 |
 |
| |
| Departments |
Home
Columns, Special
Topics & Features:
The Columns:
Angels, Guides, &
Loving Spirits:
Ask The Psychics Q&A:
Reading by Adena
Reading by Aeon
Reading by Fyre
Angel Blessings:
with Dr. Doreen Virtue
Ask Valerie Morrison,
Internationally
Acclaimed Psychic
Trust Your Vibes
By Dr. Sonia Choquette, PhD.
Internationally Acclaimed Psychic Healer & Author
Love Letters
by Erika Morrell,
Soul Mate Medium™
Astrologer's Notes:
Carin Martin,
Astrologer
Donna Cunningham, MSW, Astrologer
Basil Fearrington,
Astrologer
Diana Stone,
Astrologer &
Huna Shaman
Jeff Jawer
Astrologer
Ray Merriman,
Financial Astrology:
MMA Market Week
Noel Tyl,
Astrologer
Daily Aspect Calendar
by Care
MoonWatching with Dana Gerhardt and Friends
Starlight Musings
by Nancy Sommers,
Mundane Astrologer
Creating Bridges:
The Spiritual &
Philosophical
Act of Power
Discovering the Key to Living Your Sacred Dream
by Lynn Andrews
Avant-Gardening:
Insights
by Frank &
Vicky Giannangelo
From The Heart:
Alan Cohen
Teachings from the Western Mystery Traditions: The Esoteric "Paths of Return"
by Jacquelyn Small, Eupsychia
Spirituality in Daily Life: by Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron
The Conscious Column
by David Ault
Spiritual Mastery
for the 21st Century
Dr. Gwen MacGregor
Encounters on the
Shaman's Path with
Dr. Hank Wesselman, PhD.
Anthropologist, Zoologist, Author, Shamanic Healer & Teacher
The Divine Human
by Ornesha De Paoli
Awakenings
by Karen Johnson
Worshipping by Wondering with
Sankara Saranam, MA Founder of the Pranayama Institute
Wisdom Walks in Circles
by Margaret Lewis
Author & Shamanic Practitioner:
Water For The Dry Sponge: Chronicles and Essays
by Shaun Brown,
Be Well Publications
“I of my own knowledge…”
by Frank DeMarco,
Author, Editor, & Psychic Explorer
Crystals, Minerals
& Gemstones
Light and Love with Crystals, Minerals & Gemstones
by Raven,
Raven Crystals
Furry & Feathered Family Members:
Dr. Carson's Holistic Animal Care
by Dr. Kathleen Carson, D.V.M.
Animal Insights
by Charlene Boyd, Animal Communicator,
talk-to-animals.com
Healing & Alternative
Health:
"Spirit and Practice
of the Wise Woman
Tradition"
By Susun Weed
The Holistic Mystic,
by Lonny Brown
Medical Intuition: Tune
in to Your Body and Improve Your Health
by Caroline Sutherland, Sutherland Communications
Transformational Healing through the Violet Flame!
by Eva Kettles
Herbs for Health
with Kami McBride
Cure Your Cravings
...For Life
Rena Greenberg,
Practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming & Hypnotherapist
Humor:
Wake Up Laughing.Com:
Swami Beyondananda
Interviews:
Watch for Upcoming Announcements
Kabbalah:
Kabbalah Revealed:
Rav Michael Laitman, PhD, Kabbalalist
Numberscope Forecast
by Vincent J. Barra
Oracle & Divination Systems:
Be Your Own Oracle
by James Wanless, Ph.D. Creator of the Voyager Tarot Deck
Resources:
Archives
Blessings & Messages
The Book Nook
The Directory
Event Calendar
Historical Notes & Data
The MetaPersonals
S.O.L.A.R.®:
S.O.L.A.R ®
Beyond Materiality. Beyond Spirituality. Toward the Complete Human Being...
by Martin Lass, Emissary
Tarot:
Moment to Moment
by Gigi Miner
Author, Tarot Consultant, & Teacher
Reviews:
Tarot, Cartomancy,
Oracle Decks,
Books, & Software.
by Bonnie Cehovet,
Tarot Educator
Tidbits:
News Briefs
Op-Ed
Pearls of Wisdom
by Astro Aeon
& Astro Care
Symbols, Seals,
Amulets & Talismans
The What in the
World Department
Trivia & Life's Other
Novel Moments
Publisher's Corner
General Information:
Advertising Information & Opportunities:
The Directory Advertising Rates
Premium Pages:
Groups 1, 2 & Display
Advertising Rates
The BookNook
Advertising Rates
About
The Meta Arts Magazine
Editorial Submission
Information:
Contact Us
Legal Notices
|
|
|
|
|
|
I of my own knowledge…
“Jesus: A thought experiment”
|
|
|
by Frank DeMarco |
|
|
I know of nothing touchier than mention of Jesus among what I call metaphysical types (which, I imagine, includes the vast majority of my readers). Among many otherwise intelligent and thoughtful people, respectful consideration of Jesus is as rare as adherence to Christianity, and, like an expressed belief in the existence of God, is often considered as proof that you are a superstitious half-wit. (The fact that these same people generally have no problem discussing God provided he is called “the universe” or “all that is” tells me that they are still captive of an earlier rebellion against simpler-minded ideas of God – “God with a beard,” as Upton Sinclair used to say.)
So I think it might be of interest to show what I obtained when I went into an altered state and asked the guys upstairs about Jesus. This was some time ago, now, and unfortunately I did not record my initial question, so we start in media res. The question in italics, halfway through the piece, is me, asking more.
The guys begin:
Is it so hard to see that there is something wrong with the simplest ideas about Jesus and Judas?
Jesus could penetrate to the core of a person’s being with a glance. He could tell them their past or future; he could tell them what was in their hearts. How do you betray a man like that? Or – to make it clearer – how can a man like that be betrayed?
Is it possible that Jesus did not see at a glance what Judas was in his inmost soul? Is it possible that he did not sense every change in those around him as they moved day by day? Is it possible that he did not see every nuance in any of the futures available?
How can a man like that be betrayed? He wasn’t surprised, and he wasn’t deceived. And he wasn’t a bad judge of character, either!
So – the melodrama is out. It is not the case that Jesus picked a dozen men and one of them was a traitor. (For that matter it wasn’t just a dozen, and they weren’t only men.)
What scenario next, then? That it was a mystery play, set up and enacted, and someone had to play the bad guy?
Suppose that were true. Would it in some way aid Jesus’ teachings to have him betrayed?
Suppose further that Jesus’ entire life was a mystery play, which is a perfectly acceptable view. If you step away from what you have been taught all these years, is it likely that crucifixion was a necessary part of that story?
Jesus came to bring life, that we might have life more abundantly. He referred to God as his father. Do you think it likely that he could think that God required a death by torture in order to bring humans into line?
And, if he did not, then in what way would crucifixion assist him to carry his message?
If you had never heard of the crucifixion, would you think it a logical end to the career of a man who had superhuman abilities and perceptions? Who came to bring access to life more abundant? Who came to give people courage?
Well, it is a fearful thing to go against history. You can feel it in yourself, arguing. “There must have been a crucifixion; too many of the apostles died in similar ways, and Christians in general over the next generations.” True and not true. Jesus dying on the cross made a wonderful inspiration for those who suffer and are treated unjustly. His betrayal by church authorities [temple authorities] to the Romans makes a good parable about the corruption of ecclesiastical organizations that have political power. But the resurrection, the Pentecost, the change in the apostles, all that in Acts [Acts of the Apostles], seems to you to cut directly across the idea of no crucifixion.
Maybe the crucifixion wasn’t what it seemed, and wasn’t for the purpose it is understood to have been for.
Jesus didn’t die? Was drugged and recovered, all that? People have said that. I don’t believe it.
No. If Jesus were to pretend to die, what would that say about the integrity of the man who above all teachings preached integrity? So, no. We would say this is an example of people trying anything rather than seeing what must break their belief system – in this case, that dead means dead.
Jesus was essentially superhuman. He was – is – a model for what all human will become. He came as model. That is key. He had superhuman abilities and perceptions, and could not have been surprised or betrayed. He had superhuman integrity and could not have pretended or dissembled. He had superhuman connection, and so could go to the point of death – and beyond – and, holding himself together beyond death – reconstitute his body-soul connection in a new and, shall we say, even more superhuman form.
Jesus as perfect model. Remember that. Do you really think God gets angry? Do you think he approves of inflicting suffering as vengeance? These are infantile ways of imagining God. They are not God.
However, having said that, remember – God does not see things in the way you in time-slices and delayed-consequences see them. Just as a parent working out of greater foresight and wisdom may put requirements on a child that the child is tempted to consider punishments or even vindictive restriction, so God may set you in circumstances that seem “unfair” (what parent has not heard that accusation?) or cruel. (Yes there are parents who are cruel or unfair. Does this mean God could be? Well, you decide.)
If harsh circumstances will bring about desirable results and those on the other side can see it but we on ours cannot, they are quite capable of actions and intentions we will see as ruthless. But are we in the best position to judge? This is in the Book of Jonah. Take heed.
As a thought-experiment, we propose this:
1) Humanity was straying ever farther from its innate connection with the divine – with “the other side.” Not that there were none still connected, but that the tendency was away from, rather than toward, closer connection. Hence, the fall of man.
2) Implied in that fall was an increasing deafness to spirit. Hence, spirit was increasingly powerless to overcome the influence of the physical environment that taught that “the world is all there is” regardless what pieties were mouthed.
3) This being so, any demonstration by spirit must come in material form if it were to have any chance of being perceived. The word had to be made flesh, or the blind would continue to refuse to see. Perhaps we should say the deaf might possibly be able to accept what they could see, since they could no longer hear.
4) Hence, a demonstration. How? By lights in the sky? By more strident assertions? By what else in the world but a human life, lived as it can be lived only in perfect connection to spirit?
5) Hence, the life and teachings of Jesus, as earlier the Buddha, and other spiritual teachers. But Jesus’ life was to be the teaching, not merely what he said. Now, it is true that much myth later accreted to his story; that is how the human mind works. That does not invalidate the story, which is of a man of mysterious origins who lived a perfect life, taught others how to live that life (as best they could), was unjustly killed and brought himself back from death, demonstrating that death itself was not what humans thought it.
Jesus demonstrated a life of perfect congruence with spirit, or as it is usually phrased, perfect obedience to the father.
Does this put a different light on things?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Frank DeMarco,
Author, publisher, editor, & psychic explorer.
|
 |
Frank DeMarco holds an M.A. in History from the University of Iowa and a B.A. in History from George Washington University.
His work as co-founder and (for 15 years) chief editor of Hampton Roads Publishing Company brought him into close association with many brilliant and insightful minds, including psychics, remote viewers, channelers and mystics, and showed him the human side of extraordinary abilities.
In 1992, his psychic abilities opened up at a Gateway Voyage at The Monroe Institute in central Virginia. Since then he has been engaged in first-hand exploration of the nature and limits of all things psychic, especially including such areas as healing and guidance, direct access to knowledge, communication with past lives, and the integration of the spiritual dimension into everyday life.
His autobiographical work Muddy Tracks: Exploring an Unsuspected Reality describes the first stages of his discovery of the key to expanded awareness, and offers pointers for those just beginning their quest. In his weblog, www.hologrambooks.com
wordpress.com, he shares the journey and the results of continuing explorations. His blog, “I of my own knowledge…” investigates what individuals can know first-hand about the purpose and conduct of life.
Contact info
www.hologrambooks.com/
hologrambooksblog
email:
muddytracks@
earthlink.net
www.hamptonroadspub.
com/blog
|
 |
You'll find it in
The
Directory! |
|
|
|
|
