Dealing with Oppression During the Night
THEREFORE, in the evil hour, lie still,
feel thy stay, till His light which " makes manifest "
arise in thee, and clear up things to thee. And think
not the time of darkness long ; but watch, that thy heart
be kept empty, and thy mind clear of thoughts and belief of
things, till He bring in somewhat which thou mayest safely receive.
Therefore, say to thy thoughts and to thy belief of things
(according to the representation of the dark power, in the
time of thy darkness), " Get thee hence!"
And if that will not do, look up to the Lord to speak to them ;
and to keep them out if they be not already entered,
or to thrust them out if they be already got in.
And if He do not so presently, or for a long time,
yet do not murmur or think much, but wait till He do.
Yea, though they violently thrust themselves upon thee,
and seem to have entered thy mind, yet let them
be as strangers to thee; receive them not,
believe them not,
know them not, own them not.
Isaac Penington.
I teach a meditation that if practiced with the right intent and practiced
regularly helps close the door on such visitations.
Nevertheless, malevolent forces can and do make their approach.
Sure, it might just be having eaten too much spicy food
and it could be undigested negative emotions from the preceding day.
But you must also be prepared to see that there is such a thing as evil
and it seems to like the cover of darkness.
If someone is practicing my meditation,
and they feel oppression during the night,
I tell them to meditate
and to silently call upon God.
Penington also addresses the larger topic of oppressive thoughts
and images that sometimes assail us. I understand what he means
when he says:
"yet let them be as strangers to thee; receive them not, believe them not,
know them not, own them not."
Is this not similar to what I say? Stand back and observe the thoughts without
reacting to them. They are not your thoughts. If they were your thoughts, you
could control them at will.
Stand back, watch--neither believe them nor disbelieve them.
Just watch them. Do not enter into the fray. Observe and let the inner Light deal with
them.
If you need help learning how to stand back and observe thought, visit my
meditation page
Isaac Penington (1616–1679) (wrote) extensively on many topics. His writings are prized for their insightful and eloquent exploration of spiritual experience. . . . . His Letters have been read continuously within Quakerism for their spiritual counsel, and they deserve to be read more widely within Christianity. His complete works were first published in 1681. They are still in print today and can also be read online.
from Wikipedia
