Being "Born Again"

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Thanks to Gary Kreme.
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When Jesus told Nicodemas, "You must be born again," most scholars believe that he was speaking allegorically. To be "born again" is to embrace a new identity.

During the final aspects of her Godly life, the Christian becomes a "mystic." This is a person who realizes that her little mind is actually a part of a much vaster, more immense Mind-- the Mind of God. She then realizes that God is not like the old primitive Jehovah-- that God does not live above the clouds or in a mountain such as Sinai, but lives as the "indwelling Holy Spirit of Love" within her heart.

Mystics, in their writings, call the earthly identity the "ego." This is the name on your birth-certificate and/or driver's license. But, deep within your mind, you are so much more. Jesus came to, among other reasons, show us the Love of a fully enlightened (realized) human being. For he said that he would go forward into death, and then return, demonstrating that death was not the "end," but a phase along the great Way.

He said, The Father and I are one." (Jn. 10:30) But we have no other verses where he said that these words applied to only him. Mystics from all over the world, from every culture and century, believe that, like Jesus, they are also a part of the One, the Mind, Good, which is "truth" or "reality."

God is the vast, immense Mind that dwells at the very Center of all minds, and so, She is aware of whatever passes through any and all minds.

The material universe is a projection, dream, or virtual reality projected by this Mind. Therefore, nothing in the "material" world is absolutely "real." This is indicated by how material things always change, or fall apart (returning to dust), or both.

Only Mind is real. This means that all sentient (selfaware) beings are also real, and sacred. Your sisters, brothers, mother, father, and other relatives, pets, animals, and friends are sacred (holy) because they also are part of the One. So, for that matter, are dogs, cats, horses, and a wide spectrum of other creatures. This is why a truly enlightened person always stands up for animal rights and against barbarity and cruelty.

A "person" who knows that she is part of the One, the Mind, is no longer the same "person." (This word comes from the Latin persona, and means "mask.") So, we must ask, "Who is wearing the mask?"

It is your Soul, that part of your mind that existed before this life, and will continue to exist when this life is over. That Soul arises from the beautiful Love-mind, Godmind, or God.

When you realize this very deeply, you know that you are no longer merely human. You are still human, but now, you are "human-plus." [This is why many mystics, including Jesus (who was born as "Immanuel," changed their names. Paul did this, and so did Peter.]

Jesus probably referred to this symbolic identity-change. But there is also the possibility that he simply meant exactly what he said. Jesus is often over-explained; and he might well have meant that Nicodemas had to undergo another birth in a future life, as he was not going to grasp the truth during that one. For mystics believe that God never permanently loses a Soul, that no Soul is ever damaged beyond God's ability to save or recover it, through education.
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Karma and Intention

In a just universe, the Soul is never held responsible for any choice that it does not deliberately and voluntarily make. So, the Buddha pointed out that karma resulted, not from the results of our actions, but rather from our intentions. For the Soul can choose its intentions; it cannot "choose" the effects of its actions.

A good example is Jesus. Within a couple of centuries, his "followers," orthodox Christians, were cutting each others' throats. But Jesus received no karma for this, because he taught a message of Love, and he did so with a pure intention. For his intention was to plant and nourish the seeds of Love in the human heart. The fact that, in this complex cosmos, that did not work out, was not the responsibility of Jesus, and so, his Soul received no karma.

It is due to this principle that we do not have to live a "perfect" or flawless life to escape negative karma. We have only to live in pure intention.

This means that, if we intend to harm others, and end up helping them, we still receive negative karma. On the other hand, if we intend to help others, and our message is distorted by human nature, and people are hurt, we still receive the positive and beneficial "good" karma.

No karma results from the results of our actions. This is a serious misunderstanding we must clear up if we are to understand karma. For karma comes from only intentions, not just actions. And the Soul can always choose to live with good intentions, and thus, reap the rewards of good karma.

In this complex universe, there is actually very little that we can control; in fact, the entire mystical system of Taoism is founded on this single fact. But we are responsible for the one thing that we can control, and that is our intention.

We are not responsible for all of our own thoughtfeelings, for we cannot always control each and every microresponse. We are never responsible for the thoughts, words, or actions of others. We are not responsible for the physical world or its conditions; we are not responsible for even the condition of our local body. For the element of control is absent in every case, and where there is no control, there can be no responsibility.

Thus, the Soul is responsible for only its responses. (Easy to remember, for "responsibility" and "responses" share a root.)

Thus, the words of Jesus: "My load is easy, and My burden is light." The path of good moral judgment and good intention is much easier than that of "perfection." For, as imperfect human beings, the path of perfection is impossible for us. And, if karma resulted from the negative flowering of our behaviors, the situation would be hopeless.

Jesus made it plain that the cosmos, and the cosmic Mind behind it, are filled with forgiveness, mercy, and other aids for us. The cosmos is pro-human, giving us the benefit of every doubt; God always leans toward the side of mercy and forgiveness. The early Christian mystics wrote, "Mercy exults triumphantly over justice." So, the mercy of the One is even greater than Her perfect sense of karmic justice and balance. And we can all, and always, be very grateful for this.:)
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Some Thoughts about Jesus

Thanks to Mick Gallagher.

Sometimes, and I mean no irreverant offense by this, the most overtly "religious" can be the most unevolved spiritually, emotionally, because of an upbringing in a "fear-filled" atmosphere, also [influenced by], "black-and-white" infantile thinking. [This includes the illusory belief] that the "outer" world is somehow out to hurt us. And,of course, our corporation-obsessed] government also uses this tactic for power, wealth & control.
The "righteous" were wrong in Jesus' time too.
Who were the elders who were threatened the most by Jesus "The Christ"?
The powerful[, influential] Jews [and] Romans. Yes, Jesus "messed with" their belief systems too. He also "screwed with" their money-- their mercantile, greedy ways.
Yet, they were men of the Law-- the [so-called] "old covenant."
Everything had to be "by the book." [That book was the Jewish Bible, the Hebrew Scriptures, the so-called "Old Testament."] Jesus saw above & beyond the man made/written law. But, now I can see similarity's to today's fundamentalist religions--all twenty-three "sky-god" religions. [They call themselves] "Abramaic-- "from the bosom of Abraham."
Sometimes these "religious" folks love to hate! Strangely enough, that's understandable for us, because we're all "heathens," and [many] have 'bad' intent for all humankind. Yet, we seem to be the most peaceloving. Strange, isn't it?
If your really a "New Testament" Christian, shouldn't you emulate our Wayshower Jesus "the Christ"? So very convaluted!

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Well worth watching


Good morning, everyone,

This video clip of Donna Brazile is well worth watching. Unfortunately, too many Americans have a closet agenda of race bias in the presidential election. Brazile puts it into perspective....

This is wonderful and "off the cuff".......

http://jezebel.com/5059945/donna-brazile-is-not-going-to-the-back-of-the-
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The Buddha

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"The Buddha" is not a name; it is, like "Christ," a title. It refers historically to a man named Siddhartha Gautama, who found enlightenment by sitting still and going inward, into his own mind. God always works through the mind and heart, and this is the Buddha's great discovery. He also founded a system of spiritual psychology; since his time, it has been called "Buddhism." Many say that Buddhism is a philosophy of life; it is not a "religion." For it has little to say about God, angels, other spiritual beings, or any other "religious" issues. So, it does not meet the criteria of a religion; instead, it is a Way of life. It does include Love (in Sanskrit, it is maitri) and compassion (Sanskrit, karuna). So, it is a reliable pattern of living that can be used by any good Christian. In fact, it is probable that Jesus studied Buddhism. (It was four hundred years old when Jesus was born.)
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Jesus Christ and Religion

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Every day, we celebrate our "spiritual independence" from human doctrines, dogma, leaders, administrations, and the burdens imposed by legalism, scripturalism, and organized religion generally. What a sigh of great and sincere relief it is to realize that "belonging" to God (Love) is sufficient, and that you need "belong" to no formal Church; after all, Jesus belonged to none; for, during his day, not a single one of the many churches and denominations of our time even existed! Jesus was not even a "Christian," for that word had not been created until after his death. Also, he clearly was not accepted as a religious Jew, as the high priest and other orthodox leaders conspired in his murder.

So, he was neither religious Jew nor Christian (although he was genetically and culturally Jewish). He was a human being, without labels, in search of the treasure of the interior God of Love, which he discovered and sought to share with others.

Happy Independence Day, every day!:):)
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JESUS and History

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I am not convinced that Jesus was ever a formal, appointed "rabbi" of the traditional schools of Judaism. In the Gospels, over and over, his "enemies" appear as the "scribes and Pharisees." The latter were traditionalist and orthodox people, "people of the book," which Jesus was clearly not.:) Also, there are some historical sources that claim that the term "rabbi" was not used to designate an official, formal, teacher or leader in Judaism until after the death of Jesus; so, it might be an anachronism.

Jesus was clearly not orthodox. In some ways, he was just as clearly antiorthodox, as when, in Matthew 5, he in effect denied the infallibility of the "written" Scriptures and recommended that we follow the heart.

Other texts, such as the famous John 17:3, imply that he might have been a gnostic (mystic). For there, in prayer, Jesus says, "This is timeless life, to know (Greek, form of gnodsein) you, the only true God, and the one whom you emanated, Jesus Christ." This kind of thinking/talking was purest mysticism.

I am not convinced that there is any historical data whatsoever that proves that Jesus was married. If he was, great! Also, if he was not, great! His beautiful teachings of Love are not altered one way or the other. I know that, since the "tempest in a teacup" caused in the official Catholic Church recently, many people will argue to the death that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalen. I believe, and remember, that they were the closest of friends. But there is no solid, good, scholarly evidence that they were married. In a gnostic work, the "Gospel of Phillip," it says that Jesus used to kiss her on the mouth with fair regularity, so they were not only friends, but intimate friends. (This Gospel says even that the other disciples were jealous!) And Mary Magdalen was recognized, in place of Peter, as the founder of the later church, by gnostics of many traditions. And this fact is also very impressive.

I know and agree that Jesus was no carpenter; only Joseph was. And the people said that he was a carpenter; but the people also said that he "had a demon." So, you cannot, as always, rely on the crowd to prove anything! Yet there is consistent scholarly consensus that he was no carpenter, popular myth to the contrary.:)

Yes, the orthodox, official Church was powerfully misogynistic, and this alone is a good enough reason-- as if another were needed-- to reject the leadership of the official and orthodox Church. (There are many other good reasons for rejecting, even renouncing, this Church. For one, it mistakes Jehovah for the sweet Lord of Love!:)

Jesus rejected the title of "messiah." There was a good, sound historical reason for this: The Jewish "messiah" was predicted to be a powerful and bloody general who would liberate the Jewish nation by spilling the blood of tens of thousands of Romans and other Jewish "enemies." This nightmarish, hideous "prophecy" did not at all fit the gentle teacher of Love.

The unreliability of the canonical Gospels, which went through many hands of many scribes, is indicated by the fact that, in Mark, the oldest of the official Gospels (including also Matthew, Luke, and John), Jesus tells Pilate that he is the "messiah." The "messiah" was nothing more than a popular Jewish superstition; Jesus did not buy into it at all, and certainly never made any claims to be the messiah. Like the word "rabbi," this word is also an anachronism; the word was not even used during the life of Jesus, but came along later.

The Greek word khristos, "Christ," is much more than a mere translation of the Hebrew mashiahh, or "messiah." Like "Buddha," in Sanskrit, the word "Christ" referred to a level of enlightenment, as the "anointed" one-- "anointed" by the Spirit (God or Love). But when Christianity historically abandoned many Jewish customs, holidays, and Levitical requirements of the Law, such as sacrifice, it somehow clinged tenaciously to the doctrine of the messiah-- in some ways, the most harmful of all. (Maybe this appealed to the Church because it was ruled by the lower nature.)
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Conservative Orthodoxy Vs. Radical Love

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People of a good heartmind have very often been soundly rejected by the orthodox Catholic Church, all throughout its long and rather dark history. Bias has always been the problem with the religiously orthodox, and has often slipped over into bigotry.:( I am currently finishing a book about the history of orthodoxy and its many conflicts with gnostic Christianity, called Hearts of Ecstasy, God of Love. In previous centuries, my friend, I am sure that we would have been (and, in fact,
were) dragged before a formal court and charged with the "serious sin" of "heresy." In previous centuries, this was a very dangerous, and often lethal, charge.:(

I know that the nuns are sweet and openminded. I cannot help but wonder how Brother St. Francis, or Jesus, would have been accepted or rejected by traditionalists. It is clear that the orthodox of their day rejected them both. I would much prefer to follow them than to play "follow the leader" with religious people who do not know their noses from their elbows, spiritually speaking.:):) The average orthodox person, exactly like her leaders, is kept in perpetual darkness.

The orthodox Church, supposedly the carrier and supporter of the Light, casts only a huge shadow into life, really upholding darkness and crippling conservatism. Jesus and Francis were anything but conservatives! And we can thank God that they had the courage to speak up against the disabling conservatism of their time!:) Without "radical" spirituality, our poor world would be in much worse condition than it is!

If the formal, official Church did not reject our work for Love, we would very likely be doing something very wrong! So, their responses are proof that we are on the right track.
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Jesus' Death Not a Sacrifice!

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The whole idea of "sacrifice" arises from almost every ancient religion.

The ancients saw their gods in very anthropomorphic forms. This long word simply means that they had a wide spectrum of human qualities. God as pure Love would have soared right over their heads like a distant jet!

In fact, ancient faiths such as Judaism and Islam did not really have much to say about the relationship of human Love with the divine.

To please the primitive gods, you had to give them gifts. And some of them, including Jehovah, were carnivores, like the primitive tribes that served him. They actually wanted and needed meat!

This need for "sacrifice" proves just how primitive, backwards, and spiritually arrested were the savages of earlier times.

Jesus knew, and taught, that God was Love. His was a much more advanced and sophisticated view of God. His God was not in the sky, but in the heart. His God commanded Love, but needed nothing from human beings.

It was not long after his death, however, that his followers abandoned his essentially mystical faith, and backslid, or reverted, to the ancient and arrested god of the early Jewish tradition. They assumed that this god still needed sacrifices; sacrifices erased sin; and so, they interpreted the death of Jesus in an arrested "Old Testament" pattern--- as "sacrifice."

Jesus knew that this world, and this life, were not Reality; he taught that the world and physical body were, to quote Docetist Christians, "phantoms." He did not really "live" on earth as his home; in fact, he was a bit uncomfortable with this world. He said of his followers, "They will be no part of this world, as I am no part of this world." For him, dying was like a change of clothing, as it reminds us in "The Celestial Song," a great mystical classic.

So, he wanted to use even death to symbolize just how important is Love.
By his voluntary and terrible death, he volunteered to carry upon his back the karma of many, even of the whole world! So, he prayed that his death would create karmic payment for "sins" (errors) that he had not committed, but that others had.

His death, then, was a supreme act of Love. It is the greatest act of Love imaginable. For he said, "No one has greater Love than he who gives his life for his friends." We can fulfill this every day by using most of the time in our lives to serve others, thus "giving our lives" to our "friends."

But don't let the reversed, regressive, and primitive thinking of so many "Christian" churches deceive you: Jesus' death had absolutely nothing to do with the primitive, disgusting idea of "sacrifice"!
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Healing the Soul

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We were secure in the facts that, when it was the will of Love, you would again contact us, and the universal Mind of Love did not disappoint! In our new Taoist perspective, if you did, that would be wonderful, fabulous! But if you did not, that would also be wonderful, fabulous! As in all things, the will of the One be done!:)

You have had a remarkable spiritual journey, not dissimilar to the one taken through this donkey (physical body)! We learn so much through our donkeys (bodies) that it is selfevident why we have to "wear these costumes" here on earth!:) Biochemistry and neurochemistry are so gigantically and enormously complex that no one has ever understood them in all their many intricacies: The body remains a deep mystery despite real and major advances in biochemical and medical research. Despite some arrogance in the medical community, we are still at the level of "medicine men" shaking primitive bone-rattles and doing incantations.

Today, our "demons" have names such as mesothilioma, but they are "demons" nonetheless, and must include spiritual as well as medical cures. Otherwise, they, and we, remain incomplete, uncured, ill.

Jesus and Lao Tzu are both fine "doctors of the Soul," necessary for complete healing. And, happily, there are many other luminaries throughout history! The Sermon on the Mount and the "Book of the Great Mind and Its Expression" are both classics of spiritual and mystical literature. Btw, Love Ministries has recently produced an original rendition of Lao Tzu's great, refreshingly simple, and spiritually liberating work, the Tao Te Ching. If you would like a copy, we would love to gift you with one.

I'd also love to send you the story of this life, an "abiography" (the life-story of a mystic) called Soaring On Sunshine: An Abiography of a Mystic. So, could you please send along your snailmail address? As you know so well from your experience with the SoM (Sermon on the Mount), good reading can transform life! We always highly recommend it as therapy for all people, all the time!

Simply living on earth requires all the positive therapies that we can possibly uncover, both within our own minds and within the world. For both are God, and Her will is always our healing in Love.:)
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Cosmic Christianity

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I do claim to be "Christian," but reject orthodox, historical, and organized Christianity. Instead, I embrace a very personal Christianity, the Christianity of Jesus. And I am never "only" Christian. For eclectic spirituality (the most comprehensive) is possible within an open and flexible Christian mind. So, I do consider myself also an active Buddhist, Hindu, Taoist, native American, and member of nature-based faiths as well. This is the spiritual path known as "universalism." And my personal best, most succinct, advice to a newcomer to the Way would be: Love everyone, forgive everyone, serve everyone.:)
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Jesusnotes

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Jesus was the incarnation of purest Love (God). He was an enlightened teacher who had vanquished and conquered his ego entirely. But despite all this, there was still a tiny part of his mind that was still "human."

This is what made him "true God and true man."

In that tiny shadow or echo of the lower human nature lay the seeds of potential fear. These did not grow, were not cultivated, but were only fear-potential. Thus, he experienced the perennial battle between Love and fear that marks the human condition. He was "tested in all things, as other men."

This microparticle of darkness did challenge him through his physical brain and nervous system. He experienced, at times, biologically-based weakness, as, for example, in states of hunger or exhaustion. He needed to eat and sleep as do all human beings. He felt pain as do we all.

He was not a freak or alien, but a true human being. So, yes, he did have to encounter the interior "dragons" or "demons" that we all must face along the path. With supreme and ecstatic Love, he was able to overcome them. That is why early Christians referred to him as a "model." If he had been a one-of-a-kind superman, he could not possibly have been a model. And, exactly as he had to face and overcome the fear-nature (devil), we all have exactly this same precise assignment or mission.
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Polybiography and "hell" in the Scriptures

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Paul set forth a cosmic principle at Galatians 6:7, when he said, "Whatsoever a man sows, that he must also reap." On earth, in agriculture, you cannot plant beans and get corn. You do not plant acorns and get apple-trees. There is a direct cause-and-effect sequence in nature. Like causes like, and this law cannot be violated.

Paul is suggesting that, in the moral or spiritual universe, there also exists this same cause-and-effect sequence. Goodness produces goodness, and evil, evil. But the problem is, this principle does not work onearth. On earth, the good often suffer, and the evil often enjoy great "blessings." So, since Paul was not talking about the earth and our lives here, he must have been discussing a larger, or cosmic, principle.

He was. For this simple statement is pregnant with profound meaning. For in this simple sentence, he summarized the entire Law of Karma, with all its millions of variations and other complexities.

It is not mere coincidence that he stated the law of karma. In his time, and it is still true today, most of the population of our world believed in "polybiography," or reincarnation. (Many times, people are turned off by this word, and so, we can also use the other word, "polybiography," to mean the exact same thing.)

Either what Paul said was true, or it was false. Paul was a wise, smart, even inspired, man of God. I believe that what he wrote was truth, even though it is not true in our visible, physical world. For it is a spiritual truth. There is no larger explanation of the sowing-reaping principle than the law of karma.

Besides, there is some evidence, as from the ancient Nag Hammadi Library, that almost all early Christians believed; they taught that Jesus taught polybiography.

Right before stating the karmic principle, Paul gave this warning, in the same verse: "Do not be misled." What factors must we beware of, that could "mislead" us? The entire material, visible world does not itself "prove" polybiography, as it is a spiritual, not a physical, principle. So, it is the entire material world against which we are being warned, lest it "mislead" us.

Paul follows this by a second warning: "God is not to be mocked." This means that many people would like to believe that they can "get away with" harmful behavior, and somehow "God will not notice." But this is "mocking" God. For nothing can ever escape God's notice. In other words,the rule of karma is perfect; it perfectly matches every deliberate word, action, and thought.

Where does forgiveness enter? Anything that is a true mistake, a genuine error, an imperfection, or an action which lacks understanding, does not create any karma. Karma is created by only those actions that are deliberate, voluntary, and willful. So, all true mistakes are forgiven, but all purposeful actions do create karma.

Polybiography was a very common belief in Jesus' day, among even the Jews. This is proved by John 1:21, where the people mistook Jesus for either "Elijah" or "the prophet." So, it was a common misunderstanding to see an especially blessed person as the possible reincarnation or rebirth of Elijah or another respected prophet.

But the Christian Scriptures, although denying that Jesus was Elijah, did say that Elijah had returned, in the body of John the Baptizer. In Luke 1:17, it was prophesied that he would have the "spirit and power of Elijah." So, John had the Soul of the ancient prophet. Jesus and his disciples fully believed this, and took it for granted. In Matthew 11:14, Jesus confirmed that John was in fact Elijah.

Jesus was a mystery to the public. When he asked his disciples what people were saying about him, they said, "Some people think that you are John the Baptizer, Jeremiah or Elijah or another of the [great, historical] prophets." (Mt. 16:14) So, the people all around them were believing in polybiography. This makes it even more likely that Jesus and the disciples also accepted it.

In the Jewish Bible, there is at least one crystal-clear reference to Polybiography. The character named "Job," the text says, was an "Asian." As an Asian, he was likely influenced by beliefs similar to polybiography, which by even his time were ancient already. It was Job who said the mysterious words, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there." This clear statement is found at Job 1:21.

The fact that Jesus and his disciples believed in polybiography is proved by the text of John 9:1, 2:"He saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, 'Master, who sinned, this man, or his parents, so that he was born blind?'" This proves that the man could have "sinned" before birth. It also proves that, in some cases, problems such as blindness can arise from previous activities, even before you are born. In this case, the man had not "sinned" at all, but was born blind in order to bring glory to God, Jesus explained. But the very fact that the disciples thought that perhaps the man had sinned before he was born is yet another clear statement of karma; for without karma, that question could have made no sense whatsoever.

Re hell: Let us not forget the matrix-principle underlying all enlightenment, and that is, "God is Love." (1 Jn. 4:8,16) If God is Love, then he, like Jesus, is a fountain of the richest forgiveness. This occurs, not because we are good, but because God is good; it all occurs because of grace.

A God of Love and forgiveness would never fry a person for ten billion billion years because she "messed up" a single tiny life on earth. It is a principle of all legal justice that the punishment should fit the crime-- or, in this case, the "sin." So, in order to be punished forever, a person would have to have sinned forever. And no one can ever sin forever.

An eternal hellfire is not taught anywhere in the Scriptures. You cannot, for example, "prove" the literal existence of hellfire by the use of a parable, such as the one at Luke 16:23. For a parable is, by its very nature and definition, symbolic: Situations symbolize or represent other situations.

For the same reason, you cannot use the Book of Revelation to prove anything literal, for the entire book is a book of symbols.

Notice how silly it would be to use literalism to understand Revelation 20:14, where it says that "hell [the lake of fire] was cast into the lake of fire." Does this mean that hell goes to hell,and that hell is tormented forever? This is what you must believe if you think that hell is a literal reference.

And the traditional "hell" is for only the bad people. Yet the text of the Christian Scriptures imply that Jesus also went there: Acts 2:27 says, "You will not leave my Soul in hell, or allow your loyal one to see corruption." And in 2:31, it says that "christ" was not "forsaken in hell." This kind of "forsaking" implies that he was already there.

Spiritually, "hell" is a mental state in which you believe that you are separated from Love, and "Christ" comes to this "hell" to rescue those who seem stuck there.

There are yet many more texts that have not been considered here, but these are the ones that truly stand out. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to write or call [the number here is (513-)737-LOVE (5683).]
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Christ and Jesus

Christ and Jesus
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To understand many of the words and teachings of Jesus Christ, you must use some discernment. There is a difference between Jesus the historical man, and the Christ, the Holy Spirit (God) who still lives in your heart and mine.

Here is one good example: Christ said, "I and the Father are one." (Jn. 10:30) And Jesus also said, "The Father is greater than I." (Jn. 14:28)

Now, logically, both statements cannot be true of the same being. So, they must originate with two beings. And they do. The first statement is from the everlasting Christ-spirit, and the second from the human and historical Jesus.

In many early Christian documents, writers made this careful distinction. That we all are part of the Christ (Holy Spirit; God) is implied, for example, in the gnostic Gospel of Phillip, where the early Christian author writes that, when converted to the faith, we do not become simply "Christians, but Christs." To the unaccustomed ear, it might well sound strange to speak of "Julia Christ," or "Kevin Christ." But, the truth is, we are all called to follow Christ within as the Way. For He said, through Jesus, "I am... the Way." (Jn. 14:6(

We cannot now "follow" Jesus, for he is no longer alive on earth. But Christ still lives, and never died. He is a "model" for us, the Scriptures say. Jesus predicted, "The things I do, you also will do; and you will do even greater things."

No one is as advanced, as complete, a being as Jesus Christ. For he is, in Western culture, the very archetype (symbol) of a completed and enlightened man. But that does not make us less than Jesus, as a species.

For he was truly "man," born of woman, although he was also as truly God. He was, in short, Love in incarnation. It is not blasphemy to declare that Jesus is a model, as the Scriptures say, "for you to follow his footsteps closely." Indeed, the true "blasphemy" would be to ignore this lovely specimen of God.

So, when people teach that "Jesus saves," it is the realization of the deeply interior Love-nature that saves. It becomes conscious (aware) to your conscious mind. And from what does Jesus Christ save? He saves, by grace, from the nightmare of ignorance, with its hatreds, fears, and assorted miseries. He also saves us from terrible slavery to our lower humanimal nature-- slavery to abject cruelty, loveless sexuality, greed, and similar abominations. By grace, we are liberated from a legion of interior "demons," who lose all their power in the Presence of Christ(Love).
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What Jesus Asks

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Jesus does not call us to be perfect. He calls each of us to do only her personal best. No matter who you are-- no matter how weak, wounded, uneducated, or challenged-- every person can always do her personal best.

Jesus says that his load is easy and his burden light. He does not call upon anyone to wrestle with monsters or to accomplish supernatural feats. Instead, he calls us to do what we most deeply and truly want to do-- love ourselves and each other.

He recommends forgiveness, which might not be something that we do as much as it is many things that we stop doing! He does call upon us to love even our enemies, which is tough, but, again, this Love is the most natural part of human psychology. And, technically, it is not something that "you do." It is allowing the Holy Spirit of Love to move through you. Deep down, everyone really wants to be loved, and everyone realizes that the only Way to be loved is to love.

Love and forgive. That is all that Jesus asks of us, and he asks us kindly, tenderly, and gently, as a very loving older brother. He has no complex doctrines, complicated teachings, or involved rituals. He demands no great intellectual accomplishment. His sweet and very simple teachings are understood by the simplest farmer, and the most illiterate person. (It is the Church that has made many libraries of these simple teachings, turning them into something intricate, convoluted, and ugly.)

To love is to follow Jesus. To love yourself and others is his Way. There is nothing more-- nothing that really matters. Jesus does not "belong to," or recommend, any modern church or religion. How could he? They did not even exist during his time.

Jesus does not command religion, but the much easier, more refreshing and inspiring, spirituality.
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The "Virgin Birth"

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Historically, both the Buddha and Jesus share the legend of the "virgin" birth. The allegorical meaning of both is that they were not affected by the lower nature. (Sexual sharing between a man and woman was seen to replicate the sexual sharing between males and females of other species, and so, was relegated to the "lower nature," or "animal" nature.")

So, it became the absolute and ultimate representation of non-animal (total spiritual) "purity" to ascribe the birth of the greatest sages to a kind of "spiritual intercourse."

The word translated as "virgin" in the ancient Hebrew texts can also be correctly translated "young maiden." So, the earliest record of the event is questionable, from an etymological (word-study) perspective.

As followers of Jesus, we need not deny the virgin birth. But neither is it necessary to insist on its historical or literal truth. If this miracle happened, wonderful!:) Anything is possible with God! But if Jesus was truly human, this implies that he might have enjoyed a normal human mother and father.

A few historical notes, such as we have them (not reliable) imply that Mary might have been as young as twelve, and Joseph as old as forty, when the two were reluctantly married. Some ancient traditions imply that Joseph never really got "on board," or "with the program," and married Mary only reluctantly after she was found pregnant, as the Scriptures imply.

Joseph is an interesting character. By then, he seems to have been a settled, seasoned merchant, with a reputation to protect, and so, Mary was an embarrassment. (Joseph was famously a carpenter; Jesus never was.) Mary, in her regret, sadness, or embarrassment, might have been the source of the "virgin birth" story. Both received messages in dreams-- not always the most reliable sources.

We can accept Jesus as the greatest teacher in history, we can accept him as "master," we can accept him as the "Son of God" even if we do not accept the virgin birth. Many early, non-traditional, Christians did not accept this. The Gospel of Phillip calls it a "superstition." So, within a century or two, many Christians, many believers, questioned this shaky dogma.

The orthodox later Church (Catholic) insisted that this dogma made Jesus special and supernatural. But we know that he was extraordinarily special, and extraordinarily supernatural, no matter who his earthly father might have been. It's irrelevant anyway, for we know that his real "Father" was God.

The same, by the way, applies to us his followers. For he commanded, "Call no man on earth your 'father," for One is your Father, the heavenly One." (Mt. 23:10-12). The fact that Christians regularly disobey, or ignore, this command does not change the fact that this is what Jesus actually said. So, exactly like him, we of enlightenment recognize no earthly "father."

A person's salvation is not at stake, depending on whether she believes in the virgin birth. As noted, many early Christians did not believe in it. Our salvation, like our relationship with our Father, does not depend on intellectual beliefs. It depends on a warm Love shared from God towards us (grace) and our response of that same Love. Salvation originates entirely with grace. And that is the best "good news"
possible!
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Jesus' Transfiguration

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The "Mount of Transfiguration" was not a phrase used by Jesus, but was a later description used by others. This describes an event in the Gospel accounts of the Life of Jesus. This is perhaps a symbolic or representative account of a radical shift in the mind (consciousness) of Jesus.

In a clearly altered state of consciousness, Jesus was granted a vision one night upon a mountain. In the vision, he was apparently glowing, which is a symbol of the interior Light. He apparently encountered several light-phenomena. In the vision, he saw two beings who were later interpreted to be "Moses" and "Elijah," two of the more famous "prophets" in the Jewish tradition. So, he was obviously in touch with the profound area of the Superconscious Mind (Lovemind, Godmind, Coremind) called the
akasha. This contains the spacetime history of our world.

Although, historically, there is usually a clear distinction between the visionary and the mystic-- and mystics generally do not "see visions"-- this is a rare synergic unity of a visionary and mystical experience in one single event.

"Transfiguration" means major transformation, transmogrification, or spiritual rebirth. So, this was likely one of the major mystical experiences, of which Jesus experienced many.

This type of experience occurs in the lives of mystics, although not to this extent, or this powerfully, all throughout the spiritual history of every enlightened being. As is often the case, Jesus here is an "archetype," or universal model, of the mystically illuminated kind or type of human being. But why would the experience include encounters with the famous Jewish sages?

Probably because most of his disciples, and, in fact, most of the first early Christians, who would learn of the story and make use and application of it, were from a Jewish genetic, cultural, and geographic background. So, this event, like so much in Jesus' life, was not prepared for only Jesus, but for his followers as well. The Jewish historical component was included, not because it was necessary to the spirituality of the event, but because the people of the time could easily relate to the event as deeply "spiritual." For in that situation, culture and history were closely interwoven, in their minds, with spirituality.

It is perhaps historically significant, some literalist scholars point out, that Moses had a breath-taking experience similar to that of Jesus, and so did Elijah. These historians are reasoning from the premise that these accounts represent actual, literal experiences with extraordinary power-- not symbolic events or descriptions. They believe that the same power returned to earth and created the transfigurative experience. This also is a real possibility, but, at this late date in human history, we cannot know the whole story. So, all that we have is speculation.
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Healing and Karma: the True Story

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If you can "catch the karma" just right, miraculous healings are indeed possible. But this depends more upon karma than upon technique. Some healers are almost fanatical about technique. But it is really karma that allows true healing.

If your karmic time-period for a disorder is "over," the body will spontaneously remit even without using any technique at all. Peoples' cancers have remitted while standing in line at the grocery store, or while driving on the freeway. On the other hand, if your karma determines that this NOW is not the time, you can be surrounded by a dozen of the best healers in the world, and you can be ingesting every positive and helpful herb, doing the best affirmations, visualizations, and prayers, and still not be "healed completely."

This is why even the most famous healer in history, Jesus, was "unable to heal some." It truly does help to cooperate with the Spirit. But we must be especially careful of taking ego-credit for processes far beyond our control or understanding. That is why a true healer will never claim to be the "Source" of healing energy, but only its "conduit." She wisely recognizes more tsunamic forces arising from the Unconscious. So, an ego-based healer, one who overcharges, or one who seeks or accepts fame is always a phony.

The good news is that every act of Love helps to erase a little karma. This applies to both reflective karma and to optional (chosen) karma.:)
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Judaism and Christianity, Jesus and Messiah

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The entire history of the Ten Commandments has never had anything to do with the Christian religion. The entire doc has been, from the beginning, a Jewish text. If "Christians" were fighting for the display of the Sermon on the Mount, at least, their arguments could hope to make a tiny bit of sense. But, they regularly make the nightmare error of equating the ancient wargod Jehovah with the Lord of pure Love taught by Jesus. They insist also that every Jewish law is also somehow "Christian." This despite the fact that most of the ancient Jewish laws, recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures ("Old Testament"), go absolutely ignored by almost all Christians all the time. Jehovah forbade the eating of pork, for example, but Christians-- almost all of them-- continue to chew and swallow huge amounts of the dangerous fats of bacon and ham.

It is as ludicrous and out-of-place for a Christian to fight to protect the Ten Commandments as it is for a Jewish person to argue for the "messiahship" of Jesus Christ.

The people of the Book [Hebrew Scriptures ("Old Testament")] have made it clear, repeatedly, that Jesus is not, was never, their messiah. Now, the whole idea of a "Messiah" was a Jewish one, not a Christian teaching. And does it not make sense, if you have a question about Judaism, to ask the experts-- the Jews-- about any of their teachings? The "Messiah," in prophecy, was predicted to be a very bloody general who would lead legions of Jewish soldiers in war against the Romans. The whole world, it was predicted, would be flowing with the blood of the Messiah's "enemies." Jesus, a man of non-negotiable and unchanging peace, did not fit this profile at all. So, it only made sense for the Jewish people to reject him as their Messiah. So, despite later Christian bias, and the twisting of ancient records and prophecies to make them look as if they were specifically about Jesus, I have come to the logical (indeed, inevitable) conclusion that Jesus was not the "Messiah of Jewish prophecy. Except for a single text in Mark, which might have suffered emendation and/or alteration by a later Christian scribe, Jesus himself never claims to be the Messiah. In fact, I believe that he denied it, as he does in The Mystic Gospels of Jesus the Christ.

What mostly uneducated fundies have never come to terms with is the solid historical fact that Christianity and Judaism are two very different, in many ways, unrelated, faiths. As two faiths, they have two separate sets of Scriptures, two different sets of recognized "prophets," two different sets of teachings, different traditions, different "holy" days, different customs, and yes-- most spectacularly-- different gods. The "Jehovah" of the Hebrew Scriptures was never the God of pure Love taught by Jesus. (That alone explains why, although some form of the wrongly translated name "Jehovah" appears nearly seven thousand times in the Hebrew Scriptures, it does not appear a single time in the best ancient texts of the Christian Scriptures.)

Most Jewish people today have as sophisticated and loving an image of God as anyone. But, four thousand years ago, the primitives worshipped a god of genocide, rage, emotional immaturity, violence, and psychosis. This confusion between two very different godimages is why Christian fundies are so hopelessly confused.

Your best bet, with people whose minds resemble blocks of unchanging granite, is just to let them be. In time, karmic force alone has the necessary power to alter some minds. Happily, it is not our job even to try to change the dogmatic mind!
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Godimages

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There is a great negative, antispiritual force at work in the human mind. This has been personified, among ancient and primitive peoples, as the "devil." In an enlightened life, the only "devil" is fear, Love's opposite.

Originally, says the legend, "satan" was one of the faithful followers and servants of God (Love). But pride, or egotism, created a being of insecurity and evil within the Mind. Negativity and antispirituality are very strong among primitive, undeveloped species with tiny brains, such as human beings. Although we are capable of reaching for the spiritual condition of the Christ, we also contain the negative anti-pole of an interior Hitlermind. Life is largely the conflict between the interior Mind of God (Love) and the mind of "demons," "devil," or fear.

Fear continues to fight with Love within all human beings. Fear has generated the monstrosity of a god of terror, vengeance, and related fearbased qualities. Many worship this monstergod, who behaves in a way that we would and could never accept from any sane human being: What would we think of an angry old man who took his beautiful daughters in the back yard and burned them alive on a barbecue? Or, what if he just slaughtered them?

We would recognize instantly, and sickeningly, that this old guy was psychotic. Any responsible religious or community leader would insist that he be locked up, for the safety of all.

The modern godimage was created four thousand years ago, by very bloody, violent, evil men-- soldiers, kings, generals, and backwards "prophets." None of these men was a tower of softness or compassion. These men actually "solved problems" by killing people, including the stoning of their own disobedient children. Naturally, being sick with ego, they assumed that god was exactly like them. So, they formulated the ghastly Jehovah-myth-- a false god of horror, nightmarish injustice, and monstrous cruelty.

Jesus came with a very different vision of God, God as pure Love. But the people were ready for neither Him nor for His beautiful vision of God. The lower nature of ignorance preferred, and still prefers, the barbaric god of war, blood, and vengeance.

It was only because Jesus was born in Palestine that people assume that this Jehovah was the God of Jesus. If Jesus had been born in Greece, people would be worshipping Zeus, the godking of Greek religion. That it was not is proved by the fact that the "ancient witnesses of Jehovah" were behind his murder.

Men and women controlled by fear are barely affected by Love. They actually prefer a god that is more like themselves. In the Middle Ages, when people "solved problems" within the Church by torturing others to death, it seemed that their god was like these vicious and obscene inquisitors, for torture was quite "acceptable" to them. So, they distorted the universal Mind so that It contained all their ugliness. For violent, ignorant, and stupid people prefer a god that is just like them.
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The quiet jewel of truth

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Life, when carefully studied, proves beyond the shadow of any reasonable doubt that a "Taoistic" response is better, and more effective than the fierce attack of an "enemy," or the feeble retreat of the ashamed. Jesus answered with only silence when asked perhaps the most important question in the world, "What is truth?" (A fundy, by contrast, would still be spouting dubious doctrine.:)

Words to live by, and that bring or support success, are these: "When all are shouting, it is the whisper that compels attention."

So, the intelligent and fine pattern of "going with the Flow" makes good psychological as well as emotional and spiritual sense. After all, when something is beautiful, it does not have to be put on gawdy display. Its beauty will shine forth. The sage named Lao Tzu famously wrote, "The sage wears plain, even rough, clothing. But inside, she carries the indescribable jewel."

Since you have that exquisite jewel within your heart, you need never worry about eclipsing its magnificent but quiet, awesome beauty.
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