He who dwells in the secret place of the most high....

Sometimes, when I am to and fro-ing Beth to work, I hang out a while at the Borders bookstore at the mall. I think I wrote about some of my experiences there in a blog post not too long ago.

The last time I was there, right next to the Christian section…where the Psychology books reside, I found a really cool two volume, hard back set of books by Paramahansa Yogananda called The Second Coming of Christ The Resurrection of the Christ Within You.

The following description is from Amazon:

In this unprecedented masterwork of inspiration, Paramahansa Yogananda takes the reader on a profoundly enriching journey through the four Gospels. Verse by verse, he illumines the universal path to oneness with God taught by Jesus to his immediate disciples but obscured through centuries of misinterpretation: "how to become like Christ, how to resurrect the Eternal Christ within one's self."

Never before available in its entirety, this landmark work by one of the most revered spiritual teachers of our time transcends divisive sectarianism to reveal a unifying harmony underlying all true religions. A groundbreaking synthesis of East and West, it imparts the life-transforming realization that each of us can experience for ourselves the promised Second Coming -- awakening of the all-fulfilling Divine Consciousness latent within our souls.

Yogananda said, "In titling this work The Second Coming of Christ, I am not referring to a literal return of Jesus to earth. He came two thousand years ago and, after imparting a universal path to God's kingdom, was crucified and resurrected; his reappearance to the masses now is not necessary for the fulfillment of his teachings. What is necessary is for the cosmic wisdom and divine perception of Jesus to speak again through each one's own experience and understanding of the infinite Christ Consciousness that was incarnate in Jesus. That will be his true Second Coming."

And the link that connects this book with the gist of the post from yesterday? Well, I came upon a section in volume 2 that talked about the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God WITHIN you….the secret place of the most high….

One who finds within himself the Secret Place of the Most High” becomes suffused with supreme happiness and divine security. Whether he is mixing with friends or sleeping or working, he keeps that place only for God. With his consciousness centered in the Lord, he finds Maya’s concentric veils suddenly lifting; in joy the devotee sees God playing hide and seek with him in the blossoms and the stars shining with a stronger Light and the sky smiling with the infinite. When his eyes are spiritually opened the devotee beholds peering at him through the eyes of everyone, the eyes of the Infinite. From the Second Coming of Christ Vol 2 Page 1188

There was more…and I was writing as fast as I could…but I ran out of time and had to go…but the next time I go back I will finish reading that section and share it here.

The point, however, is that the place of supreme happiness and divine security is found in the Secret Place of the Most High.

Preston Eby often refers to it as the Inner Sanctum….and according to Eby wondrous things can be found in that sanctum….

            It is true that Christ stands outside the church systems of man, knocking, that he who hears may open the door.  That is the sense of the meaning of Christ’s message in its corporate application.  There is, however, a further and deeper sense in this message on the individual and personal level.  The Christ who knocks at the door of our individual heart is on the inside of each of us, in our spirit!  There is a pure realm within man, an inner sanctum, an eternal dimension — the Holiest of all.  Christ is in our spirit, and though we hear His voice as part of the corporate body of Christ, yet, is it not from Christ within our spirit that His voice comes to us?  You see, my beloved, Christ is in our spirit, knocking on the door of our soul!  He is in our spirit, knocking on the door of our body!  He is saying, “If any (outer) man hear my voice, and open the door, I will not only be joined to your spirit and be one with you in spirit, but I will come into your soul and sup with you there, I will come into your soul and be fused with your soul; I will come into your body and sup with you there, I will come into your body and be fused with your body, and you will know in the totality of your being the fullness of my perfection, wisdom, power, life, and incorruptibility!”  From the Candlestick to the Throne Part 62

Floyd Watson from Stones of Fire says:

” Now we must find again our source of life…IT IS WITHIN where we find the garden of Life our peace, our joy, our strength, our happiness and our true life. It’s called the Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of God…the inner sanctum….the Secret Place of the Most High…an eternal dimension…the Garden of Life…The Christ within, The Presence, The Stillness….

And he who dwells therein…who lives out of his Christ nature…will know no fear.

I’m hopeful that someday the Princess of the Worst Case Scenario (and her mother the Queen) will relinquish the throne to abide in the Kingdom of God….under the shadow of the Almighty, Abba Father…in perfect Love where there is no fear.