Recently, I was sitting around with three of my women friends having a general conversation. One friend, a new homeowner, told us she found out that her furnace was in rough shape. It had to have major repairs or be completely replaced. We all agreed this was a major difficulty, both financially and logistically since cold weather was imminent.
Then another friend offered an insightfully different approach to the problem.
"Well, we know the saying 'as above, so below' — so what do you think the furnace represents on the spiritual fourth dimension?" Since all of us are dedicated students of metaphysics, this caused us to shift our thinking — and gave me the idea for this article.
We couldn't deny that my friend had a serious "worldly" third dimensional life problem — she needed heat and a working furnace! But people on the spiritual path learn to look deeper into each life event to see what it symbolizes on the fourth dimension, out of time and space, on the spiritual level. The "furnace woman" thought a moment, then brightened. "I know", she said, "since the furnace is warm and contains a constant flame, it represents my heart and my ability to be warm and passionate!"
Upon this revelation, she immediately turned her mini-catastrophe into a spiritual blessing. We all agreed this made perfect sense, because she has recently met a wonderful loving man, after having been woefully single for far too long. She had been praying for many months for Spirit to open her heart to give and receive love on a deeper and more fulfilling level. Viewed in this way, the fizzling furnace represented an external verification that her prayer was being answered.
We can all use this technique when faced with annoying maintenance or repair problems with our house or our car. After all, both of these possessions represent our spiritual consciousness. God can speak to us through these physical items to give us clues about what to work on within ourselves in order to gain the results we desire in our lives.
For instance, if the heart of a home is the furnace, the heart of a car would be the engine. Since water represents the flow of emotions, plumbing issues in a home or a leaky radiator in a car reflect emotional matters. Specifically, the bathroom in a house shows a need for cleansing, release and forgiveness. Windows in a house or car, as well as headlights in a car are like eyes. We can ask ourselves if we can see a problem in our lives differently, and meditate for a new way to see our lives or a person in our lives.
I have found that electrical or wiring problems are a signal to address nervous energy, since the wires of a house or car are like our nerves. Steering or alignment problems in a car offer messages of life direction and purpose — a need to stay on course. A leaky foundation in a home could be asking us to address childhood traumas, since water represents emotion and the basement echoes early years, or foundation of our life. We might also ponder if the principles upon which we base our life are still valid, since our value system could also be seen as a foundation.
What about insects in the home? They are a symbol of being invaded by people's energy or having too much to do. There is a need to set limits and boundaries — we must stop letting people take advantage of us! Bugs are also telling us to plan our time better so we are not overwhelmed by our responsibilities. In a car, the brake system will remind us to be aware of boundaries and limits.
Difficulties with telephones, answering machines or postal delivery could be asking us to look at the quality of communication in our lives. Can we talk freely to our loved ones? Or is there something we need to discuss that we're reluctant to say?
If our meditations have been barraged by incessant thoughts or if we don't seem to be receiving a deeply sought answer in prayer, we should look at the level of clutter and disorganization around us. Neatening up and throwing things away in our cars and homes can have a miraculous effect on our spiritual receptivity!
The Sacred is everywhere in our lives. God can speak to us through any means necessary. When we begin the spiritual path we see that even inanimate objects are attempting to reveal God to us. We can be assured that an apparently annoying problem is the Divine's way of getting our attention.
As for my friend the homeowner — she made peace with her situation and got a new furnace installed. Her change of attitude helped the process flow smoothly, and alleviated her financial concerns. In addition, her new spiritual heart has also been installed and is running smoothly, as love warms her new romantic relationship.
