Thursday, September 3, 2009

A story about a man, a bull, and a new age, by Agnes Sanford

[The following is taken from Agnes Sanford’s book “The Healing Light,” first released in 1947 and still available today in paperback (see below for purchasing options).]

A certain engineer was once surveying in a field when a bull charged his party with lowered head and thundering hoofs. There was no tree to climb. There was no fence to jump. So the engineer stood his ground, filled his mind with the love of God and projected it to the bull.

“I am God’s man and you are God’s bull,” he thought in silence. “God made both of us, and in the name of Jesus Christ I say that there is nothing but loving-kindness between us.”

The bull stopped abruptly. For a moment he looked about uncertainly, as if confused. Then he wandered off and lay down peacefully under a bush. And all that day as the men prospected in the field he grazed quietly behind them, as if he enjoyed their presence.

“Will you tell me what you did to that bull!” asked a farm boy who was holding the rod for the surveyor. “That was a mad bull if I ever saw one. Will you tell me what you did to him?” (“I can believe every story in [your] book except the one about the bull,” a lady once said to me. But the engineer was my brother, and the story is true.)

The farm boy had seen, for the first time, the working of that force that will eventually take the place of bombs and shells upon this earth. For as soon as enough people are able to use the power of love in such a way as to create thereby a perfect self-defense, wars will be outmoded. When one can obtain justice and right and friendly cooperation without money and without price, without bloodshed and without pain, it will no longer be sensible to fight for them.

“If an armed burglar broke into your house with intent to kill,” the old question goes, “what would you do? Fight him, or lie still and let him kill your wife or child?”

Silly old question. One would do neither. One would project into the burglar’s mind the love of God, by seeing him as a child of God and asking God to bless him. And if one were strong enough in faith and love, the burglar’s mind would change. He would leave the family unharmed and go away.

“But hardly anyone can do that!” the answer comes.

Obviously. For if we could, we would not need to resort to war in order to defend ourselves. And we had best learn to do it, for until we do, we must suffer. Until we know the method of love and brotherhood, our choice of weak non-resistance or self-defense is only a choice of evils.

A new age is being born. The day has come when love-power, at the command of ministers and surveyors and children and everyone, is sufficient to change hearts here and there in the world about them.

This is the beginning of a new order. It is the dawning of a new day!

1 comment:

Alan said...

Totally love this! This is what I meant in the group: love is a REAL energy!