Sacred Awakening
Posted by Jill Warner in Current Event Editorials.
By now most of you know that this is not a typical Jesus blog. The perspective presented here is one of awakening better known as enlightenment or freedom from suffering—awakening to the truth of yourself in the Heart of Christ. It is not a Christian blog in that it does not adhere to any kind of dogma, catechism or Christian denomination. On the simplest level this blog is simply an invitation turn your attention where Jesus is pointing. What does he want you to see, to hear, to understand? If you think you know, stop for a moment and not know. Not knowing offers you the simple opportunity to discover for yourself without any idea or concept. Inquiring is self-discovery and it is through your own discovery that the profound depth of his message can be recognized, not understood, but recognized. It is a discovery so sacred so pristine it contains the power to change your life forever. Truly, it is a sacred awakening.
Jesus says, “For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.” (Luke 12:23) Jesus offers you many clues that lead to self-discovery. If you look at his words as a question, rather than a statement, you have an opportunity to look into eternity. What is life? How is you body more than clothing? For years I was mystified by the Bible, it seemed that there was some hidden message that was not easily perceived, the language was strange, and incomprehensible—it left me feeling unfulfilled and disillusioned. In 1997 I had a profound mystical experience of Jesus that was the catalyst for a search for Truth. This search ended in July of 2001 when a profoundly deep prayer led me to one of the most profound teachers of our time—Gangaji. Her simple invitation, ‘To stop, be still, be quiet and discover who you are at the core,’ opened the flood gates of true wisdom. Suddenly all scripture became crystal clear. It didn’t matter if it was the sutras of Buddha, the words of Christ, the Quran, or the Upanishads—suddenly, infallibly I heard with out hearing the deepest message of Truth—the deepest message of Jesus—it was and continues to be a Sacred Awakening. Gangaji has been invited to participate in a global conversation that includes many of the world’s leading spiritual teachers in The Shift Network’s Sacred Awakening conference series—a deep conversation that contemplates the question: What does it mean to live a sacred life? Later this month you can participate in this conversation with Gangaji by phone. How can this global meeting help you to understand the teaching of Jesus on an even deeper level?
In a moment what was now is not. A city was here and now it is gone. A mother, father, brother, sister, strangers, friends once pulsating with life are in an instant dead, gone, finished—a heartbreak beyond any concept of heartbreak. The devastation in Haiti is simply beyond comprehension. Thousands of people are trapped in collapsed buildings and untold thousands more are dead or dying while countless bodies line the streets in what was on Monday a thriving vibrant city. The world is responding with what we all know as humanitarian aid, but the deeper truth is that the world is responding with the essence of life itself—the world is responding with Love!
Traveling through Australia with Gangaji and her husband Eli has been a grace filled adventure into the Truth of Being in a land known for its unusual wildlife as well as the mysteriously energizing sound of the didgeridoo that is deeply rooted in Australia’s rich Aboriginal heritage. Currently we are in Byron Bay Australia. There is a powerful energy in Byron that speaks the deepest silence of my heart. It is not a silent energy the way the mind perceives silence—there is a presence that holds the breath of the ocean and the wind of the trees—a vortex. It holds the energy of a crossroad, or decision, or perhaps more simply choice. It is no small wonder that the Aboriginal people never settled here; they felt the purpose of this mysterious energy was to aid in decision-making and held their tribal councils here. What the ancients felt, I also feel—the energy of choice—What am I giving my attention to? What are you giving your attention to?
Your life is constantly moving, changing, evolving, flowing. Circumstances come and go. Some of the events in your life are painful and others joyous and fun. This is the nature of living in the world. You experience the world through the lens of your eye, the drum of your ear, and the physical sensations of your body. The constant change you perceive through your senses is the source of great suffering, great unhappiness, and fear. The natural tendency is to look to the past or the future to find some happiness, success, and fulfillment—the endless grasping for happiness that always seems just out of your reach. There is always something else to pursue a goal, a dream, an idea that will provide the happiness that you long for deep down in the depths of your being. Rare is the one who stops this endless looking to the past or the future. Rare is the one who stops to see that which never changes never moves and is constantly offering you lasting happiness, fulfillment and, more importantly, a love that is so vast so indescrible it offers you the endless joy of your true nature.
The scripture, legend, and prophecy of many different religious and spiritual traditions foretell of a global shift in consciousness. Whether you call it the end times or the rapture there is something happening throughout the world that is the beginning of the prophesized great awakening. Many of you who still read this blog are drawn here for one simple reason—either consciously or unconsciously you are feeling this global shift and want to know the deepest truth. If you have been here before or you just happened to land on this page, you are curious about what Jesus really taught and perhaps more importantly you are seeking the kind of peace that seems absent from the swirl of circumstances that are in your life and the world. It might seem that the world is spinning out of control or that there is more darkness than light. If you listen to any news station around the world you will hear all the horrific stories that support this perspective. News is filled with doom and gloom and this preoccupation with the dark is the source of off great suffering throughout the world.
Not far below the surface of an English field a precious treasure lay hidden for centuries. It is valued in the millions of dollars, but to archeologists the real value is the precsious history it reveals. The Anglo-Saxon artifacts, are so significant that experts believe that they will re-define perceptions of Anglo-Saxon England. Terry Herbert, an unemployed 55 year old, unearthed this unprecedented discovery using a metal detector in a farmer’s field in Staffordshire. This astonishing find includes intricately designed helmet crests embossed with a frieze of running animals, enamel-studded sword fittings and a checkerboard piece inlaid with garnets and gold. Of particular interest are the crosses and other religious artifacts mixed in with the military items, which might shed new light on the relationship between Christianity and warfare among the Anglo-Saxons—in particular a large cross that might have been carried into battle. One of the many mysteries of this discovery is a strip of gold with five gold snakes bearing a crudely written and misspelled Biblical inscription in Latin—“Rise up, O Lord, and may thy enemies be dispersed and those who hate thee be driven from thy face,” reads the biblical inscription.
