Divine Science: The Lower Reflects the Higher

The picture seen here is a reflection of sandstone cliffs in the Colorado River near Arches National Park in Utah. The most basic principle of all divine science is that the lower reflects the higher. Divine science involves insight into relationships that are not always obvious in everyday perceptions. The "diviner" may use a forked wooden stick to find water. She or he may use an ephemeris, a chart of planetary movements, to gain insight into personalities and events.

Among the most famous students of divine science were the magi, ancient Persian priests. Their study of signs in the higher world, the heavens, led them to recognize the Star of Bethlehem, the sign of Christ's birth on Earth. Their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh were the original Christmas presents, and they came to symbolize Christ's royalty, divinity and redeeming sacrifice for love of us.

In the modern world divine science is out of fashion among religious people and among people of science. As a tool of spirituality, however, it can lead to new insights and ways of thinking. Try the ancient Chinese text, the I Ching or the Christian text, The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis. These books can be opened at random, and any passage one's finger falls upon will be meaningful in our current life situation. A word of caution is important here, though: As a general rule, don't try using the Bible that way. If we want to use the Bible for divine science, careful study of Biblical history, language, and kinds of literature will be most important.

The great beauty of divine science is that God has placed signs of His presence and love for us all through the created world.

Myth and Truth

Myths are stories whose meaning is more important than facts. True myths communicate important aspects of reality that we might not be able to understand apart from the myths.

With the tsunami of 2004 we have a great example of the way true myths can save people. An island in the Indian Ocean is home to a so-called primitive tribe. Anthropologists were worried about them because their island was directly in the path of the tsunami, but the whole tribe survived. They believe that the world is on top of the branches of a great tree. Spirits sometimes move the branches of the tree, and the earth moves. When that happens, land and sea begin to fight over their boundaries. When they felt the vibrations of an earthquake, they knew that they needed to move to higher ground until land and sea were through fighting and the new boundaries were set.

Maybe the world really is on top of a great tree. Contemporary theoretical physicists believe that the world we see is constantly being brought into being by the vibrations of subatomic superstrings in the fourteenth dimension. (Seriously.) Maybe those superstrings really are branches of the Great Tree, but whether that is true or not is beside the point. The meaning of the myth to the people who believe in it is what saved their lives. Their myth taught them to get out of the way when land and sea were fighting, and their survival is evidence of its truth.

Ash Wednesday

"Remember that you are dust, and to dust you will return."

With these words the Ash Wednesday liturgy offers us a healthy reminder of our own mortality. Realizing that our lives in this world will not last forever can help us keep a perspective on what is really important. The way we treat each other, the quality of our relationships, and the love that is in our hearts are the things that will endure. We all fall short of the best we would want to be, and our determination to improve ourselves is the repentance that Lent calls us to.