Emily Dickinson wrote that line but we inhabit it here at The Sanctuary – the realm of all possibility…our heaven on earth.
Reflecting on a question asked by a friend who was here at The Sanctuary receiving a nutritional consultation, “What do you think of the book, The Secret?” I answered in a way she may not have expected. I answered from logic and from experience.
“I think it is very limiting. The Secret relies heavily on us: our thoughts, our words, and the power of our own imagination.”
We stood in the tower room of The Sanctuary soaring three stories into the atmosphere looking out over the beauty of the lake on one of the first clear days of early spring. Light poured into us through twenty six huge windows. Our perspective, from this vantage point, transports us, gives us views of the sky, of heaven, of clouds and atmosphere. We are often above the clouds. We experience literally being in heaven, looking down on the earth. The blue sky is but a curtain; beyond is the reality- we inhabit the realm of all possibility- the entire Universe. At night, we join the cosmos and chart the stars as they pass through the elliptic. It is like being in the cockpit of a spaceship; we are, literally thrust “into the heavenlies”. This sacred space of The Sanctuary has expanded our experience from being “earth dwellers” and initiated us into life on a universal level.
“I see the limitations of The Secret when I experience all this’, I said gesturing at the magnificent views, “Do you think Donn and I even remotely imagined any of this when we were in 1700 sq. ft. of a rather dark little house?”
“I don’t think we have the power to know the complexities and depths of our own heart, our deepest desires.” I think about my consultations on repairing the GI tract, teaching others to listen to signals their pulse sends them about the foods they eat. The signals their breathing sends as a message that some foods are simply not for them; no matter how healthy they might seem…Most of us have to be made aware of the concept of deep attention, listening and watching for the body’s subtle communications.”
If mastering listening and attentive awareness is such an “ah ha” moment, how much more learning must it take to tune in to the deep yearning and longings of our hearts? Most of us do not, as Emily Dickinson said “dwell in possibility” and most don’t dream, or wish, or desire to the fullest capacity they might. Only the Creator of our heart can know it.
This is where The Secret fails to capture my full attention; the book needs to go further, in my opinion and experience. The author has left out those of us that have received excessive blessing and abundance without either desiring it, or envisioning it, and certainly not using affirmations to bring it from the ethereal realms into the physical plane. We are living in outrageous beauty, abundance and luxury here at The Sanctuary- so much so that it actually made me incredibly uncomfortable initially when I began to see what was being created. It was too big for my comprehension and comfort levels….
My own journey beyond the narrow bounds of The Secret began one day in Olympia at the home I’d raised three children in, small, dark, but with five lovely acres near the Capitol Forest. I had spent twenty years at the kitchen sink looking out on our pasture that ended with a small forest wood. But the woods there seemed dark and foreboding, not welcoming. My journey began at that sink, hands in warm, soapy dishwater when I said out loud to God, “I want You to expand my borders.”
I hadn’t yet read the now famous “prayer of Jabez”. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about it:
The Prayer of Jabez : Breaking Through to the Blessed Life is an inspirational book published in 2000 by Bruce Wilkinson as the first book in the "BreakThrough" book series. It is based on the passage 1 Chronicles 4:9-10:
And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, "Oh that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!" So God granted him what he requested. (NKJV)
In the book, Wilkinson encourages Christians to invoke this prayer for themselves on a daily basis:
I challenge you to make the Jabez prayer for blessing part of the daily fabric of your life. To do that, I encourage you to follow unwaveringly the plan outlined here for the next thirty days. By the end of that time, you'll be noticing significant changes in your life, and the prayer will be on its way to becoming a treasured, lifelong habit.
The book became an international bestseller, topping the New York Times bestseller list and selling nine million copies. It received the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association Gold Medallion Book of the Year award in 2001.
I just prayed this prayer because I felt I needed more. But not this much more, 6000 sq ft., more bedrooms than we can use, and fifteen acres of lake views and forest lands, with 100 year old maples and firs….I actually wanted a small cottage type house, now that the kids had left home. One that was paid for. Very low key and “under the radar”. But still, there was that stirring for “more” inside I was responding to. I didn’t qualify what “enlarging my boundaries” meant. That began my journey that would take me and Donn so far beyond the narrow confines of our own envisioning, our own desires and our own power of speaking our dreams into existence.
Because I had no set agenda God was free to impose His most expansive dreams and visions into our lives. In retrospect, I know God wanted more for us. He needed us to be willing to expand into all His great plans for our lives- one of which we are literally inhabiting now- and The Sanctuary is simply far beyond our wildest dreams. Expansion derived from a co-creating standpoint will leave the spirit, mind, and body larger, not only physical surroundings reflecting more expansion. The most expanded soul of all used the entire world for His home. Nothing could contain His magnitude... I simply responded with my humble prayer at the kitchen sink to God’s quiet nudging that I co-partner with Him- all of us shoulder to shoulder in the proverbial oxen type of yoke- creating outrageously enormous dreams together!
A series of miracles began, which I will share later. But first, the miracle of transformation had to start in my own heart, in my willingness to grow, in my willingness to accept His gifts….and to release the fear of what others would say and think and judge us to be….When it became clear that the magnitude of God’s intense blessings was leading me into places I wasn’t comfortable with, He had to stop the flow of blessing just to deal with my reluctance to receive. Strange but true…..when I became willing, the blessing resumed.
If all the blessings that have come to Donn and myself over the past several years- with NO CHANGE IN OUR PERSONAL FINANCES- all miracles indeed- if the flow of these blessings had depended on my vision, my willingness, my power of making bold affirmations, well, we’d be back in Olympia with hands still in the lukewarm dishwater looking out at the dark forest.
This is the magic of partnering with the cosmic God of all Creation, of the Universe- of the immeasurable Universe of the heart. Like the Universe, we are ever expanding. Can we know our own heart? I don’t have the answer to that today. But God knew mine. He knew that like a lotus flower unfolding that we would all – even The Sanctuary – blossom and grow into a complete unfolding to bless the world here. So He held the vision for us.
Now our faith has grown. We truly dwell in endless possibility- but it is still with the humble realization that it is HIS possibilities for us. Yes, we have desires, goals and dreams and understand our power of thought, word and deed to bring them to pass. But we have surrendered to a larger Vision; His. We just co-partner, willing to be led and to have the joy of co-creating miracles into our lives here. We are luxuriating in intimacy with His great mind and heart.
The real secret beyond The Secret is that there is so much more than we could ever dream. It begins through connection with the God of all creative power. It is not limited to this earth, but embraces His Kingdom which is boundless and full of infinite possibility. This not only includes our personal body temple, but occupying heaven on earth now. There is no separation, no division.
It isn’t about personal wealth, power and abundance though that may surely come as it did for us. These are peripheral issues. Our path of miracles that followed my request that God enlarge our boundaries has been the most adventurous and invigorating journey we have ever encountered. I can’t imagine living any other way than inside the realm of all possibility. It’s just way too fun! Emily Dickinson understood this fully a hundred years ago….she wrote:
I dwell in Possibility
I dwell in Possibility—
A fairer House than Prose—
More numerous of Windows—
Superior—for Doors—
Of Chambers as the Cedars—
Impregnable of Eye—
And for an Everlasting Roof
The Gambrels of the Sky—
Of Visitors—the fairest—
For Occupation—This—
The spreading wide of narrow Hands
To gather Paradise—
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