Harry Potter and the 12 Powers – Understanding & Hermione

 

We are coming close to the end of our summer series on the 12 Spiritual Powers and Harry Potter. I hope you are not only enjoying the series but recalling what the 12 Powers mean to you and how they can help you through your Spiritual Journey as a physical being in this universe.

 

This week we will take a look at the Power of Understanding.  And we can certainly use some understanding, can’t we.  It seems many of our fellow Americans have chosen to act out their beliefs and others have chosen to stand for what they believe in contrast. And THAT has caused a bit of a physical clash.

 

Let’s be reminded that we ALL have a part in what is showing up in our world.  As long as any of us bear the thought of ‘better than’, ‘other than’; we will see that manifest in our world. Diversity is important in our world. We’d easily get bored if we were all the same. This is where discernment comes in to play with our thoughts and actions. We’ve discussed this several times. This is why we say, Peace begins with me.

 

It kind of goes down to something Dumbledore said to Harry, we all have a choice between what is right and what is easy. And ALL of us, my friends, get to choose.

 

Take a deep breath and let go of any and all distrust, disharmony and negativity….. and breathe in the love that we have here and know that is all there really is. There is only God and that means, only GOOD.

 

 

Let’s talk about understanding, our Spiritual Power this week.

 

WHY is it important to seek understanding? Understanding is invaluable because only understanding can give peace to the heart.

Understanding has many applications: it’s the mental process of a person who comprehends; it’s comprehension; personal interpretation:

It is also, the superior power of discernment; enlightened intelligence:

And, a mutual agreement, an agreement regulating joint activity or settling differences.

It’s demonstrating comprehension, intelligence, discernment, empathy, like an understanding attitude.

 

Can you see why understanding is needed for our hearts to be at peace?

 

Charles Fillmore, our co-founder, states in The Twelve Powers, “Spiritual discernment always places wisdom above the other faculties of mind and reveals that knowledge and intelligence are auxiliary to understanding. Intellectual understanding comes first in the soul’s development, then a deeper understanding of principles follows, until the whole man ripens into wisdom.”

 

Understanding is a bridge to living love. The more we understand, the more we are able to feel and express the love that is already present.

 

The awakening of our own faculty of understanding starts with questioning—questioning the old ways of thinking that may have been taken for granted. Questioning our domestication. Wanting to know the spiritual Truth.

 

The desire for understanding leads to thinking about what is learned and seeking to put it all together in a body of information that will provide a basis for living; your integrity.

 

Understanding is different from … wisdom. Charles Fillmore defines wisdom as “intuitive knowing; spiritual intuition,” … and understanding as “the ability of the mind to apprehend and realize the laws of thought and the relation of ideas to one another.”

… To put it more simply, wisdom knows. … Understanding knows why, it sees the relationship between the parts of God’s universe.. … When your understanding is developed in both head and heart, not only will you have the light in mind, but you will also have the ability to apply it in your world.

 

Don’t work on understanding unless you are willing to change. You will attain a new understanding of yourself and your world.

 

Understanding is important in developing our spiritual nature, because it is the faculty which puts feet under our prayers and gives our spiritual activity something to stand on. Blind faith, faith without understanding of the spiritual laws, may get results on occasion, but our spiritual growth demands a base that is more dependable … understanding that is grounded in spiritual Truth.

 

 

This revelation of Truth to the consciousness of a person is spiritual understanding.

You may say to yourself, over and over again, that you are well and wise and happy. On the mental plane, a certain “cure” is effected, and for a time you will feel well and wise and happy. This is simply a form of hypnotism, or mind cure.

 

But until, down in the depths of your being, you are conscious of your oneness with the Creator, until you know within yourself that the spring of all wisdom and health and joy is within your own being, ready at any moment to leap forth at the call of your need, you will not have spiritual understanding.

 

All the teachings of Jesus were for the purpose of leading us into this consciousness of our oneness with the Creator. He had to begin at the external man—because people then as now were living mostly in external things-and teach us to love our enemies, to do good to others, and so forth. These were external steps for us to take

Jesus told us how we might find the kingdom of heaven within ourselves—the kingdom of love, of power, of life. Thus, giving us power over every form of sickness, sorrow, and over even death itself.

Every day we are met with opportunities to understand more. We each have a worldview. Those views are influenced by our country of origin, gender, life story, religion, education, economic status, Enneagram number, ethnicity, and the list goes on. We tend to gravitate toward the people who we share similar worldviews with. It’s easier to understand those who are like us and therefore easier to love them.

Then there are those relationships and situations where we bump up against other viewpoints, informed by a different set of influences than our own. We can make up many stories based on limited, external information. Our call is to go deeper. The more we understand, the more we can feel the love that connects us all.

There are many ways to inquire to develop understanding and ultimately love. When you are seeking to build understanding, the important starting point is to be pure in your intention. Start with the awareness that this is a soul in human form that has a story, with hopes and dreams, challenges and struggles. When you start with that, you start from a place of connection with them that is beyond personal beliefs.

Then, be curious. Ask questions in a welcoming, open tone; welcoming because you want to be invited into their world; open because there is room in your awareness for what they have to share.

Ask: “Will you please tell me more?”

The more curious we are, the more we can stay open to viewpoints outside our own worldview, ultimately building understanding and an ability to love more.

 

Some persons fall into the subtle trap of affirming misunderstanding. They say, I don’t understand my mother (father), I don’t understand my wife (husband), I don’t understand why my neighbor (friend) acts the way he does. Without realizing it, these persons have affirmed misunderstanding, they have invited misunderstanding to be a part of their life.

 

We can reverse this trend by Asking questions with an open mind and heart; by not making assumptions that misunderstanding is what is present…

 

Our Harry Potter character for the Power of Understanding is Hermione.

The name Hermione, is from the Greek, which is derived from Hermes, the messenger god known for his sharp wit and ability to transition between worlds.

Hermione makes one of the most beautiful changes out of any character in the Harry Potter series. She grows from a rather annoying know-it-all to a humble, intelligent, thoughtful witch. Hermione has an overwhelming thirst to prove herself in the wizarding world. Being Muggle-born in a world full of prejudice purebloods like Draco Malfoy could not have been easy to deal with.

Perhaps this is what fuels her thirst to always be the absolute best at magic. After getting her Hogwarts letter, Hermione purchased the required school books and then some. She then proceeded to read through all of them and memorized them all before the term even started, and simply hoped that would be enough for her to get by. She raises her hand to every question in every single class and does extra work proving that maybe she just might be a bit of a bossy, know-it-all.

But by the time readers leave Hermione at the very end of Deathly Hallows, she has become a witch who is so full of self-confidence that she understands answering every single question isn’t necessary to prove she’s deserving of being a witch, despite how fun it may be. Oozing with intelligence, she chooses her words very carefully as a means to not upset anyone or come off as a know-it-all. She is wise beyond her years and the most humble and clever witch around.

Her early compassion for House Elves led her to a career in the Ministry of Magic, furthering the cause for the better treatment of house-elves, before being promoted to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She eventually married Ron Weasley, and together they had two children Rose and Hugo. Hermione became the godmother of Harry and Ginny Potter’s eldest son James. By the year 2019 she was elected Minister for Magic.

Hermione’s understanding, not only of life’s situations but of others and herself is a perfect example of what this power can do for us all.