YouTube: The Prospering Principle

“This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.”

Mark 4:26-28

It is not difficult to see that a central New Testament theme involves the kingdom of God. As to the nature of this so-called kingdom, however, we find conflicting views. Consistent with the principles of oneness, it is on the one hand presented as a subjective spiritual process. On the other hand, consistent with the mainstream narrative, the kingdom is presented as an objective, coming event.

This parable from Mark portrays the relationship between an individual’s consciousness and the way their life unfolds. The type seed sown determines what sprouts and grows. How it sprouts and grows is a mystery. It is sufficient to know it happens.

I can easily see this passage as something a mystic like Jesus would teach. We are told that his main audience was comprised of the common people, most struggling with poverty. The gospel, the good news that he brought is that you can alter your life’s conditions by changing the focus of your belief system. “Consider how the wild lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these” (Luke 12:27).

People had made the connection between a person’s actions and their life’s condition, but only in a negative way. “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2). Jesus was presenting the positive counterpart to this idea. If you focus on the good, the good will manifest. If you ask for a fish, you will not get a serpent. If you ask for bread, you will not get a stone (Lk 11:11).

The mainstream version of the kingdom of God is an ambiguous future event. Seeing God as a present reality gives us the ability to align with the natural prospering principle that opens our life in beautiful ways.

YouTube: I Am The Way (part 2)

There are a number of versions of the so-called 4 M’s of development of a religious movement. The sequence I learned was this: the man, the message, the movement, and the monument.

Christianity, like all world religions, has long ago reached the monument stage. The man Jesus and his message are obscured beneath the veil of antiquity. Scholars today often refer to the loosely organized group of followers that formed after his crucifixion as the Jesus movement. It was during this movement stage that the articles of faith that would become mainstream Christianity began to take shape. The teachings of Jesus became teachings about Jesus.  

In the case of Jesus, the man’s message bore witness to the truth, focusing on the spiritual awakening of his individual followers.  “… when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen” (Matt. 6:6). In other words, Jesus taught “… the art of establishing a conscious relation with the Absolute” (Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism).

In contrast, the movement phase represents a shift in focus from the individual’s awakening to the movement itself. Followers exchange spiritual autonomy for a list of articles of faith, the profession of which keeps them in good standing within the fold. To become a leader within the movement does not require that one establish a conscious relation with the Absolute. It only requires an acceptance of the articles of faith and a commitment to the advancement of the movement.  

More and more people are abandoning formal religion in favor of the autonomy of their own spiritual path. While Jesus never abandoned his Judaism, he did place its rote teachings and dogmatic practices second to his conscious relationship to the Absolute, the Father. By all appearances, the Way that he taught was intended to place his audience in harmony with the natural laws of manifestation. He taught through the simple yet brilliant use of parable, but most importantly, he taught by example. The truth that he bore witness to in word and deed is the very truth that will set us free.   

YouTube: I Am The Way (part 1)

“For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth.”

John 18:37

 This passage represents one of the clearest statements Jesus made concerning his perceived purpose. He came to bear witness to the truth. This is something a mystic would say. The operative word of course is truth. Pilate asked, what is truth, and Jesus didn’t answer, perhaps because he sensed a great chasm of spiritual understanding between himself and a career politician such as Pilate.  

We may not be able to know with certainty how Jesus understood truth, but we can know how the mystic understands it. Evelyn Underhill, who produced one of the most definitive works about mysticism, defined it as “… the art of establishing a conscious relation with the Absolute.” To the mystic, truth would reference the changeless and eternal nature of God (the Father) centered in every individual.

Those who have awakened to this profound reality often consider it their single purpose to share with others this truth that has the potential to free people from the burdens of mundane life. It is clear that Jesus considered passing this message to others the cornerstone of his life’s purpose. “Every one who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14).

  When the mystic says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” he or she is not referring to their personal self but to their body of teachings. Unlike many mystics who were prolific writers, Jesus did not leave his teachings in a body of literature. These essentially died with him on the cross. He was literally the single resource, the way that he taught.

Apparently this label, the Way, stuck (Acts 9:1-2). It did not take long after his death for the Way to be transformed from teachings of Jesus to teachings about Jesus. In part 2, we’ll explore this transformation.

YouTube: Your God Self

This week I was asked if I would address the subject of Spirit and soul and explain what we mean by these terms.

In the broadest sense of the word, Spirit is the universal and omnipresent life, love, power, and intelligence that permeates every nook and cranny of the universe. I refer to it as the Creative Life Force because it expresses as all the countless forms of creation that we see, including ourselves. John referred to the creative aspect of God as the Word: “…all things were made through him (the Word), and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” That which we think of as our soul, the light of men, is an individualized expression of this universal Spirit.

I think one of the best analogies for explaining this relationship is that of the sponge immersed in the ocean. The water that permeates the sponge, let’s call it the soul, is the same as the water of the entire ocean. The difference is that the water in the sponge is localized. This localization, however, does not affect the relationship of oneness between the localized water and the ocean.

The challenge we have is that we identify ourselves as the water-filled sponge rather than as the ocean water that is presently localized within the sponge. When we say I, are we referring to the water or the sponge? The popular saying that I am a spiritual being going through a human experience is equivalent to saying I am ocean water presently localized in the sponge.

When we pluck the sponge from the water and give it a squeeze, the water continues to be. Some fear that the loss of the body means our spiritual essence merges with the ocean, ending our existence as individuals. This is where our analogy breaks down. Those who momentarily step from the body (NDE) insist that they are the same person but without the confines of the body. Documented cases of reincarnation support this idea as well.

The bottom line is that our soul, our God self is eternal. The most productive spiritual endeavor is to bring this perspective from the realm of conjecture and make it our reality. This, I believe, is what Jesus was referring to when he spoke of the need to be born again.

YouTube: A Cosmic Balance

This week I ran across a 6^th century painting of Jesus that is located in St. Catherine’s Monastery at Mt. Sinai. An interesting feature of the painting is that each side of the face is different enough to make a viewer think of two people rather than one. According to commentary, the illusion was intentional. The artist was depicting both the humanity and the divinity of Jesus.

The discussion concerning Jesus’ humanity and divinity has gone on for centuries. Some think he was God; others think he was a man with God-like powers. There is one very important thing that is always left out of this discussion/debate. That is, the rest of us.

What theologians are debating is the nature of an image of Jesus put forward in the Gospels. Jesus, however, is no more represented in this contrived image than he is in the painting. In all cases, the literary and artistic imagery put forward is intended to set Jesus apart from common people. There is sufficient evidence to indicate Jesus himself would not have approved.

All people are spiritual beings expressing through a human body. A man like Jesus, apparently fully aware of his spiritual nature, expressed this understanding when he said, “The things I do you can do as well, and greater things” (John 14:12). Jesus struck the cosmic balance between his human and divine natures. Helping others do the same was the heart and soul of his ministry.

Hands down, near-death research provides the very best window currently available into our true nature. People who experience direct exposure to their soul are profoundly affected. P.H.M. Atwater, a foremost researcher in this field, carries this message around the world:

Those who have had a near death experience must process and integrate this life changing event into what usually becomes a new and unexpected path. It is not uncommon for this to take 7-10 years to fully embrace and become comfortable with a reality shift of this spiritual magnitude.

Imagine this. It takes 7-10 years for a person to process a minutes-long glimpse into their true being. I do not believe the thrust of Jesus’ ministry was to call attention to himself. I believe he was trying to help the common people strike their own cosmic balance.   

YouTube: Fate of the Wicked

The question was raised about the fate of people who cause great pain and suffering for others while on this earth. The name of Adolf Hitler comes to mind, though there are countless examples of such people on a greater and lesser scale. Shouldn’t there be some kind of divine punishment for those who obviously do so much harm to others?

I think most of us would agree that in a just universe there should be divine retribution for those who intentionally inflict pain and suffering on others. And yet, with the exception of relatively few cases, the majority who momentarily die and return report that there is no punishment of any kind, even when they have lived a less-than-moral life. They say that a life review, which can be severely painful, is the extent of their punishment. Yet they feel no judgment from the Being of Light or other entity that may have brought them to the review.

I recall a case where a person was murdered by a gang but recovered later to tell of their incredible near-death experience. This person said they thanked their attackers for giving them this opportunity. While such an attitude is nearly impossible for most of us to fathom, it is a common response in such cases. The experience they have is so far beyond our average human perceptions that we struggle to reconcile their reports.

Such stories remind me of Paul’s statement: “For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood” (1 Cor. 12). I think it is true that our soul’s natural condition is so far beyond our normal human thinking, that only a direct experience can show us the vastness of this reality we inhabit. With a body, we purchase real estate, build fences, and make clear legal distinctions between what is mine and thine. Outside the body, none of this is needed. The thinking we use to gain leverage in this world are not necessary to the soul who experiences its own completeness to the degree that it needs no leverage, that it has no need to take from another that which it already possesses.

This question is one that we all must take into our own heart. I too see the world through a glass darkly, but I strive to come face to face with the true nature of reality. I cannot help but think that it looks much different face to face than it does through the darkened glass through which I so often see.  

YouTube: The Truth About Judgment Day

Question: “I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on the idea of judgment day. I have mixed feelings about it, and I would appreciate any light you might shed on the subject.”

There are several references concerning a judgment day. It is sometimes called the last days, the end of days, or the end times. In mainstream Christianity, it is the day of reckoning summarized in passages like this one:

“The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear” (Matthew 13:41-43).

Though these words are put on the lips of Jesus, this is a good example of one of the identifying themes of the early church. The Jewish mystic would not speak of a coming kingdom but of one that is found within one’s being at this very moment. The concept of a day of judgment involving fire and gnashing teeth is supported by theological not spiritual principles. In other words, it is a concept based on religious belief rather than spiritual truth.

There has existed the hope of people of every era that God would one day intervene in the mess we humans have made. The Essenes envisioned a day when the Children of Light (themselves) would one day enter a great battle with the Children of Darkness (everyone else) and the children of light would prevail. Unfortunately for them, the Roman army permanently upset their plans.

I feel very confident in saying that there will be no judgment day as commonly depicted. The quality of every individual’s life is determined by their own exercise of judgment. We are held accountable for the way we define reality. We create our own restrictions, and we have the power to erase them. In this sense, every day is judgment day. We each decide whether we will be victims or victors of our world.

YouTube: Self-Forgiveness

Question: “I would like to hear more about how forgiveness is the recognition of the spiritual purity of the soul. How does sin manifest itself when/if an individual does not forgive themselves. I suspect health, finances, relationships, etc. are affected but what about the effect on a higher level.”

In my book, The Complete Soul, I make a distinction between the soul and the self-image. The soul is our true spiritual essence, that image-likeness of God from Genesis. The self-image is the body-based personality that we’ve developed over time. Most of us go through life identifying most with the self-image. From this perspective we sometimes make mistakes that can affect our sense of self-worth or the self-worth of another.

Nothing we do or fail to do from the level of the self-image affects the spiritual purity of the soul. Jesus illustrated this in the father’s dismissive attitude toward his wayward son’s irresponsible, self-destructive actions. The father did not forgive his son because he never condemned him. The father represents our soul, the son is our wandering self-image.

How does sin manifest itself when/if an individual does not forgive themselves? In Jesus’ story, there is no indication that the son forgave himself for his self-destructive choices. The likely consequence is that he carried a sense of guilt for receiving a homecoming celebration he believed he did not deserve. This is a natural response to our mainstream Christian belief that our spiritual journey is about perfecting the self-image, saving it from the consequences of its missed marks. The spiritual journey, however, is not about perfecting the self-image; it is about recognizing the eternal purity of the soul. I am not my ever-changing self-image. I am the eternally changeless image and likeness of God. It is in our quiet times of inner stillness that this truth is revealed to us.

When Jesus spoke of a new birth, he was talking about changing our self-defining focus from the self-image to the soul. The quality of our overall experience is determined by how we define ourselves. The human being does indeed have to power to forgive sin. That power is the simple recognition of the spiritual purity of the soul.

YouTube: The Sin Factor

It doesn’t take much delving into the mainstream Christian narrative before we encounter the notion of sin. Christianity teaches that it provides the only means available that can save a person from the consequences of sin. Jesus, however, demonstrated and taught a different view. He was not endowed with special power to free one of sin. He was endowed with the understanding that the soul is already free of human shortcomings, that reminding others of this fact is the truth that would set them free. This is illustrated in the following incident when a paralytic was brought to him. He forgave the man of his sins, and the man got up and walked:

^“But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, take up your bed and go home.” And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

Matthew 9:6-8

This is an example of a modified saying. The phrase, Son of man should read, son of man, meaning an ordinary human being. This is made clear in the last line: …they glorified God, who had given such authority to men. It does not say, given such authority to a man, but to men. Jesus is simply reiterating what every devout Jew should have learned.

“What is man that thou art mindful of him,
    and the son of man that thou dost care for him?

Yet thou hast made him little less than God,
    and dost crown him with glory and honor.”

Psalms 8:4-5

The Psalmist is describing the soul that is the vital essence of every son of man, every human being, male and female.

Jesus spoke with the authority of the practicing Jewish mystic aware of all people’s oneness with God. The Way that he taught included the truth that the consequences of the sin factor could be eradicated with a clear understanding of the soul’s present purity and completeness.

YouTube: A Deeper Look at Jesus

J Douglas Bottorff

Last week I introduced three categories of sayings that we find in the Gospels: Straightforward, modified, and evangelical. A straightforward saying is one that represents a pure, dogmatically free spiritual principle. A modified passage is one that expresses a spiritual principle but has been modified to fit the mainstream message. An evangelical passage is one that was likely created by the writer in support of the mainstream message. Learning to make these distinctions brings us closer to the Way, the original teaching of Jesus.

While considering a given passage, we may be tempted to ask, Does this sound like something Jesus would say? Of course, our answer will be influenced by what we believe about Jesus. A better question is this: Does this sound like something a Jewish mystic would say?

The Kabbalah, with which Jesus was likely familiar, is the embodiment of Jewish mysticism. The Jewish Encyclopedia says this:  

 Jewish Kabbalah is a set of esoteric teachings meant to explain the relationship between the unchanging, eternal God—the mysterious Ein Sof (The Infinite)—and the mortal, finite universe. It forms the foundation of mystical religious interpretations within Judaism.

For a few centuries the esoteric knowledge was referred to by its aspect practice—meditation, translated as “being alone” or “isolating oneself.”

Jesus referred to the “unchanging, eternal God” as the Father. We see this unchanging attitude of love expressed by the father of the prodigal son. Also, he often went alone to pray, and he taught the value of going alone into one’s inner room and praying to the Father who is in secret.

The Way was intended to explain the relationship between the unchanging, eternal God and the mortal experience, the daily life of his followers. “Do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on … your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.” (Matt. 6:25, 32).

When viewed from this perspective, it becomes clear that Jesus’ objective was to help his follows make their life on earth (the finite) as it is in heaven (the infinite).