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Back to the Forum 2006
Archives Last week I disclosed what I see as our dilemma. I said our task, set to us by God, is to increase human consciousness. Again, I urge you to substitute whatever handle pleases you for God. Whatever we call the force that goads us, our goal is to absorb the unconscious into the conscious. The Goal is total God Awareness wherein the human is aware of God and God, through us, is aware of his works. We were enjoined to become one with God. We have failed miserably in that. Now I must answer the question, as best I can, "Now What?" We are faced with a choice. We can continue our decline or we can resume our task. The only way I see for man to continue his evolution is for us to resume our task. Each of us must return to the path of consciousness raising. Our goal remains. That is to become fully conscious of God. The alternative is an agonizing degeneration into unconsciousness. If you look around, you must noticed that we have already begun that decline. In that, all of us are culpable. There are no innocent victims. Consciousness is not a place. It is a condition. Our goal is not to arrive at God Awareness, but to realize God Awareness. We must work to become one with the spiritual mystery. Knowing and understanding is not the same as realizing. The final step out of being a separate partly conscious entity is the transcendence to full consciousness. That is when we realize we are God Awareness and nothing else. Once we realize it, we reside in God Awareness. How do we begin? I believe we must become upward travelers on the continuum of consciousness. I have discussed my understanding of this continuum before, but I will reiterate it now that I believe I have a better handle on it. We can think of consciousness as a continuum which extends from the totally unconscious particle to the fully conscious Godhead. All things and beings then find their place on that continuum. In general, we expect most of them to remain as they were created. particles of sand and amoeba, for example, are sure to remain as they are. Man, however, is unique. In my understanding man is given not just the ability but the duty to become fully conscious. This task and duty was given to us in the moment of creation. In that, man is indeed the special child of God. We should not take that lightly. We have a responsibility to God, to ourselves, and to our culture to grow toward God Awareness. Especially those of us who know that we must be travelers have a responsibility to the culture. It is only us who can show others what is possible through our own growth. We do not do that with rhetoric and bombast. We are not television evangelists. We cannot beat others into submission with our own version of spirituality. We have no special franchise from God. We must simply move ourselves toward God Awareness. Then, by the example of how we live our lives, we lead others to their own path. We do not define someone else's path. We do not define someone else's space. At best we set the example and help create the space for them to find their own path. This is a very important point which the bible thumpers completely miss. There is not just one way to become aware of God. There is not just one path of consciousness raising. For each individual, there is a path to follow. That path will depend on how that person's life has evolved. They must start from where they are, not from where their preacher is. Beware of those who shout about how we should behave. Beware of those who shout their devotion in the public square. Recognition in the public square is not the goal of a traveler. I personally think one of the most profound sins possible is to misrepresent the divine mystery for profit and power. Our goal is God Awareness. Our path is upward, not outward. To the extent that we ignore our duty to move upward, we contribute to the downward spiral. To the extent that we open our souls and reach toward higher consciousness, we will move upward. Though our progress may be slow, any effort we make is bound to succeed. In that, we must be patient with ourselves. This is especially important to those of us with the Western cultural background. There is something a bit wrong with the Western mind in its impatience and its anxiousness for quick results. There is something wrong with the Eastern mind too. It seems the Western mind looks for instant results and the Eastern mind never looks for results. There has to be some way of being patient without abandoning the quest for the holy grail. It is not a deviation from the path to attend to business. That is a problem of the Eastern mind. They too often do not bother to attend to business at all. This can result in privation which interferes with growth of any kind. It is very difficult to concentrate on devotion and growth when one is starving or sick. Our Western problem is different. It is the penchant to attend to business at the exclusion of all else. We are prone to ignore our spiritual needs to serve the gods of commerce. We attend to business at the total sacrifice of our primary task, which is to become conscious. From my observation, the Eastern world is no more conscious than the Western world. This despite their contempt for all things commercial. A balanced approach to life is the best I think. Though our primary task is to become conscious, we must pay enough attention to business to have a viable culture. Without a safe environment we cannot function at all. For spiritual growth, it is not necessary to abandon your particular group or cult if you already belong. What you may want to do is wake it up. Try to bring real life into it. Bring your own spirituality to it. Take charge and get the members to think of their duty. That duty is not good works as an exclusive goal. The duty is to become conscious. To the extent that good works raise our awareness they are valid. Otherwise, they are not. Also, the organization is not really relevant. There is nothing wrong with your church. There is probably something very wrong with the way it is being run. Is it about spiritual growth? Is it about God? Is it about organization? Is it about power? My point is, the basic philosophy of the Christian faith as
laid down by Christ is sound. It is the spirituality which has
been lost. The divine mystery is missing. It has been submerged
in empty ritual. The goal is to bring the real spirit of God
back into your life. This is the true quest for the Holy Grail.
It's not about finding a plate. It's about finding the truth
that Christ showed us. Restore the truth. Restore the word of
God. Bring God back, not as a ritual observance, but as a day
by day living reality.
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