The Den of Lions

Since this is really Daniel's story, I will let him tell it in his own words, as I might hear it in my imagination.

Daniel: In these latter days of the twentieth century, my experience in the lion's den is being replayed time and time again in people's lives all over the world. I was victorious because I had placed God first in my life and let everything else be of secondary importance. I refused to compromise my spiritual integrity and held firm to the courage of my convictions. But people today believe that they are being eaten alive by the stock market, economic manipulations, the seeming impersonal force of nature, disease and the fear of what is around the next corner. And all the time they could have shut the lion's mouths if they had not broken their devotion to God, the Holy Self within.

To help you understand how you can be protected from anything and everything in the phenomenal world, I will give you the details of my experience, which you can superimpose over your particular situation.

First, you must realize that nothing ever happens by chance. Every activity in the physical world can be traced to an activity in consciousness, individual or collective. At the beginning of the Persian rule over Babylon, I was one of the three presidents reporting directly to Darius, the king. The atmosphere or general feeling of the time was very emotional, with constant fears about one thing or another, and what you call "channeling" was widespread throughout the land. Because of the intense influence from the astral plane, essentially everyone was in the predicting business, and no aspect of life or society was immune. Messengers from the seers were constantly forecasting severe economic problems, war, plagues and natural catastrophes -- much as the media is doing today. The result was confusion among the general populace, chaotic conditions and total attention directed to the outer material world. With this kind of collective consciousness, you can readily see that the people were setting themselves up for self-fulfilling prophecies.

One day I encountered a merchant, and with great animation he talked of a foretold collapse of the empire. And I said, "What is it to you? Your support is not in the marketplace; it is from God within, your true Self, and unless you realize this, you will lose all that you possess." And he walked away, shaking his head in mockery at my admonition.

Later, while with a group of artisans, a spokesman queried me about the prophecies of flood, fire and quakes in the land, and I said, "Are you not already drowning in intolerance, filled with the fires of hatred and quaking with fear of the future? These things shall surely come to pass to prove that your tomorrow is but an extension of what you accept as true today. Go within and seek the Holy Presence. Ponder your Truth and you will find that in the Presence of God there is an eternal defense against nature's cleansing force." And they did not listen.

As one in authority at that time, I was able to speak freely, and while I did not force my views on others, I did attempt to guide minds and hearts into a higher way of thinking and feeling. I wanted to teach them the secret of the I -- that Point of Omnipresence within each soul that knows Itself to be God as Individual being. I tried to tell them that if they would but open the door of consciousness to receive the Presence, and if they would embody the Spirit of God, the activity of Spirit would appear as every needed thing in their lives. God is individual Selfhood, I told them, and all that they could ever seek or desire in an eternal lifetime is contained with the I. But, I said, they must live in the I as the I -- and then by adding only one word is the Identity grounded in Earth to subdue it and transform it into Heaven. That word is AM, and because I AM encompasses the infinite All and brings It into the Now, the individual who recognizes the I AM has All, Now!

So many times I tried to make it clear that since the All-That-Is is within, it cannot be found in the without. Peace and protection cannot be found in the outer world. Wellness cannot be discovered on the third-dimensional plane. Even money obtained through material manipulation cannot be sustained. It is only when the man or woman seeks to demonstrate the Truth of God and not the distortion of materiality will the spell be broken -- the spell of devastation, disease and limitation.

It was said that I was distinguished above the other presidents because I had realized my divine nature, and the king planned to set me over the whole kingdom. Now, until such time as the Christos is liberated and the planetary consciousness is predominantly spiritual, the aggregate of humanity's lower nature -- the mass ego -- ever seeks a denial of the Divine Reality. Perhaps I could say that there is an initiation in the life of every committed seeker where he or she must demonstrate spiritual integrity. If the principle is compromised, the next expansion in consciousness is delayed. If one stands firm in Truth, however -- regardless of the seeming consequences -- a giant step is taken up the evolutionary ladder.

In my case, the other two presidents conceived a scheme to trick King Darius and have me cast into a den of lions. They knew that I prayed and meditated daily, and they took this devotion into consideration in establishing an ordinance that "whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days except to King Darius shall be cast into the den of lions."

When the king signed the document I immediately went home, got down on my knees, prayed and gave thanks before my God, as was my daily custom. My adversaries were waiting and watching, and they quickly reported to Darius that I had violated the ordinance and must be fed to the lions.

At this point, let me explain that when you go through any initiation leading to expansions in consciousness, there are always advocates on both sides of the veil working on your behalf -- assisting you in strengthening your will and purpose in moving through the initiation. I had made my decision to hold to Principle when I defied the order not to pray to God for thirty days. This action put out a silent call, so to speak, to all who would support my decision, and one of those responding was King Darius himself.

The king was much distressed when he heard that I was going to be fed to the lions, but my adversaries reminded him that any ordinance established by the king could not be changed. The king could do nothing to free me, yet at the den he spoke Words of Power on my behalf. He said, "May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!" Then the king went to his palace and fasted through the night -- another act of loving support.

The night spend with the Lions was really most pleasant. I made contact with the feeling nature of those magnificent animals almost instantly and connected us all in a vibration of love. I was able to do this because I had daily lived my Truth. The realization of the Spiritual I of my being was more important than anything else in my life, so I was prepared in consciousness for the experience. I knew there was no power in effects, that my protection was the power of God appearing as my shield, and that my radiation of love was God in expression as the harmonizing influence. Without this attunement with my Self, I surely would have been devoured by the hungry lions.

Now, what about you? In this present and quickly changing world, will you come out of the darkness of the cave in one piece? Have you dedicated your life to the realization of your Divine Identity, or are you satisfied living in a sea of uncertainty? Are you looking at trends and prophecies with fear and trepidation, or do you see only opportunities for transmutation? Are you relying only on Spirit to appear as every needed thing, or are you still trying to manipulate material conditions? Are you ready to prove your spiritual integrity against all odds -- even to the mouths of lions -- or will you take the easy way out and deny your Truth? Do you understand that you have a loving support group that will assist you along every mile on the journey Home, or are you resigned to being lost and alone on the Path?

The lions are waiting for your answer.

This article is from Empowerment: You Can Do, Be, and Have All Things, by John Randolph Price, published by Hay House, Inc., Carlsbad, CA. and is published with their permission. © 1992 by John Randolph Price. To order or to receive a catalog of all Hay House titles, please call (800) 654-5126.

John Randolph Price is an internationally known lecturer and bestselling author on the dynamics of metaphysics. His writings -- The Abundance Book, The Angels Within Us, The Superbeings and Practical Spirituality, among others -- combine the ageless wisdom of East and West with personal experiences to document [our] unlimited potential.