Verse 22: “The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eyes are sound, you will have light for your whole body; if the eyes are bad, your whole body will be in darkness.”
Universally, light is a symbol for consciousness. Consciousness refers to the state of being in which we have self-awareness grounded in the body. Consciousness flows from our own mind and implies a connection to and association with the ego.
A lamp brings light to the dark. How and what we see shapes our sense of self and our expression of the Self/God Within!
On the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, the eye is associated with the path that connects the energy of our “Holy Guardian Angel,” our Divine Self, to our intellect. Our intellect gives shape to our perceptions, feelings, and desires by naming them with words. The words create images that become a template for how we see, thus for how we experience ourselves and the world. The image is not reality itself but a representation of energy of the Divine Self that may or may not be accurate.
We all have internalized ways of seeing that facilitate a balanced and beautiful expression of our self and the Self/God Within. We have images that interfere with the flow of expression. The images that interfere create stuck places where we repeatedly interact with our selves or others in ways that are not life giving.
Negative or difficult emotions and feeling are not necessarily signs of distorted images. They do signal the presence of distorted ways of seeing when we repeat the same self-destructive patterns and end up in undesired places over and over. Paying attention to the nuances of expression and subtle energies within us is the first step toward having “sound” eyes and “light for our bodies.”
Our willingness to look beyond surface appearances, to see “into” our initial reactions determines whether we live in the light or the dark. We must pay attention to our selves to see the inner workings of our body and mind, both what is known (conscious) and what is unknown (unconscious). We can then track how we respond to our felt experience of sensations, emotions, intuitions, and thoughts.
Our unconscious self is always present, affecting the conscious (self) position or view. By paying attention, we can begin to see what is in the unconscious or “dark.” We notice the feelings and affective responses that are not congruent with our consciously held ideal of self. We begin to see and relate to the unbidden energies. As we do this, the energy is integrated into our conscious sense of self. In this way, “you will have light for your whole body.”
Inner Reflection
Where are you moving freely? Where are you stuck? Take a few minutes to see and track what you know about your inner experience (emotions, desires, thoughts, feelings, sensations) and outer action in a stuck place.
Ask the Self/God Within to help you see that which is still unseen. Open to receiving consciousness/Light that can clarify and illuminate the larger view of what’s happening, thus letting you move in a life-affirming way.