When we can all drop our egos entirely
And become an empty desert –
That is, when we’re finally able to achieve our goal of becoming “nothing” –
We’ll be primed to explode into infinite holy existences –
Just like God did with the rest of the universe – in the beginning.
In the Fifth Beatitude, Jesus referred to her:
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for she shall see God.”
And Paul, in his hymn to love, showed he knew what she’d be like:
“Now we are seeing a dim reflection in a mirror, but then she shall see face to face.”
Paul also says:
“Her body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.”
What a total surprise this young female avatar will be –
A girl from the Southern Hemisphere
Embodying God in ways no man has ever been able to achieve.
Jesus knew everything, spiritually, about being “born again” himself –
But, unfortunately, the Christians who came after him
Never became interested in their own “true selves”
Into which they could be born again (like Jesus) –
And live a life parallel to God.
Even though Jesus believed God was “Spirit,”
Christianity was founded, in large part, upon “spiritual materialism” –
Because that requires an external “savior” – in this case, Jesus himself –
This understanding of human beings as objects that need to be saved
Was in stark contrast to Jesus’ understanding of human beings as subjects
With an inherent ability to save themselves
By spiritually being “born again” into their “true selves.”
Christianity is a big city religion
Because Jesus, Peter, and Paul all went into capitol cities to die.
Cities are a domain of control –
The opposite of nature or God.
As a consequence, Christianity decided to place its God into an unchangeable canon –
And then closed it for good –
Whereas “spirit” is like an invisible ball
Children enjoy playing with.
Starting quite early, however, Christianity’s most serious games
Involved war –
Taught, derivatively, by its self-designated “13th Apostle” –
Constantine.
On the other hand,
Each individual could be like Jesus
Deciding to become a child of God –
And live as God would live
If God were human –
That is, completely “free.”
Anyone could do this – it’s what Jesus, Buddha
And Mohammed all taught –
But isn’t that the opposite of what the world religions are teaching us
Today?
When you tithe, you might buy a few more bricks for a new church annex,
But, unfortunately, you won’t be able to buy God
Through this kind of material agency.
And, even though thousands of people regularly assemble at a specific place of worship –
God will more commonly be found, waiting alone, out in the parking lot.
In truth, God resists being organized
By a committee, a denomination, or even a religious empire,
Nor can God be systematized by logic or complex mathematical equations –
In fact, it’s simply not possible to preserve a spiritually deteriorating civilization
By transforming a standard-issue, everyday God into a shibboleth
To be held in people’s mouths like a piece of butterscotch candy.
Even if we stand out in the street – shouting –
“Open, Jesus, Open”–
God will refuse to open
Because God doesn’t respond to “holy” passwords.
Usually, God is most likely to be found when we’re not really looking –
And, frequently, is discovered in the most surprising places.
The human heart has enough room for a miniature sky – sprinkled with surprises –
But the best one – by far – the one you’ve always hoped for –
Will arrive first thing in the morning
When, half-asleep, your hand reaches under your pillow –
And, there it is –
The pearl you’ve traded your entire life for –
The pearl that is you.
It takes some imagination to experience the Holy –
God can’t be “painted” solely in prose – it always takes a “good dose” of the poetic
To display God’s brilliant colors.
Love is humanity’s expressway to God –
Jesus himself merged into God through love
And then informed everyone what he’d accomplished
So they could do the same.
Jesus never envisioned establishing a major religion –
Rather, he saw himself as a spiritual teacher
Who taught everyone could achieve a relationship to God
Similar to the one he had discovered.
So, if you do happen to follow Jesus’ teachings –
You’ll be able to gain important insights into the Divine –
Yes, it’s true, ecstasy still remains a possibility
For those of us living in the Twenty First Century.
The love of God is like a cool fountain
Continually shooting joy up into our hearts –
Or a bright flame that illuminates our minds
And never goes out.
Once you experience ineffable love
You’ll know what God is like –
Nevertheless, this is difficult to describe
Even for mystics or poets.
“Artificial intelligence” is an oxymoron
Because it doesn’t take into account
The fact that human intelligence encompasses both the material and the spiritual.
Soulless “things” like computer programs, no matter how cleverly designed,
Will never achieve freedom, by definition –
And this is why the “singularity” cannot occur –
Relying, as it does, solely on material evolution.
Since God (and the “true self”) are free –
This scientific/technological project to create “artificial intelligence” –
Inevitably has to end up as a complete waste of time.
Inherent in religion is the acknowledgement of God’s freedom –
Along with that same potential in human beings –
But this traditional understanding,
Unfortunately, long ago, got entangled up with various ideas of materiality.
Artificial intelligence is merely the “last gasp”
Of all the myriad materialistic conceptions of the Holy put forward over the ages
Until human beings finally come to understand that there’s actually no serious alternative
To engaging in a path of “spiritual” evolution.
Love and understanding have similar roots –
However, since God remains largely unknowable by the human mind,
God, generally, is revealed to us through love –
Which is why, in providing such direct access to God, love is so treasured.
Human beings have a potential to love
Infinitely greater than they’re able to rationally comprehend.
Love is like possessing a pair of “spiritual” glasses –
When you put them on,
You understand everything in a new and different light –
That is, you start seeing – just like God does.
“Sin”
Is treating people (including one’s self) and other living beings as objects.
Objects aren’t real – they’re ephemeral –
Only subjects are “real” in any true sense.
For example, the ego is a self-made intangible “object”
While your “true self” is always a subject.
The essential work of human beings is to find and align
Their true selves with a “real” God – not with “made-up” ones.
Mostly, though, we need to jump-start our everyday lives
Into an alternative world of creativity, joy, and color –
That we’ll start experiencing the moment
We decide to put aside our comfortable ego
And, completely, “wake up”!
Law and the Political
BUILDING ALTERNATIVES FOR PEOPLE AND PLANET: News and reports from the grassroots on worker and community coops, land trusts, participatory bufgeting and other explorations in mutual aid
Diner Mystic 