Spirituality: the Freedom to Be

Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, [ and  ] to keep oneself unspotted from the world. 

James 1:27 ( NKJV ) 

I've a conundrum for my readers, one that has quite possibly been asked before. To lead into this query, I would ask you to remember that the genesis of this great 'Melting Pot', this illustrious nation in which we live, was a search, a yearning for religious freedom. All around the world, from time immemorial, really, wars have been fought & may be fought yet, for this very reason! In relation to what has transpired in our own country, though, here's the conundrum: so, if our ancestors came, mostly from British shores, but really from that whole region ( Europe ), so that they could find religious freedom, then why, on 'God's green earth', could we not extend the same consideration, for example, to that noble savage, the American Indian? Now, before you say something like, "DUH", I must remind my readers that, when I pose questions like this, I usually HAVE a ready answer. So here goes: it's probably no great surprise to most, if not all of you, but I'm pretty sure they believed that their religion was the only true religion, so since the British religion was too Catholic for their good, they simply wanted to escape the persecution that was rampant. Don't get me wrong though; I was brought up Christian as well, not Catholic, so I fully empathize with the position they were in & indeed, I'm grateful for the freedom they did win! In other words & to put it concisely, their concern was not so much freedom of religion as it was the freedom to practice THEIR religion!

Spirituality, according to Google, is defined as "the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things". As opposed to, say, Merriam-Webster's definition, which seems to go in circles, this definition is fairly satisfying! Spirituality is generally known to be in opposition to religion. Religion seems to come with a set of rules. For instance, in Christianity, the Ten Commandments are universally accepted as the ground rules. All religions have their 'holy books' which are usually studied, to whatever extent, to learn what we should or should not do. There ARE religions which focus more on the spiritual aspect of life ( strangely enough, mainly from the Far East ), but for the most part, the major religions of the world are focused on controlling the masses. Spirituality, on the other hand, which even I used to scoff at, has more of a focus on the inner being, which is often interchangeably call the spirit, or soul. The outer actions are of course of great importance, but it must recognized that it is the inner being which drives the outer. As has been mentioned before, in other posts; this is not to say necessarily that just because a person manifests in a way that is not good for all, they have an evil spirit, but that this person is operating almost solely from their Ego, or lower self, having forgotten Who they are, that they are More than the Person: indeed, they are a spiritual being having a human experience!

Contrary to most popular opinion, Jesus did not come to establish a new religion! Apparently, the religious leaders of His day thought so, because they had Him killed, but Jesus came to show us how we could become like Him. In fact, He told His disciples ( not just the Twelve ), "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 ). Believe what you want, but Jesus didn't say, follow the Ten Commandments ( or the other 613 laws of the Jews ) & you will be like Me; He simply told them to believe that He was Who He said He was & in other words, they would become like Him, Sons of God! 

Though we've undoubtedly been down this road before; I should explain that Jesus was the Messiah to the Jews, or Hebrews. As such, He did not die for your sins or mine. The 'God' of which He was the Son was the God of the Hebrews, an aspect, yes, of the Divine Source of All, but the 'God' of the Bible is simply the Hebrew's perception of that Source. That said, Jesus was actually 'God' in a human suit, as We all are in Reality; it's just that We have forgotten Who We are & Where We came from. Spirituality helps us to remember that; at least, if we can get past our Ego. Religion, on the other hand, can only tell us what to do or what not to do.

The Ego is undoubtedly the greatest hurdle when it comes to realizing our own godhood. Particularly if we were brought up in any of the world's three major religions, we learned that God is out there somewhere, telling us, usually through a prophet/book, what we should or should not do. Spirituality, true spirituality helps us to remember that, in Essence, We are One with that same Entity we have been told is "somewhere out there"; in other words, that we must look outside of ourselves for our own salvation! Before anyone has a hissy-fit, I'm not speaking of biblical 'salvation' here ( that was for the Jews ); I'm referring to our own ability ( responsibility ) to make choices to either damn us or save us, humanly speaking of course ( our Spirit needs no salvation ). The Redemption of the Individual Soul might be another matter, though at the same time, it may be just what we've been talking about!

"What is the difference", one might well ask, "between the Spirit & the Individual Soul?" Well, I'm no expert, but right off the top of my head; I would say that here is where many of us get into trouble, by confusing the two. We are all Individuals ( that's where Humanity & the Ego come in ); that's what I refer to as the Soul. The Spirit, however is that part of us that is Divine, the Divinity, for example, that Jesus manifested as the Christ. The Soul is our link, humanly speaking, with Divinity, but our Spirit is Divinity. Like Jesus, then, once we realize the true nature of our Soul, we begin to communicate, through that Link, with the Universal Spirit, which IS One. Once that that Link is restored/redeemed, our choices will become increasingly better & easier, as we will be well on the way toward quieting the Ego!

I say. "quieting the Ego", because even though, as I said, "the Ego is our greatest hurdle", it is not, in itself the Enemy of the Spirit, or even of the Individual Soul. It is not even something that needs to be conquered, or brought under our control, though at times you may feel the need to control It. Here, in fact, is where we run into problems ( I speak from personal experience ); just as in much of Life, the harder we strive, the harder It fights back! Whereas, if we simply let It be, we tend to quiet ourselves along with our Ego. Humanly speaking, the Ego will always be with us, but once we learn to quiet It's nagging voice, that still small Voice known as Spirit comes through, clear as a bell!

Jesus WAS the Christ! He, a Man, discovered the Spirit Within & through that Spirit ( God ) became the Messiah of the Jews. In the sense that, through the biblical record, we can learn from His experiences how to recognize our own innate godhood, Jesus could well be hailed as our salvation as well, though much the same could be said of other Teachers/Masters who spread the same Message through other lands. Just as Jesus was the Christ to the Hebrews & Greeks, so others became the Buddha to those of the Far East. Even the Ancient Americans had their medicine men & shamans. The more modern Native American worships The Great Spirit. The point is, while we were taught, as Christians, Jews & Muslims that our 'God', our religion was the only Truth, every culture around the world had their own version, or perception of the Source of All Creation. Who are we to say that ours is right & theirs is wrong? "Faith", you say? Even the demons have faith...................

Namaste' & Blessed Be,

Sage Charles

The Way of the Wounded Healer

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast [ our ] confession.  For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all [ points ] tempted as [ we are, yet ] without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. - Hebrews 4:14-16 ( NKJV )

First off, let's talk about the concept of 'sin'. Biblically speaking, it refers to 'missing the mark'. "What mark is that?" you ask; you be the judge! If you believe that the Hebrew & Greek Scriptures, as contained in the Bible ( "which version?" ) are immutably true & relevant for our day, then "the mark" refers to, first & foremost, the Ten Commandments. Jesus told His listeners, concerning the 'ten words', "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one [ point, ] he is guilty of all." To those, however, who do not follow these teachings, though they, like I do, see Universal Truths in the same Scriptures; the whole concept of sin & indeed, missing the mark is irrelevant. Without going into an exegesis of Jesus' words to the Hebrews, suffice it to say that, unless one claims to be a Hebrew, Jesus' words here do not imprison us in the least!

The quote above reads, without the bracketed words, "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast confession.  For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all tempted as without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need". A bit clearer, though it still mentions 'sin'. The point, though, is that Jesus, like every single one of us, went through the wringer; He WAS "tempted" for god's sake ( pun intended )! Like every Master in every Scripture around the world, though, He WAS a Healer, for He came to show us that we have the Power to heal OURSELVES! At another place in these same Scriptures, He Himself told His disciples ( this is a Universal Truth ); "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".  Jesus was able to empathize, just as we are, with those who were in need of healing, because He Himself had 'been there; done that'!

A good friend, a Brother really, recently broached the subject of why I had not been writing on certain subjects lately. My reply, in not so many words, was that I have moved on. Having out-grown Christianity, one might say, much of what I had previously attached much importance to now pales in comparison to what is before me! This is not to say that I dismiss this important step in my Journey ( "I most certainly do not!" ); it simply does not bear the relevance it used to. I told this Brother, in other words, that WE are what we've been looking for, that WE are the ones who must experience 'crucifixion' in order that we may realize Our own Power to heal. both ourselves & others. That's what Jesus, as all the Masters, came for!

Though different cultures all have different Scriptures, the only REAL difference IS the culture ( "Let THAT sink in!" )! "All religion is the same", some have said. This is true. One's religion, as I've said before, is belief in action. If one truly believes something, sooner or later, they will follow their words with deeds. This, one should note, is the proof of any religion. The pendulum, unfortunately, swings both ways with this axiom, because history has proven that there have been those who claim to believe certain things, whether it be theistically or otherwise, that have hypocritically proven the exact opposite, while on the other hand, there are those who have proven their intention to harm rather than heal. In both cases, the culprit is a misinterpretation, a misunderstanding of the text of any given Scripture!

In the midst of His own crucifixion, the Pharisees, significant of many or most 'religionists' today, told Jesus, in other words, "Physician, heal yourself"  ( Matthew 27:40 ). What they failed to realize was that Jesus WAS healing Himself. By allowing Himself to be crucified ( "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done" ), Jesus was taking the Path that we all must tread, healing Himself, symbolically dying to His Ego, His humanity, that which fears Death, that He might heal others, by teaching them to heal themselves. In the end, Jesus knew ( "For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God" ) that if we are to be healed, we must heal ourselves. In the same vein, in order to help others heal, we must first crucify ourselves!

Now, Healing may may look different to different people, just as religion, even 'God', or the Source of All, looks different to different cultures. One man's healing, such as Jesus', might look like Death to those who don't understand. Our standing again, our 'resurrection' proves to those paying attention our Power to Heal, just as Jesus' proved that He was Who He said. In our own world, our Healing may look to others, even to to our own wounded Ego, like Death, or at least disintegration, but to those who know, who understand this Truth, it is glorious in its mortification, for We see the Light at the end of the proverbial tunnel & KNOW that it IS a train, the Train to Freedom!

Jesus Mastered His Fear! In the same manner, we must master our own Fears; the Fear that this will be the Death of us, indeed, the Fear that Death is the End! Death, in the sense of our crucifixion, of which Jesus' was symbolic, is simply the metaphorical death of our Ego, our humanity. It is not the End, though it is AN end ( goal ). In the process of dying to our Ego, we learn that we are More, so much More, in fact, than our Ego, our humanity & this part of us, the More that We ARE, can never die. Death is NOT the End; Death is a necessary step on the Pathway to Life!

Whether one follows the Western religions, or takes a more Eastern Path, it should be clear where the balance of Power resides. In the Native American religions, Nature itself holds the key to our healing. Given that we are One with Nature, one would be hard-pressed to disagree. The Eastern religions tend to look to the Heavens for our salvation. "As Above, so Below". though; the Masters of both the Far & Near East taught that 'Heaven' is Within us all. Jesus really taught nothing different from what the Buddha taught; the only difference was Culture! "An ye harm none, do what ye will" is not so different from "love your neighbor as yourself" ( yes, I omitted the first part of that 'verse'! ) The Western religions, like the Eastern, all have their gods & goddesses, all of which are different aspects of the surrounding cultural understanding of the Source of All Life & not the Source alone, but the Sustainer of that Life, for We ALL must realize that no man ( or woman ) is an island; we must rely on each other & Nature Herself for the sustenance of Life, at least, in a purely physical sense.

Being, however, that there is More ( 'SO much More" ) to Life than the merely physical aspects, Wounding, or metaphorical crucifixion is often a very necessary part of our Journey! In reality, the only wounds we receive are a damaged Ego. This may sound like a cliche', but no wound feels pleasant at first, but through hindsight, sooner or later, we come to realize that it was good that it happened the way it did & when it did. As a Christian & I still love this Universal Truth, my favorite, though cherry-picked, verse was Romans 8:28; "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to [ His ] purpose". For those whose 'crucifixion', whose Wounding carries a more physical meaning, as in the loss of a loved one, or some such, I do not mean to down-play your pain & suffering!

"That which does not kill us only makes us stronger!" In some form or another, we are all fairly familiar with this old axiom & while there is much truth to it, we must take great care that we do not allow our Ego to become the stronger! In order to become truly stronger through our Wounding, we must realize that we are More than our Wounding, More than merely physical beings that will inevitably suffer Death: "As Above, so Below"; Death is simply a gateway, a portal, if you will, to Life Itself!

Namaste' & Blessed Be!

Sage Charles