You'll recall that in
The Holy Planet Purgatory, we're told that His Endlessness makes a practice of putting in an appearance from time to time to alleviate the suffering of the higher being-bodies that reside there.
This allegory need not be so far away, on another planet... or, if you prefer, the planet this takes place on is quite accessible to me. It is the very planet I inhabit, insofar as I am willing to submit to forces of a higher nature. All of the characteristics of the Holy planet purgatory are the exact characteristics of
where I am now, insofar as a higher energy acts within me.
That is to say, the Lord puts in appearances from time time to time in all of us; He is not a foreign presence.
When we say
the Joy of the Lord, we mean,
all of creation, everything that is. This is the whole of the manifested universe.
By
Joy is meant Perfection, since Perfection is inherent throughout creation.
By
Joy is meant Mercy, because the Mercy of the Lord rules above all other forces.
By
Joy is meant Generosity, because the gift is unlimited.
When we say it
prevails, we mean that it prevails within itself through the act of Being. This is actually the action of the dharma, that is, Truth, which is directly manifest by the nature of its prevailing. It cannot be avoided.
By
prevailing is meant
no resistance, that is to say, no force can stop it: and this is the essential nature of Truth.
By
prevailing is meant
not mine, that is to say, a higher Will has become manifest which is not my own: and I surrender to it.
By
prevailing is meant
peace, since the sins of the world are taken away.
I cannot do these things. But the meaning of the prayer
thy will be done is exactly this meaning.
All of these actions are
inner actions that manifest within Being, and need to be understood that way. Understandings that attempts to relate them to outer action confuse the question of Joy of the Lord with what takes place on this level. Outer action is simply what takes place; and that which is attached to it does not come from a higher level, it comes from this level. Although it is meant to lawfully blend with what comes from a higher level, confusing it as part of a higher level — or thinking that it can invoke a higher level — is mistaken; of itself, this outer action is at a low rate of vibration; coarse, we might say. The Joy of the Lord, which affects the inner rate of vibration, is a quite different thing that is unattached.
We stand between these two levels, but the receiving of the Joy of the Lord creates the possibility whereby this force may become manifest through our outer action — yet only to the extent that the inner action of this Joy informs us.
Knowing organically, through Presence, that these forces exist, perhaps we are encouraged to be fearless in both our practice and our life.
May your soul be filled with light.