Gift from God Number Four or Good Luck Understanding this Post

"Playing under the earth, nine winters long, we grew mightily."  Eddic poem

Today I received a message from God as I was waking up. I think it would look great on a t-shirt.  He said, "In nine, you will find zen,"  which I remember thinking what a clever play on "ten" that was and wondering how you find the number ten in nine.  I frequently get cryptic messages or dreams from Him and then I have to figure them out.

So, what is it about nine that is significant?  

In the ninth hour, Jesus cried, "My God, my God, why has Thou forsaken me?"

The number nine represents the sacred triad taken to "their utmost expression."

Nine is the "highest attainment to be achieved in any endeavor."

The ancient Greeks said that nine was "the horizon," as it is the boundary before endless numbers repeat themselves in cycles of nine. 

The cat'o' nine-tails is symbolic maximum punishment for the victim.

We go the whole nine yards.

We say we are on cloud nine.

We get dressed up to the nines.

A stitch in time saves nine.  

We take things to the nth degree -- which is the ninth level.

Abraham was ninety-nine years old when the Lord spoke to him.

Nine "represents the boundary between the mundane and the transcendental infinite." 

In nearly every tradition, the shamanac journey uses the number nine to represent the duration or going to the ultimate extent.

Odyesseus wandered for nine years before he could return home.  

Demeter searched for nine days for her daughter in the underworld.  

For the Greeks there are nine muses. 

The Egyptians had nine Gods - a trinity of trinities.

Humanity was symbolized for the Egyptians as nine archers' bows 

- the same symbol used for pharoah.

There are nine orders of angelic choirs and nine rings of hell.

The ninth is the ultimate step.  Christ died at the ninth hour.

If a phrase is repeated three times and then that phrase is repeated three more times, it is considered the ultimate appeal - as it is a fulfilling nine repititions.  

Even in baseball we have the square earth symbol - played on by nine players during nine innings.  Ever heard of "bottom of the ninth?"  It is the last chance to succeed.

Nine is the points used to create St. Andrew's cross, or the basis to make a labyrinth - where a traveler reverses direction nine times to get to the center - representing the seat of the soul.  There, she completes her journey to the higher self.

SO, what is ZEN?

From the internet google search, I find:

A special transmission outside the scriptures;
No dependence on words and letters;
Direct pointing to the mind of man;
Seeing into one's nature and attaining Buddhahood.

Zen emphasizes experiential Wisdom in the attainment of enlightenment. As such, it de-emphasizes theoretical knowledge in favor of direct self-realization through meditation..(wikipedia). 



Perhaps I am going through a "nine" point in my life that I must travel through to reach my center.  I am in my labyrinth.  Perhaps God was sending me the message that all this shall be for my own good and to be patient - because TEN/ZEN is coming -- that I am just about to cross over the border to a higher plane and to be patient with the process.  I'm in the ninth hour, the ninth inning, the last step before there is some growth. Hey, then I could finally call myself a "10."  

This was His gift to me today.  He knew I would twist and tweak the phrase I heard until I found the real message to me -- the one that spoke peace and comfort.  It was nice to wake up to that. 






(Thanks to A Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe...my current favorite read).