Time to Topple the Pyramid

  
                                        

    Roosting in splendor on the uppermost tier of the pyramid of life are the elite who have benefited materially from humanity's mistaken separation from Divine Love and from one another. From this vantage point they can look down on the rest of the world, where those dwelling on the lowest tiers struggle to survive, and those in the middle work hard to maintain varying levels of comfort. Throughout history, those dwelling on the middle and lower tiers have supported the extravagant lifestyle of those on the top. This arrangement is sometimes known as “dualism,” as opposed to the unity that Love desires for humanity.

    The beneficiaries of dualism have gone by many names and labels. At the very tippy top there are the pharaohs, kings and queens, emperors and empresses, czars and czarinas, chiefs, dictators and popes. Not too far below them are the lords and ladies, dukes and duchesses, counts and countesses; bishops, presidents and other government leaders - CEOs. In ancient times, the Egyptian pharaohs were worshiped as gods with absolute power, who claimed ownership of everyone and everything in Egypt. In China, the Mandate of Heaven ensured that the gods would bless the authority of a just ruler; and his subjects believed that this blessing should include an opulent lifestyle.

    The Hebrews believed that God had created the lineage of kings that ruled over Israel. Solomon, who ascended to the throne upon the death of his father, King David, amassed a vast amount of wealth during his reign. He took 700 wives and 300 concubines, who were treated more like possessions than the cherished help-mates they might have been if each had been allowed a single husband! Solomon used slave labor for his many building ventures, including the palace that took 13 years to construct; and he placed heavy taxes on his people in order to support his projects. If he had been an instrument of Love, rather than a king anointed by a priest of the misconceived jealous Jehovah, he would have recognized his oneness with all other people, including those he had treated as slaves.

    When Jesus came into the world to teach people about Love, Israel was under rule of the Romans who worshiped their emperor as a god. Neither the Romans nor the Jews could fathom a government ruled by an ordinary person. Jesus never referred to a connection between God and kings. However, he did say: “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and render unto God what is God’s” (Mark 12:17). Early church scholars understood this to mean that Christians should submit to worldly rulers as long as they were not being asked to defy God’s commandments. This interpretation would sanction the oppression of vassals and citizens by Christian emperors and kings for hundreds of years, and Love’s angels would weep as they witnessed the evils that took place under the guise of religion.

    I think the angels would have wondered: “Why is it so difficult for people to understand that what belongs to Caesar are the riches of the world, and what belongs to God is the spiritual power that comes with divine creativity, unconditional love, and the knowledge that all are One?” Some of the men who wrote the doctrines that would tell Christians what to believe were quite aware that Jesus wanted people to discover the divine power that is available to all of us. These men remained beloved children of Divine Spirit, even though they preferred not to claim this birthright. To do so would be to recognize that all men and women shared the same heritage, and where would be the fun in that? They enjoyed the luxuries of material wealth and the feeling of power they got by dominating the masses, so they manipulated Love’s messages in order to maintain their lofty positions.

    It was to the advantage of these early church fathers to elevate Jesus to the same level as the Father God who remained separate and inaccessible to the masses. They claimed that the Holy Spirit inspired the twelve disciples of Jesus to write the Apostles’ Creed; and with this assertion, the decree that Jesus is God’s only son was made infallible. After all, no one can argue with the Holy Spirit!

    In the fourth century A.D., the Roman Emperor Constantine issued an edict that granted religious tolerance of Christians throughout the empire. “How wonderful!” the angels probably cried. “If only Constantine understood that Christianity should be based on Jesus’ teachings about love, compassion, and forgiveness. Then his generous law would be a real gift to the world!”

    As a general, Constantine led thousands in bloody battles, and spread the Christian religion by brandishing the sword rather than following Jesus' commandment to preach and heal in his name. Constantine also collected from the far reaches of his empire to Nicaea, about 300 bishops who collaborated on a creed that was devised more from their combined heads than from their hearts. Like the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed says nothing about the life and teachings of Jesus, or his plea to the human race to show more love and mercy to one another.

    Jesus offered forgiveness to the woman that the Pharisees and teachers of the Hebrew law brought to him for judgment after catching her in the act of adultery. According to the ancient laws, she should have been stoned to death. But Jesus said to them: “Let any one of you who is without sin, be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7b). Constantine was apparently not familiar with this verse because his laws required that any girl who ran away with her lover would be burned alive. Any chaperone that assisted in an elopement would have molten lead poured into her mouth.

     The angels would have reached out to Constantine’s soul, to make him feel the effects of this evil. If Constantine could experience the oneness between himself and others that Jesus had encouraged, he would have suffered the agony that was inflicted on his victims. But the barrier between his mind and his soul was so strong the angels could not penetrate it.

    Constantine was a harsh ruler in other areas of government, including the tax policy that required city dwellers to pay a tax in gold or silver every four years. Sometimes parents sold their children into slavery or prostitution to avoid the beatings or torture that tax evaders received. The angels just couldn’t believe that this emperor was largely responsible for a creed that would construct a cage around Christian belief, making heretics of anyone who did not accept it. Never-the-less, Constantine has been venerated as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church, and greatly revered by Roman Catholics. He is remembered for ending the persecution of Christians and for spreading Christianity throughout the Roman Empire.

    As their religious allegiance morphed from paganism into Christianity, the beneficiaries of dualism managed to keep themselves in lofty places by remaining separate from Love and Love’s creation. They wove heavy veils around their souls with the lies they told about Jesus and his teachings. Many Christians believed these lies, or feared the punishment of their rulers, and so they wove similar veils around their own souls, thus closing themselves off from any feelings of compassion they may have had for people who were different or less fortunate than they were.

The above is a chapter from my book, The World According to Love. And today, February 2, 2023, I add that the time has come for all of us in the middle and at the bottom of the pyramid to recognize our oneness, to love and respect one another, and expose the lies that the capstone has been using to keep us divided for thousands of years. Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with us NOW.

Building Bridges of Oneness through Better Understanding

      

    Church membership has been on the decline in the United States since 1985.  According to the Gallup polls: "Over the past two decades, the percentage of Americans who do not identify with any religion has grown from 8% in 1998-2000 to 13% in 2008-2010 and 21% over the past three years." I believe there are many reasons for this, but I think one reason is that many people are realizing that the theologies of most religions are too exclusive and do not support our new understanding that all people are One, and all are divine children of God. Many people who believe in a divine universe will not use the term "God" because it evokes images of a wrathful and vengeful being who threatens to punish us for eternity if we stray from the path of righteousness. 

    I personally do not think that church membership is as important as attaining a better understanding of God and our relationship with our divine parent: our Father- Mother God. That relationship is based on Love, and I do believe that Jesus (among many others) came to earth to teach humanity how to be more loving, and to show us how to save ourselves from guilt, fear, envy, illness, and all the other negative experiences of an ego-driven life. 

    Ten years ago I read a book called Who Am I? Why Am I Here? written by Patricia Cota-Robles. I am re-reading this book now and finding many wonderful reminders about the reasons we earthlings find ourselves in the predicament we are in, and how we can get out of it.  I would like to share an excerpt from this book (pages 104-105):

     Jesus agreed to be crucified in order to prove to the world that there is nothing the fallen human ego can do that will destroy the Divinity within us. His crucifixion and resurrection proved that even if one's physical body is abused, tortured, and crucified, the Christ within is eternal and lives on in our Light Body.

    Even though Jesus did not save us in the way many are saying, he did forgive the sins of the world in a very different way. When Jesus was hanging on the cross a Centurion pierced his side with a sword. His intent was to accelerate Jesus' death, and to put him out of his misery. As Jesus' blood and Lifeforce flowed onto the Earth Jesus said, "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do." In that instant, our Father-Mother God allowed the Law of Forgiveness to be initiated as the order of the New Day on Planet Earth.

    Prior to that moment, the Children of God were subject solely to the Law of Karma, or the Law of Cause and Effect. After the Law of Forgiveness was established on Earth, we had another option. Humanity could ask for forgiveness for the misuse of our precious gift of Life and be forgiven. We are still subject to the Law of Cause and Effect, but now when we recognize the error of our ways we can ask forgiveness. Forgiveness transmutes our misqualified energy back into Light before it returns to us as a difficult challenge through the Law of the Circle. 

    It is important for us to understand that we are not forgiven just because Jesus was here, as some believe. We are forgiven if we recognize our mistakes, ask for forgiveness, and change our behavior patterns. 

    If this explanation makes sense to you and you'd like to know more, I recommend that you read this book. If you'd like me to share more excerpts on this blog, just let me know in the comments. 

    

    

    

The Universal Law of Fellowship

       

       Last month I joined a group of women who are discussing the channeled works of Paul Selig. His first book is: I Am the Word which I am reading now. I have been using "I Am" affirmations for quite awhile: I Am Love, I Am Light, I Am That I Am. I Am Word is a new one for me. At first it didn't make sense, but I wanted to learn more about it, mainly because I liked the idea of being in a study group with spiritual seekers who are on a path similar to mine: women who recognize the importance of raising our individual frequencies as our contribution to the salvation of Mother Earth and humanity.

       Before I even started to read the book, my first thoughts about the Word took me back to the Bible where John says: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1)." As it turns out, this scriptural passage is referred to in the book which also explains: "The Word is the vibration of God in action. Word is action. It is creation. When we say "I Am Word" we are decreeing ourselves as the Creator in action."

       The Bible verse goes on to say: "He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it." Christians believe that the word is Jesus, and that Jesus is an aspect of God who helped to create the universe. 

       When we say "I Am the Word" we affirm that each one of God's children is a co-creator, and that we all have the potential to attain the Christ consciousness that Jesus and others have demonstrated. Those who achieve this Christed vibration experience the oneness of everything. For them it is more than an ideal - it is a knowing.

       The path to Christ consciousness is a rocky one. Jesus said: " . . . the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few (Matt. 7-14)." Because the path is so difficult it really helps to have the support of fellow travelers. While I don't believe there is only one way to achieve Christ consciousness, I do think it will help to choose a path that I won't have to travel alone. 

       Jesus said: "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them (Matt. 18:20)."  This is also known as The Universal Law of Fellowship: "When two or more people of similar vibration are gathered for a shared purpose, their combined energy directed to the attainment of that purpose is multiplied." 

       This is why I have joined the group of women who are studying Selig's channeled works. Our shared purpose is to raise our combined consciousness in order to make a positive difference in the world. Together I hope that we can help to build a bridge of oneness that humanity so needs more of if it is to thrive. 

Waiting for the Door to Open

                Today, November 30, 2014, is the first Sunday in Advent, the season of waiting. For most, it simply means time to start getting ready for Christmas:shopping, baking, writing cards, decorating, and attending holiday parties and events. 

               This morning in church the pastor reminded us that Advent is a time to prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus. We listened to the Scripture passages, Mark 13: 24-37, where Jesus tells his followers to be alert for his second coming because “about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”  So Advent also reminds us that we are waiting for the end of Earth’s tribulations and the beginning of the new era of peace. How much longer will we have to wait?

                In Mark 13:7-8 Jesus says: “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places, there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.” (NRSV)

                I have often wondered about this passage because there have always been wars and famines in the world. Or maybe it just seems that way because our history books skip over the peaceful eras when nothing “exciting” was happening. (Were there any such times?) As our pastor pointed out this morning, the world seems to be in an awful state these days with horrendous violent events occurring, especially in the Middle East and Africa. And then there’s the Ebola epidemic, widespread earthquakes and tornadoes, as well as famines. It’s not very comforting to read the Bible and learn that things could get a lot worse before they get better.

                According to the Bible, when things have gotten so bad that the sun and moon have given up their light, and the stars have fallen from the sky, we will see “’the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory.” I wonder how many Christians believe that Jesus will literally return to earth in the clouds? (What if Jesus returns on a clear day? Or, if there is no sun or moon, will we be able to tell if there are clouds or not?)

The metaphysical interpretation of clouds is: “The presence of the mind of God in spiritual visibility, which comes to us when we have dropped all formal religious exercises and are resting in the very consciousness of Deity.” So metaphysically speaking, the second coming might be the day when all of humanity attains divine consciousness and we all recognize our Oneness.  

Over the past few years, the piece I wrote about Ruby Nelson’s book, The Door of Everything has remained the most popular post on my blog. The ongoing interest in this book has inspired me to pick it up again. Re-reading the first chapter today, I find the reminder that God is always within our consciousness: “Like an iceberg on the sea, nine-tenths of which is out of sight, I live within you in the form of mind with nine-tenths of me being submerged beneath your awareness.”

To continue: “This submerged mind is your center of divine wisdom, an area of mind that does not think in the normal sense of the word--it knows.  The nature of it is pure and holy, it has never been touched by limited or negative belief; it is a living part of me. When you have learned to elevate this submerged mind and integrate it with your surface consciousness, your entire being will take on its holy nature and you will come to find that, as Jesus taught, it is indeed not robbery to be equal with God.” (pp. 17-18)

It makes sense to me that we can only be saved from the ugliness of this world when we recognize our own divinity and act like the divine beings we are. Most of us have heard, probably many times, that we can’t change someone else unless he or she wants to change. Jesus was not able to change the world when he came two thousand years ago. How would it be different if he was to return today? All he can do is demonstrate that the way to salvation is to recognize the hidden treasures within our consciousness– and he has already done that. 

Ruby Nelson’s book shows us the way through “the door of everything.” Jesus said “I stand at the door and knock.” He, the embodiment of Love and Light is waiting for us to open the door. In Mark 13 Jesus says that the second coming is like a man going on a journey and commanding the doorkeeper to be on watch.  Jesus went on a journey when he left this world. He left a doorkeeper at the door to divine consciousness that lies within each one of us. The doorkeeper will unlock the door and open it when we are ready to “rest in the very consciousness of Deity.”

The Cosmic I Am ~ by Emily VanLaeys

             

            Just who are we really – as cosmic beings? None of us can know for sure, but I’d like to share a few of my ideas about the Cosmic I Am – some of which I have gleaned from the thoughts of others, but none of which I am declaring to be the absolute truth.

            Most theologies begin with a creation story, so here is mine:

            Before the beginning of everything there was nothing but What I Am. I Am all-knowing. I Am still . . . and I know that I Am:- All-That-Is.  I Am Love. . .  I Am Peace. . . I Am Joy. . . I Am Light. . . I Am eternal. I Am for eons and eons. I Am That I Am. . . never-changing.

            I Am bored.

            I love that I Am One, but I cannot grow and evolve when I Am all the same, and I Am just TOO perfect.

So, I am creating an infinite variety of beings from what I Am . . . now life will always be new and exciting and beautiful . . . and never the same.

            The All-That-I Am explodes into song – creating an infinite number of particles, expanding forever outward into Space.  Now . . .  I Am stars and comets, planets and moons. I am water, air, earth, and fire. I am plant and animal, fish and bird, insect and reptile. I am god and goddess, man and woman, mother and father, daughter and son. (I am other creatures on other planets, but those are other stories and not part of this one.)

            I love infinite variety in my creation, so every part is different. I am many in one. I love every aspect of myself equally. I love every grain of sand, every blade of grass, every person. I frequently forget that I Am many parts of one being, so I leave clues to help myself remember. I create every snowflake with a different design, and yet each one is formed from frozen water. Every tree spreads its branches and leaves in a unique pattern, yet the roots of each grow into the same earth, receiving nourishment from the same water and nutrients. Every human being has a unique DNA, face, and thumbprint. And yet, I Am the spirit of each and every one.

            In most people the spirit that I Am is buried and forgotten under all the ideas, traits, and memories that make them feel separate from each other and from the great I Am.  However, some have learned how to re-connect with the Source of all creation – by spending time in stillness, going deep within, where the Light and Love of I Am dwells. One of these people has spoken for all with the words: “Be still, and know that I am God!”

            Many religions have sprung up around the world, each one trying to explain who I Am in a way that the people of that area can understand. Since I have manifested in a myriad of ways, I need thousands of religions to meet the needs of the different aspects of who I Am. The funny thing is that so many of them think they have found a truth that should work for the whole world, and they even get mad at those who disagree, or threaten them with Hell.

            What is Hell? I never created such a place, but I did create Heaven, the state of knowing the Love and Light that I Am. One person that I Am, who is known as Jesus, taught that the kingdom of heaven is within us.  

Jesus taught many things about who I Am. He said: “I am the light of the world.” He also said: “You are the light of the world,” so we would understand that when he says “I am” he means the part of himself that is connected to the I Am self of each person. When he says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life” he wants us to understand that each of us is the way, the truth, and the life. We will know this when we peel away the layers of our outer selves that separate us from one another. We will know this when we love our neighbors as ourselves. We will know this when we realize that our enemies are our brothers and sisters, and we love them, too. Jesus says: When we know this truth, the truth will set us free.

When we are free we are at peace. Black Elk, a Native American medicine man, said: “Peace comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the Universe dwells Wakan-Tanka (the Great Spirit), and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.”

            When we know the truth, that we are all One, barriers come down, not only between peoples, but between people and Nature. I can be still and know that I Am God, and I can be still and know that all of Creation is God. Zen Master, Thich Nhat Hanh, reminds us to spend still moments appreciating each part of Creation. He says: “When we look into the heart of a flower, we see clouds, sunshine, minerals, time, the earth, and everything else in the cosmos. Without clouds, there could be no rain, and there would be no flower. Without time, the flower could not bloom. In fact, the flower is made entirely of non-flower elements; it has no independent, individual existence.”

           

            There is a great awakening that occurs in the experience of those who discover the deep-most part of themselves that is what I Am. Jesus awoke and said: “I and the Father are one.”

            Saint Catherine of Genoa awoke and proclaimed: “My Me is God, nor do I recognize any other Me except my God.”

            Abraham AbulAfia, founder of the School of Prophetic Kabbala awoke in the 13^th century, and wrote: “For now the awakened one is no longer separated from God, and behold you are God, and God is you’ for you are so intimately adhering to God that you cannot by any means be separate from God, for you are God. So now that I, even I, am God. God is I and I am God.”

            Also in the 13^th century, the Persian poet, Rumi, awoke and wrote:

	I am dust particles in sunlight. I am the round sun.
	To the bits of dust I say, Stay.
	To the sun, Keep moving.
	I am morning mist,
	and the breathing of evening.
	I am wind in the top of a grove,
	and surf on the cliff.
	Mast, rudder, helmsman, and keel,
	I am also the coral reef they founder on.
	I am a tree with a trained parrot in its branches.
	Silence, thought, and voice.
	The musical air coming through a flute,
	a spark of a stone, a flickering
	in metal. Both candle,
	and the moth crazy around it.
	Rose, and the nightingale
	lost in the fragrance.
	I am all orders of being, the circling galaxy,
	the evolutionary intelligence, the lift,
	and the falling away. What is,
	and what isn’t. You who know
	Jelaluddin, You the one
	in all, say who
	I am. Say I
	am You.

            So yes, I Am everything: All-That-Is. To live in harmony as an infinite number of unique individuals, all growing and changing and being ourselves – and remembering that we are all connected as ONE Cosmic Consciousness – is really hard! But I keep working at it - because it’s the only way to keep growing wiser and more peaceful and more in love with who I Am.

The Bridge between Heaven and Earth by Emily VanLaeys

Painting by Chris Lissandrello

I have been accused of living too much in the ethereal world; for not paying enough attention to current news events; for not paying enough attention to the physical world that I live in. My accuser is one who loves me very much and wants what’s best for me.  He loves humanity and the earth; he worries and prays about the greed and violence he sees in the world. He reads the Bible and tries to believe God’s promises, but it all looks so hopeless to him. He feels helpless and guilty because he isn’t doing more to bring about the change he wants to see. He says to me: “You can’t create peace and justice by wishing for it and imagining it.”

              

            I  have never used the word “wish” to describe what I do in meditation and prayer. I know that Jesus didn’t just wish that the sick would be well, that five loaves and two fish would be enough to feed five thousand, or that Lazarus would come back from the dead. Jesus brought these events into the physical world from the ethereal world where Spirit dwells and the patterns for material things are created. Jesus said: “The person that believes in me will do the same things I have done. Yes! He will do even greater things than I have done.” (John 14:12) His miracles were not meant to demonstrate that he alone was God’s son, but to demonstrate for us what we will all do when we recognize that we, too, are One with God and One with the Christ spirit.

               

            When Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is within you,” he was telling us that the ethereal, spiritual world, from where all good things come, is within us, just as it is in him. We lost our ability to access this inner kingdom when we separated ourselves from God, our divine source. This separation took place long ago, as symbolized by Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden. Prior to that time there had been no knowledge of evil; but God granted us the free will that allowed us to choose the delights of the physical world over the security of life in the bosom of divine will. Our decision to separate ourselves from our divine source was the cause of evil, which we actually blame on God every time we say that a death, a natural disaster, or a disease must be God’s will.

                

             Jesus talked a great deal about the difference between the earthly world and the spiritual world which he called his home. And he encouraged his followers not to attach themselves to the material world. Jesus said to Pilate: “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” (John 18:36) Jesus’ followers did not fight to save him because they knew he could save himself if he wanted to, and because Jesus had taught them that violence is not welcome in his peaceable kingdom. Likewise, we should not fight, whether with weapons, words, or angry thoughts, because the kingdom of heaven can’t be reached by any of these means.

                

             When God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness,” (Genesis 1:26) men and women were created as spiritual beings, infused with the breath of God: the breath of love, light, and creativity. Although we came to dwell on earth, we knew that our true home was the spiritual, ethereal world; and that we were all One, having the same divine breath coursing through our bodies.When we chose to make the earth our permanent home, we forgot our spiritual heritage and our oneness with each other and all of creation. We forgot how to manifest what we needed from the ethereal world, and so we felt the need to struggle against each other to get what we thought was “our fair share” of the earth’s abundance.

                

            Now, two thousand years after Jesus demonstrated how to produce “something from nothing,” how to live as God meant us to, in perfect health, and at peace with ourselves and with each other, large numbers of people are beginning to understand his lessons.  They are the ones who have eyes to see beneath the surface of the material world, and ears to hear the spiritual messages that are coming thick and fast from divine sources. They are learning to shine their own divine light, just as Jesus told us to when he said “You are the light of the world . . .  let your light shine among men.” (Matthew 5:14-17) Instead of engaging in politics with its “us against them” mentality, they recognize their oneness with all of humanity, even those that threaten to dim their light and disturb their inner peace. 

 Jesus said that when the age of hidden truth is nearing its end, “. . . many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because of the increase in lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold.” (Matthew 24:11-12) So this is the time to hold fast to the Law of Love, the law given by Jesus that leads to eternal life. Let us not be disturbed by the storms swirling around us, both man-made and natural – for even the tornados and hurricanes are the result of humanity’s separation from God, our Creator, who intended the earth to be a place of calm and beauty, as it was in the beginning.  Let us remain focused on love, radiate our light in the darkness, and be a beacon for others.  As the light of the world grows brighter and brighter, those who sleep in the dark will begin to awaken, and waking, they will join the celestial song of joy that Isaiah prophesied so many centuries ago:

We have won no victories on earth,

And no one is born to inhabit the world.

Your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise.

O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy!

For your dew is a radiant dew,

And the earth will give birth to those long dead.

                                                (Isaiah 26:18-19)