YouTube: The Open Mind

In many of the parables, Jesus often made his points by comparing pairs of opposites. We see good fish and bad fish, God and mammon, wheat and chaff, rich man and poor man, sheep and goats, foolish virgins and wise virgins, the wide gate and narrow gate, born of the flesh and born of the spirit, foundation of rock and foundation of sand, and so on. Today, we are considering new cloth and new wineskins vs old cloth and old wineskins.  

You do not patch an old garment with a new piece of cloth. The patch of new cloth will shrink, causing greater damage to the garment. And you do not use an old wineskin to store new wine. The fermenting new wine will cause the old wineskin to burst, as it is already stretched to its limit. Use new wineskins for new wine” (Mark 2:21-22).

Mark uses these parables to address the question of fasting, a practice that Jesus, unlike his religious predecessors, ignores. Elsewhere, he explains that it is not what goes into one’s mouth that defiles, but what comes out, as this communication represents our consciousness.

The mystic understands that the subjective nature of the spiritual awakening requires an open mind, a new birth, a conscious movement from a body-based identity to the awareness of God as our spiritual source. We must be willing to let go of all self-perceptions so the new wine of awareness may transform our consciousness.

It is through the practice of meditation that we let go of the old and open ourselves to the new. We cannot use our intellectual faculty to bring about this change. We are shifting to our intuitive faculty, which opens out to the limitless vista of the spiritual dimension. In our quiet time, we lay down the old wineskins of our daily concerns, which are always centered around the body, and we consider the source of the living energy that is our being.  

In one sense, we are fasting. We are letting go of the trivia that occupies so much of our attention and turning our focus on the expansive activity of our spiritual source.

YouTube: The Quest for Jesus

For the past two weeks, we have been exploring the idea that, within the Gospels, there is a difference between the teachings of Jesus and the teachings of the early church. The Gospel writers used the voice and person of Jesus to advance the narrative that would become mainstream Christian theology. Is it possible, then, to draw from these writings the pure message of Jesus?

I have identified two worldviews that I’ve named the paradigm of oneness and the paradigm of separation. The paradigm of oneness is based on the experience of mystical union or direct communion with the ultimate reality we call God. The paradigm of separation assumes that union with God is not a present reality but a future possibility. I refer to those scriptures that reflect the paradigm of oneness as the mystical thread. The scriptures that reflect the paradigm of separation represent the theological basis of the early and contemporary church.

As counterintuitive as it may sound, we will be most successful if we lay aside our quest for a pure message of Jesus and simply look first for passages that reflect the principles of mysticism. In a nutshell, these will refer to the omnipresent, changeless nature of God as unconditional love, the divine nature of each individual, and the individual’s inseparable union with God.  

A fundamental principle of mysticism is that we suffer because we lose conscious connection with our indwelling lord. All mystical practice is geared to returning to our spiritual center, our true home. The story of the prodigal son embodies the entire problem of leaving our spiritual center, suffering as the result, and retuning to the open arms of unconditional love.

Because there is not enough space here to list the thread of scriptures that echo this principle, we will explore more in upcoming lessons. In the meantime, our quest for Jesus will be most successful when we stop seeking him and look instead for passages that embody the principles of mysticism, the truth of our oneness with God. These passages, I believe, point directly to the spiritual teacher we seek.

YouTube: The Presence of Pure Being

Last week I talked about how the harsh reality of Roman oppression likely obscured the original message of Jesus. The Jews desperately needed their Messiah to appear. Many rejected Jesus as the one, as their hope died with him on the cross. The primary aim of the Gospel writers was to resurrect this hope with the promise that he would return and fulfil the promise of salvation.

Jesus would have been quite familiar with the Messianic hope. As we examine a thread of surviving sayings attributed to him, we could deduce that he understood salvation as a spiritual awakening to our oneness with God. God is Spirit, pure Being. Those who worship God must worship in spirit, that is, become still and know. The truth that sets us free is the revelation that we are more than the body-based identity we have come to accept. We are expressions of God.

How can a message like this be a practical help in our own time of need? Myrtle Fillmore, co-founder of Unity wrote: “The light of Spirit, quickening the understanding, sets us free from all mortal sense and the boundaries placed by the intellect.” Our vision is lifted to new heights when we know that a wisdom greater than our own is at work in our life. We turn the power of our faith from specific sources that may not deliver, to infinite possibilities that have yet to enter our mind. As we affirm that we are now in the presence of pure Being, we are affirming that the wisdom of God is unfolding the perfect solution at this very moment.  

The tendency to look for salvation from people, places, and things is due, as Myrtle Fillmore recognized, to our acceptance of the boundaries placed by the intellect. The intellect is a magnificent tool for navigating this earthly landscape. But we should not forget our intuitive faculty that allows us to acknowledge the activity of the spiritual power that sets us free.

Jesus’ message of an inner kingdom translates as God is a present help in our time of need. In the stillness of solitude, we turn our faith to greater good unfolding through our life right now. We hold this thought in joy and in peace.     

YouTube: This Journey Called Truth

When we hear someone use a phrase like, This is the gospel truth, we assume they mean their statement could withstand the scrutiny of the most dedicated fact-checker, as true as the truth that Jesus taught. What most people probably do not know is that the Gospels were not written to portray the pure teachings of Jesus. What??? Breathe deep. These authors used the voice and person of Jesus to advance the narrative that has become the basis of all mainstream Christian theology. In other words, the message of Jesus has been politicized. 

What does this mean? An idea, or body of ideas becomes politicized when the importance of the narrative overrides the truth of the original ideas. The story about Jesus overshadows what he likely taught. The narrative becomes the gospel, the very definition of truth. Heresy is that which does not align with the narrative.

John summarized the church narrative in this oft-quoted statement: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (3:16). Accept Jesus as the only Son of God and you will be saved. If not, you perish.

Another early writer, Thomas, had a different understanding of salvation. In his collection of sayings, Jesus says: “… the kingdom is within you and it is outside you. When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and you are the poverty” (Thomas: #3). This portrayal does not make the person of Jesus the focal point of salvation.

The early church leaders condemned such writings as heretical, not because they were untrue, but because they did not support their official narrative. These works, known as the Nag Hamadi Library, survived only because those who endorsed them managed to protect them from being burned by hiding them in caves in the Egyptian desert.

This journey called Truth leads to the understanding that we are children of the living Father. It is my belief that this example from Thomas reflects the truth of the core message, the gospel of Jesus.   

YouTube: Loving the Natural Way

“And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37-39).

Love is not something you do; it is something you are. If you try to love someone, you don’t really love them. You apply a concept or a technique to them. If you try to love an enemy, you will wind up suppressing what you really feel.

The best way to approach this problem of loving our enemies is to stop trying to do it and simply expose ourselves to the source of love within our being, to bask in that eternal current of inner light that shines regardless of what kinds of attitudes we hold. In other words, we are to follow the first commandment of loving the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind. Nothing transforms our attitudes faster than a direct experience with the free-flowing energy of love within our own being.

We have demonstrated that we cannot legislate love and acceptance of others, religiously or socially. The best we can do is enforce a measure of tolerance, and this is often tentative, based more on the fear of getting fined, sued, or doing jail time than on a genuine understanding of the varied facets of the human family. What is lacking in the average person is the direct exposure to their own Source that transcends the basis of all attitudes about all things. It is an energy that, like the sun, or the rain, or a flower, or the song of a bird, gives itself unconditionally. When we experience enough of this Source to fall in love with it, we will naturally behave just like It does, not because we are told to, but because we can’t help ourselves.

Does loving someone mean that we must embrace their unacceptable behavior? Of course not. It means that we deal with their behavior from a loving point of view. Love sometimes binds and love sometimes dissolves. Sometimes we embrace people, and sometimes we let them go. As we stay centered in love, we will be guided to not only do the right thing, but we will also do it from the highest point of view, and our actions will in some way serve to bless all involved.

When Life Feels Empty

“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” Jeremiah 2:13

What we refer to as ancient wisdom would be better characterized as universal truth. The term ancient indicates old, and universal truth is ageless. Why? Because universal truth depicts the reality of how things work. We may or may not accept it as true, but we are well advised to notice when certain ideas keep emerging through various cultures and eras.

The book of Jeremiah, compiled from a variety of sources, probably came together in the second century BCE. The reference to the spring of living water is later echoed twice by John in his depiction of Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, and later, when he has Jesus saying, “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them” (John 7:38). It’s a good analogy for the inner Spirit.

A cistern does not have its own water supply. It depends on external sources like rain or trucked-in water. The amount of water taken out depletes the supply. If the cistern is cracked, this depletion occurs even when we draw no water. In contrast, when you draw water from a spring it immediately replenishes.

The cistern is equivalent to the self-image. The spring of living water is our spiritual essence, the soul. Our cultural training has taught us to devote our lives to filling the cistern but has all but ignored the inner spring.

We are designed to be filled first from within, to tap our own inner spring of inspiring life that opens our mind to new possibilities. Though it sounds as if Jeremiah is leveling a criticism, he is simply pointing to the key to a more prosperous and successful life. Most of us have dug our own cistern because this is what we’ve been taught to do. When we’re ready to try a different way, we’ll find the connection to the living water that leads to a more abundant life.  

YouTube: How to Find Your Spiritual Purpose

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.” John 15:16

While it is tempting to think that our first exposure to spiritual principles is through books and teachers, it is important to remember that something gave us the nudge to begin our academic quest. What is this something that causes us to hunger and thirst for deeper knowledge of spiritual things? It is direct revelation seeping through our intuitive faculty.

Our quest for literature and teachers that is compatible with this inner prompting begins. We seize upon the literature that articulates that inner movement for which we, as yet, have no words. But this nudge is persistent and real. It is the truth of being surfacing in our conscious mind, pointing directly to our spiritual purpose.

If we ask, Which came first, the inspiration or the book? we would have to say the inspiration came first. Understanding and affirming this is critical to maintaining a healthy perspective of our spiritual quest. The inspiration we draw from a book is simply a further peeling back of mental blocks that have prevented the full light of spirit to filter into our mind. We were first inspired, then we were led to pick up certain books. If the inspiration had not existed first, we would not have resonated with the book.

The same book would mean nothing to one who is not inspired by the spirit. In other words, we did not prompt our spiritual quest. We responded to the prompting.

It may sound strange, but a significant advancement we make in our spiritual journey is ownership. Yes, we can learn from others, but the path we’re on is uniquely ours. It is an internal stirring that prompted us to probe beyond what others can give, as valuable as that may be. The only potential expert on your spiritual life is you. Trust in that inspiration that nudged you first. It’s still with you. It will be with you always. It will lead you to an understanding of your spiritual purpose.

Youtube: The Prayer of Guidance

Spiritual guidance is obviously a very important aspect of meditation and prayer. It is also a very misunderstood subject that requires some rethinking in our approach to the subject.

We often think of spiritual guidance as a means of navigating from where we are to a place we want to be. Quite often that “place” involves the acquisition of a material object, a position, a relationship or a new lifestyle. What is often missed in this process is the state of being we hope to achieve with our acquisition. Our thinking is that the attainment of a thing will make us feel better about ourselves.

What is keeping you from feeling better about yourself now? What is keeping you from feeling complete in this very place you stand in your life today? The answer is simple. Only your belief that you are incomplete, that you need something added to become happy or that you need to be in some other place keeps you at a distance from the very thing you seek.

The prayer for guidance involves the release of all groping for answers outside yourself, a letting go of all sense of inadequacy that can only be addressed by adding something new to yourself or your life. Spiritual guidance leads you first to your point of strength, that inner center of light and peace that pines away for nothing more than a deeper revelation of this divine connection.

What are the dreams and goals of a spiritually fulfilled being? To be sure, they are different from the dreams and goals of a spiritually unfulfilled being. When you find yourself in need of guidance, start with the idea that your first need is to open yourself to your own wholeness. Let go of the self that fears or feels inadequate. Find your inner point of strength and know that you are being guided now to act, not out of fear and weakness, but out of the power, love and intelligence of Spirit.

All spiritual guidance leads to the holy ground of the place you now stand. The fulfillment you seek is present. Seek this first and you will know what to do next.

YouTube: The Power Behind Prayer

While meditation is an infilling, the deeper realization that you are grounded in God, prayer is your means of expressing the life, love, power, and intelligence of God through specific areas of your life. You do this through the exercise of prayer, your ability to release the energy you have given to a negative appearance and redirect it toward the perfect outworking of your situation.

Once you grasp the relationship between meditation and prayer you no longer see prayer as a means of getting something from God. Rather you see it as a process of releasing those mental and emotional states that are blocking your good and affirming the truth that unfolds through your quiet times.

If you have a situation in your life that you want to address spiritually, you begin by taking your thoughts off the challenge and turning to God in meditation. When you close your eyes, you’ll be tempted to think only about the problem. With practice you will release your attachment to the negative appearance and experience an infilling of new inspiration. As you go about your day and the challenge presents itself to you, you release the negative energy you have invested in the challenge and allow yourself to experience it in a new and different way. You can speak words such as, “I now release the energy of this negative appearance. There is nothing to fear.” This is the denial or releasing side of prayer. You then follow up with statements that are true of your spiritual nature. “That which is in me is greater than that which is of the world. I am fearless. I am filled with the understanding of what I am to do and how I am to do it.”

Effective prayer asks nothing of God. You pray with the assumption that God has already given you all you need to meet the challenge at hand. Sometimes you are called to act and other times you are called to be still and know the Creative Life Force that is God is working through you in ways that allow your light to shine in beautiful ways. The power behind prayer is your understanding of your inseparable oneness with God, your unfailing source. 

YouTube: The Meditative Process

The practice of meditation is simple in terms of physical posture. A good position is to sit in a comfortable chair where the spine can be straight, feet flat on the floor, hands resting on your lap or on the arms of the chair. The object of the position is to stay awake while releasing all thought of the body. The goal of meditation is not the achievement of deep relaxation. Relaxation should be thought of as a byproduct. The goal of meditation is to acquaint yourself firsthand with the pure essence of life before it is colored by your own thinking.

Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths speaking quietly something like this: I now relax and let go. Release the tension in your body but make no attempt to force it out. Turn your attention to the inner depths of your consciousness. This may not appear to be a clear instruction because it is difficult to explain what it means. You will know you are making progress because your mind will begin to slow to a relaxing and clear pace. Do not make the mistake of trying to stop your thinking. Rather, redirect your natural tendency to think by making another statement: I now move deeper into the pure essence of Being. Focus your mind in the direction you wish it to move.

If you find you cannot stay focused at this point, do as Charles Fillmore suggested and get up and move about, stretching or taking a short walk. Return and start again.

These simple procedures may seem elementary, but stay with them until they begin to produce results. Feel your way through the process by trying different things, simple things that suit you. There is no quick or easy method of disciplining your mind. Reading more about how to do it will only complicate your approach. The truth is that opening your mind to the Infinite is a natural act that most of us have simply forgotten. In time you will begin to experience new and deeper feelings of freedom and inspiration that is not grounded in or tied to external events. These may come at unexpected times throughout your day. Do not look for such feelings, but acknowledge them when they come. Stay with your practice and the way within will become clear.