Week 15: Lower Your Buckets!!!!

The story Master Mark conveyed depicting the lost and thirsty sailors —-which is the prelude video for session 15—-is leaving an important imprint on my mind. For one, it alludes to the necessities and riches which are already here and available; from another vantage point, it illustrates our preconceptions and limitations to perceive a new reality. We tend to believe what we see and or feel which is the greatest obstacle in the quest of achieving what we cannot see or feel. A sick person, naturally, will focus on their symptoms and obtain temporary relief by relating their condition to others. A person in need, let’s say of financial sustenance, will, naturally, agree and support statements of others about how hard and unfair conditions are; how restrictive their life is due to lack. That very practice is the very mechanism which will keep that person in the state of  need or even catapult them to greater need. Haanel aptly promulgates that difficulties, “inhar-monies”, and obstacles indicate that we are either refusing to give out what we no longer need, or refusing to accept what we require. This sounds like a slap in the face; comparable to the thirst stricken Sailors who were told to lower their buckets; of all into that salty ocean water, which would kill them….faster. What may Haanel mean with his statement? He most certainly was inspired by The WORD, the ultimate source of ALL. The Sailors had to let go of their “oceanic” worldview and accept their new logistics. In biblical terms, the Sailors had to speak to that mountain, the ocean, to generate a miracle of clean water. Now this sounds crazy, to the natural mind. Anything to move us from our current condition to greatness; to achievement of our DMPs; to fulfillment of our destiny, calls for means other than the natural world could sustain.
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 1 COR 2:14, ESV. Yet how does the spiritual reality become physically accessible? For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. 1 COR 1:25, ESV; via words. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. PRO 18:21 ESV. As it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. ROM 4:17 ESV. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us; John 1:1; 14a ESV.  God urges us to say, not what we have, but what we want and aspire to. Simple and yet seemingly impossible. The MKMMA is a brilliant venue to learn the skills of calling that what is not to be. I AM GRATEFUL; WHOLE; PERFECT; STRONG; POWERFUL; LOVING; HARMONIOUS; HAPPY. What else does need to be done? Something!!! Actions of the mouth and actions, such as lowering the buckets. The proverbial buckets, symbols of harvesting instruments, are words, again; again and again until —-seemingly naturally—-to no great surprise, all pieces fall into place and life giving water is available. In-har-monies become monies, lol. “In-harms” become insignificant and not harmful at all; rather furnishing the desired life-giving results. Yet, as very well orchestrated by MKMMA, words have to be specific. Very specific, as Haanel buttresses:  Accuracy in building words and sentences is the highest form of architecture in civilization and is a passport to success.  God’s method of operandi is diametrically opposed to our sense-dominated world. “The whole thing, then, is a matter of faith on man’s part and generosity on God’s. He gives the security of his own promise to all men who can be called “children of Abraham”, i.e. both those who have lived in faith by the Law, and those who have exhibited a faith like that of Abraham. To whichever group we belong, Abraham is in a real sense our father, as the scripture says: ‘I have made you a father of many nations’. This faith is valid because of the existence of God himself, who can make the dead live, and speak his Word to those who are yet unborn.” ROM 4:17 Phillips. Children of Abraham, children of faith, co-creators with God, us; we function by speaking that which is not as though it were. We speak; we hear us speak; we influence our thoughts; we persist and we change the world. I always keep my promises.  TBD