"And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever". — 1 Samuel 2:35
The story of Samuel begins with Hannah. She is barren until she prays, and in her deep desire the hidden mind brings forth a child. Symbolically, Hannah is the hidden mind—what Genesis 2:23 names “woman,” the concealed aspect of consciousness that receives seed and gives it form.
When Hannah conceives Samuel, she brings forth more than a child—she brings forth the birth of a new self image. Samuel means “God has heard”—the moment when the hidden mind hears and answers. This is the first awakening of the self to the inner law: that assumption creates reality.
Hannah: The Hidden Mind
Hannah’s barrenness reflects the hidden mind before it is stirred by desire. Her cry symbolises the moment longing turns inward and touches the creative source. The hidden mind, once barren, now bears fruit—not by external effort, but by inner conception.
Samuel: The First Prophet of the Self
Samuel is not simply a prophet of Israel—he is the first prophet within. His birth marks the emergence of a self that listens to the inner voice. This is why, when he hears God calling, he at first mistakes the voice for Eli’s. The self has to learn that the voice is not outside, but inside.
Samuel’s life symbolises this new stage of consciousness:
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He listens.
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He discerns.
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He anoints.
And in doing so, he sets in motion the drama between Saul and David—the old self and the beloved new self.
The Divided Self: Saul and David
The moment Samuel is born, the self becomes divided. It now holds two conceptions:
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Saul, the old man, the outer self clinging to appearances.
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David, the beloved, the new self aligned with imagination.
Samuel mediates between them. He is the prophet within, guiding the transition from the old rulership of ego to the new kingship of the beloved.
The Meaning for Us
Samuel’s birth is the birth of the listening self-concept. When the hidden mind (Hannah) conceives desire, it gives birth to a self that begins to hear the voice of imagination. This is the first prophet in us—the one who knows there is more than appearances.
From this birth onward, life cannot remain the same. The old and the new wrestle within us, but the beloved must prevail.