Inner Lament of Abner

Neville's Inner Vision

Abner's death on the outside is the symbol of a belief within you that no longer serves your present state of consciousness. David—the one who can lift his voice, who follows the bier—represents your I AM, the central awareness that carries the whole. The cry to rend clothes and gird with sackcloth is the mind’s readiness to let go of fixed identifications; the public weeping is not mourning for a person but allowing feeling to move through consciousness without denial. When David asks, 'Died Abner as a fool dieth?' you are invited to examine the image you have of leadership or power and notice whether your thoughts die of themselves, or because you resist their truth. The line about hands not bound and feet not fettered is a reminder that consciousness is free; when you do not bind yourself to a story of struggle, the old image falls before the light of awareness. Thus, the lament becomes a birth: the inner leader stands firmer, and the outer scene follows the quiet authority you awaken within.