The Shadow World (The Allegory Part II)

 

This exciting illusion hasn’t always worked for any of us. When we were children it was very different:

“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” ~ I Corinthians 13:11 KJV

There was a time when I thought this was Paul’s way of encouraging his readers to “put away childish things” as he had done, but if you will read the same text more carefully, it seems he is actually trying to remind his students of a time prior to the illusions; when we were children ourselves.

Combining Plato’s allegory and other ancient scriptures, we can see that being childish is closer to the truth. Allow me to reexamine the myth with the allegory in mind:

When we were children, we pretended in the light and our make-believe world unfolded to our delight. As we grew, we naturally began to see the impact of our actions on our surroundings. Little by little, we yielded our play to do the work of a shadow-maker. Our position, between reality and the illusion, became so mesmerizing as to become our focus. Within every person, there is the one whose back faces the light, willfully forgetting his or her part in making the fire which yields the lesser light of their own captivity. It is a wonderful illusion. I see the wall and I’ve now mastered the making of shadows. I make sounds and they echo off the wall, and the sounds seem to come from the shadows. I play all of the parts.

A part in any play is one way of explaining what should happen if the part is played well. The word part is short for partition, and I stand as the partition, between the lesser light and the cave wall. As the actual partition, I create the shadows and I make such perfect shadows that I mistake them for reality. However, even as the character I’ve created, I am beginning to see my part in this illusion.

 “When that which is perfect is exposed, then that which was a part shall be done away. When I was a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see shadows; but when we face the other way we will see The Light. Now I know the parts; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” ~ I Corinthians 13: 10-12 MCV

The more we consider this allegory, the more truth we uncover. It was a willful choice to go into a dark cave, where we made for ourselves the small fire. When the fire was brighter, we saw the effects of our actions more clearly and more defined on the wall. We don’t age, but the fire has never been stoked; we’ve given our undivided attention to the parts we play and the fire dims for everyone. When the fire dies, I die to the illusion, and the light, at that time, is not the light from the cave and the fire therein; it is the brighter light beyond the cave.

The most difficult truth is that all parts are the creation of only One I. All parts are played by God.

“For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.” ~ Ephesians 2:14 KJV

Remember, partition is another word for part. He plays the parts and He will also do away with the parts, giving us all access by One Light, who is One Father of All.

“But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” ~ Matthew 19:14 KJV

Don’t be afraid of the lesser light’s fading; The Great Light never fades.

You are not the shadow you think you are; but play that part with joy.