Tag: faith

The Intelligence Factor

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Bringing the Intelligence of God into things that matter

According to Genesis, the first thing God created was light. “God said, ‘Let there be light.’” Because we associate light with intelligence, we understand the author saw intelligence as a fundamental part of the universe. John talks about the Word, and how the Word was light, and this light was the light of men.

The mystical tradition acknowledges this intelligence expressing from the center of our being. When Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men…” I see him reminding us to be true to the best and the highest that is in us. As we let the light of our true being shine, it makes our world a better place, not only for ourselves, but for the people who come into our light.

I have said that I do not believe Jesus was an apocalyptic prophet, one who acknowledges the corruption of the present era, and predicts a coming kingdom where all problems are solved. He spoke of an inner kingdom, a light that we can let shine in our world as it is. If you are in a dark room and you can see nothing around you, turn on a light and you see everything. The room is the same. It does not change. The light, however, allows you to see and experience the room in an entirely different way.

Imagine turning on the full power of the intelligence of God in this room you call your life! You would see your daily experience from an entirely different perspective. Rather than wait for a better life to come, you would see that better life is right where you stand. Like the angel of the Lord who said to the young Moses, “…put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5). When was the last time you thought of your life as holy ground?

How do we turn on this light of intelligence that will surely brighten our life? We follow the example of God and simply say, “Let there be light.” And when we say it, we think of this light of intelligence radiating through us in beautiful ways we can’t even imagine. To let there be light is not saying make the light of intelligence shine. We let go of all control and let the perfect intelligence of God shine through us in healing, creative, and prospering ways.    

The Whispering Messiah

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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.

Quest For the Lost Sheep

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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

Call to Freedom

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Independence Day is a time when we celebrate our freedom as a nation and as individuals. Although everyone faces the occasional restrictive condition, and life in the land of the free is not without its challenges, it isn’t difficult to find many blessings to count living in a country like ours. The greatest oppression most of us face is the tyranny of our own thinking. Answering the call to freedom involves an examination of the internal dialogue that occupies our mind.

Jesus spoke of the truth that sets us free. He specifically named worry about the future and the fear of lack as two of the most debilitating conditions. The remedy he offered was the assurance that the Father knows our needs even before we pray for help. What does this mean? He was saying we need not live in constant worry and fear about the future or our material needs. We should focus instead on living each day, surrendering our worries and fears to the understanding that a greater good is now unfolding through every aspect of our experience.

The freedom you experience in your morning quiet time may evaporate in a cascade of worry by afternoon. Inner freedom requires presence of mind, a kind of mental and emotional situational awareness. Jesus talked about the foolish virgins who missed the wedding feast because they had no oil for their lamps. This is us, unprepared for an unanticipated challenge triggering a flareup of negative thought and emotion. We all succumb to negative surprises, but, like the ten wise virgins, our oil of mindfulness keeps us prepared. The moment we start our negative response, we catch it, and we say no to it.

We might attempt to achieve a state where we never worry or fear again. This is not realistic. The only time we can deal with the tyranny of our thinking is at this moment. Both the call to freedom and our answer to this call occur simultaneously. Freedom never stops calling and we never stop answering. The key is to be aware of how we are responding to this call.

Jesus The Rabbi

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I believe Jesus envisioned a time when religious authorities would shift from being protectors against the consequences of sin to become instructors devoted to opening the doors to the inner kingdom. As a scholar and teacher, this is the intended role of a rabbi.

A religion that is focused on saving people from sin is based on the need to protect a weakness. Here, the weakness is a distorted understanding of the true nature of God, the individual, and their inseparable oneness with God. Essentially, it is a belief in two powers—good and evil.

An educationally focused religious system will dedicate itself to developing strength. It acknowledges that God is the only power, and oneness with God is the ultimate truth. Translating this understanding into practical applications that have a positive impact on everyday life is the goal. This type of system explains the existence of evil, not as a power, but as a blockage of light, a misperception of the true nature of underlying reality. Instead of addressing the shadow, it seeks to bring light to the blockage that causes it. For instance, the practice of denial is not simply saying, “There is no shadow.” We acknowledge the shadow, but we see it as the effect of something that is obstructing the light. Denial is a deliberate act of withholding the power we give to this obstruction.

When people addressed Jesus as a rabbi, they acknowledged him as a scholar and teacher who had a unique grasp on the letter of Mosaic law. His special talent, however, lay in his capacity to shed light on the unity between man and God, and the transformative power this awareness brings to one’s life.

While religious tradition has always devoted itself to convincing people it could protect them from the consequence of their named list of sins, Jesus devoted his ministry to saving them from the greatest sin of all—spiritual ignorance. He pointed out that it is not the type of food that goes into the mouth that corrupts, but the words and actions that stem from a corrupt understanding of one’s relationship to God. Teaching this truth, I believe, was the sole purpose of his ministry.

I believe Jesus envisioned a time when religious authorities would shift from being protectors against the consequences of sin to become instructors devoted to opening the doors to the inner kingdom. As a scholar and teacher, this is the intended role of a rabbi.

A religion focused on saving people from sin is based on the need to protect a weakness. Here, the weakness is a distorted understanding of the true nature of God, the individual, and their inseparable oneness with God. Essentially, it is a belief in two powers—good and evil. I hope you can join us in Sunday’s exploration of Jesus The Rabbi, whose revolutionary approach went beyond teaching religious rules to teaching spiritual principles that could change lives. 

The Natural Prayer

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During my talk last Sunday, I discussed the topic of prayer and its perceived failures. After the service, a friend raised an interesting question regarding the purpose of prayer altogether. Raising such a question can help us reach a better understanding of prayer. If we treat it simply as a formula intended to invoke spiritual forces that we hope will influence outcomes in our favor, we miss the fuller scope of our involvement. We are, in fact, constantly in a state of what we might call a natural prayer, with our overall mindset as the primary influence. While we may use the tools of affirmations and denials to bring about change, it is ultimately our state of mind that determines the course and overall condition of our life.

The two main faculties we employ in natural prayer are faith and imagination. Here, faith is synonymous with expectation. The influence of expectation runs in our mind like a background program on our computer. It’s always working, but we don’t see it. What we see at the mental and emotional level are the images our faith generates through the faculty of imagination.

In his novel, The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho makes this observation:

“When each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises.”

This attitude is the mindset that we want to pay attention to. When we expect each day to be the same as the next, we are training the creative power of our imagination to match our level of expectation. All things considered; this may seem reasonable. And, if we are content with the monotony of each day being the same as the next, why bother investing effort in fixing something that isn’t broken? If we are restless and dissatisfied with our life, it will be advantageous to recognize the good things that present themselves and raise our expectation and appreciation for these gifts that each new day brings.

Natural prayer does not center on a single aspect but encompasses our overall quality of life. It directs our awareness to each present moment, every individual we encounter, and any circumstance that calls for a creative resolution. We naturally raise our own expectations and the imaginative visions that these inspire.

When Prayer Fails

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Most of us can recall times when we prayed for something, and our desired answer came about quickly and in a way that worked out well for everyone involved. Other times, it seems our prayer goes unanswered. Are we doing it right sometimes, and wrong others? Or is there some other reason our answers are not consistent?

You may remember Jesus in Gethsemane, where he prayed three times for a different outcome, to no avail. James says our prayers go unanswered because we pray amiss. As a teacher of the art of affirmative prayer, it would not seem likely that Jesus prayed amiss.

The Gospel accounts tell us that Jesus’ prayer went unanswered because God had bigger plans for him. Does this mean God wants me to endure this pain because there is a bigger plan? Is this financial setback thrust upon me to force me to open my eyes to greater possibilities? Did this relationship crumble because God doesn’t want me to be with that person?

The most productive response we can have to apparently failed prayer is to take a hard look at how we think prayer works. Are we attempting to get God to act, or are we doing everything possible to align our thoughts, our expectations, and our actions with the outcome we desire? There is no single answer to this question. However, if you believe in the power of prayer, you will take it upon yourself to find your answer. If you’ve had no success implementing all the prayer techniques given to you through books and teachers, then it may be time to let go of these and embark on your own quest to understand this important practice. Jesus had his character sell all his possessions to buy the treasure-bearing field. We know what others teach about prayer. What do we say it is, and how do we successfully employ it in our situation?

The way is not always apparent, but this does not mean that the answer we seek is unavailable. Ask, seek, knock until the door opens. If you say I did these things and still nothing, then ask, seek, and knock again, and as many times as it takes to see the door open. Either you believe your answer is possible, or you do not. If you believe it is possible, then stay with it until it becomes your reality.

What if God was One of Us?

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To the Jewish mind of Jesus’ day, claiming oneness with God was a crime punishable by stoning. That the foundation of his message was oneness with God probably contributed to his conviction in the Jewish court.

With her 90s hit song, “One of Us,” Joan Osborne met with similar resistance from mainstream Christian groups. While the song takes a rather anthropomorphic view of God, it has the effect of bringing the abstract notion of God into the human experience. This is what we want to do. Many people picture God as having an existence somewhere in a distant realm. We want to think of God as the creative life force, the vital essence of every living thing. Most importantly, we want to think of God as centered at the core of our being.

If God was one of us, that would again put us in a place of separation. If God becomes a stranger on the bus, and I’m not on that bus, then I’m here and God is not. However, the purpose of engaging in such reflections is not to run aground in problems with literal interpretations. I consider the idea of God being present in my life at this moment, actively involved right on my level. How would I think of my life if this were true?

One near-death experiencer said he met a being of light whose telepathically transmitted voice he instantly recognized as the intuitive voice he’d heard all his life. What if we acknowledged the countless ways through which we are connected to God’s guidance and inspiration? Might we not pay a little closer attention to that stranger on the bus? This thought is a powerful point of contemplation: I am in God, and the full light of God shines through me and through all people and things in my life.

I did not ride with strangers on a bus this week, but I sat with some in a waiting room at the Social Security office. It occurred to me that each one had a unique story to tell, a journey that had brought them to that moment. As I waited for my number to be called, I thought how interesting it would be to have everyone share their story. While I refrained from suggesting this idea to the group, I silently offered each person a blessing, wishing them peace and success in their ongoing journeys. I will never know if this simple prayer had any impact. What I know is that the exercise prompted me to ponder a different question: What if God was all of us?

Return of the Steady State

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Astronomer Fred Hoyle (1915-2001) was a proponent of a theory of creation known as the “steady-state model”. It is interesting that he favored this theory over the “big bang”, though he was actually responsible for naming it. In a BBC radio interview, his use of the phrase, however, was intended as ridicule.

It has suddenly dawned on me that we can combine these two ideas, as they both represent principles that can help us understand the metaphysics of prayer and the manifestation process in general.

In his parable of the house built on rock and one built on sand, Jesus referred to mental conditions; one steady as a rock, the other shifting and as unstable as sand. The soul is the steady, unchanging rock. Our reaction to life’s events can quickly turn into an emotional roller coaster as shifting and as unsteady as sand. Let’s think of our soul as in a perpetual steady state of power and peace. Our perceptual response to negative people and conditions is like a big bang of emotion that explodes into the kinds of experiences that keep us awake at night.

Last week I talked about vaporizing the people and conditions that disturb us. Of course, this refers to a mental/emotional exercise. We hold a picture of the disturbing person or circumstance and we imagine love dissolving it. Traditionally this is called denial or release, but vaporizing the person or condition may be a bit more gratifying. On the screen of our imagination, we see the image of the problem area dissolve into nothingness. Through the power of unconditional love, we allow ourselves to feel the mental and emotional freedom and satisfaction of releasing the negative imagery into the nothingness from which it came.

We then forgive ourselves for going down that path in the first place. We also remind ourselves that we will not confront the person or condition unless and until we are given clear guidance to do so. The toothpaste is out of the tube, and we’re not going to try to put it back in. We’re going to vaporize it. We know we are successful when we can hold the situation in our mind and feel good that the proper resolution is forthcoming. When we attain this stabilizing condition of mind, we have returned to the steady state.  

How To Win the Waiting Game

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When Jesus told Pilate that his kingship was not of this world, the average reader assumes he was referring to the coming of the long-anticipated kingdom of God. To the mystic, he was referring to a different way of experiencing life here and now. Those who were waiting for the Messiah envisioned a fundamental change in the social and political world order. Jesus was talking about a change that could happen within one’s normal life. The key to his intended meaning is embodied in this verse:

“Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20).

This passage is typically interpreted as Jesus pointing out that earth is not his true home and that those who follow him should not expect much in the way of earthly comforts. The mystic, on the other hand, understands that, unlike the fox or the bird, the human being is not bound by the strict parameters of instinct. There are no set outcomes, no place to lay our head. This is not a negative statement, but one intended to free the mind of restricting preconceptions.

The Jews of Jesus’ day were anticipating a Messiah, someone to dramatically change their life in ways they could not possibly do themselves. Jesus was telling them that their hope for a better life did not depend on divine intervention, that they could open themselves to new possibilities of experience right in the midst of their present life.

The Way that Jesus taught suggests that positive changes can come about in the most mundane of daily tasks. One can learn to find adventure in fetching the daily supply of water, plowing the field, or doing the wash. He had observed that those who constantly anticipate a better life rarely achieved it. The good is never good enough. The better life one imagines never quite arrives.  

We win the waiting game by realizing we do not lay our head in any anticipated better condition, but it is within all conditions that our highest good awaits. Jesus encouraged his listeners to lift their awareness to the miracle of the Presence of God found in every new moment.