Difficult Questions

[Ms Tercy Lonan]

DIFFICULT QUESTIONS
“And I, behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon the
earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from
under heaven; every thing that is in the earth shall perish.
But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall
come into the ark.”

There it is again: “coming into the ark.” Coming into the
ark and escaping the flood is possible only if you switch off
your mind, as odd as that may sound. “Switching off your
mind” means you ignore the advice of the body, your ego.
It’s a difficult condition, but it can be done, and many have
already traversed this journey. They wrote the authentic
books about discovering the true, exalted force of love,
which they called “the Creator.” They also wrote that the
tiniest grain of spiritual pleasure is billions of times greater
than all of the earthly pleasures combined.
So, achieving the spiritual pleasure is possible only if
you escape from the iron grip of the ego and conquer your
mind. Of course, your mind bombards you with questions
such as, “What are you doing this for?” and “What are you
really getting out of it?” “Where are the tangible benefits?”
“Who are these sages that you follow their instructions so
closely?”
You hear all this, but your response to your mind is, “I
understand your concerns but I have faith in the sages and
in what I read in these books. I have faith in the path I’m
on because without faith you cannot achieve anything in the
spiritual world.”
You respond to each objection your body raises in the
same way: “Everything that’s happening to me is the Upper
Force’s mercy, leading me to salvation. This mercy is indeed
concealed, but I am walking toward it despite my mind. I
will not stray from the path.” This is the only answer that
will bring you to the goal, and that is exactly the state called
“entering the ark.”
I realize that I have confused you, dear reader, that your
mind is rebelling against such oppression, screaming, “Don’t


listen! You are an independent human being, capable of
making independent decisions!”
Let me tell you a secret. Do you know who’s feeding you
these questions? It is the so-called “impure force,” a.k.a.,
“the devil.” This force has power only over your mind. But
if you act in spite of your mind, you will immediately feel
the kind of relief that comes after exhausting labor, because
the power of the “pure force” means to do something in
spite of the mind.
Now, this next notion may seem odd or bewildering,
but you need to know that both the pure and the impure
forces stem from the same source. That source is the
Creator, a force of absolute good that wants one thing and
one thing only: to turn us into creatures worthy of Him. It
is He who confuses us, deliberately, so we can decide our
fate for ourselves. Every decision, every step we take we will
need to weigh carefully, as though our entire life hangs in
the balance.
“And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the
waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it was lifted up
above the earth. And the waters prevailed and increased
greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of
the waters. …And all flesh perished that moved upon the
earth… and Noah only was left, and they that were with him
in the ark.”
What is the meaning of, “the flood was forty days upon the
earth”? It means the “earth”—your desire—is being “flooded
with flood waters.” “Flood waters” are the questions that
literally “wash over” you.
As we mentioned earlier, these questions aren’t simple.
They are your mind’s questions. They are materialistic,


rational, pragmatic, and are triggered by problems that
concern the body. In these questions (“flood waters”) lurk
the “angel of death.” Their “where’s” and “why’s” aim to
drown us.
Yes, the body becomes the “angel of death” when you
begin your path toward spiritual ascension. The questions
never let up; they return a thousand times: “What do you
need this for? What’s the point? Think about yourself because
your efforts aren’t bringing you any personal benefit. What
will you get out of all this work? How will the Creator repay
you for observing His commandments? Will it be worth it
after all your toiling is done?”
These objections of the body are summed up by the
question “What?” (Heb. Ma?)
If you oppose the body, citing faith in the Creator that He
governs all things in the name of good, then the body objects
even more. Now it screams, “Who?” (Heb. Mi) “Who is the
Creator, that I should obey His voice?” If you only knew, if
you could see and feel that the Creator is great, you could
work for Him. Just consider how much more profitable it is
to work for someone respected in our world.
It is when these two objections of the body combine in
you that the two questions “What?” and “Who?” (Ma and
Mi) merge into one word—Maim, which means “water” in
Hebrew. And much Maim (water) creates a flood.