HUMAN POTENTIAL SERIES—EXEGESIS of PSALM 23 KJV

Let us examine the prophet’s words.

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

This simply states that we must submit our Ego to our Self. If we do so, all our needs will be met. It’s as simple as that. Some people equate this statement with instructions to act according to our conscience. Furthermore, we shall be led along the path of prosperity with little apparent effort.

A Chinese solon once said that if you do what you love doing, then you’ll never have to work another day in your life. For people living in the desert, ‘green pastures’ symbolized luxury.

He leads me beside still waters;

Waters, in the scriptures, invariably symbolize thoughts. ‘Still waters’ imply stillness of the mind, removal of all worries from our daily life. An inner peace.

He restores my soul.

The soul is not the ‘immortal’ aspect of our personality (as claimed by various religions), but it stands for our subconscious. The storage and recall of our memories from the beginning of our individualizations does, however, offer us intuition. Regrettably, in the practical sense, this trait is mostly manifested by women, while men are inclined to contribute more to diversity. Both traits, however, are inherent in both sexes.

He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Righteousness simply means ‘right-thinking’, and thinking right means listening to your Higher Self, which communicates with us via our conscience. “His name” refers to His nature, i.e. our immortal state of Being. The Ego must always be subservient to our Self, in other words, our Becoming must be guided by our state of Being. While we are intended to cross new horizons (add diversity which results in constant expansion of the Universe), we must never forget the wisdom of our intuition, which is the result of millions of years of trial-and-error of evolution.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil;

The “valley of the shadow of death” is the illusory reality which,  until Einstein enlightened us, most of us recognized as the only reality. The only reality which human senses can perceive are those whose vibrations are slower than the speed of light. All others (x-rays, gamma rays, radio, TV, thoughts, love, emotions, and countless others) are beyond our ability to recognize with our senses. Nevertheless, knowledge of their existence removes the fear of the unknown. And also (here the prophet addresses his Higher Self directly):

“...for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil...”

And here the Psalmist addresses his own Inner Self. He recognizes the inseparability of the Self and the Ego. He recognizes that the difficulties in life act as corrective matters, and also as guidance.

Finally, he is becoming aware that in spite of negative thoughts (enemies), i.e.: in spite of the opposition of the thoughts generated by his biological computer (responsible for the instinct of self-preservation necessary to sustain the illusory reality), the altar (table) upon which he’ll sacrifice his temporary, transient, artificial ‘body’ is being prepared. He is aware that liberation awaits him, and the anointing of his head will enable him to leave his phenomenal body at will (resulting in bilocation discussed below).

My cup overflows...

The awareness of this fills him with utter joy.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

This is the closing stance which expresses his utter conviction that he’ll remain at all times under the protection of the Lord, of the Higher Consciousness; namely, that even while occupying his phenomenal body and ultimately forever, he’ll remain one with the Higher Consciousness (the house of the Lord).

We must never forget that advanced people, prophets, perhaps later some saints, (Padre Pio of Pietrelcina comes to mind) did not identify with their physical bodies as much as with the consciousness that abides within them. Later this was recognized as ‘spirituality’. This is true of all of us, of course, yet only a few (the Chosen Ones?) seem aware of it.

[Other Christian figures said to have experienced bilocation include Alphonsus Liguori, Anthony of Padua, Ursula Micaela Morata, Gerard Majella, Charles of Mount Argus, Severus of Ravenna, Ambrose, María de Ágreda, Martin de Porres, María de León Bello y Delgado. I’m sure there are many others outside the Christian faith, such as Sai Baba, who are capable of bilocation, but choose to remain incognito.]

The concept of spirituality has nothing to do with religion. It is the ancient forerunner of a reality which is based on energy and not on matter. We, as the whole of reality, are (consist of) energy of Consciousness, which can and does slow down the rate of vibrations to a level recognizable by our senses.

Finally, it is vital to understand that the ancients seemed aware, that the “house of the Lord” represents the Omnipresent Consciousness, which is the only true reality of Being, hence Immortality. 

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As mentioned, my Dictionary of Biblical Symbolism enabled me to write both, KEY TO IMMORTALITY, and now, the exegesis of the 23rd PSALM. It seems that King David was as aware of his immortality as Thomas who wrote the gospel. Find out for yourself.

KEY TO IMMORTALITY

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