Effigy or person?

          "Now I found we were in dirty water paddling it. At first I didn’t notice but then I saw a gigantic monolith stretching upwards. It seemed to be an image of Jesus or the Buddha, but like stone. It was an image and we were in gloom, not light, though not dark. Then I noticed that we were all the while paddling this water with our feet, and I saw a marigold floating on it, and I said, “The Ganges.” That was correct. We rose upwards again in front of the image. Whether Jesus or the Buddha it was apparently an inaminate image and very large.

          We then rose above the gloom into bright light. Very white. There was no colour and it was like the surface of a bright sea with spotless foam, and it stretched into a far distance of white light. Or you could say the sea was like the surface of very white cloud. Shining bright. Anyway we sat to contemplate the scene. Then we floated forward into it horizontally, and the light entered our bodies so they dissolved in it. A said, “Now we are full of light and our bodies have disappeared.” I said, “Yes.” And he said, “But you know me and I know you.” I said, “Yes.”

          The images of the Ganges and Christ or Buddha showed that as images they have no active role in our lives. At best they are reminders. The committed  participation of faith is needed for a creative relationship with our saviours. Then they are truly guides and liberators for us in this life, and no doubt in the next.

          The layer of white light or white cloud floor was above the layers of images where colours were rich. We are part of God’s creation but we can also create with the imagination there, and with hands and tools here. We are invited to participate in God’s fun and play."

            "A Spiritual Diary"