The Hidden Parables

By Todd Michael

• Essene Studios  2004
  

CHAPTER TWO
THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER

Jesus sat down by the sea.

And great crowds gathered to him,

so that boarding a boat, he sat down.

And all the crowd stood on the shore.

And he spoke to them many things in parables.

A sower went out to sow,

And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Matt. 13:3 Kai« e˙la¿lhsen aujtoi√ß polla» e˙n parabolai√ß le÷gwn: i˙dou\ e˙xhvlqen oJ spei÷rwn touv spei÷rein.

Matt. 13:4 kai« e˙n twˆ◊ spei÷rein aujto\n a± me«n e¶pesen para» th\n oJdo/n, kai« e˙lqo/nta ta» peteina» kate÷fagen aujta¿.

Matt. 13:5 a‡lla de« e¶pesen e˙pi« ta» petrw¿dh o¢pou oujk ei•cen ghvn pollh/n, kai« eujqe÷wß e˙xane÷teilen dia» to\ mh\ e¶cein ba¿qoß ghvß:

Matt. 13:6 hJli÷ou de« aÓnatei÷lantoß e˙kaumati÷sqh kai« dia» to\ mh\ e¶cein rJi÷zan e˙xhra¿nqh.

Matt. 13:7 a‡lla de« e¶pesen e˙pi« ta»ß aÓka¿nqaß, kai« aÓne÷bhsan ai˚ a‡kanqai kai« e¶pnixan aujta¿.

Matt. 13:8 a‡lla de« e¶pesen e˙pi« th\n ghvn th\n kalh\n kai« e˙di÷dou karpo/n, o§ me«n e˚kato/n, o§ de« e˚xh/konta, o§ de« tria¿konta.

Matt. 13:9 oJ e¶cwn w°ta aÓkoue÷tw.

What a beautiful little story. What could it really mean?  As we will see in this chapter, the Parable of the Sower contains several superb lessons showing how the quality of thought forms, and their handling, predicts their success in manifesting as reality.  Our new translation and interpretation needs to start with a close examination of the very first phrase,  “Behold, the sower went out to sow, and in the sowing of him…” 

The terms normally translated as “the sowing of him” or “his sowing” are the Greek words speiro and autos.  According to Strong’s Concordance, speiro means to scatter, to sow--literally or figuratively--or to “receive seed.”  Autos is found in many modern words and means “of the self.”  Therefore, a more accurate translation of this first statement is, “Behold, the sower went out to sow, and in the sowing of the self…” The “sowing of the self”—what could that mean?  How does one “sow the self?”  What would be the “seeds” of the self?

Actually, one of the unrecognized curiosities of this parable is the fact that the term “seed” is never directly mentioned during the entire story.  Clearly, the teller was purposely leaving plenty of room for metaphorical interpretation on this point.  So, if it is the self which is being figuratively “sown,” it seems entirely logical to conclude that it is being sown via its figurative “seeds.”   What would be the metaphorical “seeds of the self?”  To know that, we first have to know what a seed is in general terms. 

A seed is potential, unmanifested, unexpressed genetic information—information that tells an potential organism how to manifest, how to germinate, how to grow, and how to reproduce.  This potential, this information can unfold and become active if and when a specific set of conditions are present.  When this set of conditions is in place—moisture, darkness, warmth, etc.--the information coiled in the seed unfurls and expresses itself.   Raw molecules surrounding the seed are organized into proteins, the proteins are organized into organelles, and eventually cells are manifested.  The cells are further organized into an entire organism, a living being that can reproduce itself by bearing more fruit, more seeds--often one hundred fold or more.

So, what would the seeds of the self be?  What within us qualifies as unexpressed, potential?  What is it of our selves that is composed of information that is capable of organizing the raw materials of our environment?   Clearly, it is our plans, our intentions, our ideas, our visualizations of what can be. Nothing is ever created or built or accomplished that is not conceived and directed via thought. The seeds of the self are our thought forms, our intentions. 

                                                       THE INTERPRETATION

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the Parable of the Sower is the fact that Jesus actually interprets it for us.  Along with it’s partner parable, The Parable of the Tares which immediately follows, the Parable of the Sower is the only parable to be explained and decoded by the teacher himself.  This interpretation is found in Matthew, verses 19 through 23, where Jesus explains exactly what the characters and conditions in the story represent. This section is of great importance because it provides a key that allows all subsequent parables to be similarly decoded so that the deepest lessons embedded within are revealed for what they are.

In the parable, there are four places in which seed is sown--the roadside, the stony places, the thorny places, and the good ground.  One of the most common misconceptions about the Parable of the Sower is the notion that the seeds which are sown under these four different conditions represent the word of God.  Many people believe that the seeds which are being sown by the sower are the words of the Bible and the Gospels specifically which bear the words of Christ. These words are to be disseminated freely but will be heard by different kinds of people. Some people will pay attention and use the lessons in the word of God.  Some will not.  The word takes root and thrives in the former and they go on to heaven.  The word shrivels and dies in people who don’t pay attention.  These people will not fare so pleasantly.

But this interpretation and variations thereof cannot possibly be correct.  We have already discussed this to some degree in the first section.  The wording of Matthew 13:3 is clear and precise:  That which is being sown is not the word, it is the [seeds of] the self.  If there is any uncertainty as to the truth of this, Jesus first statement when interpreting the parable in verses 19 through 23 removes all doubt. To paraphrase slightly for clarity: That which is sown is “everyone hearing the word of the kingdom…”

This phrase is a little tricky to unravel.  There are four terms of interest in this important statement,  “everyone,” “hearing,”  “word,”  and “kingdom.”  Let’s take a close look at Strong’s Greek to English dictionary to see precisely how these terms translate. 

The Greek term usually translated as “Everyone” is pas.  The dictionary tells us that pas can indeed be translated as “everyone,” but can just as easily be translated as “the whole.” The Greek term traditionally translated as “hearing” is akouo.  The dictionary states that akouo can mean to hear but can also mean to “understand.” We have already discussed the term basileia which can mean either “kingdom” or “realm.”  In contemporary terms a “realm” would be a dimension, a universe, a state of being, or a personal reality.  And there has been clear information that the specific dimension the teacher wants us to know about is the dimension of happiness and power, the higher reality that is within each of us. 

          But what is the word of the kingdom, the word of this dimension of happiness and power? The Greek term used for “word” here is logos, a concept so large it requires a separate section for discusssion.

THE LOGOS

             Logos is one the deepest and most fascinating terms in the entire Greek language. The term logos evolved over many centuries of use by some of the most intelligent people in history.  In 600 B.C. the Greek philosopher Heraclitis used the term logos to refer to the entire creative process by which the universe is created and sustained. Heraclitis believed that the energy which powered the creative process, the force that generates and sustains the entire cosmos, came from the interaction of the great opposites—light and dark, heat and cold, large and small, the ordered and the disordered.  Although wholly Western in its origin, this is a concept strikingly similar to if not identical to Taoism. Surely, the author of Matthew was well aware of this when he selected the term logos to express himself.

          A study of the term logos in Eliade’s classic Encyclopedia of Religion and Philosophy, a standard twelve volume reference set found in most libraries, reveals no less than twelve pages of detailed discussion on this term. Certainly, logos can mean simply “word” as standard translations of the bible invariably indicate, but there is so much more to it.

         The term logos can also refer to the origin of words.  And what are the origins of words, where do they come from?  From our thoughts, obviously. Words are representations of thoughts--all different kinds of thoughts. Concepts, ideas, plans, visualizations, projections, feelings, memories, impressions, intentions—these are the things that give rise to words; words are symbolic representations of these thought forms.  Words are created by human beings so that that which resides internally in the mind can be communicated and shared externally.

          The most famous use of the term logos is in the first sentence of the book of John, In the beginning was the logos. The logos is the source of all being, the undifferentiated pure potential through which all creation is activated. As pure unmanifested, undifferentiated potential, the logos is the most powerful force known.  It is this conscious potential that generates the entire universe with its myriad particles, dimensions, stars, expanding galactic formations, and its countless lifeforms.

        But more importantly logos refers to the entire causal sequence:  Pure potential giving rise to thought forms, the concepts and ideas of thought forms then generating internal words, internal words giving rise to spoken words, spoken words leading eventually to actions, and actions altering the environment. 

          If we add all this information together, the phrase “everyone hearing the word of the kingdom (of heaven)” means:  The whole understanding--of the process of creation by which thoughts manifest entirely new dimensions of happiness and power.

In summary, the three sections of the parable of the sower indicate that we will be taught in parables in order to initiate us into the mysteries, the great secrets, the laws that govern the use of thought forms in creating higher dimensions of reality. We are told a story in which a sower sends forth the seeds of his self, sends forth his thought forms into the universe a story that will teach what happens with these thought forms as they encounter different sets of conditions.


                                                         THE WAYSIDE

          As the sower sows the seeds of his self, they meet with different sets of conditions.  The first group falls by the wayside, and the birds come and eat them.  In the explanation section, the teacher explains that with this set of seeds “the evil one comes and plucks that which is sown in his heart.” 

This is traditionally interpreted to mean that with this group, the word of God is heard, but the devil intervenes and counteracts any good that has been learned.   This is a perfectly valid interpretation and works well for traditional Christians.  But there is a yet deeper interpretation which has equal validity and arguably more practical value in that it offers information that will empower us to change things for the better.

To reveal this deeper layer of meaning, let’s examine some of the key terms starting with the very last word.  The Greek term used here for “heart,” kardia, is still used today in medicine--as in “cardiac.” Strong’s Concordance translates this term as follows:  “Probably from kar (Latin: cor, “heart.”); the heart, i.e. (figuratively) the thoughts or feelings, mind…”

Surely, there can be no doubt by this point that the teacher is indeed talking about the sowing of thought forms. What he is saying here is that a person can discover the truth, the great secret--that his thoughts are creating and sustaining his personal reality--but if he fails to comprehend the truth at a sufficiently deep level, the “evil” one will nullify his thought forms and they will fail to germinate into reality.

          Clearly, understanding is a vital element in the manifestation process. The more a person really “gets it” at a deep visceral level, not just in the mind, but in the heart as well, the more likely a thought form can be sustained and focused for sufficient time as to allow manifestation as a new dimension of happiness.  In The Twelve Conditions of a Miracle, a technique referred to as Somatic Visualization is described in the discussion on the Seventh Condition.

The Seventh Condition of a Miracle was demonstrated by Christ immediately before the manifestation of the loaves and fishes which fed the five thousand in the desert.  Taking the five loaves he had on hand, Matthew tells us he “looked up to heaven.”   This action of “looking up to heaven is described by two Greek words, ouranos which we have already examined in detail, and anavlepsos. (elaborate and finish)

          But there is a term used in Christ’s explanation that is troublesome.  The thing that is plucking out the thought forms from the heart is referred to as the “evil one.”  In all mainstream interpretations this is thought to mean the “devil.” However, the Greek term used here, poneros, can also be translated just as accurately as “diseased” or ‘ill.”

As we will learn when we study the third parable, which directly precedes the parable of the sower chronologically, Christ taught us that there is no devil or organized conspiracy of “evil.”  So, translating this term as “evil” does not seem to make sense in this context. “Diseased” or “ill” sounds much more logical.

            But what could the “diseased one” refer to?  Most likely the lower self, which “suffers” from the illusion of separation.   The “diseased one” is the ego. Moreover, if the term “ego” is substituted for the term “evil” whenever subsequently mentioned in the series of parables, considerable clarity is gained.

           In summary, thought forms that go by the wayside are those that are cultivated with insufficient depth of intellectual and visceral conviction and thus fall prey to the doubt and illusion, the dis-ease, of the lower self or ego.   Having fallen into this infertile milieu they never even germinate, much less manifest as fully formed changes in personal reality.

Lesson:  Affirmative thought and ego don’t mix.  The selfishness of the ego will undo everything selfless the higher self sets into motion.


                                                THE STONY PLACES

         And that sown on the stony places is this; the one hearing the word and immediately receiving it with joy, but has no root in himself, but is temporary—and tribulation, or persecution occurring because of the word, he is at once offended.

        The next condition that sown thought forms can meet is fall on “stony places” which, he tells us in his explanation, represents someone who “Hath no root in the self.”  What a fascinating phrase. What precisely could this mean? In the most general terms possible, what would any spiritual teacher say is the “root of the self?” How does a person have a root in him or herself?

A root, from the Greek word rhizoo, is the part of a plant which extends below the ground, beyond sight, and into the earth. It is this invisible part of the organism that enables it to penetrate areas of rich supply, to tap the nutrients necessary for life, and to transport them up into the visible growing point above ground.

            A person who has a “root within the self” is a person who has opened the channels to the source of all good, all supply.  These channels are opened through consciousness-- by being increasingly aware of the presence and significance of the source.  Thus, a root of the self, which can tap into the rich substrate of divine consciousness, is a channel of consciousness, a channel developed by meditation, by thinking about God, by focusing on the source.  And whatever we focus on expands.


        The lesson: Conscious contact with the Source, with divine energy and presence, is critical for the germination of thought forms.

THE THORNY PLACES

And that sown into the thorns is this: the one hearing the word--and the anxiety of this age, and the deceit of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

Translation of this passage does not reveal anything too surprising. Merimnao can be translated as “to be anxious about” but can also mean “to take thought” and, through the idea of distraction, solicitude.  Aion, the word traditionally translated as “age,” can also mean eternity or perpetuity, and by implication, the world.  The word for deceit, apate, can mean deceit, but can also mean delusion.  Riches is represented by the Greek word, ploutos, can mean riches, wealth, and abundance.

Therefore the traditional translation is reasonably accurate here.  But a slight improvement would be:  That which is sown on the thorny places are those, the people hearing the word of the kingdom, who are being distracted by all the stimuli of the the external world, including the delusions caused by external forms of wealth.  The thoughtforms of people so distracted from concentration will not bear fruit.

This seems a double barrelled message.  The first part of the message is that if we want to have success in creating a more beneficial dimension of reality, we have to be able to concentrate.  This in turn will require that we are able to focus on our intention regardless of what is going on in the world around us.  If it is true that a large part of our purpose here on earth is to learn how about the power of our intentions, and in particular, the power of love, we are going to be confronted with vast amounts of sensory stimuli telling us that reality is something different than what we are trying to create. 

Perhaps the most difficult task we have as miracle worker’s, as creators, is to learn the ability to see something better with the mind’s eye than what the world shows us through our physical eyes.  This is profoundly challenging, especially when we are confronted by convincing sensory and intellectual data indicating there is something dangerous, painful, or disasterous happening.  If we receive a letter notifying us of a potential tax audit, learn from a doctor that we have a potentially lethal disease, or watch an entire country fall into chaos and starvation through the media it will be extraordinarily difficult to sustain a visualization of something better as long as we are paying such close and unrelenting attention to the “reality” of the information before us. 

But it is precisely during such periods that we most need to be able to shift to our creative, spiritual eyes in order to see something better.  If we cannot see something better than the problems that are apparently developing in our lives, we cannot redirect the universe to correct the situation.

But the process of  visualization is not a momentary one, rather an ongoing one.  It is not effective to merely see a situation as improved for a few seconds or even a few days, while the preponderance of our thoughts continue to be pulled away from the focal point by contradictory sights and sounds, news, scientific data, and the opinions of others.  Those that will succeed in learning to manifest better worlds, better dimensions are those that will stay with their vision, no matter what information is presented indicating that the vision is not already a reality.  The successful thought form artists are the ones that remain steadfast to the vision, no matter how grim the external “reality” before them.

The second part of the message concerns the delusions of worldly riches.  Those who fall into the illusion that worldly riches are true riches, will eventually devolve to a state in which they are no longer able to manifest realms of heaven—personal realities of happiness and power.  In other words, if we employ the correct spiritual techniques of thought forms, we can achieve a state of superabundance, an excess of supply which can certainly qualify as wealth.  But the minute we turn our attention from our inner vision, our inner reality, to the false reality of the externally manifested riches, we will falter and fall back into a state of unfruitfulness wherein our manifestation efforts begin to fail.

The teacher is warning us of a paradox, a stumbling block.  The techniques of thoughtforms will manifest riches but as soon as we begin to rely on those riches and not upon our inner vision, and our connection to the One, we will become spiritually impotent.  This is a situation so common among younger souls as to be proverbial:

 The  man is born who grows to become proficient in thought forms.  A man of vision and conviction, he grows in stature and wealth.  But as he accumulates more money and more power over others, more superabundance, he finds his personal life slowly deteriorating in disturbing but superficially unrelated ways.  The changes are at first subtle and creep in unrecognized.  Gradually, he finds he no longer has love or intimacy in his life.  He is unable to sustain loving relationships or a loving family and experiences the anxiety of the world.  He can no longer experience fun or pleasure without the aid of alcohol or other vices and spends hours obcessing that he does not have enough.  On the surface he is confident but inside he is worried that he will lose everything. The riches have distracted him from the Source within, which is infinite and cannot be exhausted as long as he follows the law.  Even thought he believes he still understands this, he has in truth forgotten.

Such a person no longer relies on spirit but upon his retirement account to save him from the perils of reality.  He begins tighten his grip, doing anything and everything to increase his riches even more.  Although he becomes lonelier and lonelier, he continues to take from others, paring their salaries, increasing his prices, reducing his contributions to charitable and spiritual causes in order to pad his assets just a little more.  He gives lip service to the law but all around him people suffer in subtle ways because of his greed, his reliance on money to provide him with a better life. 

In the end, he finds that he loses even the ability to generate money with his intentions and in some cases, loses even his worldly wealth.  Such a person can ultimately grow old and die with many people in attendance, but none to truly love him.  He is feared but not truly respected.  For he lost access to the root in himself.  It is not until he hits bottom and experiences a true rebirth that he realizes that his error and is able to precede successfully as a truly generous, giving human being.

None of this is to say that wealth or riches automatically lead to devolved states of consciousness.  There are many fine examples of people who grow extremely wealthy in a worldly sense yet maintain an excellent sense of generosity and selflessness.  But the lesson is a stern warning.  It is a reminder to remember the vision and maintain connection to the source even when the manifestation of abundance occurs.

THE GOOD GROUND

But that sown on the good ground is this: the one hearing the word, and understanding it; who indeed brings forth and produces fruit; one truly a hudredfold; and one sixty, and one thirty.

Remember, the word of the kingdom is the logos of the new dimension, the cause and effect relationship between thoughts and the generation of reality.  The  person who truly comprehends the truth of this process, the great secret--that our thoughts are what is actually responsible for the manifestations of matter and energy and circumstances we see unfolding in our personal realities--this is a person who will experience tremendous increase.  This is a person who understands the law at a deep visceral level, a person who has a root himself—an open channel of consciousness to the source, a person who is not distracted by conflicting external information or the delusions of false wealth.  This person will be able to harness the laws of increase and receive huge returns on the energy expended on positive, loving thought forms and generous actions.