Why Christianity Cannot Usher In the Kingdom of God

Having grown up Christian, I know the topic I bring up will be extremely controversial. There are many Christians out there who believe if they do certain things, their place in God's kingdom is assured. They will condemn everyone who doesn't do these things to the eternal tortures of hell. This is exactly where the problem lies. The doctrine we know to be Christianity is based on the premise of separation--good and bad, right and wrong. It is not possible to live in community if you come from a place of separateness.

One of the basic tenants of Christianity is that we are all a bunch of terrible sinners, not having any value in and of ourselves. It is only through Jesus, our Lord and Savior, that we become spotless and blame-free. In other words, Christianity breaks us down to build us back up--all with the understanding that we are nothing without God. Ironically, there is some truth in this statement! We are nothing without God...because we are God!

OMG!!! Blasphemy and eternal damnation for even speaking such a concept!!! What Christians don't understand about the idea that we are God is that God flows in and through all things. God IS all things! This is why Jesus said, "Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me." (John 14:11 NIV) Jesus goes on to say in verse 20, "On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you." Jesus is telling us we are One with him and One with God!!! 

The thing is, Christianity as it has come to be known is not based on Oneness. It is based on separation! I believe the reason for this stems from the way the world was created. This world was created through an act of separation. We read in the First book of Genesis, verses 3 and 4:

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

Further reading in this chapter shows that God continued to separate things out from the Oneness in order to create our world. This world was created in separateness! This is how we chose to experience it, but separateness is not the end goal!

Jesus came to teach this truth: We are all One with God! It is not Jesus fault we have been taught to judge everything, and thus separate everything! If you don't believe that Jesus taught Oneness, look at how he lived. He talked to and ministered to those people that society had been taught to despise--the woman at the well, tax collectors, those sick with leprosy. The people Jesus spoke out against were the very people responsible for keeping such groups separated--the teachers and leaders who held themselves "better" than the common man because they followed what they had been taught was the letter of the law! The pharisees and sadducees all taught separation in one form or another.   

The kingdom of God is based on the premise of unity--of Oneness! If we cannot learn to break down those barriers that separate us one from another, we can never learn to live as One. As long as Christianity promotes the idea that we are separate from God, it will never be able to participate in the building of God's kingdom on earth.

Learn to live as God lives. Learn to BE One! 

  

The New Mentality

I had an interesting conversation with several Facebook friends who were discussing the planetary ascension process we seem to be going through at the present time--this time of increased problems but also increased understanding. So often in our day to day experience, it is easy to get discouraged about all that is taking place. We see people who ought to "get it" do stupid things which seem to undermine the planetary growth, setting us back hundreds of years (or so it feels).

I just don't see it that way. Sure, there are a great many ignorant people out there. Sure, the great majority of people in the world today are bent on controlling the lives of as many others as humanly possible. The thing is, there are also those of us who are realizing that fighting and control are futile--that the only ends which will come about by all the continuing conflict is our earthly demise. And there are more and more of us every day!

More and more often, another person is converted to the masses who believe struggle for control is not the answer (although if you're looking to see this in politics, forget about it!). The key to our survival lies not in standing up for our beliefs. It lies in allowing others to control their own destinies--to choose the lessons they came here to learn. It is only by allowing all that IS to occur without hindrance that we will be able to rise above the conflict and create a world based on ONE!

This Oneness of heart and of mind and of purpose is the new mentality! The very act of manipulation/control is the block which stands in the way of global peace and harmony! When another is raging for a fight, don't engage him! Love him! When another tells you that you've lost your mind and need to be stopped, love her back! Fighting won't stop the battle. It can, by its very nature, only increase it. Accept and go about with your purpose in life. They will learn their own lessons in their own time.

The impact of your acceptance will be much more powerful than you will ever know! The old saying "Actions speak louder than words" is true. When you are peace and love, others will understand and imitate. It is this mentality that will sway hearts. It is this new mentality that will change the world. 

Eastern Religions, Nonduality and the Bible

Sometimes, inspiration strikes in the most random ways while doing the most mundane tasks. Tonight was one such night. I was driving to the local convenience store to run a quick errand, not really thinking about anything more than the task at hand. All of a sudden, I heard a voice in my mind's eye quoting scripture (a throwback from all the times I listened to my father quote scripture as a child).

The quote is from the book of Genesis in the beginning of the old testament. "God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness." (Gen. 1:4 NIV) When I heard the statement, what really hit me was the fact that it says God separated the light from the darkness. In other words, in order to create the earth God had to separate the elements of dark and light. Prior to this, light and dark would have been one and the same!

Christianity teaches there is a good and a bad, a right and a wrong, a dark and a light. These things are clearly defined in detail in the Bible. Sinning is thought to be making bad or wrong choices (whether intentional or not). This separateness seems to be at the core of many Christian values and beliefs. Because of its two-sided nature, Christianity is sometimes called dualistic.

Eastern religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, teach something other than separation--the concept of nonduality. This is the idea that everything is ultimately One. The goal of life is thought to be to progress to the state of Nirvana, or Oneness with the Divine. These religions recognize life on earth is dualistic in nature. The goal is to rise above it to obtain a state of peace and wholeness.

Look at the problems facing the world today: wars, genocide, poverty, greed. Yes, these problems create untold misery for countless people. How do we choose to deal with these problems? We pick a side and stand up for it or fight for it. Does this stategy work? Do we still have wars, genocide, poverty and greed?

The problem with choosing sides is that keeps us in a state of separation. Choosing sides fortifies the belief we have to fight. Choosing sides inherently creates problems. Albert Einstein once said, " We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them", yet when we choose sides that is exactly what we are doing!

Duality came into being when the earth was created, but that is not our natural state! We came from a place of nonseparation according to the Bible--a state of Oneness. As Christians, it seems to go against everything we are taught about right and wrong, but that is exactly how we need to go about solving the problems of today.

There may be some concepts worth learning in eastern traditions after all.      

The Presence of Money

I was one of those people who grew up learning thoughts that hinder the flow of money. "Money doesn't grow on trees" and "rich people get ahead by stepping on the little guy" were mantras I unconsciously embraced as fact. Consequently, my life hasn't exactly flowed with money. I have worked on getting rid of these ideas for years, using techniques like EFT (The EFT Manual (EFT: Emotional Freedom Techniques))and Wayne Dyer's Excuses Begone (Excuses Begone!: How to Change Lifelong, Self-Defeating Thinking Habits ). I have had great success using many of these ideas. Still, the effects of these beliefs have lingered and I often ask the question "What am I still clinging to that separates me from money?" Ironically, my answer lies in that specific question.

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to attend a spiritual retreat. I was looking forward to it because I have met with this group of people before and I know them to be open vessels who crave the presence of Source in their lives. Because of this, they carry a very precious energy which I enjoy tapping into. This past weekend was no exception.

We walked into the opening service a little late, so a powerful spiritual energy hit me as I entered the room. As I sat there and allowed myself to experience this Source energy, I felt the "oneness" of everything. Everything existed in this space--from each individual on earth to their feelings to every animal and each blade of grass. I felt the connection and interconnections of all these things. As I gave myself permission to rest in this space, I was able to isolate individual items within it. The first one I was able to feel was the presence of money. Its presence was benign. It was not flashy or extravagant. It was not evil. It just existed with no pretense or presumption. This is when I understood. Money, like everything else, is a part of me. I am not separate from it. This knowledge gave me a peace about money I have never experienced before.

I continue to rest in this flow of energy where money and everything else exists, whenever I get the chance. As I get used to being in this space, it begins to be part of both my conscious mind and my subconscious one. Essentially, it all gets back to "oneness". I now know I am not separate from anything, including money. It is a part of me just as love and joy are a part of me. The money is always present, and now I know it.