Godliness and Guilt

Guilt is something we must live with in the human experience. Often it is justified and often it isn’t. We either carry it as a heavy burden in never-ending disconsolation or we can learn to deal with it in a logical, adaptive manner and go on with our lives. People who feel led to follow a spiritual path I think tend to be much harder on themselves with regard to guilt than those who do not emphasize it in their lives simply because they recognize the eternal significance of all they do, rather than just the earthly consequences of their actions. Different religious traditions emphasize different aspects of right and wrong in both thoughts and deeds. For example, In the Judeao-Christian system, individual and collective guilt is highlighted. In the Genesis account the first humans who were made conscious of personal responsibility were Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel but later in the chapter the concept of collective responsibility begins to take shape and thus the drama of Israel’s journey unfolds through time and space in the development of an ethical consciousness of duty to God. The rights and responsibilities of the nation to the individual and the individual to the collective are fleshed out as well and are contrasted with the beliefs and norms of other nations that were encountered on their journey into the Promised Land. In Eastern belief systems though, the emphasis is more toward the relationship of the individual to the spiritual world, that it is necessary to practice detachment from a deceptive, illusory world that causes those entranced by it to go astray in the acquisition of materiality, leading to misery and cynicism toward God and toward others.

So no matter what particular set of beliefs one adheres to there is always the injunction to change negative behaviors to positive ones in order to show that our faith in God is sincere but through the process of increasing one’s identification with God, our behaviors and attitudes can organically be changed as a result of that relationship. In that experience we don’t actually change ourselves. God changes us. Guilt assumes the role of a gauge to measure where we are on the path toward godliness and increases awareness of omissions and commissions that cause us to fall short of the standard set by the particular moral or ethical requirements of the belief system we follow. Guilt also highlights one’s internal motivations as well. When people of faith are aware of it they acknowledge a level of responsibility for their behavior and the amount of guilt experienced increases or decreases in proportion to the personal standards that they hold themselves to.

Too much guilt or too little can be a deal breaker between the seeker and God. When there is too much of it there is a feeling of always falling short of what is required. When there’s too little of it there is a tendency toward self-satisfaction, pride and arrogance. Now there are a lot of ‘suffering saints’ out there who can’t seem to stop beating themselves up for things they have done in the past or things they are still doing that they can’t seem to get a grip on and so every day becomes another opportunity for chest-pounding and regret for not being able to ‘cut it’ with God. In truth though, guilt should not be our primary motivator. Love should. Love is the hand of God in the world manifested by the Spirit through imperfect vessels. When folks dismiss themselves they dismiss the power of God as being inadequate to transform their lives. When going out for a walk or out in the car if you diverge from course and trail to the left or right of the lane or sidewalk you instinctively know to get back on the straight and narrow to avoid accidents. People don’t usually moan and grown about a slight turn that they made a mile back and don’t give themselves hell for it. They get back on track without even a thought and keep on going on toward their destination. Well then, why do people needlessly aggravate themselves when they sin and fall short? Not that people should never feel normal guilt since it’s an alarm system that’s hard-wired in to let us know when we’re veering off the path we want to be on, not in just moral choices, but in all the choices we make from moment to moment and from day to day. It seems wise then to chart a middle course with respect to self-judgement.
Often in the Old Testament (Tanach) God seems to alternate between doting devotion and thunderous rage against His people Israel but the silver thread within all of scripture is that the Hand of Mercy is eternally outstretched to all at all times. In Isaiah 40 the prophet speaks:

1.“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.”

In the New Testament (Covenant) we are presented with what I like to call the “ultimate metaphor of forgiveness.” It’s actually akin to a ‘come down from the sky’ visual aid so that the average, imperfect person is better able to understand God’s love in a way that’s easily recognizable. Jesus the crucified becomes the means by whom it is communicated to us that we are loved beyond measure so that we no longer have to worry about everything we think and do that might put us in divine disfavor. It is an object lesson that we should never ever give up on ourselves. If we are our own worst enemy then God is conversely our best friend, letting us know that it’s alright to be human and though we may fail many times each day, we are still open to blessing and forgiveness since we have been created sentient by divine volition with an assurance that we will always been viewed in the light of Love.

1 Peter 1:19-21

19. But with precious blood, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot, the blood of Christ;
20 Who was foreknown before the foundation of the world but has been manifested in the last of times for your sake
21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God.

So we have never really been under the lash of an oppressive God. Rather, we are seen through all time as being of unlimited value, protected by a benevolent Shepherd and not by a violent, brutal taskmaster. We have enough problems living happily in a material plane by virtue of the temporal nature of existence, so when we pile up emotional troubles through our own doing we only increase our sense of misery and guilt. So how do we tamp down guilt and move on? We do it by finding and following the “narrow way’ as the Sages taught and sticking to that path by fixedly focusing our thoughts and actions in the direction of the spiritual. If we do wrong to someone and we have the opportunity to make it right, then we should do so, for in making what was askew straight we can gain forgiveness from the person we have done wrong to and gain forgiveness for ourselves as well. If we can’t do anything to change what we have done, then its important to actively put it out of mind and get our thoughts back to where they should be, on the never ending abundance from that Well of forgiveness, so we can find our way back into Light of the Spirit. Think of the inexhaustible sufficiency that’s available to us in God and not of our human weaknesses and our lack of strength. Chanting, meditation and prayer can be invoked in almost any situation and even if short they can still bring us through the rough spots we encounter throughout the day. Whenever a guilty feeling or thought begins to intrude in on us it is very easy to call up a song or prayer to block them as they come and it only takes a little practice for it to become natural for us to do. In many ways we become what we think and say both consciously and unconsciously to ourselves. To stay close to the Spirit we need to think God’s thoughts and as we continue in them we discover that walking with God is not really all that hard to do. Images that have tripped us up in the past lose their power to entice us into negativity and guilt simply because we are thinking of them less often and thinking more about what does us good and it is toward the good that we are beckoned.

Have a joyful Easter and Passover, everybody!

Living Between Earth and Sky

Much of the human strife that has existed from the beginning can be understood in terms of the struggle of individuals, groups and nations to obtain those things that are valued as scarce because we live in a world with physical limitations. There is never enough to go around it seems. Not enough money, food, land or natural resources and even if we subjectively feel we are doing very well, there is always a deep-in-the-gut sense that we are lacking something on both large and small-scale terms. Overarching all our needs is the knowledge that we have a limited life span that puts time limits in the pursuit of things. Religion and spiritual concepts in their purest forms are essentially unknowable in this context and one of the problems with the competing systems of belief is that each one claims to have the answers the others lack, which exerts pressure on each to dominate the other to a greater or lesser degree. In the Jewish tradition, one of the main tenets of the faith is the absolute holiness of God which allows no images of the Creator and from this idea comes the dictate to not worship other gods or idols, because to do so is to take the infinite and bottle it up within human thinking which leads to drawing doctrinal conclusions from faulty premises. Other traditions, however, see the One God manifested in different forms and is misunderstood by westerners as idolatry because it engenders a feeling of alienation in us when compared with the familiarity we have with our own. We are constantly reminded and immersed in physical reality. It plays at our emotions and dictates our drives, forcing us to look at it unquestioningly and to do its bidding in knee-jerk fashion. It hypnotizes us with its beauty, terrifies us in horror or just leaves us bewildered with a constant stream of stimuli, causing us to build up within ourselves a network of self-protection systems to help mediate the world for us, so that its bipolar nature is not impossible to bear. What we are accustomed to however, is not all we perceive, for there is another world that exists not outside the ability of us humans to know. It is the realm of the Spirit, which knows no earthly anchors and is not tied to the imperfect conceptual restraints of our minds and hearts. In our heads we somehow conceptualize that there is a missing piece to the puzzle of existence, that what we see is not all there is, as an astronomer knows that the universe we understand is not all there is due to the unchangeable laws of physics. There is yet an unknown quantity of matter which remains undiscovered, that even with all our science we have not been able unveil. No matter how deep we search into the infiniteness of the cosmos, or how small we examine matter and energy on the quantum level, there will probably always be unanswered questions that beckon us to move forward toward increased understanding.

Everything in the physical world is moving toward either creation or dissolution and though we may think that life here on earth has no strong relationship to the spiritual plane, it nevertheless does. In the molding together and breaking apart over and over again there is a constant understanding in all sentient beings that the destiny of the physical is the eternal. A tree grows from a sapling, puts out its branches and leaves and in its turning up and rising toward the sun it provides us a clue to the solution that humans have always been looking for. That tree reaches up toward the light, to the sun that seems to endlessly brighten up our world with its life-giving rays. The sun, our earthly parent, warms us sufficiently that life continues to thrive in the deep, dark, cold and vacuum-less ocean of space. God, in a similar way, as our Singular parent offers us a promise that if we seek the Divine with all the power and strength of our imagination and understanding we shall find that which does not fade or perish and although we may be still be subject to the rule of physical laws here, we are also walking through a veil that separates this plane from the next. We are learning to balance on a fence that separates the two since we need both realities to be able to exist here, but our longings and dreams reach out to the next level of spiritual evolution. As we see in 1John 2:15-18,

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world.
17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

The Book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 1 also counsels us the nature of this existential plane in its proclamation that the activity of the world in which we live is 'vanity' and to be seeking that which will not ultimately satisfy is a exercise in futility:

1:2 "Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher; "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."
1:3 What does man gain from all his labor in which he labors under the sun?
1:4 One generation goes, and another generation comes; but the earth remains forever
1:7 All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, there they flow again.
1:8 All things are full of weariness beyond uttering. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
1:14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.

So we ask ourselves why life 'sucks' and we have the answer clearly written down thousands of years ago. Other traditions with wisdom writings such as the Hindu Bhagavad-Gita also echo the same truths as do those from the Jewish tradition and though the story is told a bit differently, the lessons learned from it are equivalent to those of our own. Our journey from the mortal to the eternal state is one that starts in the world of chaotic dualism to that of a world of Oneness that is balanced in diversity. It is one in which we slowly let go of our stake in an imperfect system to that of the complete when we take our gaze off the temporal and see the eternal with the 'single eye,' a world with infinite possibilities. Although it may take a leap of faith at a time when we stand at a gaping precipice, there really is no way to avoid forward motion since there is no return path back to the safety of the familiar. All life is seeking redemption as it makes its way through the carnal plane to the spiritual and to be human is to be blessed with a sixth sense, the urge to seek knowledge about where we came from, why we are here and where we are headed in the great forward movement of creation. We all have an inclination to seek after God and inevitably we must all throw up our hands and submit to the Ineffable that created us. With the words of the Lord and the Holy Names ready on our tongues, we keep our connection to that reality, the One, in good working order and move ever closer to the next level of Being.

Peeling Back the Veil

1Corinthians 13:12 "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known."

Matthew 6:22, 23 "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore your eye be single, your whole body shall be full of light. But if your eye be evil, your whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness."

On our journey through the existential plane our inner eye is in many ways covered by very thin layers of flesh that need to be peeled back to reveal the true nature of what can be seen. When enough of these layers have been removed our sight becomes clearer and we begin to see with greater maturity, better able to understand the relative importance of all the things that we have experienced and have held dear in our lives and better able to weigh them according to their true value. For example, we learn on this plane that the bodies that hold the essence of who we are is subject to degradation as they age but paradoxically our inner selves also unfold toward greater awareness of the preciousness and wonder of life. Time takes on new importance and we begin to understand that all we think, say and do have eternal ramifications due to the laws of cause and effect and the interrelatedness of all that is. We are able to realize that though we are very small in the context of the entire universe, we also have an important part to play in its unfolding.

When we are young we tend to want to have everything all at once, not that we always feel that it is owed to us, but rather that we become flushed with the pleasure of sense stimuli and often become addicted to those feelings. These intense longings act as a kind of blinder, and sometimes we take dangerous detours to reach them and run into a good deal of pain and suffering as a result, but as we grow, hopefully we become more cogniscent of these detours that promise happiness but fail to deliver. These detours can be likened to the unclear mirrors described by the apostle Paul. With age comes wisdom and though it may sound cliché, it is nevertheless true. The aging process through the attainment of wisdom can help clear the film of debris from our eyes, opening up a whole new panorama of what was once an unseen world for us to enjoy in abundance. Aging likewise can also cloud our vision and can make us bitter if we've been unable to find the satisfaction in life that others have found and we can feel cheated, worthless and discarded, but by diligently trusting the Eternal that watches over all of us and dwells within us, regardless of what our senses tell us is real, we are better able to stay on a more sure path that leads to ultimate peace and joy. It is in learning to trust what we cannot see with our physical eyes that helps us do this and ironically, it is the same unseen world that which allows us to truly enjoy sense pleasures here on earth. All the great teachers that have learned from their teachers going all the way back to ancient times emphatically combine to attract our attention and bring us to an understanding of where to look for things that have true worth. It may not be an easy path to take because it takes time and some patience to become aware of the unseen and even then we only can attain it in part. Even the most diligent seeker often only sees reality through an earthbound haze but true life is nevertheless a birthright that we all have a share in if we are intent enough to search for it from both within and without. So each day it is important to allow time for our spirits to rest in the arms of the Compassionate One and not let the dross of the world's impermanence block our way to what we are ultimately and inevitably destined for. We should endeavor to enjoy our lives, laugh, give, take and just be who we are but we also should try to practice moderation. That which is shiny and desirable often turns to rust and ashes, only offering disillusionment and dissatisfaction, so it is important to seek with a true heart and learn to balance that which is of the seen and the unseen. This leads to real contentment.

Living with Angels and Demons

We all know that humans have the capacity to act in ways somewhere between the extremes of good and evil and even the non-believers among us recognize that at best we get only mixed reviews for the way we conduct ourselves in the social domain. Even the steadiest of believers if they are at all honest will tell you that they have to fight King Demon day in and day out in between the periodic showers of blessings so that they often feel both forces pulling their frail corporeal frames apart in the battle. Their tired faces are everywhere, in doctors' offices, at work, on the war-front, and in the grips of cruelty and poverty. We acknowledge their existence and ask, why? And growing out from this disconsolation are the businesses that tap into huge markets of folks ready for the pickin' by enterprising individuals touting their latest natural or pharmaceutical remedies or the latest religious twist on how to get and keep blessings coming fast and strong. People wallow in their inability to earn a decent income, to lose weight, to gain weight, (haven't heard much from this camp) to get healthier or feel less stressed through their days which is something like catching a butterfly or a sunbeam that frustratingly becomes more and more tiring and elusive. We remind ourselves of our blessings and give thanks for what we have but we also feel the fear of losing them. As we age we tend to contemplate death more and either try to avoid the subject or try to face it head on as we watch ourselves and those we care for slowly getting a bit less physically able to do the things which used to be done without having as much as a pinch of pain. Passion begins to slip a little further from our awareness and the reality of life's impermanence moves a little further forward.

If the Angels and Demons couldn't traverse through our mind's eye we just might be in a sorry state indeed. They remind us that beyond the physical world there is also another, more subtle reality than consciousness assumes and we learn to trust that which is hidden and not easily observable. We learn to ignore the Demons that rage in our heads and put up shields to counter what they whisper in our ears and then overly rely on our Angels to get us through but it is acceptance that is the great lesson for our lives and we strive to attain the peace it offers because the alternative is blatant despair. It is a state we grow into when we become less hard on others and on ourselves, more tolerant of our neighbors' foibles and more patient in finding some inner balance and peace with all the conflicting traits that make us who we are. When we are young we struggle with things like our identities, how we measure up as potential friends and mates and how we rank within the social and economic order, our parents and our bosses' expectations, and sometimes, just how we are going to make it to survive the next day and after all that we start with the guilt trips about how others have it so much worse than we do and that we have no right being such complainers.

Now that I'm a bit older and roughly halfway through my semi-psychotic journey through this earthly plane I find I have no real solid answers for myself concerning the vagaries of life let alone having them for others who might happen to ask me. A few people and their words have had more of a positive impression on me than others but maybe that's just because I haven't run into a situation yet which would have brought them to mind. I have felt neither great love or great hate for anything or anybody and have tried to be open-minded to the ideas and idiosyncrasies of others and seek neither to curse or bless the Demons or the Angels because they seem to have come along with the package when we came into this world. If it gets too hot in the kitchen, I figure it's just better to leave it due to my usually non-confrontational temperament and that mindset seems to have served me well.

So follow your own road, take some time along the way to gather your strength and breath and keep a moderate distance between both the Angels and the Demons. They're there to make us human, just don't let either one of them take over and run your life because life will be complicated either with or without them. You'll probably have enough on your plate trying to take care of yourself and your own anyway without having to worry about taking care of either of them.

Some Thoughts on 'The Secret'

I just watched 'The Secret' DVD and wanted to write about it without thinking about it too much so forgive me for loose associating here. My first reaction after watching it for a few minutes was that I was watching some kind of new-age infomercial and I wondered what type of big-dollar spin-offs it would generate. I guess the beginning also reminded me of the 'prosperity gospel' emphasized by many ministries like Rev. Schuller's and by Norman Vincent Peale's 'possibility thinking' books which promised an easy, sure-fire route to wealth and prosperity if one would only reach out and grab it. "Ask, and it shall be given; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." (Matthew 7:7) No doubt faith is the foundation for any type of successful undertaking but there are also times when you can't always get what you want. A toddler in the grocery store, for example, sees a toy that attracts him or her and all the child can think about is how wonderful it would be to have that toy. It becomes so built up in that child's mind that by the end of mommy's shopping trip it erupts into, "I'm gonna make mommy get me that toy if I have to scream it out of her!" The kid screams but it doesn't work, and mommy ends up with baby tears showered all over the groceries. A half-hour later the toy is miraculously out of mind, and the toddler finds something new and just as fascinating to think about or do. Now as adults we have or should have some understanding of the concept of delayed gratification. The physical world has its ups and downs and good and bad things can and do happen to us just by chance. Also, good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good ones. "I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a green tree in its native soil" (Psalms 37:35) The Psalmist then says "but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him, he could not be found." There is also the biblical imperative which sums up our purpose here in this world, "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8) In the Gospels Jesus expands upon these ideas but he puts more of an eternal emphasis upon them, something left relatively under-discussed in the previous revelation.

So "The Secret" at about midway drops the "I wanna have this car or house so I'll pin a picture of it up on the ceiling so I can see it every time I wake up" and goes into the more mystical concepts behind the idea, that all of us are energy and that we have the infinite at our disposal if we only recognize it by thinking and feeling in a way which resonates with it. This part I really like. In my own experience, negativity brings on more of the same while hope and faith increases to the extent that it is employed in my moment by moment walk through the day. It is normal though and very human to have dark periods. We need to have bad times too because it helps us understand others when they are facing trials so that we are better able to offer them help and comfort. Like so many others, I've had major bouts with depression. Many times negative mental states are biochemical in nature and people sometimes just can't come out of the clouds by practicing positive thinking and may need to rely on appropriate medications to help them feel better. But beyond the physical limitations of the human body, it is very true that the mind has within itself the power to conceive a higher state than it finds itself in at any given moment. This can be gained through audio-guided relaxation methods for the non-God-believers among us, or through whatever spiritual practice one feels most comfortable with.

There is no guaranteed fast track system to gain success and happiness. It's not something that comes easy for most folks, anyway, and there is really no secret to 'The Secret,’ in my humble opinion. The road to understanding is often blocked by obstacles that must be moved out of the way each time they are encountered. Knowing ‘The Secret’ comes by learning from one's own and other’s successes and failures. There are times when we must claw through the dirt to get where we want to go and times when we have to fight for what we believe is right and true. It also involves finding a spiritual path that's compatible with one's particular temperament. Different problems often require different solutions and sometimes a whole arsenal of tools are needed to fix the things that go wrong in our lives and in our world. I do believe we are truly infinite, and part and parcel of God. We are also our brothers, sisters, friends, lovers and nature herself. Recognizing the ultimate inner goodness within us and in the universe is a matter of letting the Infinite do its work in us, always holding on to its activators: faith, hope and love. Words that reflect the Infinite must always be ready on our lips, their thoughts in our minds and hearts so that we learn to natually dwell upon them, always having the eyes of our souls fixated on that which is of the light so that goodness may continuously and plentifully enter into and reflect out from each of us. From this the world is helped to heal.

War and State Religion

Very few religions are true to their Founder's teachings about peaceful coexistence and in spite of scriptural admonitions to seek peace there are other passages in their writings that actually encourage and condone bloodshed. I would speculate that the rationale for this is that there are times in history when God is interpreted by clerics that violence must be used to fulfill some purpose that the Deity has omnisciently condoned.

The God of Torah and Israel - "The One True God", the "I AM"

There have been many instances that Moses or the Prophets made it incumbent upon the children of Israel to destroy men, women and children of those pagan nations that God was displeased with, usually for worshipping idols, sexual deviancy or rituals of human sacrifice, but also because the land of these pagans (such as Canaan) were given to the Jews to rule by the writers of the Torah through commandment of God as a promised inheritance. Arguably today, most Jews don't condone aggression against sovereign countries except in self defense and tend to see faith in benign terms, and view themselves as having been the objects of persecutions, since the fall of Jerusalem by the Babylonians through the last two millenia. Of course the Jews of modern-day Israel have more than adequately developed their defense systems to prevent most aggressive acts by their hostile neighbors.

The God of Jesus and his followers, the Christians:

The adherents of the many flavors of Christianity have suffered many relatively recent persecutions many of them being of the sect-on-sect variety, in contrast to the Jews' long experience with it. Once the Roman Empire became reconstituted under the symbol of the Cross, the persecuted became the persecutors under the bishops and Constantine's military then proceeded to successfully stamp out non-orthodox belief. From the Middle Ages onward, widening divisions brought on by theological and political differences led to wars and purges that pitted brother against Christian brother.

The Rise of Islam, Allah and Mohammed:

Mohammed in the Qu'ran appropriated much of its teachings from Zoroastrianism, Judaism and Christianity and in its early history united Arabic peoples under the banner of the crescent moon, offering mercy to those who converted but death to those who rebelled against the prophet and his followers. The battles to decide which God would rule, the One of the east or the One of the west, reached its height during the crusades and victories were won and lost many times over in the former lands of the Roman Empire. Later under the unifying control of Ottomans, tolerance grew, attracting many exiles, especially Jews from Christian Europe, Spain and Portugal during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Islamic art and culture grew to great heights as a result of the "brain drain from these countries." Eventually like all empires the Ottomans lost influence and most of their lands were re-conquered by the West.

Present Day:

I think that history today has again come full-circle with millions of disaffected Muslims seeking violent redress through Jihad against the Jews and Christian "crusaders" by re-conquering what they perceive to be originally Muslim lands. Since Islamic nations and ultra-fundamentalist groups haven't the where-with-all to create a modern war machine and to develop their own high-tech weapons, to even the odds, the resourceful jihadists are doing everything in their might, from buying the latest weapons from developed countries to the use of suicide offensives to demoralize the West thereby weakening support for Middle- East wars. This they are doing with great success.

It seems to me in observing the dynamics of the East vs. West conflict that religion has been the key ingredient in the crazy-glue of ideas that galvanizes Muslims (and Judeao-Christians) to support the fight that will lead one of them to victory over the infidels (and heretics.) Governments are very adept nowadays at using mainstream media propaganda machines to manipulate or at least direct public opinion to achieve the desired results in persuading their citizens that their positions are the ones that God has approved and has therefore blessed. Since adherents of many religions, be they Hindu, Muslim, Jewish or Christian have references in their holy books that can easily be interpreted to condone holy wars, I believe we must work to re-evaluate the relevance and usefulness of these passages and seek to minimize their importance for the sake of world peace.

If humans are to co-exist, I believe that our leaders must avoid the use of religion as an excuse to wage war and look to other less violent examples within their own spiritual traditions and glean from them the best examples of those who used their faith to affect the spiritual and material healing of world systems.

Make peace! That IS true religion.

The Presence of God

I, the One who lives, Am
Where can you go Son of Man, Daughter of Woman
Where I am not there?
Does not every ocean know the river?
Does not every sea reflect the heavens?
What fool is there that thinks he is his own and master of his heart?
For I have formed you from the sands and the sea and from the stars around you.
Can any of you control a moment or catch a piece of wind?
So it is that you are my offspring and beholden to Me.
Why do you complain of your yoke that I have gently placed upon you,
That you so anxiously desire to spurn?
For I have not come to load you with heavy and hard burdens.
For I say to you that you must remove them, for they are yours.
And even your sandals

That my shores may reach your feet to caress them.
My abode is at your right hand, on your head, and by your side.
You think you can touch me only in your deepest thoughts,
When I am also your brother's eye
Your sister's breasts and the arms of your lovers.
I have traveled the paths of the forests before you
And worn down the stones on the road
So you may walk on them together
And walk with Me in joy.

The Sayings of the Master

One day Joshua the Master brought his students to the courtyard of his house to hear their questions and to teach them:

John the Student asked the Master: "Why do the nations lord it over us"?

The Master said, "You see what is before your eyes, but you do not really see. You think that your sins have turned the eyes of heaven away from you and that is why you are oppressed. But I say to you, don't curse the stone that falls on your foot or the storms that toss you about and do not rail against yourselves. For you cannot curse that which you did not make and you cannot bind the winds that block your passage. God has made them his servants to turn you from the world which has made you drunken. So let your souls learn patience when the hot coals of testing touch your lips and do not say, God is displeased with us so we will rise up against Caesar by our own power. If you fight evil with evil you will always be a servant of evil but if you in goodness seek your true Home, the Kingdom will bring forth to you wholeness, peace and security in abundance."

Then Flavius the soldier asked the Master: "Lord, we know that we should always seek the ways of peace, but what if we have no choice but to fight?"

The Master said, "If you fight for Caesar then honor him with your service, for He that commands all gave you to him. If, however, an evildoer seeks to do violence toward you or your loved ones you must protect yourself and them for His Name's sake and for the sake of those who were given to you but do not seek out troubles, for you will always have them and you do not need more heaped upon your backs. Many will hate you as they are jealous of you and many will love you because they know me and Him that sent me. For nothing is done beyond the view of the Holy One. You are not truly your own and nothing you have is truly yours and what you are or what you don't have has not been withheld from you."

A Priest then asked the Master: "When will we see Him who comes in Glory with the Great City?"

The Master said, "You look for signs of things you cannot see and for things you do not understand, for the Kingdom of Heaven comes as a tender breeze and not with fire and great wind and waters as you have been taught by the fathers. You see, that which is great is as the least. If you could but perceive with true sight, you would see that the tree and the seed are one and that the great heavens are as the smallest grain of dust. Consider the ant. It is but the least of God's creatures and yet what wonders lie under its hill! So why do all of you weary yourself with doubt? Do you not see the Hand of Glory in what He has fashioned, in all the earth, in you and in your children? Do you not see the Eye of God in face of your beloved? So it is with the Kingdom. It is above though below, it is inside though outside and is great beyond great and small beyond small."

Ariana the fishwife then asked: "Lord, teach us of death and resurrection."

The Master said, "I can tell you what it is and what it is not, but only partly. There are many things that can't be explained, for the words of the world are as a baby's cry is to fluent speech and yet its mother hears the cry and comforts it. I can tell you though that the World to Come is like an ocean that knows no depth, width or length. It can be likened to a fisherman when he casts his nets into it there appears an innumerable number of great fishes, so heavy in fact that he cannot number them all or fit them into his boat. It can also be likened to a tree that brings forth its fruit, or a caterpillar with its many legs that after wrapping itself in its burial cloth seeks no more the things of the earth but is transformed and only seeks that which is above it. A barren tree may provide shade from the hot sun but it cannot reproduce itself or feed anything. The caterpillar's legs stick to the earth but after its change can do so much more than just eat. It is not as described by your teachers though, for they make you attach yourselves to them by fear and for their love of money. You may listen to them and ponder their words, but keep your mind and heart saved up for the Lord only and he will bless you with the understanding of mysteries."

Then Hannan, one of the Sons of Levi asked: "What of the Law, then. Should we keep it as it was given to us By God through Moses, our Father?"

He then said to them, "Although the tablets of the Law were written through the Divine Hand, I have not the power to make you keep the Law, for I have not come as an enforcer of it but to help make it clearer to you. You yourselves know in your hearts what you should do and what is good. What you lack is the understanding of it. For what good is the Law if even the tiniest commandment is broken and your heart accuses you? If however, you keep even the smallest of them with true intention it is as if you have kept them all. Even so, if you see your neighbor breaking the Law or even condemning it do not rush to correct or judge him but befriend him. For to judge another is to judge yourself and be condemned because you too have broken it. Rather if you see your neighbor stumble, be ready to help him onto his feet for on a day when you think you have attained blamelessness you will stumble greatly and your neighbor, remembering your kindness to him will then help you. Do not think my brothers that because you have Moses you likewise have all Truth. For God can make even a dead tree prophesy so that Heaven is opened to all. That which has been written by the prophets and set onto scrolls are the words of life but the parchment it is written on will someday become dust that swirls in the wind. That knowledge which you think you have stored up for the World to Come can be destroyed by a night's sleep and the towers of wisdom you have built will eventually be torn down to make way for new ones. Therefore, keep the Law but remember who you really are for that which is of the earth is earthly but that which comes from the Holy One will always remain. Seek therefore the Incorruptible for it is of the Breath and that Breath will save your souls."

Nataniel, another student asked the Master, "Lord, are you the one promised by the Prophets, or is there another?"

The Master said, "Nataniel, in your heart you seek a man to worship, one that can be called God on earth as the heathens would believe in but I tell you, do not long for some one to save you as it is ignorance of the imagination. For though it is not impossible for Him to do this, He would rather you were all blasphemers than to say to one another, "Look, the Messiah is over here or look, he's there!" God is The One with the Secret Name and Secret Body who is always within you and without you for though you are all Sons and Daughters of the Lord you cannot name or capture Him to do with Him as you would. This is the essence of carnality and is the profanity for which the nations are punished. Those who seek men will be blinded and will lose their footing and fall into a ditch but those who forsake idols will know Life and will be called, the Chosen."

Shaul the storekeeper asked: "The Prophets tell us that sin must flourish with holiness and that His Servant must be spat upon and scourged and marked as a criminal in order to save us all from death. Is that time upon us now with your coming?"

The Master said, "Sha'ul, ever since the first man and woman placed their feet upon the ground and took up the serpent's cause has The Name been trodden in the dirt as you have said. So what need is there for further sacrifice? If you discern clearly you will understand that the beginning is as the end and the end as the beginning. Close your eyes and think of what abominations have been wrought upon the blameless and the defenseless throughout time in the name of Kings, let alone in the name of our King? Can there be a smiting of God greater than that? Have you not the eyes of Truth that you cannot see this occurring again in the days of your descendants as well? I say to you that His servant has already been offered upon the altar stone from the eternal past into the eternal future and that is why the nations of the earth have been blinded and that is why your hearts have been hardened. But that which has hardened so many hearts is also that which comes to you as an open door, my friends, that you may freely come to the Waters to drink and dine at the Table of forgiveness and fullness. Otherwise the sufferings of the righteous would be for naught, for there is not one of the least of His creatures that He has not seen fall or the smallest good deed not rewarded. For the wounds both you and I bear He bears, so that the Light of the Kingdom may dawn brightly on your days and those of your children so all may be fulfilled. Do not think though that evil will always be with you, for a time is coming when the earth and the heavens will be rolled up like a scroll and His angels will separate the wheat from the chaff. The good deeds and the evil deeds will be sifted on His threshing floor and that which is of no use will be cast aside and burned up forever. All will see His wounds on that day and all will cry for Him as a mother cries over her only child's death and He will apportion each according to their intention and deeds done in their bodies, to either an evil portion or to a good portion. On that day sickness and death will cease, times will change and the heavens and the earth will be born anew."

Valentian the Exile then asked, "Well, what of charity? How much should I give to the poor?"

He replied, "God has kept you in health, Valentian! You're mighty arms could tear down the walls of theTemple! "Many are not so lucky as you. As any of you! Before you travel the paths of the poor, fill your pockets with coins so that you may have enough for all who ask of you and at the moment that you give your money, turn your mind's eye heavenward to the treasures you both will receive from Him on the Great Day. Remember this also, that charity is not just in giving away your possessions to the needy, it is also the giving away of your love to all. After money is spent it is no more but love that is spent goes on forever, therefore be generous to all and give of your joy to all."

Astapha the Hairdresser asked, "Tell us of loneliness and love."

The Master replied: "Loneliness is the state in which you were born and it is also the state in which you will fly to your heavenly abode. When the child leaves the womb it is suddenly pushed into a new world and since it has no knowledge of that world it senses strangeness and its first cry is of fear. Upon the release of the body into the next world the Soul is born into its next incarnation and likewise fear becomes the Soul's first emotion in the strangeness of its new home. You see, my friends, we all must live and die in both fear and fearlessness. Don't therefore think of your loneliness as something to avoid, for God, who is both Male and Female, is self-sufficient in Majesty and is by nature Alone, Set Apart and One. He is however, inclusive of you in His Aloneness and is well-pleased to wrap you entirely in Himself; and remember, those of you who have not loneliness and are satisfied in love, that you partake of the same cup together with your unmarried brothers and sisters, set apart from the world the same way as the Lord is from the world and are joined together in Aloneness with Him. When you are lonely, trust your Lord singularly and let your heart be filled and satisfied and when you find your love, dedicate yourselves and your children to Him as a sweet-smelling offering with thanks and faith."

Elihu, the Pharisee then said to him: "Master and Lord, I know now that you have wise words and are a Son of Heaven, but please tell us, What is Salvation and how does one attain it?"

Joshua answered him, "The man or woman that seeks Salvation must be perfect as He is perfect or it is impossible to please Him. So how does one attain perfection? It is not as in any of your occupations, when you begin knowing very little and after years of learning, know much and it is not perfection in the sense of perfecting oneself in Service of the Name. Do you not know that you have been perfected in Him already? You must, however, become as a humble child at all times in all matters great and small and not ever think of it as something to which you have attained by your own effort. This means that you execute your judgements wisely in business but never esteem yourself better than your weaker fellow for he may see something you have missed in your effort and thus may help bring you great success in your doing. So, when you ask the Father to save you, esteem your fellow and friend first and then open your child-heart and let it fly to His Heart, for He will enfold it with His Wings and will place His seal of Salvation upon it so that nothing can steal it away."

Then Elisheva the young shepherdess inquired, "Lord, teach us how to pray that we may receive answers to our petitions."

He then said, "First you must learn what true prayer is. Prayer is the enfolding of your inner heart into the Heart of Essence when you forget that you are in the body and although you may not feel his Presence, the Divine is only but a breath removed from any of you at any time. Prayer places your body and mind on the Altar of His pleasure as a sacrifice of love and praise as you offer up your joy, your pain, your lack of understanding, your hopes and your shame. Pray with this attitude, "God is my ever present help in trouble and the Rock of my Salvation, of whom shall I fear?" And do not test God by thinking He must immediately bow to your wishes for He already knows what you need and will answer you in due time in the language of the Spirit. So, do not say to yourself, "I have asked the Lord and He has said yes to this and no to that, for your imagination can create empty paths that can lead you away from Truth. He would rather when you pray, even if you are angry, that you lower your eyes and humble your face before the Throne and in patience wait for Him to bring you help, forgiveness, wisdom and deliverance."

Joshua heard many more questions from his students that day and at sunset when all were filled with the Bread he had shared with them they dispersed, each to his own home. The sun shone red in the reflections at that time upon the houses and streets of the city and they were warmed by the heat of it and by the words which he had spoken to them.
©2005

image by Kenneth Wyatt