someone has called them \u201cA-ha!\u201d experiences \u2014 are delightful when they occur. They happen to be some of life\u2019s happiest turning points. It isn\u2019t really possible to plan when these moments are going to take place, but we can certainly make a difference by being open to illumination. If we have an honestly receptive mindset, life\u2019s experiences will prepare us for moments of understanding, when the time is right. As the saying goes, \u201cWhen the student is ready, the teacher will appear.\u201d<\/p>\n
What in me is dark
Illumine, what is low raise and support.
(John Milton)<\/p>\n
Gary Henry \u2013 WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n