YouTube:No Post Sunday
Friends, I wanted to let you know that I will not be posting a regular program this Sunday. My ninety-four year old mother passed, and we are in Missouri for her service. Thank you in advance for your prayers and thoughts of support. She was a strong woman who lived a good life, and I have no doubt she’ll carry her virtues into her next experience.
I should be back online by next Sunday. Thanks for supporting our channel.
YouTube: The Whispering Messiah
I believe Jesus intentionally distanced himself from any association with the expected Messiah. Making any claim to that title would put him in a position that did not represent the message he believed he was born to teach. The expected Messiah would usher in an external kingdom of God that would change the religious, social, and political landscape. The kingdom he spoke of was an inner awakening to the presence of God.
Why would I refer to Jesus as the whispering Messiah? With literally millions of followers around the world, he appears to have done much more than whisper. Appearances, however, can be deceiving. Biblical scholar Bart Ehrman believes Jesus had about twenty followers in his core organization. Considering he focused most of his ministry on the tiny villages that dotted the countryside, the impression we’re given by the Gospel writers of thousands following is, no doubt, an extreme exaggeration.
The idea of the whispering Messiah comes from my belief that the true teachings of Jesus were misunderstood. Through decades of oral tradition passed down to the authors of the Gospels, the message changed from an inner awakening to an external expectation of the dawning of a new age. Though fragments of the teachings of the Jewish mystic survive, the loudest voice of the Gospels is that of the evangelists who wrote the books. Theirs is the message that caught the fire that roared over the world. So, we have to learn to listen for that whisper of a voice.
The God of which Jesus spoke is not the wholly other that exists beyond the comprehension of the average person. God is Spirit. To worship in spirit is to go within and feel our way to the inner sanctuary, our very own holy of holies. It is as if we stand on the beach with the surf washing over our feet. We lift our eyes to behold the vast ocean in which we stand. This place on the beach is ours, and ours alone, yet the ocean belongs to us all, and we belong to it.
Nothing from the heavens is coming to change the world. The whispering Messiah, that still small voice within us, prompts us to lift our vision and see the vastness of this ocean of spirit in which we live and move and have our being.
YouTube: What is Consciousness?
To be conscious means to have a subjective awareness of oneself and the surrounding environment. It involves being awake, alert, and perceptive of one’s thoughts, feelings, sensations, and experiences. If you’ve undergone surgery, then you understand that the anesthesiologist’s job is to render you nonconscious; all bodily sensations are put on hold.
When we talk about developing a consciousness of prosperity, healing, or improved self-esteem, we’re talking about changing our mindset. Changing from a consciousness of lack to a consciousness of abundance and an expectation of greater good involves a change in beliefs, self-image, the type of language we use, and our level of expectation. The whole of our belief system sets up a vibe, a kind of harmonic resonance that manifests as an environmental equivalent.
The primary focus of Jesus was not on the afterlife, salvation, religious conversion, the end times, social reform, or any of the causes normally attributed to him. Your faith has made you whole. Say to this mountain, be cast into the sea and do not doubt it in your heart. Ask, seek, knock. Be persistent. It’s not what goes into the mouth, but what comes out that has the greatest impact. All things are possible for the one who believes. These things relate to consciousness. He was teaching people that there is a connection between the inside, the consciousness, and the outside, one’s life.
Does this mean that we draw difficult circumstances because of the kinds of beliefs we hold in our consciousness? Most of the people in Jesus’ audience were poor, struggling through a hand to mouth existence. He was not ignoring this or casting any blame. Neither was he giving them false hope, telling them how to think and grow rich. He was telling them that a change of mind would stimulate a change in the choices of attitudes that each person carried. He was telling them that a new freedom could be theirs if they learned to pay attention to the mental and emotional video that ran through their heads all day. Every challenge stirred opportunities to discover the self-defeating beliefs under which they labored, to cast these out and start anew. A simple change of consciousness could mean a substantial change in life.
YouTube: The End is Near
The disciples said to Jesus, “Tell us, how will our end come?” Jesus said, “Have you found the beginning, then, that you are looking for the end? You see, the end will be where the beginning is. Congratulations to the one who stands at the beginning: that one will know the end and will not taste death.” The Gospel of Thomas #18
People have been predicting the end of the world for centuries, with various reasons and beliefs fueling these predictions. Throughout history, there have been many instances where individuals or groups have claimed to know the exact date or event that would bring about the end of the world. These predictions often arise from religious beliefs, scientific theories, or a combination of both. Some notable examples include the Y2K scare in 2000, the Mayan calendar prediction in 2012, and various religious prophecies throughout different time periods. Obviously, none of these predictions materialized.
In the days of Jesus, the Jews were looking for their messiah and the end of days, when the old order would pass, and the new age would begin. Christianity transformed this expectation to the return of the resurrected Jesus and the establishment of God’s kingdom. The book of Revelation presents a very complicated view of this expectation. As a Jew, many scholars believe Jesus adopted this expectation and may have even considered himself the one who would rule in this new kingdom.
I disagree with this assumption. As a mystic, Jesus would not be looking for changes in the social and political landscapes. He would understand the expected kingdom as an internal awakening. The old world that passes away is the belief that God and man are separate. To the mystic, the new world comes with the revelation of oneness, God centered within every person. As Jeremiah and Isaiah envisioned, God writes his laws within the heart.
In the above passage from Thomas, Jesus shows the end is near, so near in fact, it arrives the moment one becomes willing to think of God and themselves in a new way. The world as we know it does not need to end. We change the way we see ourselves and the way we experience the world changes. The end is just as near as our willingness to be born anew.
YouTube: Your God Connection
It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ John 6:45
My research for talks and writing often takes me into the territory of mainstream religion. The commentary I read clearly treats God as a super being, brooding over the problems we’re creating, just biding his time before he steps in and straightens out the whole mess.
The notion of God as an indwelling presence is not as easy to imagine. What was Jesus thinking when he encapsulated passages from Jeremiah and Isiah into the simple statement of being taught by God? We know that many of his teachings involved the character of consciousness. The reminder that you can’t get figs from thistles shows the importance of our state of mind. Even a wavering faith, as small as a mustard seed, is enough to heal a physical condition. And believing you have received what you ask for in prayer ties a successful outcome to a positive and expectant attitude. These examples strongly suggest our God connection is intact, in full operation right now, and is always within our reach.
When Jesus warned against judging by appearances, he was telling us not to form our inner experience based on what we see and hear. Our God connection allows us to make different choices. I once knew an older woman who literally radiated a perpetual air of peace. Someone asked her how she maintained such an even temper. She said that when someone made a controversial statement intended to stir anger or disgust, she would simply say, “Yes, it does seem that way, doesn’t it?” This response allowed her to honor the person’s viewpoint without agreeing or feeling the need to challenge it. She said she also applied this to herself. When her eyes and ears gave a negative report, she would say to herself, “Yes, it does seem this way, doesn’t it?” It was her way of reminding herself that she was not obligated to engage the apparent controversy.
Your God connection gives you limitless possibilities for dealing with life’s challenges. When circumstances tell you it’s time to worry, you can say, “It does seem that way, doesn’t it?” You can then choose a different response.
YouTube: Let Life Happen
“Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” – Allen Saunders
John Lennon often gets credit for this bit of wisdom because he includes it in his song, Beautiful Boy. The credit, however, goes to journalist and cartoonist, Allen Saunders. Like all wisdom, the source is not as important as the insight it offers.
I thought of the above quote a few evenings ago. I was doing my usual evening cat herding—rounding up our three outdoor cats into the garage for the night. Most of the time, all three rush in without coaxing. This night, two decided to play hard to get. I felt a twinge of anxiety creep in as the evening progressed and there were still no cats. Just then, as if someone flipped a switch, I felt this message: Let life happen.
Like all minor problems, this one resolved rather quickly. The two outlaws sauntered up, as if to remind me that the clock of the universe runs on their time, not mine. Then, a weightier issue struck me at that moment. My twinge of anxiety came from wanting life to happen differently. Like the television-addicted Chancey Gardener (Peter Sellers, Being There), I was pushing the remote channel changer, and nothing was happening.
Let life happen is, of course, another way of saying, Let go and let God. Maybe that phrase is getting a little worn. Sometimes a slight change of wording can be all it takes to breathe new life into any time-tested affirmation of faith.
Is it possible to apply this simple idea to something more than a pair of obstinate cats? What if we understood that our purpose in life is simply to let life happen? Wouldn’t this mean we could stop striving to control everything and actually enjoy this journey? Are we too preoccupied with protecting our anxiety prone weaknesses to fully appreciate our God given strengths?
It seems we are always so busy making other plans that we do not see the life that is happening all around us. Perhaps this simple reminder will, in our own cat-herding situation, provide the needed catalyst to Let Life Happen.
YouTube: Through A Glass Darkly
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 1 Corinthians 13:12 KJV
This passage came to mind when one of our regular viewers raised a series of questions that I know are on the minds of many in our audience. “How much are we bound by thought living in the human body? Do we actually omit any decision making from our soul? Are we here for a human experience viewing the world from the body’s perspective?”
The spiritual quest can feel like a hobby compared to the day job we have of living life in a physical body. Much of what we read and hear sounds good, but its practical value often crumbles in the face of “real-life” issues. Paul seems to think the day is coming when it will all make perfect sense.
I have said that I value near-death research because it gives us a glimpse into the consciousness of the soul, free of the confines of the body. The biggest complaint people have is that their return to their body strips them of the indescribable beauty and freedom of unbridled consciousness. One woman said she did not want to come back, but resigned to the notion that there must be something more she needed to learn from her human experience, though she didn’t have a clue what that was.
Many say we are here to learn to love, but then they say the love they experience on the other side is far greater than anything we experience here. How can we learn to love in such a way? We can’t. Those who experience this absolute love do not learn how to do it. Once the curtain of physicality lifts, they realize that a self-existent reality engulfs them entirely, independent of thinking, beliefs, learning, or any effort to evoke love.
I do not have an answer to why we would choose to incarnate. The consensus seems to be that we had our reason, but we have forgotten. I fully believe that the spiritual teachings that appeal to us do so because we recognize something in them we already know at the deepest level. Our job is to keep asking, seeking, and knocking and the door will open. Then we shall know, even as we are known.
YouTube: Quest for The Lost Sheep
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Matthew 15:24
This passage has always intrigued me, but only recently has it taken on special meaning. Who were these lost sheep? From what I now gather, they were Jews who did not choose to live under the restrictions imposed by the 613 commandments found in the Torah.[1] While the religious system deemed them as sinners, today we might see them as the type who had exposure to the mainstream but, like many of us, prefer to define the conditions of their own spiritual inquiry.
The concept of the kingdom of God within was a complete reversal to the teaching that God and man are separate. Jesus would naturally seek an audience who was open-minded enough to explore new ideas, and these so-called lost sheep of Israel perfectly fit the bill. For them, his commonsense approach was probably a refreshing change. “And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes” (Mark 1:22). For me, this also throws a different light on his parable of the lost sheep, where the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine to find the one. It’s probably fair to assume that 1% of the Jewish population was open to his radical new way of thinking about the individual’s relationship of oneness with God.
Jesus challenged the system by ignoring several rules concerning the Sabbath. Yet he said he did not come to break the law but to fulfill it. Think of it this way: a stop sign tells you to stop. If you run the stop sign, you break the law. If you stop, look both ways, then proceed, you fulfill the law. You do not take the sign literally and stop indefinitely.
Just as the higher purpose of the stop sign is to ensure safety, Jesus looked beyond the letter of the law to its higher purpose of spiritual freedom. “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well, will not immediately pull him out on a sabbath day?” (Luke 14:5). A good teacher knows his audience. The lost sheep of Israel finally found their shepherd.
[1] 1st 5 books of the Old Testament
YouTube: What Are You?
We’ve all heard and probably used the phrase, “This is just the tip of the iceberg.” We mean that there is a lot more to a thing than meets the eye. The iceberg is, in fact, an appropriate graphic to use when we consider the nature of our being.
The iceberg exists in two worlds simultaneously. Scientists tell us that the proverbial tip that is above the ocean surface represents about 10% of the entire mass. The part that is submerged in the world of water represents about 90%. We can say the same about ourselves. Our surface, including our body and personality, only makes up 10% of who we are. The remaining 90% is our soul. It is powerful to visualize and meditate on this concept.
It’s probably fair to say that most people spend 90% of their time and energy thinking about the 10%, and 10% of their time and energy thinking about the 90%. Did we get this from our biblical teachings on tithing, where 10% goes to God? What would happen if we gave 100% of our attention to the 90%? I’m not suggesting we spend all our time in meditation. I’m suggesting we get in the habit of empowering ourselves with the image that we are a vast expression of God, poking our head into this three-dimensional world. What does it mean to be a spiritual being momentarily inhabiting this physical form? Armed with this awareness, what different choices can we make? What does this mean to the person I am in this moment?
What are you? You are a spiritual being manifesting through a physical body. The day will come when you will drop the body, but you will continue your experience. The “you” that you are will never cease to exist. This truth is an invitation to stop focusing on what you think is wrong with the 10%, stop trying to fix it, and affirm that 90% that lives beneath the surface of the material realm is what you are. And it’s doing just fine.
It is easy to understand how we mis-identify ourselves. That 10% sure looks real. Most NDE’rs come back telling us that the realm they momentarily plunge into is the real, that this 10% is but a shadow of what we are. Our true home is the infinite ocean that is God, and at this moment, the largest aspect of our being is fully alive and well in its incredible home.
YouTube: From the Inside Out
In Unity, we talk a lot about the inner presence, the inner kingdom, inner peace, and so on. It’s easy to let a concept like this become such a cliche that it loses its power of meaning.
Eric Butterworth, one of Unity’s more prolific authors, suggested that we stop praying to God and start praying from the consciousness of God. Ideally, this would mean we have had enough of a spiritual awakening to know God as our center of power. If we have not yet had such an awakening, then our center of power is our faith that it is so. Our prayer is based on the expectation that God, unfolding through us, is now bringing about the highest and best solution to our situation. We assume that the power to change things is with us now and doing its perfect work.
In contrast, the outside in approach assumes God is somewhere separate from us and when we ask for help, we hope God will overlook our shortcomings and give us what we ask. We treat God as a super-capable person who responds to our request at his discretion.
See yourself as a fountain bubbling forth the life, love, power, and intelligence of God. Imagine this divine energy flooding into whatever concerns you, dissolving all fear, all doubt, all feelings of uncertainty about what you are to do.
The grapevine does not look to the outside for the fruit it bears. It does not ask to be given that which naturally come from within the vine. And so it is with us. Taking the inside out approach, we think of ourselves as the grapevine from which the grapes, our solutions, come. This does not mean that if you need more money, it will somehow appear from within you. It means that you’ll be inspired with an idea, or you will see some opportunity to generate the money you need. Be alert and be expectant that the answer you seek is bubbling forth through you at this very moment.
To shift to this inside out mode, take a moment to close your eyes, take a refreshing breath, and know your greater good is unfolding through you right now.
J Douglas Bottorff 