The Christ-Consciousness: the Will to Serve

But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is [ rightly ] judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?”^[e] But we have the mind of Christ.

I Corinthians 2:15 & 16

A truer statement will never be made than that Jesus was the Christ! Ask ( most ) any Christian & they will tell you, to varying degrees, that Jesus IS the Christ & that He exists still as the Second Person of the Trinity. As the Messiah of Israel, Jesus was Sent of the Father, Scripturally & eschatologically speaking, to 'save His people from their sins' ( Matthew 1:21 ). We in the West, particularly & peculiarly, have traditionally understood this Jesus as being THE Christ, the very Essence of the Creator God; as the Scriptures say, 'God with us' ( Matthew 1:23 ( Isaiah 7:14 ): the apostle Paul wrote that 'God^[c] was manifested in the flesh'. This view is not necessarily wrong, for the Christ that Jesus exalted IS the Christ, the Christ of the Father  ( Luke 9:20 ), that dwells in all of us ( John 14:23 ).

It might be truly said that the Christ dwells within each & every one of us, humanity as a whole. Jesus did say, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him', so, to be honest, most if not all Christians would probably have a problem with the universal statement, 'the Christ dwells within each & every one of us, humanity as a whole'. In order to manifest the Christ Within, one must obey the Universal Law which Jesus elucidated, namely that of loving one's neighbor as oneself. To truly love one's neighbor implies a love of the Creator God, or the Divine Principle.The question of whether or not one can truly love another without first loving oneself, or the Divine Principle, may be a matter for another blogpost.

The term 'Christ', meaning 'anointed', might truly be used of anyone; it simply means that one was 'anointed' for a particular purpose & 'sent', if you will, to fulfill that certain purpose. As traditional, orthodox Christians, most would view this 'anointing' wholly in the light of Scripture, as in the baptism of Jesus, recorded in Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11 & Luke 3:21 & 22. The Spirit, of course, was His true Anointing.  Jesus' anointing thereby is not something unfamiliar to any Christian, or at least, it shouldn't be! One might well say that it was at that point that Jesus, in fact, became the Christ, although He had been sent, as the Christ, when He was born, some 3o years earlier.

When Jesus was born, according to Scripture, to the Virgin, He was born of the Spirit. His Father, one might say, was the Holy Spirit. In much the same way, we are born of the Spirit when we are awakened to & made conscious of the Christ Within. As the Scriptures also say ( Christians love to quote this passage ), ' I can do all things through Christ^[b] who strengthens me' ( Philippians 4:13 ). With the Strength of the Christ Within, as the apostle seems to say, there is NOTHING we cannot accomplish! However one wants to rectify or justify his words here, this might be well be viewed as a Universal Truth. Other Scriptures, like Matthew 17:20, seem to bolster this statement, thus intimating that nothing is impossible ( Luke 1:37 ) for the One who is in Communion with the Creator.

Communion with the Creator God, to the orthodox Christian, usually involves bread & wine, the constituent elements of what is most commonly known as 'The Lord's Supper'. Although these elements can certainly be a symbolic reference to that Communion, they are by no means necessary to it. Jesus told His first-century audience, 'unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you' ( John 6:53 ). We understand, of course, that Jesus was speaking metaphorically here & in no way was He referring to the so-called Lord's Supper. He was reminding the Hebrews of their own history, in other words telling them that unless they accepted Him as the Messiah & realized that in Him was their true Salvation, they had no true Life in them.

We have been taught that Jesus was the only true God: this is true enough, but what does it mean? Jesus was 'God with us', but cannot this truly be said of us as well who have realized the gravity of 'Christ in us'? Is not 'God with us': 'God.....in the flesh', so to speak? Since the Creator dwells within us, in a different dimension, even & since we can do all things through Him who gave us Strength, is it really all that much of a stretch to say, along with Jesus, that He is our Father & thus that we are His Son? As surely as Jesus was the Son of the Creator God, so are We!

When Jesus walked this earth those almost two thousand years ago, how did He live? Was it selfishly, following His own vain pursuits, or did He live His relatively short life in this biology in service to others? Scripture pictures a Man who gave His life for others; in fact, as the Story of the Gospel progresses, we see that Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice at the end of His inglorious existence. He very literally laid down His life for even those who despised & rejected Him!

About the Divinity of Jesus the Christ, there can be no doubt. Even though, as Scripture records, He lived a life of sinless perfection, He was a Man who, in many respects, was just like us. His biology, as far as we can tell, functioned just as ours does, yet, through His own choices, He never sinned against His Father. Jesus loved as no man before or after Him has loved. He loved with a perfect love, a love which, also according to Scripture, has been perfected in us ( I John 4:12 ). Since this Love has been perfected in us, we too, may be said to live that perfectly sinless life. Don't get me wrong, we still fail, in this biology, as individuals, to love perfectly all the time, but maybe that's our problem, we tend to think of ourselves as individuals rather than parts of a Whole!?

A Life of Service to the Whole would circumvent those failures; as the Scriptures say, 'love covers all sins' ( Proverbs 10:12 ) .If we would but learn that Love is what enabled Jesus to live as He did, to serve as He did, even to the point of denying this biology, then we too could live such a life as He did & through such a life of service, be exalted as He was. As the Messiah of Israel, Jesus was revealed to be 'God.....in the flesh'. As we follow in His footsteps, being the very Temple of the Living God, may we not rightly claim that Title for ourselves?

Charles Haddon Shank

I AM,

The very notion that a mere Man could be God is what put Jesus on the cross! Other claims that He made & things that He did just exacerbated the situation, but when it came down to it, what really twisted their knickers was that He, a mere Man, claimed to be God. Jesus, however, never out & out said, 'I am God', so how did those Pharisees get the idea that Jesus claimed He was God? 'Well', one might say, 'He said that God was His Father, therefore making the claim that He was equal to, or One with God'; He also said things like, 'before Abraham was, I AM' ( remember that YHWH told Moses, 'I am that I am' ). So, was Jesus correct in His claims? Could a mere Man be God? More to the point, maybe, can a man ( or woman ) be a god ( or goddess )?

If we can trust our Bible translations, YHWH Himself said, through the Psalmist, 'you are gods and all of you are children of the Most High'. Now, admittedly, these words were aimed at the spiritual leaders of Israel, but, is this not a Universal Truth? Can we not rightly acknowledge, along with the Author, the Great Progenitor, that we are indeed 'gods'?  'Okay', one might admit, 'we may be small 'g' gods, but we are not big 'G' Gods'! What then, one might ask, is the difference? The difference, biblically speaking, is that One comes from the Other, from the same Source, so to speak. Jesus said, 'My Father is greater than I', making the claim that He was One with Father, just as we, at the very core of our being, are One with The Source.

What is a god/God! Well, there are many gods, but, as the Bible says, 'one God'. We may understand this as saying that we are mighty ones ( for this is basically what the word means ), but that there is One mightier than we, the One who, according to Scripture 'made the worlds' & set the stars in 'their courses'. We are undeniably gods in our own right, both because we are children of the Creator & because we are creators! We judge for ourselves what is right or wrong & if we judge according to the aforementioned Universal Law, or Truth, then we manifest our Unity with the Divine.

The Universal Truth that we are all 'children of the Most High' can be an unnerving, even frightening proposition! If all are Children of God, could we in good conscience kill our brother or sister! The argument has been made that only those who have consciously entered into Covenant with their Creator are Children, or Sons of God. However, if we posit that this must be, are we not saying that one makes his or her own decision of whether not to be a Child of the Father? One might well go back into the Story of Israel, beginning with the so-called Adamic Covenant & ask if Adam ever asked or decided to be a Child of God! Did you ask to be the child of your particular earthly father?

Since 'it is what it is', whether one acknowledges it or not, the fact remains! One can deny it till the cows come home, but we are all Children of our Father. Having originated from the Source of All, the fact that we are gods cannot be denied. That we are One with God only needs realization; the Truth is there whether we realize it or not, whether we acknowledge it or not! The fact that not all realize or acknowledge this glorious fact does not change it. Maybe if we treated others as brothers & sisters, they would be more inclined to act in like manner, joining us on the path of realization.

As Christians, we tend to call the Creator 'God'; other religions have a different name for the Source, but it is all the same God, only the perceptions differ. One might liken it to the tale of the four old blind East Indians who tried to describe an elephant. Each one felt a different part of the animal & each one thought that the part he was touching was an accurate representation of the whole. Each was right in part, but only in unity could they truly describe the elephant. So it is with us; because of our different religions, our different beliefs, we say, 'this is what the Creator God is like, not that',: in doing so, we deny the Unity that IS!

The Scriptures again say, 'He has made from one blood every nation of men' & so, taken at face value, we must realize that there is actually one race, the human race & that, like it or not, agree or not, we are all Children of our Father God! Many are the reasons that separate us & continue to do so, religion being the foremost.& while those differences are unavoidable, they need not divide us, or cause us to fear, hate & kill one another. The Unifying Factor is that we all have one Father, one Source, the Great Progenitor, thus, we are all One in Reality, though not so much in Actuality. Unity is not uniformly; a house, for instance, cannot be rightly called a house until all the different parts come together in unity to form the whole. Biblically speaking, the Body, whether metaphorical or biological, is made up of many different members, though it is one Body.

The claim that 'I am God', therefore, should not be made lightly! There is one Unifying Principle, as we have seen, One Source & while we originate from that Source, being a part of it, indeed One with that Source, we are not that Source; we are not the Great Progenitor. Here in the West, as Christians especially, we like to call this Source 'our Father' & those from the Far East, anything from Krishna to Shiva: different aspects, one God.

To call a human being 'God', for the Western Christian especially, seems blasphemous. Indeed, it rather is, because to most, if not all Western Christians, even many Eastern ones, that name is reserved for the Creator alone, for the Originator of Life itself! Since Scripture has called 'mere mortals' 'gods', then may we not rightly make that claim? Have we not the same necessary makeup as did the biblical Jesus, who was, by all accounts, the Son of God, or Yahweh to the Hebrews? We are imbued with the very same Spirit that Jesus was & are told that, believing in Him, the Source of Light & Life, we will do, not only what He did, but that we will accomplish even 'greater works': furthermore, we are told that nothing will be impossible for us! How much more God-like could we get?!

Those who read these words must judge for themselves, but to this blogger, it is clear that there is more to these claims than meets the eye. No, humans did not create themselves; in fact, the mere thought is rather ridiculous, although we do, to a great extent, create our own existence in this biology, by our own words & deeds. The glorious Fact that we, as Christians, are more than certain of, is that there is One Intelligent Designer who is the Origin of All. That we are His Image is abundantly clear as well. What is not so clear to many, sadly, is what exactly that Image is. Is our humanity, our biology, this Image? Again, the reader must judge for him or herself, because the answer comes from within!

Charles Haddon Shank

The Wheel in the Sky

Now as I looked at the living creatures, behold, a wheel [ was ] on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces. The appearance of the wheels and their workings [ was ] like the color of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. The appearance of their workings [ was ], as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. When they moved, they went toward any one of four directions; they did not turn aside when they went. As for their rims, they were so high they were awesome; and their rims [ were ] full of eyes, all around the four of them. When the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up^. Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, [ because ] there the spirit went; and the wheels were lifted together with them, for the spirit of the living creatures^[c] [ was ] in the wheels. When those went, [ these ] went; when those stood, [ these ] stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up together with them, for the spirit of the living creatures^[d] [was ] in the wheels.

Ezekiel 1:15-21 

Of all the commentaries on this enigmatic passage, subtitled ( afterward ) 'Ezekiel's Vision of God', Adam Clarke's commentary seems to hit closest to the mark when he wrote,
  

 'most probably the wheel within means merely the nave in which the spokes are inserted, in reference to the ring, rim, or periphery, where these spokes terminate from the center or nave. I do think this is what is meant by the wheel within a wheel; and I am the more inclined to this opinion, by some fine Chinese drawings now before me, where their deities are represented as walking upon wheels, the wheels themselves encompassed with fire. The wheel is simply by itself having a projecting axis; so of these it is said, "their appearance and their work was, as it were, a wheel within a wheel."' 

Being Ancient Near Eastern literature, this imagery from the prophecy of Ezekiel is very likely best illumined from this point of view. In our Western understanding, especially in our haughtiness, most Christians seem to think that the Scriptures were written directly to us. We fail to realize that they were originally written in & about an Eastern, not Western culture: therefore, it only makes the best sense that they must be understood in that context!

As Clarke saw, Ezekiel's vision showed the Creator God as the 'Hub', or 'Source', from which His Spirit, or Energy radiates outward. Not unlike the Sun, which we may use as an analogy, the Light of the Source of All radiates outward from Itself, bringing Life to everything it touches, both metaphorically & literally ( it should be understood that this Light & therefore Life, touches All ). In his record of the Gospel, John wrote, 'In Him was life, and the life was the light of men' ( John 1:4 ). As we may note, this understanding has not been totally lost in the West, but shines ever brighter in the East!

In the popular song from which this post borrows its title, the writer, though focusing on the prospect of seeing his love, seems to view Time itself as the One that keeps him wandering/wondering. He understands, to a certain extent, anyway, that the motion of the Universe is not something we can control, but through which we must pursue our own dreams, whatever dreams may come. We ourselves are not unlike this Great Wheel, as in our own lives, we influence the world around us, in a negative or positive way.

May we not understand Ezekiel's mystical vision as revealing the Glory that we, ourselves, are this 'wheel within a wheel'? As we radiate our own Energy outward from the very center of our Being, we are, in Essence, partaking ( participating ) in the New Creation. When we shine the Light of Love, which we are, into every dark corner, we find that the Glory revealed is yet another 'wheel', which in turn may radiate out from itself the Glory that shines from Within, 'from glory to glory', so to speak.

The Manifestation of Glory comes from Within, that much is clear & incontrovertible! How the Glory manifests, though is our choice; we may choose to selfishly keep that Light to ourselves ( so we see much that is 'wrong' in the world today ), or we may choose to be a 'wheel' & so consciously & purposefully shine our Light for all to see, that they might glorify our Father in 'Heaven' ( Matthew 5:16 ). The Source from which we originate is itself that Light & as we have read, It is 'the light of men'!
'
In Him', wrote John, is that Light, that Light, or Energy, being the Source of all that Is. 'In Him we live and move and have our being', the apostle said to the assembly, for he well understood that it is in this Source that Life consists. We ourselves, as spokes in that Great Wheel, radiate outward from the Hub & so we too become a 'Hub', radiating outwards from our own Source, as 'a wheel in the middle of a wheel'. Thus we become, to use a well-worn analogy, 'like pebbles in a pond'; the circles radiate outward in a resonant & overlapping pattern, creating a never-ending & glorious communion!

Charles Haddon Shank

Accepting Samahdi

'Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord & Savior?'

If you grew up anywhere near the East Coast or especially what is known as the Bible Belt, I know you or a loved one has heard this question at least once in your lives. Besides the fact that Jesus was a historical figure, according to Scripture, that lived almost 2,000 years ago & was the Messiah ( Savior ) to the Jews; if you take Scripture at His word, the salvation that He brought was realized ( Matthew 1:21-John 19:30 ( Revelation 21:5 ) & the Purpose for which Jesus was sent forth from the Father, the salvation of His people ( Matthew 1:21 ), was fulfilled ( filled up ) in the first century AD.

According to accepted use, the Greek 'Christos', put simply, means 'sent', or 'anointed', but to most or many Christians today, it seems to serve as little more than the last name of the historical Jesus. Thanks in part to bible translators, maybe especially those who based their translations on the Majority Text, this is not surprising, as they have the apostle, the most prolific writer in the Greek Scriptures calling Him 'Jesus Christ' ( or 'Christ Jesus' ): in fact, the Authorized ( King James ) Version, if memory serves, mistakenly calls the time of Passover, 'Easter'. As the case may be, however, in reference to '( the ) Christ', the Anointed, or 'sent ( One )';cannot it be rightly said that we are ALL Anointed, or Sent? Admittedly, ALL do not realize or even acknowledge this Higher Purpose; in fact, there have been & still are, those rebellious children who have striven to do the exact opposite of the Purpose they were sent for!

'Samadhi', a Sanskrit word meaning 'a state of intense concentration achieved through meditation'. Once this state is 'achieved', according to further definition, this also fulfills our Union with the Divine. It should be noted that this does not disagree with Scripture in the least! Although our bibles never say it in those words exactly, it should not be hard to realize that Jesus referred to this Union numerous times, as well as did the apostle Paul. According to the dictionary definition above, samadhi is something to be achieved, but it should be noted that while we must, in a sense, do something in order to 'get there', it is actually more of a realization than an achievement.

'Be still, and know that I [ am ] God' ( Psalm 46:10a ). This, in context, was directed at Israel in the midst of their troubles & is yet of great comfort to many today in the midst of their own struggles. To know the Peace of God, 'which passes all understanding', much like experiencing samahdi, one must simply 'be still', in other words, enter a meditative state, in order to understand, to realize that 'I [ am ] God'. In fact, the word 'selah', which we note throughout the Psalms in particular, simply means 'rest' ( meditate ). The Peace of God, then, rests in our 'hearts', or inmost being, only in order to 'know' it, to experience it, one must quiet his or her own mind, in other words, 'Be still'.

Samadhi & its Eastern connotations is often almost abhorrent to many Christians, for various reasons: however, it must be understood in the light of the context of Scripture! Although the Scriptures did not originate in an area that we associate with Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism & the like, it must be understood that, like these religions, this sort of literature does come from a place less foreign to the Far East than to our own Western World. As such then, it may be noted that they may be illumined more by an Eastern, rather than Western light. 

Our Western traditions have taught us, for instance, that we must ourselves accept Jesus as our Lord & Savior, in order to enter the gates of 'Heaven'. Though this concept is not altogether wrong, it does show its Western roots, with our misunderstanding of the covenantal aspects of the culture of its origin. The Greek origins, as well, of our ( Western ) concepts of 'Heaven' & 'Hell', as things we achieve or earn, should help us to realize that much of traditional Christianity has failed to interpret Scripture in its True Light!

As traditional Christianity progresses evermore into a truer understanding of Scripture, we cannot fail to realize that, even though we, in our Western world, have been taught to disregard, even to fear the teaching of the Eastern Masters, those who have 'attained' an exalted status, their teachings are not out of accord with our own Scriptures! In order to 'attain' True Enlightenment,  one must accept what the Scriptures actually & plainly tell us about our Unity with the Divine. This is not to say that we should disregard all that our Western traditions have faithfully taught us over the years, 'throwing the baby out with the bathwater', so to speak; however, we should readily & openly examine what they have taught us in the Light of the Eastern origins of Scripture & the Teachings of Jesus.

 'And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all [ peoples ] to Myself.'

Jesus-John 12:32

The Sending Forth of the Son of God, in Jesus the Christ, including His Life, Death, Burial & Resurrection, together with His Ascension, is indicative of Our own Sending Forth. Most Western traditions have viewed the teaching of Jesus in the passage above as relating to anything from an after-death experience where we will join Him in our own concept of 'Heaven', to a merely spiritually partaking in His Death, Burial & Resurrection , also know as 'water baptism'. Our own Ascension is relegated, therefore, to the after-life, according to most if not all of these Western traditions. It should not be surprising, then, that most, if not all, Eastern traditions ( religions, if you will ) teach that we have ascended, that it is in The Attitude of Samadhi that we realize this most glorious fact!

It is difficult, admittedly, in this day & age, to realize that we have 'attained'; there is so much that we note, in our experience, as have gone wrong & continuing to go awry in this world in which we live, that many have given up on it & 'put all their eggs in one basket', so to speak, just waiting for Jesus to come back & rescue us ( again? ) from the mess we've created through our own ignorance. But Jesus said, 'You are the light of the world' ( Matthew 5:14a )!

It is when we truly realize our situation as the Sons of God & the glorious gravity of the words of Jesus, that we truly & most gloriously become 'the light of the world' ( John  8:12a )! Must we accept this most glorious fact in order to shine the Light of His Glory? The answer to that question is manifestly clear. Is is in our own realization & acceptance, though, that we will more readily manifest this exalted Truth.

May we learn to ever recognize & realize,
Charles Haddon Shank

The Meta Charge; the God Within

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; 

and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.

John 14:12

 This may be one of the most enigmatic passages in Scripture! How will we do greater things than the Son of God Himself? In context maybe, some may rectify these mysterious words by reasoning that Jesus was referring to the growth of the early Church as indicative of the 'greater works' His Disciples would accomplish. Others may even place the fulfillment of this prophecy into the future, attributing it to our perfected state, after Jesus' supposed 'second coming'. Whatever the case, do not physicians today, at least biologically speaking, have the ability, through Science & Technology, to do many of the things that Jesus did? But He said we would do 'greater works'!

The many different religions of the world, to whatever extent, all have different concepts of & names for the Creator of all life. Some may refer to Him/Her/It as Allah, YHWH, Krishna, or even simply, God.The American Indians, what most in their political correctness call 'Native Americans' refer to this Source of All as 'The Great Spirit'. Whatever word these different religions use to refer to their God, 'it is what it is'; the Creator God is THE Source of all Life, the Energy that makes up the Universe, or multiverse, as the case may be!

It has become clear to this blogger that we are more than what can be seen, even through a microscope. Our humanity is undeniable, but what drives that humanity, what sets & keeps it in motion is beyond the reach of even the most powerful microscope. It is the Source which powers All, the Energy that sustains all Life, through Whom we 'live and move and have our being' ( Acts 17:28 ). Our biological bodies are simply a part of 'us'; they are merely what houses our spirit/Spirit. Notice, I did not say they are 'the prison-house for the soul', as some have accused us! All I mean to say is that we are not mere human beings; first & foremost, our Origin is with the Source, the Originator of All. As Jesus said, 'My Father is greater than I' ( John 14:28); we are not the Source of all Life, though we ARE One with that Source.Using the same Greek word ( meizōn ) in both instances, was Jesus implying that we would do 'greater works'' than the Creator Himself?!

I must say, before I began to open my mind to the possibilities, that when people would approach me with the notion that we, ourselves, are 'God', I would immediately rebut their ridiculous proposal with something like, 'I didn't put that mountain there; did you?!' Approaching the subject with a ready mind, though & using our 'God-given' logic, is it truly that ridiculous to understand that we do create our own existence, biologically speaking? We have created the circumstances of our own lives, to a large extent. Now, there are certainly things that seem to be beyond our control, but are they really? Things do not just happen; it is through the engine of choice that people are motivated to do this or that, one thing or the other. It is by choice that we decide to eat one thing or the other; one may taste better to us or be more convenient, while the other may take a bit longer to prepare & may not be as tantalizing, but on the whole is more nutritional.  Is is through our choices that we create our reality!

Before I go too far down this path, let me just clarify that there are actually some things that ARE beyond our control, at least, biologically speaking. For instance, you might say, 'I did not choose to be born into this body that is wracked with whatever particular disease, or has a genetic predisposition to...............' This may be true enough, biologically speaking, but are we not more than this biology?

If we take Jesus at His word, assuming that His meaning has not been 'lost in the translation', what are we to understand by 'greater works than these he will do'? Are we left with either the early growth of the Church or some future vision? Can we indeed do more? Christians love to quote Philippians 4:13, 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me' & while there may be some debate over exactly what the apostle meant by 'all', it is safe to assume that 'nothing will be impossible' for those connected to or in Communion with this Source. Here again, of course, we must take into account the context of His words, while at the same time understanding that His true intent might have gotten 'lost in the translation'.

The notion that we could simply call forth from the grave one who has been dead for four days, restore a limb, or the eyesight of one born blind is utterly fantastic to most of us, but Jesus said it would be done! Jesus told His disciples that Lazarus was not dead, but simply sleeping; He knew, as He later told His Disciples, that Lazarus' biological body had ceased to function, but by telling the Disciples that Lazarus was sleeping, Jesus was not lying to them or giving them false hope; He was reassuring them that Lazarus was more than his biology. The Disciples, like many or most Christians today, could not understand this glorious fact & so Jesus stooped to their level, so to speak, telling them 'plainly' that Lazarus had died.

Getting back to the point, it is difficult for us, in our humanity especially, to realize the magnanimity of Jesus' words. Since we are told we will accomplish 'greater works' than Jesus, God Himself, then why is there no historical evidence of it? What is hindering us from realizing our true potential? My contention is that there are those, even biologically speaking, who have done, not only what Jesus did, but have accomplished these 'greater works'. 'Where is the proof?', you may ask: as someone once said, 'the Truth is out there!'

Charles Haddon Shank

Destiny's Dilemma

Sarah's mother, when Sarah was merely a dream, was in the process of growing up in a very rural area. Destiny had always felt, from the Time she became aware, that she didn't quite belong. The area she grew up in offered everything necessary for the rearing of a good, healthy body; fresh air, plenty of sunshine, wholesome, home-grown food & a family that loved her. But Destiny wanted more!

Sarah's grandmother had been married to a farmer at a relatively early age & so Destiny grew up in a house of Love, though it was not as she might have wished. She knew, in her innermost being, that her family loved her, but 'damn', they sure had a strange way of showing it. Her older brother, on the other hand; she was pretty sure that he held no love for her. He was always pestering her to 'try harder', as if whatever she endeavored or accomplished wasn't good enough!

Destiny's parents weren't much better; being the super-strict religious types, they were always on her case to 'do better', 'don't do that', 'stay away from THOSE kind of people'! Suffering under such conditions, as she did, she looked forward to the day when she would be able to leave it all behind. Well before her 18th birthday, Destiny had run away from home, unsuccessfully I might add, numerous times. Because of the stranglehold, as she felt it was, that her overbearing parents had on her, she had never made it further than across state lines. Back she came, dragging her feet, but more determined then ever to 'try harder' & 'do better' next time..........................to escape, that is!

Several years later, the day before her 18th birthday, with little but the clothes on her back & with her thumb perpetually stuck out. Destiny set out on her own for the promise of glory in parts unknown! Through many hardships & trials, she finally reached what she thought was the proper destination, a place more worthy of her exalted status than the little podunk town she had grown up in. The city she decided to rest her travel-weary bones in was by no means the largest, but coming from such a small, rural area, as she did, Destiny believed it to be, with all the entertainment value anyone could ask for & endless opportunity for adventure!

The 'adventure' that Destiny had been waiting for her whole, short life had finally come to fruition, but it proved to be a much different manifestation than the Glory she had envisioned. She was forced to seek shelter right away because, not being a careful planner, Destiny had forgotten that her birthday was during one of the coldest times of the year, dead-winter! Even though the area she had chosen to settle didn't get all that cold, when compared to where she had spent her formative years, during the winter months especially, it rained pretty much every day & was quite chilly; the moisture seemed to eat right into her bones!

Destiny was very attractive ( that was her primary achievement ), so when she got to the big city, it wasn't too difficult to get what she wanted, for a price of course. After such a long time on the road ( it was only about a week or so, truth be told ), Destiny was willing to do just about anything to stop running & settle down for a bit. The problem was that she had to do some things that, in her former life, would have landed her in a world of hurt!

For a time, Destiny felt like she was enjoying her Time in the Big City; she was feeling loved, having the fun she'd always felt she was missing & the doors to ecstasy that she'd always known were waiting for her out there somewhere were opening up all around her! Compared to the life she had known previously, Destiny was living on the edge-a place she'd always suspected existed, but was never allowed to seek out. Up to this point in her bodily existence, Destiny had never experienced such freedom. On the other hand, she had never experienced such pain & with every new one, she was learning how un-prepared she really was to make her way through this world.

Sarah's mother was learning that Life was like a bed of roses, very beautiful under the right circumstances, with the proper care, but full of thorns under all that beauty; if not careful, she would prick herself & things could get ugly very quickly! As she began to learn the ins & outs of Life in the Big City, Destiny found that the rose-colored glasses she had been used to looking at life through tended to hide some of the darker, uglier aspects. Before long, she found herself rather missing the security she had suffered & labored under in her former life. The family she had left behind became an almost fond memory as Destiny was forced to accept the reality she had chosen, ready or not.

In the following years, Destiny found herself face to face with many choices that she didn't feel up to, but they were here choices & make them she must! The 'love' she felt she had missed out on for all of her former life ( especially from her older brother ), she had found in this strange new world, but the price for such 'love' was higher than she'd ever expected; the sacrifices she'd had to make, the things she had to suffer to find & keep that 'love' { the first of many ) took a toll on her body, the like of which she had never known!

___________________________________________________________________________________

Destiny's Story is all too familiar! Many young women & men have left the comfort & shelter of home to seek their fortunes elsewhere, in search of something more. This story is total fiction, but Destiny's Dilemma is not a strange one; the hardships & trials she suffered are not new to many of my readers, either directly or indirectly. It is my wish, that through her story, others may be able to find their way in this world without suffering as she did. Life, as our 'heroine' began to discover, is more than our experience in mere physicality, in this biology! Life consists, not in what we experience in this world, but, as Destiny would have realized, if only she'd been able to quiet her mind sooner, in how we choose to be, to manifest, in our innermost being.

Charles Haddon Shank

The Kingdom of Heaven

'Yes, Virginia, there IS a 'Heaven'!

The traditional concept of 'Heaven' ( not 'Cloud Nine' & harps ) IS a Scriptural one, sort of, but over the years, there has been much disagreement over its nature. Questions like 'How?', 'When?' & 'Where?' have been the underlying cause of some division in the Body of Christ. It has been fairly well accepted that the way you get there ( 'How?' is by following the Law/Spirit of God, but the question of when we will go there ( wherever 'there' is ) is where we get into the most trouble!

First, to clarify what I mean by 'Heaven' & the fact that 'it IS a Scriptural ( concept)'; there ARE almost countless Scriptures, mainly in the Psalms, that speak of 'Heaven' as the dwelling ( place ) of the Creator God, or 'Yahweh' to the Israelites. 'Heaven', as a study of both the Greek & Hebrew terms will show, simply means 'sky'; it is only by extension ( interpretation? ) that it was taken to mean 'the abode of God'. Because of a classical misunderstanding of the scriptural phrase 'heaven & earth', we in the West have conjured up these fanciful notions of anything from sitting on clouds strumming harps, to our own private mansion in the afterlife. The Scriptural phrase in question refers, as we have explored before, to a peculiar ( covenant ) people, Israel by name, who symbolically, at first, embodied, through the Tabernacle, then through the Temple, the Dwelling of the Creator God with ( in ) His Creation.

Scripturally speaking, then, we should note, with the fulfillment of prophecy, heaven has been brought to earth, since, as Scripture says, 'the tabernacle of God [ is ] with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them [ and be ] their God' ( Revelation 21:3 ( Ephesians 2:22, et al ). Understanding that it is by Covenant alone that this is realized, it should be clear from the outset that, in context, the prophecies ( promises ) of Scripture were, first & foremost, to & for Israel. What is not so clear, however, is who exactly Israel is comprised of, or in other words, who 'Israel' symbolizes. Previously in this blog, I have surmised that 'Israel' was representative, or even symbolic of, all of humanity. In this case, then, when Scripture ( Revelation 21:3, et al ) speaks of the dwelling ( place ) of God being with men, although it refers primarily to New Covenant Israel, it should be understood as referring ( by extension ) to the inclusion of all humanity!

Does all humanity realize this glorious fact? The obvious answer is 'no', but does that change the fact? Again, the obvious answer is 'no'! We might wonder, then, whether because of our religious training ( indoctrination? ) or what, how 'the tabernacle of God [ is ] with men', if this includes all of humanity?! Can one BE a dwelling ( place ) of the Creator God if one is a sinner, who in other words, has not agreed with the Covenant revealed in Scripture? I'm sure we've all heard, as Christians especially, that 'God does not dwell with sin' ( either that, or 'He cannot.......'-of course, here we might run into problems, too ), so, of course, that would mean that only those who have 'turned their life over to Jesus' can be a receptacle for the Holy Spirit, right?

Jesus Himself said, 'the kingdom of God is within you'! Admittedly, He DID say this to the representative leaders of Israel, so that would make sense, but since, as we've seen, Israel itself was representative of humanity, it stands to reason that Jesus was saying that the Kingdom of Heaven is not, in its very nature, a physical, material 'place'; rather, it is a Kingdom of the Heart, of the innermost being. In this context, then, are we not ALL, every human being on planet earth, by nature, spiritual beings? Now, it's true that there are many out there who have been able, through whatever means & to whatever extent, to squelch their spiritual nature, but that does not change the fact that they are, by their very nature, first & foremost, spiritual creatures. I mean, it's not like one's disagreement with or ignorance of would negate their very nature or even the Presence of the Kingdom, right?!

The apostle Paul wrote, 'the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit' ( Romans 14:17 ): this WOULD seem to be exclusive, right?! Well, at first glance, maybe, but how many are there out there who do experience peace & joy, who practice righteousness even though they don't claim to be Christians & have no ties with the Organized, or Institutional Church? Maybe they don't show what most Christians would deem due reverence or fear for the Great & Holy Spirit! Can there be true righteousness, peace & joy apart from Christ? Have we alone, as Christians, attained that which the rest of the word has sought after ( in vain? ) for thousand of years, maybe even tens or hundreds of thousands? Is that not the height of arrogance & pride?!

The spiritual nature of every human being is an established fact! That many have all but forgotten this glorious fact is really quite beside the point; 'it is what it is'. Humanity's lack of realization does not change their nature, nor does it preclude them from the Kingdom of Heaven. Now, if they consciously disagree with its principles, those named above, by the apostle, even to the point of fighting against them, they most certainly will not enjoy the Blessings of the Kingdom, but their true nature & the Nature of the Kingdom are immutable!

You may have heard the phrase, 'Heaven is in our hearts', This is very arguably what Jesus meant when He told the Pharisees, 'the kingdom of God is within you'. As 'Heaven' is a spiritual 'place', or dimension, if you will, can we truly say that it only rests within the hearts, or innermost being, of those who have accepted the Messiah of Israel as their own? I think not; the Kingdom of Heaven rests within the hearts ( read 'spirits' ) of every man, woman  & child, if they would but realize it. Sadly, not all do & so it does not manifest in their lives!

The questions of 'How?', 'When?' & 'Where?' have been answered. 'Heaven' is not something we look forward to in the afterlife! It's not even something we seek to attain. It is within us all; we just need to realize it, to choose to manifest it. It is something inside of us, something that is a part of us, of our very being. Every man, woman & child has the capacity to do rightly, to enjoy peace & rest; it's a matter of choice!

Charles Haddon Shank

In Dreams We Soar; Up Where We Belong

Deothora couldn't quite put her finger on it, but SOMETHING was definitely different! That old familiar feeling, the feeling of soaring through the clouds was back; she knew she had been here before, yet she somehow felt freer than ever before & although she felt more at home than ever before, it seemed that she was soaring above it all, without moving a muscle!

She was expecting to hear the familiar words, 'O, good, you're awake!', but not a word could she hear, not audibly, anyway. It was more like she felt it, in her innermost being; It was all around her & it flowed through her; it was almost as if it was a part of her!

Elothar was nowhere in sight. Actually, speaking of 'different', Deothora wasn't sure if what she was doing could be called 'seeing', physically speaking anyway. As a jumble of thoughts & emotions ran through her head, she finally heard that most comforting & familiar of voices. More of a firm but gentle vibration than spoken words, Deothora heard Elothar's welcome to the depth of her being, 'I AM glad to see you, dear one!' Responding, as it were, with her own vibrations, Deothora's first thought was, 'I'm glad to be seen!'

Although she couldn't help but wonder where she was now, it couldn't have felt more natural to Deothora that she was seeing without the use of her eyes & speaking without using her voice. Here she was, soaring through the clouds ( ? ),. without any exertion at all. Her dragon was nowhere to be seen, but she didn't feel the least bit uncomfortable; quite the opposite, in fact; you might say she didn't feel anything at all! There was no feeling of the wind rushing against her skin, she didn't feel the familiar strength of Elothar's giant, but gentle paw around her; it was as if she was suspended in space, but moving at lightning speed at the same time.

Deothora knew, without saying anything to Elothar, that she was not dreaming! Her previous flights of fancy had ended with her waking to the smell of bacon & eggs, but this time was different; in fact, Deothora had a sneaking suspicion that she was soaring beyond the limits of both Time & Space. 'I wonder.........', she thought & as soon as the thought began to form, her vision was opened; she could see, clear as day, the giant form of her beloved dragon, flying just below & a bit beyond her. She was visualizing Elothar just as she remembered him, wings & all, though he didn't seem to be moving a muscle either!

She felt rather than heard Elothar's gentle rumble, 'Beautiful, isn't it?' As he 'spoke', Deothora visualized the patterns that surrounded them, that enveloped them like a gentle rain. All the different galaxies & more, with their different shapes & sizes were right there, surrounding her, welcoming her to explore them. She could have sworn, almost, that they were offering her the 'keys to the city', so to speak!

Deothora had been here before; the fact of the matter was, she had been here all along, it was just that she had become so accustomed to her regular senses that it had taken a bit to realize it. Deothora was at home here & though she had been so unused to communicating in this way, the thought patterns & vibrations resonated with her; somehow it felt more natural, as if that made any sense.

Out here, where she soared without any effort, Deothora knew that she could be wherever she wished, just by wishing. The thought that she was limited by anything never occurred to her; right here, right now, all she wanted was just to BE! Deothora, through whatever means, had come to the realization that what she had previously known was but a mere shadow of what actually was. Her flight that night would be the first of many that she would experience outside the limits of Time & Space. ( I say 'night', but there is truly no 'night' there, nor 'day'; it just IS! )

Time has a habit of making us feel threatened & therefore we find it hard to enjoy ourselves to the extent that Deothora found herself. If we could simply BE, as Deothora found, we might find ourselves soaring, as she did, high above the clouds & among the galaxies, not weighed down or limited in any material sense, but unburdened by such things, to go where we have only dreamed of venturing!

To return to the limitations of Time & Space, which she had just begun to enjoy her freedom from, Deothora was quite loathe to do, but she was reminded, by a firm but gentle vibratory nudge from Elothar, that return she must, for there were still those lost in that other dimension, those who had not yet been awakened to this Glory. They thought, for this is all they knew, that this existence, glorious as it could be on its own account, was all there was; they had only dreamed, if dream they did, that greater glory awaited them after they departed this world, this life.

Deothora accepted the challenge from her friend, the dragon; she would return to the outer world where she knew she was limited to using her physical senses. Now that she was awake, though, Deothora knew that her life would never be the same. Her experience had taught her that through communication with that inner world, that other dimension, so to speak, that life, though fraught with physical limitations, could be so much more, indeed WAS so much more than she had ever dreamed possible!

The sound of birds chirping told Deothora that she had awakened from her meditational trance. Though it seemed like hours had passed, she had been in that state for no more than a minute. The old cliche', 'Time flies when you're having fun!' came to mind.As she prepared to go about her duties of the day, the words that had been almost unspoken, though she knew they had come straight from the dragon's mouth, came to her & remained; 'BE, just BE!'

Charles Haddon Shank

Resistance to Realization

What if we could simply decide to do something & then just do it?

'Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you'.

Jesus-Matthew 17:20

'Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask^[c] anything in My name, I will do [ it ].'

Jesus-John 14:12-14

The old cliche' goes something like this; 'the Bible says it & I believe it!' Well, if we are to believe the Bible, Jesus strongly implied, several times, that we have a Power Within ( John 14:23 ) that nothing is impossible for, so why aren't we doing greater things than Jesus, why are we not able to literally move mountains? 'Well', most would say, 'as to the latter, Jesus was using a figure of speech here, telling His disciples that they would be able to overcome any obstacle, with the right amount of faith. In fact, one would likely hear much the same explanation from most any modern ( American ) Christian. Others, including this blogger, attribute the words of Jesus here, to comforting His first-century disciples with the fact that they, through faith in Him, would be able to remove the Jewish economy, the Temple, specifically, which was an 'adversary' to them. Whatever the case may be, whether Jesus was simply instructing His first-century disciples on how to overcome their Adversary, or voicing a universal truth about how to overcome obstacles, we can certainly attest to the fact that the Jewish economy is no longer in force & we CAN ( metaphorically ) move mountains through faith! 

One might pause to wonder, 'how will we accomplish greater things than even Jesus?' This is a daunting proposition, to be sure! We can speculate on what Jesus meant by these words, but there it is, in black & white. The argument might well be made here, that Jesus healed the sick, caused the blind to see, the lame to walk & even raised the dead; 'how does He expect us to top that? DOES He expect us to top that?! 'Well', it might be said, 'His words there, as in the previous quotation, were metaphorical'. In that sense, we might agree; metaphorically speaking, we HAVE raised the 'dead', caused the 'blind' to see, the 'lame' to walk & we DO heal the 'sick'. In a purely biological sense as well, Science & Technology have enabled us to literally bring people back to life, to bring sight to blind eyes, to make the lame walk again & doctors have learned to heal an amazing number of different diseases. But, Jesus said that we would do 'greater works'!

Like the Pharisees of Jesus' day, our problem lies rooted in the fact that, for whatever reason & to whatever extent, we do not believe we are capable of such feats as He was able to accomplish. We have been so conditioned that we are what we eat, in other words, that we are so limited by this biology that nothing but the Power of God could ever do such things, even through our weak humanity. The truth of such a stance is self-evident, or so it would seem! We tend to think of ourselves as weak humanity, but it is only weak humanity that clothes us; our true selves, our True Being, is Pure Spirit, just like our Heavenly Father! 

'Like Father, like Son'; so they say. Is this not what Jesus meant when He said that we would do 'greater works'? While this may be going a bit far, is it outside the realm of possibility, then, since, as Scripture says, 'All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made' ( John 1:3 ), that we might even be, or have been already, involved in the creation/formation of material things, the stuff that dreams are made of? That may be a bit much to swallow, but even if one denies that, cannot we see that we create our own 'world'? Through our personal decisions, or choices, we shape our own destiny, as well as having a greater or lesser effect on the world around us!

We do what we know! It is easy to say, 'I believe................', but unless we have that gut-feeling that we know it's true, we don't usually act on it. Many there are who claim to believe in a certain manner, yet act in contradiction to their stated belief when their mettle is tested. On the other hand, there are those who consistently manifest their stated beliefs. This is not always a good thing! 

In his famous diatribe against those that say they have faith, the mere believer; the apostle James, Jesus' own brother, said, 'faith without works is dead' ( James 2:26 ). A blind faith, a faith which is not based in knowledge, which leads to action, is worthless! True Faith, on the other hand, is more than belief, for as James also said, 'Even the demons believe—and tremble' ( James 2:19 ); Faith is trust & what man, woman or child among us trusts what they do not know in the heart to be true? ( Wait, don't answer that! ) 

The Pharisees & thus many of the Jews of Jesus' day rejected Him as their Messiah because they could not wrap their tiny minds around the fact that Man could embody God. Jesus also tread on many of their false notions about the nature of things, but the main reason that they called for His death was that He, a mere Man, as they chose to see Him, claimed to be One with the Creator. In His humanity, Jesus was no stronger than you or I; it was through the Spirit Within, the same Spirit that resides in us, that in fact IS us, that He was able to overcome the pain & suffering of the cross & thus, death itself!

It is when we ourselves try to wrap our own tiny minds around the glorious fact that Jesus said we would do 'greater works' that we get into the same sort of trouble the Pharisees did. The mind, being the seat of the ego, tries to make sense of things from a purely human perspective, as did the Pharisees, yet we must remember that our humanity is simply our clothing; we are, as the saying goes, 'spirit beings having a human experience'. It is when we realize this that we are able to accomplish those 'greater works'. The blind will see again, the deaf will hear & the dead will live again; even better they will retain such high vibrations in their own biology that even that will defy the ravages of Time!

Realizing that we are Life itself helps us to manifest in our biology that which we know to be True! The knowledge that it is our beliefs that divide us should drive us to live beyond those beliefs, to see that, despite our differences, in color or creed, we are all of One; it is the same Spirit that drives us all!

An immediate objection will be, in other words, maybe, 'but what about those who do not/have not realized this?' People like Pol Pot, Hitler, etc. & groups of fanatical terrorists like ISIS come to mind here. 'What about them?' Remember that Jesus told His disciples, in that first century context, 'do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul' ( Matthew 10:28a )  Those in the past who have committed atrocities such as genocide, other forms off mass murder & those who continue to advance terrorism today can only kill the biological bodies that house our true selves, they can never harm us, unless we allow them to! 

The knowledge that we can indeed 'move mountains', whether metaphorically or literally, should tell us something. Since it is the Spirit Within that drives us, we should know that it is the same which enables us to overcome those obstacles! Whatever physical strength we might possess in this relatively weak biological body, it is only our determination which pushes us past all others; any good & honest athlete will tell you that.  The Works that we do, the things that we accomplish in this biology, in other words, are the manifestation of what we endeavor in the Spirit; our Inner World fashions our Outer World!

Charles Haddon Shank

'Physician, Heal Yourself': Harnessing the Power of the Brain

The Possibilities

I want to be clear from the outset; by saying that we are One with the Creator, or even that we are the physical manifestation of the Creator, I am by no means saying that we ARE the Creator! We ARE, however, in our own right, what might be termed 'mini-creators', that is, creators on a much smaller scale. Intelligent Design, which I admittedly have not studied much, seems to have gained in popularity in  the past few decades, at least. The idea, the fact really, that a Supremely Intelligent Being put in motion the Universe & all it contains is so far ( infinitely so ) beyond question that it's quite ridiculous to even postulate that the beauty of the heavens & the Music of the Spheres could have just happened, by chance, as it were!

Well before He was crucified, according to Scripture, Jesus prophesied to the Pharisees, 'You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself!' ( Luke 4:23 ) Alluding here to His crowning achievement several years later, where the same Jews would say to Him, 'If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross' ( Matthew 27:40 ), Jesus, as the Son of God indeed, knew that day was coming, when He would be tested beyond all human ability. It is without doubt that Jesus could easily have come down from the cross that glorious but fateful day & thumbed His nose in their faces, so to speak, but we know that wasn't His Purpose!

Science & Technology have allowed us to learn far more about the human body, down to the atomic level even, than what had heretofore been known. The human brain, in particular, has been under the most intense scrutiny & scientists are discovering, to some extent, just how powerful it really is! With all their knowledge & research, though, we can safely say that even they cannot say with any precision, just what the human brain is capable of. Movies like 'Lucy' portray fantastical notions, almost purely based on Darwinian Evolution, that, with the right stimulation, the human brain & thus the human body, is capable of super-human, even super-natural feats. Such notions obviously have much appeal & are a lot of fun to speculate about, but they seem so fantastical to us in our limited understanding & the brainwashing we have suffered under for ages, that most will simply write them off as pure fantasy & after the movie is over, retreat back to the relative safety & comfort of their chosen prison!

What if we were able to transcend mere humanity & do things that, for the past ages have been looked upon as supernatural & even condemned as occult? Could we make such choices as halting the aging process? Is it possible that we could have such complete control, not just over our own bodies, but over the bodies of others around us & even matter itself? The possibilities seem almost infinite when one thinks about it! What would YOU do with that kind of Power? Would you selfishly use it to advance yourself into the upper echelons of the business world, to better yourself with secret knowledge so you could leverage others & control them to whatever personal advantage you chose? Or would you rather choose to share that Power with those around you, so they might better themselves & their world? Being that it is more blessed to give than receive, the obvious choice would be to share this Knowledge & Power so that ALL might be able to employ it, not just for their own betterment, but for that of the world around them. If this were to happen on a global level, just imagine the possibilities!

The human brain, as one might observe, is the physical manifestation of the Spirit Within. Being of the same Essence with our Creator, as has been postulated; why should the physical manifestation of that Spirit not be able to accomplish such things as we have heretofore only dreamed about? Jesus told His Disciples that they would do greater things than even He did, so why do we have such a hard time understanding, realizing really, that we have that Power? Much of the reason we find it so difficult to accept this glorious reality is our religious conditioning. We have been taught, from early on, that we are so limited by this biology ( true to some extent ) that only through some supernatural agency can we ever hope to attain the Promised Perfection. We have learned to look Without ourselves for the Hope of Glory, when it is Within that our Salvation Rests!

With such Strength at His command, as we have witnessed to previously, Jesus could have easily removed Himself from that embarrassing situation & made mincemeat of His detractors, but as we have also borne witness to, He chose instead, unselfishly, to fulfill the Purpose for which He came. That Purpose, of course, was to show Man that He had been endowed with the same Essence, that He could transcend His humanity & this biology, to do what Jesus had done &; greater things, for the betterment of humanity.

Can we heal ourselves? Is it possible to reverse the effects that ages of personal abuse & religious indoctrination have placed upon us, to break free of these shackles? It is more than possible; it has been done! Jesus was by far, not even Scripturally, the first to deny these limitations & He won't be the Last. Much of what has been condemned as heretical & occult, down through the ages, has simply been the physical manifestation of such esoteric knowledge.This knowledge has been denied, often through any means necessary, to humanity, for so long that the majority has weakly & meekly accepted these limitations as a matter of fact!

The glorious way that our biology is designed mirrors the very Universe itself! Now that Science  & Technology believe they have satisfactorily mapped the human genome ( etc.), they have turned their focus to the Universe. As if the human body & the rest of biology, for that matter, weren't enough to convince them of Intelligent Design, scientists, in places like SCERN, in Switzerland, have spent millions, even billions or trillions of dollars to try to prove that the beauty that surrounds us could have just 'happened'. They think they have found this 'proof' & thus 'rest' in the false security that man simply evolved from..............nothing!?

The building blocks, both of this biology & the Universe have been found to be, at the atomic level, the same material. The Music of the Spheres, like the arrangement of this biology, is orchestrated so that it plays out with such natural perfection that many scientists have found it supremely difficult to deny its Intelligent Design! Being of the same Essence, as we have noted previously, with that Supreme Intelligence, does it not resonate within every beating heart, that we are destined for greatness? That we have come to the Kingdom for such a Time as this?!

May it BE!

Charles Haddon Shank

The Kingdom

Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Luke 17:20 & 21

The apostle Paul wrote, to the Church at Rome, 'Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.' ( Romans 14:17 ) Whether you believe the Scriptures or not, there is much there that speaks to the heart, reminding us that it is within that we must look for the Divine. We are, each & every one of us, according to these same Scriptures, made in the Image of the Creator God. Covenantally speaking, Christianity tells us that, in order to rightly bear this Image, however, one must first accept ( believe in ) Jesus as the Messiah of Israel. Whatever the case may be & to whatever extent, every human being in existence today bears that Image, no matter how well hidden!

The question might well be asked here, 'What IS the Image of God? In the past & as it still continues to be, this has been a matter of some controversy. Some have postulated that it signifies Covenant Life, as above, while others call it the Divine Spark, testifying that it dwells within each of us, even the worst sinner. This blogger, throughout his own journey of discovery, has even theorized about the matter, interpreting this enigmatic phrase as meaning that it was the fact that Adam was given the dominion over the rest of the creation which comprised the Divine Image. This is, for all intents & purposes, a Scriptural interpretation, although it, as well as the apostle's explanation in Romans, simply & plainly says what this Image accomplishes in us, how we act because of its indwelling Power!

Being that this post was meant to be about the Kingdom Within, one might be wondering why the Divine Image has been at the heart of this post, thus far! That's a good question & one that is more far-reaching than one might think; 'if the Image of God is not present, could one inhabit the Kingdom?' On the other hand, 'if all have the Divine Image, do not all inhabit the Kingdom?' 'What IS the Kingdom?' We can speculate that this Kingdom, that which Jesus said is 'within you' is a different dimension, one in which the Creator God dwells, or one might simply say, with the apostle Paul, above, that it is 'righteousness and peace and joy'. This explanation actually fits very nicely with Jesus' words throughout His ministry, describing it as anything from 'leaven' ( Matthew 13:33 ) to someplace where the saints, those following Jesus, would 'sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob' ( Matthew 8:11 ). In other words, the Kingdom of God, or Heaven was not something one needs to look for outside him or herself, but rather is evidenced by an outward manifestation, peace that only comes from from the heart, or innermost being!

In many places throughout the Greek Scriptures, Jesus spoke of this Kingdom as something they would 'enter' ( Matthew 19:23 & 24, 21:31 ) & preached the nearness of it ( Matthew 12:28, Mark 1:15, et al ), but it is also spoken of on a more esoteric level, as something that would be manifested through the outward actions of its inhabitants! When Jesus told the Pharisees that the Kingdom was within them, one might immediately object & rightly so, that because they rejected Jesus as their Messiah, they ultimately did not inherit the Kingdom. In this enigmatic passage, though, while Jesus was alluding to their covenant status as the Israel of God, He was clearly proclaiming that the Kingdom was not something that would 'come', at least, not like they were expecting, but that it would be manifest from the heart, with deeds of righteousness goodness, mercy & peace!

The Kingdom, then, is really the manifestation of the Peace Within, the understanding that the Divine indwells us; as Jesus said ( Matthew 10:28a ), 'do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul'. This biology may perish, being mortal & prone to death, but our inmost being, our spirit, is immortal, being of One Essence with the Creator, Giver & Sustainer of all Life. This is where Peace, the Peace that passes all understanding, comes in; the startling realization that no other can harm us should give us pause. If none can harm us, who are the very Image of the Creator God, then should not that allay any fear & allow us to manifest only Love? Scripture says that 'God is love' ( I John 4:8 ); since, then, we are made in the Divine Image, does it not follow that WE are Love?

The Divine Image may rightly be noted, then, as dwelling in all, though all have not realized this capacity. It is through our manifestation of the Kingdom Within that those who have not yet realized, for whatever reason, their true potential will come to the understanding of what it truly means to partake in the Divine. Love, not fear, will be the order of the day, because as the Kingdom expands its borders, through us & those who receive our vibrations, so will the realization that Peace & Love Reign supreme! Fear will no longer be a factor, for as the Scriptures also say ( I John 4:18 ), 'perfect love casts out fear'. The writer went on to explain, in the context of his writing, that fear comes from torment, such as they were experiencing in their mortal ( biological ) bodies at the time.

If we would learn not to fear what things may come, in time & place, upon these mortal bodies, then would we be more apt to manifest the Kingdom Within, through the Love that is perfected in us. As we, ourselves learn not to fear, but manifest that Perfect Love, it will flow out through our fingertips to touch the world around us. Realizing that we may not always, with these eyes, see the intended results, we may rest secure, knowing that Love is the Way!

Charles Haddon Shank

Destiny's Child

With her last breath, Destiny gave one final push! Depleted of its natural resources, the body that she had become accustomed to was finally shutting down, although she had somehow found the strength to carry this new one until it was ready to breathe life into the cold, dark world that she called home. The life that she had lived, up until about a year ago, anyway, was one that would seem all-too familiar to many of us; the busy schedules, the stress & the quick, easy meals ( usually fast-food or out-of-the-box ) had taken their toll on Destiny's body, already well-worn by the passage of Time!

Life, in this day & age especially, was not easy! Destiny had, by her own choice, moved half-way across the country at a fairly early age & so, had been forced to face many hardships & trials on her own. Oh, she had made some friends along the way, but too many of them were fair-weather friends, so when those trials & hardships set in, those 'friends' that Destiny had hoped to be able to count on were not to be found! When she seemed to be on her last legs, so to speak & was looking up at life from the bottom of an oak barrel, her knight in shining armor had appeared & as she was going under for the last time, gently grasped her hand & pulled her back from the verge of the abyss, setting her back on her feet & granting her a new lease on life.

For maybe the first time in her short life, Destiny finally felt happy! She had been so used to relying on herself that when Chris came along, it was like a breath of fresh air; she had purpose again, thanks in part to him. When Destiny found out that she was pregnant, she was hesitant, at first, fearing that this might spoil  the happiness she had so recently found. Finally gathering the courage to tell Chris, she was pleasantly surprised when Chris responded in a positive way, joyously telling her that he had been looking forward to the day when he might father a child. With such a response, Destiny was supremely happy! Having waited a lifetime for such a divine purpose, Destiny felt accomplished & what's more, she looked forward to the time when she would hold this new life in her arms & nurture it in such a way that the child might enjoy a better existence than she had, at least, up till this point.

Chris was a police officer; that's how he had found her: she had taken refuge in the bottom of a bottle & he had gently pulled her from its grasp & carried her out from its cold comfort to a more sure foundation. He showed her a better way, that it was within that we must seek our way, our purpose, even our own happiness! Destiny had lived her life, up to this point, with the understanding, the belief, that we must look outside ourselves for salvation from the hardships & trials of life, or even for our happiness. Chris ( short for Christopher ) had made her realize that, though he made her happy, it was her own choices that had kept her from this bliss for so long!

With a child on the way, Destiny began to see that the life she had led before her knight in shining armor, her salvation, had come along, was not the best one she could have chosen. She had gone the way of the world, getting caught up in the business of life in this day & age, swallowing the American Dream, hook, line & sinker. Too late now, one might say, realizing the toll her former choices had taken on her body, Destiny began to pursue a more healthy avenue. She began eating better, taking time to care, not only for her own body, but for the new one she was growing inside! Thanks to her husband, her protector, she was able to leave the rat race & focus her time & energy on caring for the new life she had been granted.

Destiny's life seemed to finally be on the right track; she had been restored to love, she was finally happy
& carrying within her own body a new life, with the promise of a fresh existence, free of many of the hardships & trials that she had experienced in her own relatively short existence. However, it seemed like the bottom had dropped out when the startling & most unwelcome news came one day; she would have to persevere on her own once more! It seemed like Life had taken one of those twisted turns & she was alone again!

Once she had gotten over the initial shock, Destiny, bolstered by the promise of a new life & a fresh start, determined to uphold the child growing within. She shouldered her responsibility, her love for this new life & with the comforting realization, thanks to her protector, that true happiness comes from within, Destiny made the choice to, if need be, give up her own life in this plane of existence that the child within might have the chance to better experience this blessed existence we call Life!

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Opening her eyes for the first time, Sarah experienced a sudden rush of deja vu, as if somehow, she had been here before! Although she was not quite certain if she was ready to leave the comfort of her warm & cozy shell, she nonetheless welcomed this new, though familiar experience. Already aware of her surroundings, she startled those who had helped deliver her from her mother's womb, by gazing, almost surprisingly alert, at her surroundings, barely uttering a sound, as she seemed to calmly take it all in!



Charles Haddon Shank

Energy Sharing

'Knowledge is Power'!

Most recently in this country, politically speaking anyway, we have witnessed what is often termed, 'the transfer of power'. While it is very arguable that the so-called 'leader of the free world' ( POTUS ) is simply a figure-head, a 'puppet' even & that the powers that be never really were transferred, but simply changed their 'face', to give the people of thinations the illusion of 'choice', the 'transfer' seems to be going fairly smoothly, despite the childish bickering about the price of tea in China ( or is that Russia? ). It remains to be seen, one might observe, whether any 'good' will come of this new figurehead, or whether 'we, the people' will be subjected to more of the same: this blogger reluctantly predicts more on the order of the latter!

The simple definition of 'power' is 'the ability to do something or act in a particular way, especially as a faculty or quality; for instance, "the power of speech". A secondary definition should give us pause, though; 'the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events; for instance,
"the idea that men should have power over women." The notion that one should have power ( in this way ) over another is not foreign to humanity; the history of humanity, from its very genesis, has been an exercise in this pursuit! Biblically speaking, the 'serpent' in the Garden ( Genesis 3 ) used this power to his own advantage: Cain used his power over his brother by murdering him & the list goes on & on.

There can be no question that all of humanity has this power, not only to direct the course of their own lives, but to directly or indirectly influence the lives & choices of others. In some sense, there is nothing wrong with this talent, or ability, for it is naturally given by the Creator, but too often, especially for those in an unnatural relationship with their Creator, this power is used in a selfish way, to meet their own agenda, to satisfy their own lusts, without empathy, or care for how it might affect others. For ages, human beings have striven to assert this power over others, usually without stopping to consider if they should!

The Energy of which we are all composed, both what we call 'good' & 'bad', or Yin & Yang, if you will, is that which gives us this power! As always, though, we are faced with a choice when it comes to using this power, or expressing this energy. Many, as we can all bear witness to, use their energy in vain pursuits, exhausting themselves in the process & emptying themselves of their natural empathy & seeking their own pleasure, begin instead to use their power in a wrongful, even hurtful way, influencing others to fulfill their own lusts!

Not all who so misuse the Energy given them by the Creator do so in a purposefully evil, or hurtful way; most are ignorant of the fact that this behavior is unnatural! Human beings, to a large extent & for whatever reason, seem to have missed the forest for the trees. We have largely forgotten what our true nature is & rather than focusing on the Love, or good Energy, that surrounds us, we allow ourselves to be driven by Fear, or what might be called the 'bad', or negative Energy!

Many have chosen to throw off the yoke of bondage, not only from their own hearts, but from the hearts those with whom they have to do! By recovering their natural empathy, they have discovered that they themselves, as purveyors of the Divine Energy, have the power to change lives, not by using that power to subjugate & control, but by influencing others, through the Spirit Within, to choose for themselves what is good & right. Realizing our true nature & that we were all created with the same Energy, it becomes apparent to us that we are all in the same boat, all trying to do what seems best for us & for our loved ones. The choices we then make are tendered, not just with a thought for our own good, but with a mind for the betterment of all humanity!

Power, like the Energy that drives it, is never transferred, it is simply shared, or spread! One may give 'the reins of power', so to speak, over to another & many have ignorantly done this, not realizing their own power, but even though it seems like they have relinquished their power, the power remains in their own hands, to direct their lives as they will! Fear has driven many to the brink of despair, or at least held them in ignorance, thinking that their own power has transferred to another, whether for good or ill & that they have no choice but to blindly obey ( subjugation ), or face the consequences!

Those that know, have used this knowledge to begin a work, first, in  themselves, then in the 'world' around them. They have the Power, through the Spirit Within, the Energy that drives us all, to change the course of events! 'The powers that be', those behind the figureheads of the world, pulling strings & misusing the Energy they were given, have simply not become aware of their true power! It seems they believe power equals control & that by subjugating others under them they show their power, but they have forgotten where the reins of True Power lie!

True Power is not using our Energy to subjugate or control others; True Power is allowing that Energy to flow through us, directing it, through our choices, into the world around us, spreading our influence, sharing our power! When humanity remembers the Source of its power & its True Nature, then we will see wars & rumors of wars cease, power will no longer be transferred but shared, subjugation will be a thing of the past & the world will be transformed into a Garden, once again!

Charles Haddon Shank

Manifesting Destiny

Sarah was a smart little cookie! For one who had lost her mother at such an early age; she had grown up to be a beautiful & well-balanced little girl as well.At around one year of age, Sarah was walking & talking, one could see by the way she cocked her head that she was listening intently when a wise one spoke, her intent was obvious when she made her little strides, both inside the house & out & when she spoke, everyone gathered around, because for a little one year old, Sarah had a good vocabulary & gave people a lot to think about!

Most people spend their lives waiting; waiting for something great to happen, whether it be the love of their life, a new job, or winning the lottery! Destiny's child was not waiting for anything, except maybe for her body to grow into her spirit. She could walk & talk just fine, but because of her body's diminutive size, she still had a bit of trouble, sometimes, keeping up with the adults. The vocabulary she manifested, though, especially at such an early age, was astounding, unbelievable, even! Admittedly, because of the size of her mouth & her extremely young vocal cords, Sarah had a bit of difficulty with pronouncing the bigger words, but talk she did & act, when her small body would cooperate.

Thanks to a rich uncle that her mother had never mentioned, Sarah had just missed growing up in foster care! Ordinarily, for one so young, almost a newborn, the child in question would have been okay, not really ever having known his or her mother, but Sarah, from the moment of conception, had always known that she was no ordinary child. She knew that if her life was to go the direction she wanted, she would have to make it so; no waiting for others to make the right choices so that she could be happy, no waiting for things to happen; Sarah knew that if she wanted to make a difference, she couldn't waste any time. Her body would eventually catch up, but till then, she was going to get on with it!

As Sarah's body grew, the walking & talking did become a little easier, she became more verbose & easily understandable & she seemed to exhibit, rather interestingly, many of the same traits her mother had, even though she had passed away at such an early age! She was aware, already, of many things that ordinary children take for granted, for instance, that though her uncle's wife was not truly her mother, her milk was just as satisfying, her breasts just as succulent & comforting & that her uncle was not nearly the jerk her mother had always thought him to be. Sara had a good life; even though it had been such a bumpy transition, so to speak, things had actually gone fairly smoothly for her. Her mother's brother lived almost half a continent away, but when Sarah arrived at her new home, it was almost as if she had never left! Things that should have been new to her experience, people, places & things, were like an old, familiar blanket!

It was almost as if Sarah's uncle was making up for lost time! He recognized in this little child the chance to show the love he'd always had for his sister, but had never quite learned how to show. The little girl had everything she needed; as her body continued to form around her indomitable spirit, both her aunt & uncle encouraged her every advance, while showering her with all-important love & feeding her growing body with the most necessary nutrients.

For a little girl of one years age, Sarah had quite the social life; it's hard to imagine, but she had more callers, more friends than her aunt & uncle did! She was a very caring & sharing spirit, of course, so her friends soon became those of her caretakers, but it never ceased to amaze all those around her, how easily she attracted people of the same caliber, with the same energetic spirit, even though their bodies were often far more advanced in years than hers.

Even with her busy social calendar, Sarah was still a child; though her mind never tired of interacting with others, her little body was still forming, so she took naps throughout the day, sometimes even while visiting! While her body got the necessary rest, Sarah's brilliant mind was melding with any who chose to participate, sharing memories, information & other kinds of knowledge. With her penchant for symbiosis, Sarah got as good as she gave & so her status among those who knew & loved her never waned, but continued to blossom & grow, opening wider to the Energy she manifested!

For the second time, Sarah's birthday was nearing! Her uncle & his wife had always been the traditional sort, at least till Sarah came along, but they still felt like throwing her a party to celebrate her life thus far. She had no problem with this, as it coordinated well with her own wishes to celebrate that day. She had never quite fit in with the whole 'birthday' thing, but, 'Hey'; a celebration of life; that was another matter entirely! Life, even life in a small body, was something to be celebrated: she had a voice, a new perspective & with her new body, it was like a new beginning!

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Sarah's Story is almost purely a work of fiction, but my wish is that it will resonate with your spirit as well as it has with mine! Many of us are waiting for a miracle & while I believe that miracles DO happen ( witness Sarah's Story ), I also believe that we were given the bodies we have inherited for a reason. If we want to experience life to the fullest, we must go out & live it to the fullest, with all the Energy we possess!

Charles Haddon Shank