Armor Up, Part I

A quick review of the Gospel according to Jeannine

I'm a huge fan of Nephi's advice to make the scriptures relevant to our own lives. 

... for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.
1 Nephi 19:23

Scripture study can be approached in many different ways. 

First:  It's important to understand the context in which that scripture was written and/or revealed.  Reading with only the perspective our own experiences limits what we can learn from that scripture.  Understanding the culture and language of the original text gives us the clearest picture of the original intent.  

Second: But, if we never ask, "How does this apply to me?  How is my life experience similar to what I see described here?" we miss out on a lot of personal revelation. 

Third:  We also need to explore what has been revealed in modern times about those scriptures.

Fourth:  Reading or listening to the views of others (leaders, teachers, scholars) gives us more perspective. 

Fifth:  And then you get the Gospel according to Jeannine (a variant of #4), which is basically coming at it from a completely different perspective.  I acknowledge and use the other options, but I don't limit myself to them.  

Here's an example:

28 ¶Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek andlowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30

This is one of my favorite scriptures.  I've always loved it, but a few years ago, I had a little epiphany.  "Light" in this context means not heavy, not something that will weigh us down.  When yoked with Christ, our own burdens are easier to bear.  I doubt many people would see anything else but that in that word.  But I'd been exploring light as energy, light as physical illumination, light as mental and spiritual enlightenment, and the idea that those are the same thing.  So when I read this verse again, light wasn't an adjective describing the burden, it was the noun equivalent of burden.  When I take his yoke upon me, I  am agreeing to take on his light, to become "A city that is set on an hill."

I "cannot be hid." (Matthew 5:14)

I am becoming a candlestick, giving "light unto all." (see Matthew 5:15)

You will probably never hear that taught in a Sunday School class, but it made this scripture far more powerful and meaningful to me.

Armor

So now that you understand how "the Gospel according to Jeannine" works, we move on to the real topic of this post:  Armor. 

I know it's weird, but even though I have a huge aversion to any thing violent, especially war, I also have a strange fascination with armor and weapons, specifically swords.  We can blame it on my love of Camelot and all things Arthurian.  (And then, because I'm such a nerd, of course I have to know what that armor evolved from and how armor has changed since then, so generally, it all fascinates me.) Where this fascination comes from is not as important as what I can learn from it.  

Armor is protection.  Armor gives us confidence.  Armor allows us to do things too dangerous to do unprotected.  Armor literally saves lives.

But…
(You knew it was coming.)

Even the best armor has it's drawbacks and limitations.  The lightest versions still add a burden of weight to the wearer.  Some armor limits movement or vision.  Armor sometimes gets in the way.  And we've yet to invent armor that can protect 100% of the body from every type of assault.

Yesterday I watched this wonderful Brené Brown video.  She researches shame, courage, and vulnerability.  In the contexts of creativity and relationships, when we armor up, we block ourselves off from things that will hurt us, but we also block ourselves off from the things that can give us the most joy and insight.  If you don't have time to watch the whole thing, just watch from 9:45 to 11:40.

When you armor up against vulnerability, you shut yourself off.

Read it again.  

When you armor up against vulnerability, you shut yourself off.

The Armor of God

Yay! We finally got through all the set up to the actual point of the blog!

I'm a pacifist.  Even in defense of who and what I love, I have trouble causing pain for anyone or anything.  It's so extreme that I don't kill spiders.  I catch them and then release them outside.  I believe that when you fight against something you give it power.  Going to battle emboldens the enemy.  I much prefer to promote what I love and believe than to try to destroy what I don't like.  So when we boldly sing, "Behold a Royal Army," the musician part of me loves the energy and the catchy tune, but the pacifist part of me cringes at the metaphor.  

I think that is one of the reasons I have never really appreciated Paul's exhortation to take on the whole armor of God.  Even with my fascination with armor, the war imagery was too strong and kept me from seeing what Paul was really talking about.  

I have a friend who is a Reiki Master and a Mormon.  I told her that I wanted to pick her brain sometime about energy work because I am very interested in pursuing that further in my own life.  In the course of that short conversation, she said something that totally clicked with me. She views putting on the armor of God from an energy perspective.  We didn't get a chance to discuss that more, but my brain took it and ran with it.

In qigong classes, I've learned about the Wei Qi field.  This is a good general explanation of the Wei Qi field from The Healing Qi Institute. I added the underlining for emphasis.

All living bodies generate an external field of energy called Wei Qi (pronounced "whey chee"), which translates as "protective energy." The definition of Wei Qi in Classical Chinese Medicine (CCM), Chinese Energetic Medicine or Medical Qigong is slightly different than that of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). In classical TCM texts, the Wei Qi field is seen to be limited to the surface of the body, circulating within the tendon and muscle tissues. In Medical Qigong, however, the Wei Qi field also includes the three external layers of the body's auric and subtle energy fields. This energy originates from each of the internal organs and radiates through the external tissues. There the Wei Qi forms an energy field that radiates from the entire physical body. This field of Qi protects the body from the invasion of external pathogens and communicates with, as well as interacts with, the surrounding universal and environmental energy fields.
Both internal and external pathogenic factors affect the structural formation of the Wei Qi. The internal factors include suppressed emotional influences (such as anger and grief from emotional traumas). The external factors include environmental influences when they are too severe or chronic, such as Cold, Damp, Heat or Wind, etc. Physical traumas also affect the Wei Qi field.
Any negative interchange affects the Wei Qi by literally creating holes within the matrix of the individual's external energetic fields. When left unattended, these holes leave the body vulnerable to penetration, and disease begins to take root in the body. Strong emotions, in the form of toxic energy, become trapped within the body's tissues when we hold back or do not integrate our feelings. These unprocessed emotions block the natural flow of Qi, thus creating stagnant pools of toxic energy within the body.
Medical Qigong consists of specific techniques that uses the knowledge of the body's internal and external energy fields to purge, tonify, and balance these energies. Medical Qigong therapy offers patients a safe and effective way to rid themselves of toxic pathogens and years of painful emotions that otherwise, can cause mental and physical illness. This therapy combines breathing techniques with movement, creative visualization, and spiritual intent to improve health, personal power, and control over one's own life.

The following thoughts and opinions (and those in Part II) are mine alone and do not necessarily represent the thoughts or beliefs of my church, my friend, or my qigong teachers.  They may have very different ideas about these things, but this is where my exploration took me.  

Everything is energy.  Thought.  Matter.  Spirit.  All.  

There is absolutely no reason that strengthening my Wei Qi field and strengthen my spiritual preparedness should not be one and the same. Plus, when I think of my armor as my Wei Qi field, it is no longer an impermeable barrier keeping me from love, connection, and creativity.  It interacts with energy fields around me.  

A Wei Qi field

• Protects.  
• Interacts.  
• Communicates.  

That's the kind of armor I'm interested in building.  

Part II of this blog will explore the details of my very non-Mormon approach to understanding the Armor of God.