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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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Showing posts with label fear-nature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fear-nature. Show all posts
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Overcoming the Lower Nature
Overcoming the Lower Nature
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The lower nature, also called the "humanimal nature" and the "fear-nature," among other synonyms, can be both "enemy" and "teacher." If we fiercely resist and hate it, it becomes an enemy, and to have this "enemy within" is not the best situation.
So, let us begin our work with the lower nature by recognizing that God has permitted it to exist for a purpose. That purpose is education: Without the resistance of the lower nature, we might not learn anything at all from life.
Like fear generally, it is NOT a factor in God's active will, but is an aspect of His permissive will. It exists not because it is the will of Love, but because Love simply permits it, as a teacher.
The best way to eradicate the lower nature, or to neutralize its power in the heartmind, is to practice regular meditation, "interior prayer," or the "prayer of silence." In this relaxed state of mind, we invite the Love-nature to enter our minds and "take over" our lives. We permit it; we allow It; we surrender to it.
How we invite the higher nature to enter our lives is summed up by the word PLAYS. The enlightened person "plays" her way through life. This acronym stands for: Permits, Lets, Allows, Yields, and Surrenders.
We must first discover God (the Spirit, "Father," "Mother," "Absolute," "Ultimate," etc.) exists as purest Love deep within the Mind. Then, moving forward with this powerful conviction, we can invite God (Love) to begin to think and act through us. This phase is called "surrender."
NOTE: We never surrender our will to any human pastor, minister, preacher, guru, priest, rabbi, imam, or other religious leader. We surrender to only God as Love in the heart.
Gradually, through repeated inward reaching, introspection, and meditation, we begin to establish a relationship with the living Love-nature within. This becomes much brighter, stronger, and clearer with practice.
We also make an interior vow, not to be "perfect" (for that is unrealistic), but to follow the higher nature of Love in all our ways. The flipside of this vow is to cease the activities of the lower nature. These include all fearbased activities and all actions that can harm self or others.
This is an indispensable vow. It is called ahimsa. It says, "I solemnly vow, to God, the highest Self, and to all spiritual creation, that I will never again act in any way that can harm or hurt another living being-- especially human beings. I will refuse to harm anyone physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually."
Before making this sacred vow to God, we must be prepared to follow it. Then, we make it, with or without human witnesses to the vow; and after that, we live it every minute of every day. This is a very sacred and holy vow, and so, must not be made carelessly. And, of course, we call in the Holy Spirit to give us the strength to stay faithful to the vow.
These are the beginning steps in overcoming the lower nature. After a long time, it begins to lose its energy ("die"). The process, say enlightened souls, can also involve personal suffering. (In those cases, it has been called, historically, the "interior crucifixion.")
After these steps are taken, the lower nature is weakened significantly; it has very low energy, and is very "sick." But it does not lose all energy until we begin to live each and every minute, of each and every day, from the state of pure Love. This is Love for all creatures, and respects all; no one is excluded, not even "enemies." You can see, it is a challenging path!
But there is none more splendid, glorious, or ecstatic!
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The lower nature, also called the "humanimal nature" and the "fear-nature," among other synonyms, can be both "enemy" and "teacher." If we fiercely resist and hate it, it becomes an enemy, and to have this "enemy within" is not the best situation.
So, let us begin our work with the lower nature by recognizing that God has permitted it to exist for a purpose. That purpose is education: Without the resistance of the lower nature, we might not learn anything at all from life.
Like fear generally, it is NOT a factor in God's active will, but is an aspect of His permissive will. It exists not because it is the will of Love, but because Love simply permits it, as a teacher.
The best way to eradicate the lower nature, or to neutralize its power in the heartmind, is to practice regular meditation, "interior prayer," or the "prayer of silence." In this relaxed state of mind, we invite the Love-nature to enter our minds and "take over" our lives. We permit it; we allow It; we surrender to it.
How we invite the higher nature to enter our lives is summed up by the word PLAYS. The enlightened person "plays" her way through life. This acronym stands for: Permits, Lets, Allows, Yields, and Surrenders.
We must first discover God (the Spirit, "Father," "Mother," "Absolute," "Ultimate," etc.) exists as purest Love deep within the Mind. Then, moving forward with this powerful conviction, we can invite God (Love) to begin to think and act through us. This phase is called "surrender."
NOTE: We never surrender our will to any human pastor, minister, preacher, guru, priest, rabbi, imam, or other religious leader. We surrender to only God as Love in the heart.
Gradually, through repeated inward reaching, introspection, and meditation, we begin to establish a relationship with the living Love-nature within. This becomes much brighter, stronger, and clearer with practice.
We also make an interior vow, not to be "perfect" (for that is unrealistic), but to follow the higher nature of Love in all our ways. The flipside of this vow is to cease the activities of the lower nature. These include all fearbased activities and all actions that can harm self or others.
This is an indispensable vow. It is called ahimsa. It says, "I solemnly vow, to God, the highest Self, and to all spiritual creation, that I will never again act in any way that can harm or hurt another living being-- especially human beings. I will refuse to harm anyone physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually."
Before making this sacred vow to God, we must be prepared to follow it. Then, we make it, with or without human witnesses to the vow; and after that, we live it every minute of every day. This is a very sacred and holy vow, and so, must not be made carelessly. And, of course, we call in the Holy Spirit to give us the strength to stay faithful to the vow.
These are the beginning steps in overcoming the lower nature. After a long time, it begins to lose its energy ("die"). The process, say enlightened souls, can also involve personal suffering. (In those cases, it has been called, historically, the "interior crucifixion.")
After these steps are taken, the lower nature is weakened significantly; it has very low energy, and is very "sick." But it does not lose all energy until we begin to live each and every minute, of each and every day, from the state of pure Love. This is Love for all creatures, and respects all; no one is excluded, not even "enemies." You can see, it is a challenging path!
But there is none more splendid, glorious, or ecstatic!
*******
Saturday, February 24, 2007
"Get Behind Me, Satan!"
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Jesus once used the phrase, "Get behind me, Satan!" when his disciple suggested that he would not suffer as he prophesied that he would.
There is no evidence that he directed this remark to any of his disciples. That would have been a terribly rude and crude insult to any of them, and there is evidence that Jesus was a more courteous and polite person than that.
Instead, odds are very good that he was muttering to himself. He was part human, and part Spirit, like we all are, deep down in the mind. And, among the writers and thinkers of the Enlightenment Tradition, "Satan" is the name given to the fear-nature. [Fear is the conceptual opposite of Love, but Love has no real opposite. This is recognized by early Christian writers. (1 Jn. 4:18, for example.] So, fear, or the interior fear-nature, is the "devil" for mystics and enlightened people generally.
So, Jesus Christ, or at least, his human side [called "Jesus," while "Christ" was the "name" or title of his spiritual (divine) side] was rebuking the lower side of his human nature. This was the fear-nature, called, "Satan."
The human part of a person, plus her lower animal-nature, and, lowest of all, her fear-nature, altogether are collectively called the "lower nature."
Since Jesus was both "true God and true man," his human side did indeed have a fear-nature, and it was his job-- the same assignment we all possess-- to get it into subjection by, and under the control of, his higher nature (spiritual nature or Love-nature). And he had, at times, to wrestle with this fear-nature-- especially when contemplating his manner of voluntary death by the nightmarish, ghastly, horribly painful crucifixion.
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Jesus once used the phrase, "Get behind me, Satan!" when his disciple suggested that he would not suffer as he prophesied that he would.
There is no evidence that he directed this remark to any of his disciples. That would have been a terribly rude and crude insult to any of them, and there is evidence that Jesus was a more courteous and polite person than that.
Instead, odds are very good that he was muttering to himself. He was part human, and part Spirit, like we all are, deep down in the mind. And, among the writers and thinkers of the Enlightenment Tradition, "Satan" is the name given to the fear-nature. [Fear is the conceptual opposite of Love, but Love has no real opposite. This is recognized by early Christian writers. (1 Jn. 4:18, for example.] So, fear, or the interior fear-nature, is the "devil" for mystics and enlightened people generally.
So, Jesus Christ, or at least, his human side [called "Jesus," while "Christ" was the "name" or title of his spiritual (divine) side] was rebuking the lower side of his human nature. This was the fear-nature, called, "Satan."
The human part of a person, plus her lower animal-nature, and, lowest of all, her fear-nature, altogether are collectively called the "lower nature."
Since Jesus was both "true God and true man," his human side did indeed have a fear-nature, and it was his job-- the same assignment we all possess-- to get it into subjection by, and under the control of, his higher nature (spiritual nature or Love-nature). And he had, at times, to wrestle with this fear-nature-- especially when contemplating his manner of voluntary death by the nightmarish, ghastly, horribly painful crucifixion.
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