Light

Posted by Jill Warner in Current Event Editorials.

Joy

Posted by Jill Warner in Current Event Editorials.

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?

Jesus says, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11)  Did Jesus speak to give you the joy that you don’t have or is the purpose of his words to reveal not only what you already have, but the truth of who you are? We just completed a five-day silent retreat with Gangaji and Eli that unexpectedly revealed the sublime depth of this life-changing teaching of Jesus.  Gangaji began the retreat by saying, “Such a joy to be together such a precious time that we take for each other this retreat time. And such a privilege that you actual have the time that we can meet like this and deeply consider the most essential questions and issues of a human’s life. What do you want? What is important? What do you have? What can you loose? What can’t be taken away from you? So I am happy to see this joy on your face. It is a reflection of what is at the bottom of everything in all of us, this overflowing joy that only wants out. Its not always ecstatic at times it can be quite sober, but it is the joy to be and here we are in this together.” How can silence of this retreat that is still reverberating in my heart help you understand to the teaching of Jesus on an even deeper level?

Change

Posted by Jill Warner in Current Event Editorials.

Jesus says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35)

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.

Jesus says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35) What is the word of Jesus? Are they just words that he speaks or words in a book or do his words point to something much deeper? Where do his word direct your attention?  Right now I am traveling through Australia on tour with Gangaji and her husband Eli.  Since arriving here I have met some of the most deeply loving people, people who are aware of a great secret—the great secret of Life.  In the many meetings I have attended here the common conversation is the story of life, the story of suffering that is always based on what happened in the past or what might happen in the future.  Many of these stories are deeply heartbreaking, exposing the deep suffering that people experience in life.  Each person has different experiences and circumstances that have appeared in their life, but ultimately it is the very same story you are telling yourself everyday.  The endless story of your life is the layer that hides the deepest secret, a secret that is waiting to be discovered deep inside of you.  Once this secret is discovered there is a great release into a natural joyous freedom.  How can knowing this ancient secret help you to understand the teaching of Jesus on an even deeper level?

Awakening

Posted by Jill Warner in Current Event Editorials.

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.

Jesus says, “Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides.” (Mark 4:24)  What are you listening to?  We all know the news is filled with heartbreak and still we listen to its incessant drone. But is Jesus just talking about listening to the news or what you are hearing in the circumstances of your life or is he talking about something much deeper?  What are you telling yourself about yourself? Last week I was in one of the most beautiful healing places of the world—The Esalen Institute in Big Sur California.  I was there helping Gangaji and her husband Eli with a retreat for people in long-term committed relationships.  Anyone who has ever been in a long-term relationship knows that it can be very challenging.  In every relationship there is a tendency of mind to fix or change the other person and very little, if any, attention is put on the relationship you have with yourself.  It is this constant movement to fix or change the other that is the fundamental source of suffering and the primary cause of the end of most relationships.  What do personal relationships have to do with the global awakening? And can looking at your relationship with friends, family, and more importantly the relationship you have with yourself, help you understand the teaching of Jesus on an even deeper level?

Gold of God

Posted by Jill Warner in Current Event Editorials.

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.

Jesus says, “You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred?” 
(Matthew 23:17)  Jesus was never interested in things of this world that only offer fleeting moments of happiness.  He realized that there is a far greater gold not made of metal that is eternal and offers lasting happiness.  The person who possesses this unlimited gold of God is never in conflict experiencing the most profound fulfillment, demonstrating the most sublime love for everyone even for enemies.  As he points out if you stare at the temple, you are blind to the gold that the temple is made of and if you stare at the gold you are blind to the source of the gold—that which is eternal, that which is sacred. If you stare at Jesus you are blind to what he is always showing you.  This Anglo-Saxon treasure reveals the intertwining of war and religion.  It serves to blatantly demonstrate that throughout the centuries there has been, and still is, a gross misunderstanding of what Jesus teaches.  There are many mysteries surrounding this newly discovered treasure, but the most important of which has yet to be discussed. How can the mystery of this discovery help you understand the teaching of Jesus on an even deeper level?

Letters of Light

Posted by Jill Warner in Current Event Editorials.

Jesus says, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26)

It is natural to be afraid in the face of your own death, whether it is the death of your body or the death of a dream that you cherish, or a goal that you hoped to achieve and fell short—death can be simply terrifying. Death is the great void, the great silence, the complete and sudden end to all your plans, all your ideas, all your possessions, a deep letting go, the deepest possible surrender into the vast peace of God. The common tendency is to ignore death and this ignorance leads you on the journey of which at times can be very pleasurable and at other times extremely painful. This frantic running from death is the pendulum of life that swings from various emotional extremes until finally you die. Death is certain, but is ignoring or avoiding your death really living? Ignoring the truth that life on earth is temporary can lead you on path of death, a path of destruction, a path of suffering. Meeting death before you body is ready to die is the gateway of eternal life. As Jesus explains, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me….Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 9:23, 14:27) What does he mean by ‘deny yourself’ or ‘take up your cross daily and follow him’? Where was Jesus going? Where is he leading you? What is the profoundly deep significance of the crucifixion?

Jesus says, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26) When Peter followed Jesus out onto the water at first he was amazed and then fear arose within him that he could drown, that he could die and he began to sink until Jesus reached out and saved him. In many ways Ted Kennedy’s life was very much like Peter’s, he was both blessed and cursed and became a great voice unto the world. He is a proud member of one of the most famous political dynasty’s—a modern Camelot. During his life he endured the extreme pain of burying his two very famous brothers and his very famous nephew the son of his beloved brother John F. Kennedy as well as two other nephews. He also endured the shame of what has been called Chappaquiddick, where he abandoned the scene of a horrific accident for which he was solely responsible—politically he never recovered from this very human mistake. He also struggled with alcoholism, endured a failed marriage, and yet in spite of his very public human failings he persevered as the Lion of the US Senate successfully championing the very human needs of the underdog. In a recent article, CNN reports, that Ted Kennedy was very aware that his death was approaching and he was also very aware that his faith had sustained him in the darkest hours of his life and the darkest hours of his life are darker than most of you can even imagine. Ted Kennedy was a quiet expression of his faith and he very publicly stated that a specific passage in Matthew was the underlying inspiration for his profound commitment to the poor and down trodden. In July of this year he wrote a letter to Pope Benedict XVI and asked President Barrack Obama to hand deliver the letter to this famous pontiff. What did his letter say, what passage in Matthew inspired him, and how can his death and his letter of light help you understand the teaching of Jesus on an even deeper level?

Love

Posted by Jill Warner in Current Event Editorials.

Love is rarely in the news. If by chance it does appear it usually is tied to sex or relationships. Rarely does it dip down into the sublime Love of God—a love so vast it is incomprehensible. The general conversation you find on most blogs or news casts is usually about conflict, controversy, strife, suffering, war, rape, murder, greed, theft—What is it about our collective consciousness that draws us to the dark rather than the light?  Good news stations have been tried in the past and they usually fail.  People in general tend to crave negativity. There is a deep thirst inside you for something interesting, and negativity is very interesting to your mind and perhaps more importantly your ego which thrives on and is the source of this endless negativity.   Yes, there are those occasions that the light shines through and sublime moments of unconditional love inspire you captivating your attention for a moment or two, but these precious few moments are quickly overshadowed by the prevalent spreading of negativity, of pain, of suffering—It is rare to stop and contemplate: How does this suffering arise within you? The common human experience to believe you are your body, that you are at the affect of the circumstances of your life, and you suffer deeply as a result. And perhaps more importantly the natural tendency is to spread your suffering around to your friends and family. Surprisingly you can see this kind of negativity spreading through Christianity. Fear, judgment, prejudice, and even hatred are shockingly acceptable conversations in churches around the world.

Jesus says, “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? (Matthew 5:46)  You intuitively know the answer to this question—there is no reward for loving those who already love you. The deeper teaching contained within this question is to simply love everyone—unconditionally. How is it that such a simple message is so easily ignored, so easily misunderstood?   The recent comments from Coby were the catalyst for this article.  It seems after all this time there is still confusion about what is being offered on this blog.  Yes, I did have a profound mystical experience of Jesus that led me to Jerusalem and Mount Sinai—but that is not the only reason why this blog started. It was not planned. I barely even knew what a blog was when a friend asked me to write some articles for a wordpress blog she created. You could say it was an accident or divine grace, but I had no idea that it would transform into a global phenomenon. My purpose from the very beginning was very simple—I am here to offer you an opportunity to open your heart and deeply inquire into the teaching of Jesus. What did he say? Where is he pointing? What does he want you to see? This inquiry is simply not for everyone. It can be a very painful seeing, a deep realization that you are living a lie, believing a lie, and suffering deeply as a result. None of the articles that I have written adhere to the dogma presented by churches around the world and in that context this blog is not Christian. It is simply, very simply, an opportunity to open your heart to the profound Love within you. This deep inquiry offers you true redemption, true salvation—the Atonement—and it begins with you. It represents a deep inquiry into the sacred realm of your own Heart. How can this sublime inquiry help you to understand the teaching of Jesus on and even deeper level?