The most important journey

"You can travel great distances, but still stay where you are.

Sometimes we spend our lives running from one place to the next, but remain the same person. This is why the same types of situations, people, and chaos seem to follow us wherever we go until we discover the lessons we are meant to learn and make an inner change.

Personal growth has little to do with where we are, and everything to do with how we are."

~Yehuda Berg

Yes, the most important journey we can make is the inner journey between our mind and our heart, as a saying goes. While the environment may play a part in facilitating or influencing our personal growth and transformation to some extent, much of our inner growth and change lies within us, regardless of our physical location.

I think this is why many of us who make long pilgrimages to our holy land or temple or church building still remain largely untransformed long after we return from our holy pilgrimages because we have not yet learnt to walk our inner journeys of the heart on a regular basis. I think that is also why Thich Nhat Hanh advocates spiritual practice wherever we are, whether home or workplace or marketplace or anywhere else in the society instead of retreating to a remote monastery because we can experience inner growth right where we are and still impact the society with our inner peace. He calls this "engaged buddhism" and I think this practice is applicable for any other belief system or religion as well. I also like what he says here in his book "Being Peace":

"We don't need to go to China to enjoy the blue sky. We don't have to travel into the future to enjoy our breathing. We can be in touch with these things right now."

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Peace that passes all understanding

"The highest expression of Universal Mind otherwise known as God is Peace. (Peace in this context is the same as Love.) We are not referring to the ego's version of Peace which is nothing more than the opposite of conflict, but the Peace that surpasseth understanding." James F Twyman

Yes, peace as the highest expression of Universal Mind is much more than an absence of conflict or chaos as it goes deeper than the world's (or ego's, according to the quote) notion of peace. I think the peace that passes all understanding is available to every person regardless of their belief system or religion. For example, peace may be attained through meditation for followers of Buddhism, or through prayer for followers of Christianity and Catholicism, or through yoga for yoga practitioners, and so on. And yes, peace is equivalent to love because both stem from the same source of Universal Mind.

"Observing silence, and breathing deeply and gently is the easiest way to open the heart. You can also open it through sacred dancing and movements which incorporate the breath and encourage gratitude and presence in the moment. The method you use to fall into the heart is just a tool. Do not make it important. What is important is that you find a way to access the deeper aspect of your being which is at peace."
(From "The Silence of the Heart: Reflections of the Christ Mind" by Paul Ferrini)

"Living In More Gracious Space" podcast

This is a good podcast on living in more gracious space (click here to listen). I like the mystical approach that both Wayne Jacobsen and Kent Burgess has regarding relationship with God, in terms of slowing down and being present and in touch with God (or our inner/highest self). I agree with the interpretation that Kent shared about the parable of the prodigal son who came back to the fatheer after venturing to distant lands - a symbol of how we too have left the present moment and got distracted by the performance mindset of the world (religion/politics/society). It is perhaps ironic too that Buddhism and new age seems to help people connect with God (or highest self) better than mainstream Christianity.

Like what Wayne shared, religion with all its rules and regulations and competition with one another tends to make people relationally challenged. On the whole, it is a great message about returning to the present moment and being in touch with our true self.

As also shared by Wayne, the performance mindset of the world/religion/modern societies tends to cause people to want to resist and change things on the outside, but it is much better to be in the flow/present moment of life. I also like the examples given in the podcast that Jesus would take time away from the hustle and bustle of life and find secluded places to pray/contemplate - indeed, Nature is perhaps the best "church" or "sanctuary" where we find rest for our soul and peace for our heart and mind.

A deep unmovable sense of peace

“No matter how much drama others are into, you can see them as the creative expression of the same one Source from which all has sprung. When you are in that holy space and you begin to look at things with new eyes, there will come a peace that the world does not know, but a peace that you know very deeply within your soul, a peace that you yearn for, a peace that says, ‘I am okay no matter what happens in my life, no matter what drama, no matter what seeming loss or abandonment, no matter what seeming wrong choices have come, I am okay. I am divine. I am loved. I am love walking on two feet, and I will be that sun —s-u-n— the Light of the world.’ "

Oakbridge University ~ Jeshua Online ~ Message of the Day~

Yes, when we are resting in the Source, we are experiencing a deep unmovable sense of peace, knowing we are loved and we are divine.

A word of encouragement by Robert Rutherford

We are all faced with challenges. Loss.... Disease..... Death of loved ones....financial catastrophe.... Abuse..... Hurt..... Pain..... All of these things serve to strengthen us..... To make us better.....
To prepare us for the rest of the journey. In the middle of the trial... We must focus on the strength within... And, look to the finish line. We will make it. The challenge at hand is our friend. It will help us. Don't hate the pain.... Embrace it.

~ Robert Rutherford

Yes, we all face challenges in life, at different times and in varying degrees of hardship, and I also agree that these things serve to strengthen us - we will emerge not only better, but stronger and wiser. It reminds me of an athlete training for a marathon - each training exercise, each lap around the running track, serves to prepare us for the long journey ahead. As we progress further down the road, I believe we will be able to look back and marvel at how our past hurt and pain have bolstered us and given us the strength and endurance and wisdom that we have acquired which we would not have otherwise acquired without the initial hardship, and we will find ourselves coping or faring much better. Yes, embracing our pain and loss is the way to experience more freedom and peace in the long run.

Finding peace in the midst of sadness

Someone said:

"Sometimes I think somehow the foundation of life is sadness. Or maybe it's a longing. I may find something that feels good and I enjoy but it seems there is always something more.
I'm finding that to live at peace with life and thus experience it as rich, I need to cultivate a certain detachment.
A letting go of need and want, a relinquishment to the moment so to speak, a "forced" or at least a chosen peace."

 Like what the post says, the foundation of life could be sadness or a longing. It reminds me of John O'Donohue's writing about the eternal longing and belonging. In real life, I think sadness often has the ability to connect people at a deeper level than happiness because we are touched forever when someone understands our griefs and sorrows when we experience pain and sadness. Jesus entered into people's sufferings many a times, such as weeping with Mary and Martha over the death of their brother Lazarus, and the cross is also his way of experiencing our shame, rejection, pain and fears, so that whenever in real life we go through a challenge, we can look at Jesus and know we are not alone in our sufferings, and we can take comfort in knowing someone understands what we go through because he has gone through the pain himself. In our world, whenever natural disasters or tragedies happen, people who go through similar sufferings often band together to support and care for one another.

At an even deeper level, I believe there is an immovable sense of inner peace and calm underneath the happiness and sadness we experience in life. Like what the post says, cultivating a certain detachment may allow us to experience this chosen peace. I think this will help us not to be crushed when feelings of sadness are overwhelming, especially if the tragedy is severe. I believe the reason Jesus prayed at the garden of Gethsemane on the night before he was crucified is because he needed to find that inner strength and peace in order to face such an emotionally and physically ordeal later on. When Jesus had been strengthened on the inside he was able to face the trials and crucifixion somewhat in a detached manner, and was able to focus on loving people even in the midst of his sufferings, such as comforting a dying thief on the cross. In the same way. I believe we all have that inner strength and fortitude that anchors our soul to peace even as we experience sufferings in life, which enables us to help ourselves and others find meaning and beauty in life.

I believe for every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows.
And I believe that somewhere in the darkest night a candle glows.
I believe for anyone who goes astray someone will come show them the way.
Yes I believe, Oh I believe!
I believe above the storm the smallest prayer will be heard.
I believe that someone in the great somewhere hears every word.
Every time I hear a newborn baby cry or touch a leaf or see the sky,
Then I know why I believe.

Shared by “Missr Holland”

The narrow and hidden path

"To judge others is a wide path, easy to access and get carried along upon. But to love others is a narrow path; hidden at first glance, in fact it takes time to even discover its trail, but blessed are those who seek it out and journey upon it."- Mick Mooney

The above quote on the wide and narrow paths reminds me of Jesus' words on the mount of beautitudes. It is interesting to see that the narrow way that leads to life can be referring to a non-judgemental approach to living life. I believe it not only promotes inner peace and well-being but also enables people to experience eternal life, which is knowing our highest self and our true identity as one with god/divine love, and one with one another.

I suppose the wide path, on the other hand, leads to destruction in the sense of destroying the sense of unity and harmony when people judge one another, which we all tend to do from time to time as part of human nature. But as the above quote says, the narrow path is a hidden path at first glance, and it is worth seeking this path of our divine nature, for its reward is life (peace, wellbeing, unity and harmony with self and others). This is a timeless reminder, and I believe each person can discover and re-discover this hidden and narrow path that  leads to life through contemplative living in stillness and silence, as well as reminding and exhorting one another.

We all need revelation of the gospel

We all need revelation of the gospel, for Proverbs 29:18 says "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but happy is he who keeps the law." The new covenant interpretation of "keeps the law" is to believe in Jesus (seeing our true identity in Him), for He has fulfilled the law on our behalf.

I believe it is possible to have peace and harmony in the world, when we all see one another as new creations in Christ, no longer from a worldly point of view. What we need is a constant reminder of who we are in Christ - "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28)

Coming out of fear-based religion is like coming back to life and back to reality

"I'M GONNA HAVE A BAD-HAIR DAY!
somebody just message me and said you couldn't go to Heaven unless you were baptized in water after Praying the sinner's prayer...
So....I pulled out half my hair.
I....REEEAAALLY HATE DUMB RELIGION!!!"- Robert Rutherford

Yes, the christian religion can be dumb. As much as I am coming to accept that there is no one true or perfect spiritual path, so to speak, since every one is unique (due to the fact that each of us has a unique spiritual DNA and is responsible for our own spiritual path), I also see that some aspects of christianity - especially the fundamentalist ones - can be dangerous. For example, I heard about a case of someone being told by a pastor that he could "see" a tumour in her body. It is sad that many people who are still in the religious circles are being vulnerable to so-called pastors claiming or presuming to have the "authority" to speak in the name of God. I want to address the issue of this cultic mindset in my blog, so as to spread the awareness of such spiritual abuse that is still going on, despite the fact that many are coming out of organised religion in view of the global spiritual awakening.

Incidentally, I was reading this blog "Taking charge of how we experience life" earlier on a similar subject, and I like what it says here:

"I knew that no one had the power to make me feel anything, except for me and my brain. Nothing external to me had the power to take away my peace of heart and mind. That was completely up to me. I may not be in total control of what happens to my life, but I certainly am in charge of how I choose to perceive my experience."

Yes, those of us who have learnt to meditate and watch our thought life have come to a place where we realise the importance of not allowing ourselves to be affected by what others tell us - especially negative or fear-inducing things - and instead choosing to perceive our own experience and guard our heart and remain in peace and wholeness.

Indeed, coming out of fear-based religion is like coming out of the illusion of fear and separation and coming back to life and back to reality, as the song by Soul II Soul goes.

We are all each responsible for our own creation in our hologram

"We are so used to thinking of things external to us. When, we do this we begin to feel like a victim. This keeps the victim-victimizer game going. We have been both. It is some times painful to look within and see self. Many say you need to get rid of your ego. If you do that you are no longer able to see what needs healed. If you repress your thoughts or feelings then this energy turns in and causes illness and all kinds of problems. When, you are able to see it and not judge it but send love to it the energy is no longer stored in and can flow out in a healthy manner. What, is on the outside of you is a refectrion of you. When, you heal what you see needs it, you will stop the victim-victimizer game, you will know we are all in the same boat. We are all each resposible for our own creation in our hologram. Also, makes it easy to love each other. We are all one, but individuated Faces of God Source. So, we make our experience here." ~ Marlene Fow

Yes, we are all one and yet individual faces of the God source in this divine ecosystem in which we coexist and build up one another in the body of Christ. Like what Paul wrote, when one part of the body suffers, the rest of the body is affected and suffers as well, and when one part of the body does well, the rest of the body benefits too and rejoices with that part. 

And yes, I have also come to realise that we are living in a matrix or holographic universe, whereby our inner condition or consciousness can affect our outer condition or universe. So what we see and experience outside is a reflection of what is inside us because what is inside us manifests on the outside. 

Like what the post says, when we love and accept ourselves the way we are, including embracing the ego, we will experience wholeness and create a beautiful and peaceful world both for ourselves and others, which is our ultimate reality. Whenever outside circumstances appear challenging or overwhelming, we can remind ourselves these things are an illusion and focus on the divine unconditional love inside us, and we will remain in peace and victory over the circumstances. 

In 2 Chronicles 20, when King Jehoshaphat and his army was overwhelmed by Moab, Ammon and other armies, they learnt to sing praises and focus on their belovedness, and they eventually won the battle without a fight and got to collect the treasures in the battlefield. 

The gospel of our belovedness and oneness has the power to transform our consciousness and bring peace and wholeness to ourselves, which will also emanate to the world around us. May we continue to create a wonderful, peaceful and restful world.

Related post

Waking Life (full length movie)

 

How do we overcome the illusion of separation in the material realm?

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other." --Mother Teresa

I asked a question in Yahoo Answers recently: Since we are living in a material dimension which causes us to have an illusion of separation and false identity, how do we walk by faith and not by sight in this world?
 
We all need spiritual eyes to see beyond the illusion and realise we are all one and not separate from one another. Though each of us is unique and different, we are all one in divine love and are interconnected and interdependent. I like the quote by Mother Teresa too - to realise our connectedness is to have peace in this world as we would seek to love others as ourselves, and love ourselves as others.

Nuggets of encouragement (You shall go out with joy)

"The best way to predict the future is to create it." Peter Drucker

My beloved shared with me that "We are creators, experiencing being creatures....... Humans, (Hu) means God, (Man) is what we are experiencing....."

Yes, I like the fact that the word humans means God (hu) and man in combination. We can think and access God's thoughts in higher consciousness of love, grace and mercy, and as the rain and snow comes down from heaven, so shall our words cause the earth of our being to blossom and bear fruit - our thoughts and words shall prosper our future indeed, and we shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of thorns, we shall have a garden of trees and flowers in which we cultivate daily with gratitude, love and peace.

Here are some more nuggets of encouragement. They remind me of the fact that as co-creators, we can create and cultivate our own beautiful garden of trees and flowers with joy, peace, love and beauty, based on the quote - "The best way to predict the future is to create it." Peter Drucker

Life doesn't come with an instruction manual of the do's and don'ts of life. The one message that comes through loud and clear is that life can be whatever you want it to be. Life is a journey. You chart your own course, make your own decisions and choose the paths you will take along the way. You have to believe in yourself and your choices and know that you can only be responsible for your part in this lifetime. Don't dwell on past mistakes, live them and learn from them but then move on. They don't define who you are, they are just puzzle pieces that you pick up along the way that ultimately come together with the positive life moments to form a glorious lifetime.

~Debra Wilson~

"You have a choice to create a magnificent day. Be the best you can be and know that whatever you choose to do is to the best of your ability. Be kind to yourself.. no more internalising or beating yourself up over past issues. It is the past. Heal those issues as much as you can with the knowledge you have. After all you are a lightworker... PS: Know that you are always loved and supported..."

- Unknown

"Sometimes you just have to let go and fly....Let go of your pain...Fly on the wings of faith...Believe that tomorrow will be a brighter day....There are many changes taking place....Take a breath and know all is as it should be...Things are changing for a reason....You are growing and in doing so many thing will change to make way for many blessings...Watch out becouse here they come, be open to receive...Open your heart look inside and let your love and light shine through.....Lot of love." 

Terina

You are so loved, this is the truth

Count your blessing now, for the future is not written yet and what's really important is right now! Take the time right now to think about a few things you are thankful for, let your mind roam free in the little things that make you smile, they're always there, the just get hard to see through things that we allow to get us down......smile now and know as you're reading this that i'm smiling because i'm so thankful for You! Hugs ♥

Little Bird You Are Perfect
⋮ ⋰
⋯ ◯ ⋯
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ`.¸¸♥´¯) ¸.☆´¯)(¸☆´
(¸.♥´´¯`•.¸¸.ღƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ No less than the stars and the sun, YOU TOO, were born to be brilliant! It is your time to shine ღƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Dec 2010 Grace Nuggets (Think About His Love)

Grace is always supplying because love is always giving.

The best way to experience God’s blessings is to enjoy the Lord every moment. Never feel rushed, stressed or pressurised. Rest in God’s grace who is always supplying to us.

It doesn't matter how much theology we know. It's how much we are willing to believe and receive God's oversupplying love and grace and enjoy our blessedness in Christ.

You are our hiding place. You shall preserve us from trouble; You shall surround us with songs of deliverance. (Psalm 32:7)

God has made us masterpieces, created in His glorious image.

"I love my Master, my wife and my children. I will not go out free", for true freedom is found in a loving family relationship.

 It is His (and our) joy, pleasure and glory to overlook a transgression. (Proverbs 19:11)

We are a new creation in Christ, made in His glorious image, a masterpiece beloved and whole, blessed to be a blessing.

Remove condemnation and the outward symptoms will disappear.

Expect good because God's favour is on us in Christ.

It is the goodness and kindness of God that leads us to repentance (change our mind to believe the good news of grace). Keep expecting to experience His goodness!

Surely goodness and love shall chase us down all the days of our life and we will dwell in Christ (or Christ consciousness) forever!

Create a beautiful world and glorious future with positive words of faith.

God (our highest Self) sees us all holy, righteous, blameless and above reproach. We are beloved and valuable in Christ.

Experiencing the perfect love of God casts out every fear, and faith becomes operative.

"Think about His love, think about His goodness, think about His grace that brought us through."

"For as high as the heavens above, so great is the measure of our Father's love. Great is the measure of our Father's love."

The revelation of the gospel is the revelation of the fullness of Christ in every one of us.

 Love life and see good days, and speak positive words of faith and blessings.

The Spirit love of God perseveres and sustains soul love, as in the marriage between Christ and the church.

"In the light of the king's face is life, and his favour is like the latter rain."

It's all about Jesus (our true identity) and His finished work because He and us are One. He loves us so much.

See one another as finished and perfect workmanship in Christ. We are blooming wherever we are planted.

Expect the favour of God (cosmic consciousness) wherever we go. It is our Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom (righteousness/innocence, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit within us) where all our needs are met.

Jesus is love in action. He came to serve and give His life for us. He (our true Self) continues to live in and through us.

We are believers in Christ who live by His indwelling life.

Every day is Today for us to enter into rest. Jesus is our today, our rest.

Jesus always sees us His bride without spot, wrinkle or any such thing because as He is, so are we in this world.

Life begins when we realise who we are in Christ.

Nuggets of encouragement (October 2010 archive)

"Much more we who receive abundance of grace (free divine favour) and the gift of righteousness (our true identity as Love and Innocence) will reign in life through Jesus Christ."

"The Lord is our Shepherd, we shall not be in want. He wants us lie down in green pastures. He leads beside still, quiet waters. He restores our soul. He leads us in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Surely goodness and love shall chase us all the days of our life. And we will dwell in the house of the Lord (in our higher consciousness) forever."

"The way God corrects people is to give them revelations of Jesus (being their true identity), not condemning them but lifting them up."

"We are transformed when Jesus (the law) is read and we see His glory (grace and mercy reflected in us) unveiled in the Scriptures."

"You can pray for anything (to your highest Self), and if you can believe that you've received it, it will be yours. Mark 11:24 God has made us victorious."

"When we know and receive the riches of Christ (the truth of who we are), we will experience and manifest the fullness of God as a corporate body of Christ (the whole Universe)."

"Broaden your horizons. Set your sights higher."

"People who are not under law (performance-based system) live long because they are not sin-conscious (or lack-conscious). Stay under grace."

"The blessing of the Lord makes us rich and He adds no sorrow or painful toil to it."

"The glory of Jesus (the personification of Love, whom we all are) is to overlook a transgression (and seeing only our own perfection and beauty)."

"Arise, shine, for our light has come." :) (We are the Light!)

"I love my Master, my wife and my children. I will not go out free. I shall serve my Master (our true Self - our divine Oneness) forever."

"Life is precious. Use time and money to love people."

"Use our words to create a bright future."

"Truth spoken with grace makes people feel warm and accepted (because truth is always about unconditional love who believes the best of us)."

"Thank You Abba You have gone ahead of us to prepare each day, and it is a blessed day." :)

Thank You Lord Jesus (our true Self) You daily load us with benefits."

"When we are physically and mentally rested, the promptings of the Spirit become sharper."

"He (our old Adamic identity) was chastised for our peace. He (our true identity) established us in the new covenant of peace. When we believe this, we shall be led forth with peace." (Isaiah 53-55)

"People may not remember what we say, but they will remember how we make them feel welcomed and loved. Kind actions out of the overflow of Love speak volumes." (Luke 7 and John 12)

"Some things are universal, for example, meditation, sowing and reaping. But lasting peace and grace and agape love and rest for the conscience and completeness is found only in Jesus (Christ), our true identity."

Our heavenly Father gives us power to get wealth, that HE may establish His covenant of grace."

Summary of the gospel of grace from preterist-universalist and mystical perspectives

Here is a summary of the preterist-universalist view of the gospel of grace that I have been learning about the past couple of years, though my mindset has continued to evolve from this view some time last year to embrace a more metaphysical view, that includes gnostic or mystical aspects (such as interpreting God as our highest self, rather than a separate entity).

"Hell" can mean grave (Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek), which also has a metaphorical meaning of "hidden". So hell/hades can symbolise ignorance or amnesia (of our oneness with God, and of our true divine identity).

"Gehenna" - Jesus was referring to the garbage dump in Jerusalem (Ge - valley; henna - Hinnom; the Valley of Hinnom). Metaphorically, it symbolises the condemnation that the Jews experienced in their conscience during the tribulation, because they (mistakenly) thought their "god" was punishing them when the Roman army attacked their city.

The "Last Days", as I understand it, was referring to the end of the Old Covenant Age - the end of the Jewish religious system, the end of the law system. It also symbolises the end of the law mindset (doing in order to become), thereby the end of the separation mindset.

The ministry of reconciliation, as I understand it, is about God (our highest self) reconciling to ourselves through our true identity - Christ Jesus. To me, to be reconciled with God is to be reconciled with our true divine self, with the Universe - there is no more enmity or inner battles or condemnation in our own mind or consciousness - so we are completely at peace with ourselves.

There is no so-called future hell or lake of fire to be saved from. The lake of fire has already happened in AD70. The old identity in Adam (that was attached to external circumstances or performance) has already been done away, and it signified the end of condemnation. The only thing for people today is to awaken to their true identity (in Christ), or as spiritual beings on a human journey.

So that's my view in a nutshell in this stage of my journey. I think even the word "Christ" is not necessary for awakening - it is probably just specific to the Judeo-christian culture in the Middle East. Buddha or Krishna etc will do just fine as well - as long as it is about awakening to our true divine nature of Unconditional Love and Light in every one of us. :)

Nuggets of encouragement (August 2010)

We are not just a face in the crowd. We are favoured children of God. We are a precious blessing wherever we go, bringing refreshing and peace and joy and acceptance.

Jesus is meek and lowly, noble and honourable, gracious and compassionate and full of mercy - and so are we in this world!

Prioritise rest as rest is our greatest responsibility.

Expect the favour of God to work in our life, health, relationships, finances, work today because God treats all of us as Jesus.

Speak blessings because our tongue is like the rudder of the ship, setting the course of our destiny. :)

Keep sowing, keep blessing, and God will bring a harvest in people's lives.

The more we talk about and meditate on the truth of "Christ in us, the hope of glory". the more it becomes a living tangible reality in our lives because what we are conscious of will ultimately manifest. :)

"Rest in the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will make your ways come to pass."

Appreciate what we have because God (our highest self) has blessed us with so much, with the best for us. Thank You, Abba!

When God (our highest self) makes it happen, it's beautiful and effortless. "Commit your ways to Him and He will bring it to pass."

Build our consciousness on Christ by spending time to behold His glory and grace. Children are naturally righteousness-conscious.

God (our highest self) is pleased with us all the time because He sees us in the perfection of His Son (our true identity).

Heaven (our highest consciousness) is where Jesus (our true self) is - His love makes a difference.

Jesus is our perfect representative, and since His thoughts are holiness to the Lord, we are accepted before God (our highest self).

The more we rest, the more we see God's grace in our lives. :)

Jesus is our perfect representative, and we are a reflection of His glory and goodness.

Knowing we are God's beloved gives us dominion in life (over death and condemnation and fear).

God favours us and has crowned and encircled us with glory and honour.

Small acts of kindness are powerful seeds of God's love to help others succeed in life.

"I stand, I stand in awe of You (our highest self). You are marvellous beyond description, too wonderful for words."

God has made us sufficient to be a minister of the new covenant, ministering grace and peace, life and righteousness and no condemnation to people.

Be ourselves, for God has made us unique and complete in Christ.

Jesus (our true identity) is lion and lamb, majesty and meekness, mighty to save yet lowly to serve.

Jesus (our true self) came not to be served but to serve (willingly, out of revelation of kingship and sonship), and give His life as a ransom for many (to redeem ourselves from the illusion of separation and fear).

Jesus is our joy; we don't have to do anything to become joyful.

The gospel and our consciousness (Video transcript)

The following is a transcript of my video "The gospel and our consciousness" which I posted online on 4 July 2011.

Hello, here am I again. I am going to talk about the gospel. The gospel is the power of God to save those who believe the good news, and what is the good news? It’s simply that we are righteous, or another word for “righteous” is “innocent”, that we are, before the beginning of time, we are already seen as innocent and righteous, holy, blameless before God, and that is the good news.

God does not want us to be afraid of Him

There is no bad news in the good news, and that is why there is much concern, especially in the “Christian” world about the mixed gospel because there seems to be some bad news in the good news, the so-called “good news”. But we know that God does not give any kind of fear or condemnation because 2 Timothy says that “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind”, and also we learn that Jesus always said “Do not be afraid.” 

He doesn’t want us to be afraid of Him at all, and He is the same as God, and there is a misquotation (or rather misinterpretation) about “Do not fear those who can kill the body and can do no further, but fear him who has the power to destroy both body and soul.” But that is actually not referring to God. That is actually referring to the enemy. The enemy is not God; He is always our Friend; He is our Father in heaven. 

The enemy is actually that part of our conscience, our human psychology, that caused us to feel condemned, and that is actually a symbolic representation that is simply called Satan or the devil or the accuser of the brethren in the Bible. Now, for every interpretation of the Bible, I think a safe guideline to go by is: Whenever it ministers peace to us, that is a safe bet to say that it is “scriptural” because we know God always wants us to be at peace with ourselves and with Him. 

If there is any interpretation of the Bible that seems to generate some fear or condemnation or guilt or shame, then it’s probably, most definitely actually, not from God. If you disagree, that is ok because I think we all have the freedom to discover for ourselves what the Bible says or what any other holy scripture that we deem to be “scriptural” to ourselves, because after all, we are made to have our own freedom to pursue the path that we think what God is like. 

One person’s understanding may differ from another person’s understanding of God, and I don’t claim… and I don’t think other people also would have the same… would have the full understanding of what God is really like, and I definitely don’t have all the answers, but I can only share what I have studied so far in my journey of faith because I believe that I am a spiritual being on a human journey, and vice versa. I am a human being on a spiritual journey as well.

How does the good news affect our consciousness?

So, what I am going to talk about, as I mentioned, is the gospel. I think the power of the gospel is when we believe the good news. The good news is simply that God is love and He sees us in His image, and it is because the first Adam partook from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, he felt alienated from God, but God has never alienated Himself from us down through the centuries. So that is the reason Jesus came to show us that God is all the while with us. He is one with us, as He said in the prayer of John 17.

How can we apply this practically because theoretically and theologically we can go into a lot of details to explain the gospel and the salvation story? But, practically I would say, in my life, when I believe God is good and only good – He is love – His love endures forever, somehow good things also happen to me in my life, practically, realistically.

I think there is something to do with the – maybe you can call that – vibrations. New age and… ya, this might raise some alarm bells from some of the more conservative Christians, but actually new age thinkers and new paradigm thinkers, or we call that new thought philosophers, they are actually… they have something that is quite close to what we so-called know as the truth or the reality – whatever you call it – or quantum physics or quantum science.

We actually live in a matrix kind of world, and I am sure some of you would actually be able to tell the parallel between "The Matrix" and the gospel story, that we actually live in a world that is something like a holographic universe. So, how we perceive the world to be actually will play out in real life. So, it is very important what we believe in our consciousness because the battlefield is in the mind. 

And I’m going to just talk about one passage from the Bible before I go long-winded and go into other rabbit trails. It’s 2 Chronicles chapter 20 where King Jehoshaphat and his army were facing a huge dilemma because they seemed to be outnumbered by the enemies from Moab, Ammon and some other countries. 

I would say there is a spiritual significance to this story because in our lives, there seem also to be some instances where in our mind or our consciousness, we may imagine that some things are overwhelming us. They are overwhelming to us especially when we go through some challenges, but even if there are no challenges, our mind sometimes can still sabotage us and think that “Hey, something’s bad going to happen.” Maybe we’ve done something wrong. Or even if we have done nothing wrong, somehow there is a voice that seems to tell us that “Hey, don’t expect too much. Sometimes bad things do happen.”

Well, what happened in the story in 2 Chronicles chapter 20 is that King Jehoshaphat and his army, they actually learnt to sing “Praise the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever”, and I believe they sang this over and over again. They were actually building in their mindset or their consciousness how good God is, who is all the while with us, who is our heavenly Father, who loves to bless us, who is already blessing us actually all the while. So, the more we are aware of that, the more we actually become conscious of God’s goodness and love that endures not just for a moment but forever. We can also believe that at every moment, we can expect good things to happen to us.

Yes, it has nothing to do with our performance because the moment we think it has something to do with our performance, we are actually going back to the law mindset, to the tree of knowledge of good and evil where Adam used to eat, and that’s how he felt alienated from God. But Jesus came to bridge the gap, not in terms of the actual separation but in our mind, to show us that God is all the while with us, to show us that He is our true identity – “as He is, so are we in this world” – accepted, beloved, favoured, prosperous, completely healed, whole, healthy, peaceful – that is shalom. 

Jesus is our Shalom. And I would say the battle is in our mind. The only way to overcome, to fight this battle is to actually be at rest. “Be still and know that I am God.” We are actually gods, according to Psalm 82,  which Jesus actually quoted to say that we have the divine nature in us because we are all made in His image, which has never changed and will never change. So this is the battle that we continue to fight, not by struggling, but by resting.

Rest is the greatest work that we can do in order to stay victorious. This is spiritual warfare, and probably it’s not like what some of the traditional Christianity has taught. So, this is basically the gospel, the aspect of the gospel which I want to focus on in this message. And keep on fighting the good fight of faith, believing that we are righteous, we are innocent, we are holy, we are blameless. 

Christ is our wisdom, righteousness, holiness and redemption. We are redeemed from the sense of alienation because by one man’s disobedience – Adam’s – he made all sinners. “Sin” is not a moral thing; “sin” is simply ignorance about our true identity, ignorance of the love of our God. But by one Man’s obedience – Jesus’ obedience – all were made righteous. The word “many” there means “multitudes”. So, it actually means “all” – the multitudes of everybody. We are ALL made righteous, in our mind, and God has all the while seen us righteous because we are all wrapped up in Him – the new Man, Jesus Christ, the second Adam or the last Adam.

This is the gospel, as I believe it, and I’m still on a journey. If you are blessed, I am glad to know that because I am also blessed by knowing the gospel, and it is my privilege and pleasure to share this with you. God bless you. Know that we are loved by God always unconditionally, universally, individually, personally forevermore. Amen.

God's justice is about love and reconciliation, not hatred and retribution

I have come to learn that the idea of God punishing Jesus for man's sins misleads people to think of God as a vengeful judge, which in turn fuels violence in the world where people kill and condemn one another in the name of god.

To me, that is man's version of justice, which goes by revenge and retribution. But Jesus said not to return an eye for an eye but to love one's enemies.

So God's version of justice would not involve hatred and retribution but rather love and reconciliation. When people experience love and reconciliation, they will be at peace with themselves, and then they will be at peace with others.

That is true justice as I understand it, that Jesus came to bring, to open the eyes of the blind (to see our true identity) and to set free those who are oppressed (by religion and illusion of separation), to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord - the good  news of our acceptance, innocence and perfection. Now is the day of salvation, now is the time of favour.

People can experience peace right where they are when they love and accept themselves for who they are.

The proverbial lake of fire

What do we make of verses from the Bible such as:

"Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:" (Matthew 25:41)

and 

"The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." (Revelation 20:10)

An angel from heaven is like a messenger of thought from our consciousness. Some thoughts need to be refined in the proverbial lake of fire to be cleansed from self-righteousness so that they no longer have the power to condemn and accuse us, when they are transformed into loving thoughts of unity and peace. How good it is to learn to accept ourselves and love ourselves the way we are when we are free from the illusion of separation. We are made in Love's image and are worthy of unconditional and unbridled love. Knowing this will cause us to love ourselves and others without discrimination. "All love is self-love and all hate is self-hate". :)

Christ our true self and identity saves us from the illusion of separation, and renews our mind to see we are one with God (who is also ourselves), thus reconciling us to ourselves and ending the conflicts within us. We will experience inner peace, which will emanate as outer peace and positive vibrations to the rest of the world. When the world awakens to who they really are - knowing they are perfect, complete, beautiful and beloved, there will be peace and unity and harmony.

I AM in the Now

There's a reason they call God a Presence - because God is right here, right now. In the present is the only place to find Him, and NOW is the only time. 

~ from "Eat Pray Love" book

Yes, God's presence is in the present for I Am is in the present and His words are always pleasant.

Proverbs 16 says "Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to
the bones."

Another verse came to mind: "Behold, now is the day of salvation, now is the time of favour."

Every moment is the now, and every moment is the time to experience salvation (freedom from religious lies that bring guilt and condemnation) and now is the time to receive favour because we have been reconciled to God knowing we are made in His image and we are one with Him.

We can enjoy the kingdom of God within us - righteousness, innocence, peace and joy in the present moment. Yes, no challenge is too great for us, for His grace IS sufficient for us, and His strength IS made perfect in our weakness. We can rest in His goodness and grace, for whom He calls, He also equips. Heaven is our present reality, right here, right now.