21 Mar
Jesus says, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:39)
Jesus was so frightened the night of his arrest that he sweat blood and yet he had the courage to surrender his will to the will of a far greater consciousness – the Grace of God. He chose that which is eternal over that which is temporary. He knew something so profoundly awesome there are no words that can adequately describe its infinite nature. Love is a word that comes close, but even that has become polluted with more mundane ideas of its meaning. Divine love is beyond anything imaginable. It is Grace beyond any concept of Grace, Peace beyond any concept of Peace, Light beyond any concept of Light, and Love beyond any concept of Love. In his darkest moment of fear so intense that droplets of blood glistened on his skin, Jesus had the courage to consciously choose the eternal Grace, Peace, Light, and Love that is always present and rarely noticed. He chose eternal life over certain death. Today is Good Friday, the moment in time forever venerated as the most Holy moment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. What does the crucifixion mean? Is it just about his brutal execution or is it a demonstration of the infinite Grace of God – the illumination of your sacred gift - the sacred right to choose?
Jesus says, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26) Now is, and now is the time to deeply reflect on the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, not as the annual Easter Sunday event, but as a time to stop your everyday rushing around to contemplate the deepest meaning your life, the deepest meaning of the lives of your family, friends, and enemies. It is time to really stop everything for just a moment and contemplate the deepest meaning of the immortal words of Jesus; “I am the resurrection and the life” and “I am the light of the world” and “You are the Light of the World.” It can seem that the world is at odds with the message of Jesus Christ, that atheists are growing in staggering numbers, and the message of Jesus has been polluted by ideas and concepts that have absolutely nothing to do with Jesus or his teaching. And then, when you least expect it, something happens, something that shocks you out of the everyday ho hum. Today, was one of those days. A friend sent me a TED video, that offers a very concise clinical analysis that literally demonstrates that you really are the LIGHT OF THE WORLD! You really do have the ability to choose the infinite peace that you are and it all has to do with the seat of your mind – your brain. Jill Bolte Taylor, who is a neuroanatomist better known as a brain scientist, relays and amazing revelation that occurred when her brain literally stopped functioning during a life threatening stroke. What can this shocking scientific revelation teach you about the infinite love, light, grace, and peace of Jesus Christ?
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14 Mar
Jesus says, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.”(Matthew 23:25)
There is a great lie that is systematically being propagated throughout Christianity, which lives in the preposterous idea that it is simply not possible to apply the teachings of Jesus Christ in everyday life. Even more troubling is the truth that many ministers and evangelicals simply do not understand, nor do they apply the teaching of Jesus Christ. There is a movement within Christianity known as the Religious Right or more accurately Christian fundamentalism based in an egoic lust for power and greed rooted in self-indulgence, ignorance, arrogance, and fear. Its core message could not be further from the eternal peace, compassion, love, and joy of Jesus Christ and his eternal teaching of Light. In Deepak Chopra’s new book – The Third Jesus: The Jesus we cannot Ignore, he intimates, “Not just in America, but around the world, the faith has been hijacked by movements that violate Jesus’s teaching even as they proclaim they are defending it. A religion of love has moved alarmingly in the direction of hatred, although outright hatred may not be preached from the pulpit. What is preached is self-righteous intolerance.” Narrow selective interpretations of scripture have opened the door of sanctioned prejudice, violence, and corruption. The fear-based message of this movement is systematically gnawing away at the foundation of Christianity while many Christians sit on the sidelines with their jaws locked open in utter horror, shock, and dismay. This blog has drawn global attention and is often viewed as controversial simply because it has the audacity to focus on what Jesus is teaching you – right now in this moment. It has the audacity to say – Yes, you really can apply the transcendent message in your everyday life! Yes, you can LOVE your neighbor (everyone) as yourself! Yes you can abide in the love of Jesus. Yes, you can BE the peace that Jesus is eternally pointing out to you! YES YOU CAN!
Jesus continues, “You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.” (Matthew 23:26) Is Jesus simply talking to the Pharisees of old or is this a teaching that applies to you – right now in this moment? Many think this scripture is relegated to the hypocrisy of Jewish religious leaders over 2000 years ago, ignoring the truth that many of today’s Christian leaders are no different from the Pharisees! This belief is at the center of a growing Schism in Christianity that threatens its very existence! Deepak explains, “When we read headlines about gay bashing and violent attacks on abortion clinics, the media are careful not to draw a direct line to fundamentalist dogma, but that is a mere formality. Society has been led by “two sides to every story” into believing that intolerance is the other side of an ongoing social debate, and perhaps more virtuous. Fundamentalist Christians, after all, proclaim their devotion to life, family values, and regular religious observance. This trend may eventually cripple Christianity. In every denomination reactionary and progressive forces struggle for power, and one would be hard-pressed to find a case where the reactionaries aren’t winning. They equate taking the Bible literally with being a good Christian, despite the mountain of evidence – Only a fraction of it mentioned in this book – that Jesus’s teachings have been muddled, obscured, altered, corrupted, and lost over the centuries. Attempts to return to the pure origin of Christianity are doomed from the start, but this only fuels fundamentalist zeal. The tragic irony behind this is revealed by a favorite fundamentalist slogan: What would Jesus do? It has become familiar on bumper stickers and in presidential races. The novelty of this slogan has worn off, yet countless Christians (not just fundamentalists) use ‘What would Jesus do?’ as their moral touch stone?” Is the teaching of Jesus lost or is it simply misunderstood. What can Deepak Chopra’s provocative perspective teach us about the timeless teaching of Jesus Christ? What would Jesus do? Or perhaps more importantly; What would Jesus say?
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1 Mar
Jesus says, “These people honor me with their lips; But their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men.” (Matthew 15:8-9)
Is it time for a new Jesus? Deepak Chopra thinks so. A recent Washington Post article entitled Why we need a new Jesus? reveals Deepak’s perspective on Jesus – that there are actually three of them: A historical Jesus, the Jesus of dogma, and the Jesus of Truth. Deepak’s new book entitled, The Third Jesus – The Christ we Cannot Ignore, focuses on the Jesus whose teaching is in the present tense, is directed toward you personally, and is transcendent of what most view as Christianity. Hmmmm….sound familiar? By contrast the well known pastor Rick Warren is fine with Jesus as he knows him and most Christians know him, which of course is a more traditional dogmatic (narrow) Christian perspective. The Truth encompasses both perspectives while dogma asks you to choose between what most believe to be the black and white issue of choosing between eternal life or eternal damnation. Sadly, it is the limiting perspective of dogma, which opens the door of inaccurate or misleading teaching or preaching and opens the door of hatred, prejudice, judgment, arrogance, pride and fear – the limiting realm of the ego and super ego. In the article Deepak says, “Many believers are satisfied with one or the other Jesus, and yet millions are not. They have witnessed their faith being hijacked by rigid fundamentalism. A teaching of love and peace has been perverted to justify war and bigotry. These deeply disturbing trends speak of a single radical need: the need for a new Jesus.” Deepak says we need a new Jesus, but in Truth we need to re-discover the REAL Jesus and apply what he teaches. The deeply, deeply, deeply, disturbing trends that Deepak is referring to, represents the antithesis of Jesus and his teaching and is one of the many reasons why I began writing this blog. It is also why I wrote the book The Secret Teaching of Jesus Christ – His teaching is a secret because his teaching is not understood on a fundamental level. Even, Rick Warren, who I admire as one of the best ministers the world has seen in a while, often falls prey to the dogma which misses the deepest teaching that Jesus is eternally offering.
Jesus says, “These people honor me with their lips; But their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men.” (Matthew 15:8-9) Dogma basically means strongly held narrow religious beliefs, which on a fundamental level is the teaching of men or the interpretation of scripture based on the limitations of the human mind and ego. The Truth is dogma confines the transcendent teaching of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, dogmatic theology has replaced the golden rule of Jesus – do unto others as you would have them do unto you – with the sanctioned bigotry, arrogance, and ignorance that dogma unwittingly promotes. In the Washington Post article Deepak intimates, “In everyday life Jesus’ teachings are impossible to follow. Ordinary awareness doesn’t permit us to follow the Golden Rule. If we treated everyone else the way we wanted to be treated, there would be no wars, crime, or divorce. If we obeyed the injunction to resist not evil, all too probably the world’s evil-doers would run amok.” This is right on. This is right on. This is right ON! In the context of ordinary awareness, you will simply be unable to apply the teaching of Jesus Christ in your every day life! In order to live his teaching your awareness must shift by opening both your mind and your heart to the incredible expansiveness of his teaching! Of course, well known pastors like Rick Warren hold fast to their dogmatic perspective of Jesus, but we are all living in a time when we need to break free of ordinary awareness by reaching out to one another and demonstrating the love that Jesus Christ IS! The words of Jesus Christ are simply transcendent normal ways of thinking and being. What can both Deepak Chopra and Rick Warren, teach you about the transcendent teaching of Jesus Christ?
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