Can We Talk? We've Got a Problem Here ...!

The soul is the perceiver and the revealer of truth.

We know truth when we see it, let skeptic and scoffer say what they choose. Foolish people ask you, when you have spoken what they do not wish to hear, "How do you know it is truth, and not an error of your own?" We kow truth when we see it, from opinion, as we know when we are awake that we are awake.

We distinguish the announcements of the soul, its manifestations of its own nature, by the term Revelation. These are always attended by the emotion of the sublime. for this communication is an influx of the Divine mind into our mind. It is an ebb of the individual rivulet before the flowing surges of the sea of life.

(Ralph Waldo Emerson, from his essays)


So, can we talk? Have you noticed that we've got a problem here? I'm talking a global, worldwide, humanity-planet problem. Hunger, wars, recession, earthquakes, famines, abuse, widespread psychological struggles, diseases, rage, suppression, misogyny, scape-goatting ... I mean, surely you're noticed.

Now, I'm not making a case for despair here -- despair is what got us *into* this mess, y'know. I'm no longer a pessimist (I was for about 4 decades, and it's just no longer working for me anymore) ... I enjoy life to the fullest I can, and I expect it to continue to get better and gooder (I enjoy making up my own words, too!).

Nope, I'm not advocating for despair -- but for being aware, and for repair.

We need to face where we are, and how we got here ... we need to look squarely in the eyes of whatever has caused us so much despair that we would seek to destroy ourselves.

Obviously, we humans have tried long and hard to fix what's wrong ... and we've tried to solve our problems at *every* level except the level at which the problem(s) exist(s): Our Beliefs.

Our notions about spirituality are destroying us.

We humans have sub-divided along lines of group-think, and we have doctrinalized, dogmatized, and divinized our beliefs, and we have demonized those who dare to believe differently.

This is spiritual arrogance. And it's caused more pain and suffering than any other aspect of life. We've suffered personally over what we believe, and we've caused others to suffer, due to what we believe. Our ideas about God have caused suffering...! We've twisted the Source of our greatest joy into a tool of our greatest pain!

It seems that we humans will give up everything for our beliefs ... we will give up love, peace, health, harmony, happiness, safety security and sanity...

But the one thing we seem to not be able to give up is this: Being RIGHT.

We've proven that we will sacrifice everything we've achieved, everything we've desired, everything we've created, in order to be "RIGHT".

In fact, we'll even give up life itself ... in order to be "right".

And we're terrified of being wrong.

What if it's not about right or wrong..? What if it's about what works, and what doesn't work?

And what if, while we need to question our beliefs, we don't need to *destroy* them? What if, instead of destroying them, we need to transcend them. Transcending means "larger than" more than "other than". The new usually contains some of the old ... it's even sometimes built on the old. We needn't reject all that we've believed ... but we certainly need to see it from a new, higher, deeper perspective, in order to find out what's really true -- experientially, revelationally.

(And no -- contrary to ecclesiastical opinion, those are not multi-syllable curse words.)

The really cool thing, is that we don't have to declare (to ourselves, or to others) that we were *wrong* at all... we just didn't have a complete understanding before (& really, completion/perfection comes incrementally). We needed more information, more experience, more revelation. I mean, a wise 6 year old doesn't think he was *wrong* to have been 5. The point is growth ... and to not resist the inevitable change that comes with growth.

Next - I want to look at some of the goofy things our beliefs have told us ...

Shalom, Dena

Haiti ... and Thoughts on Truth ...

First, I want to share what my soul-sister shared with me today ... a rather powerful prayer that I can loudly "amen!"

From the cowardice that shrinks from new truths,
From the laziness that is content with half truths,
And from the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth,
O God of truth, deliver us.

~ Rabbi Mordechai M Kaplan

I have been overwhelmed with the reports coming out of Haiti today ... scores of wounded people, those with open head wounds and compound fractures, and injured children, walking around in a dazed shock ... too many to help, hospitals all demolished ... make-shift "hospital" in an airplane hangar where folks are using rolled up magazines as splints for broken limbs ... the trapped folks are calling friends/family in the US, on their cell phones, begging for someone to help them before they die, and no one can find them ... there are too many to help...!

Overwhelming ... just overwhelming ...

And then we have those claiming that Haiti deserves this, for having made a "pact with the devil"...! Sigh ... we knew that was coming, no? My friend Kevin had a few things to say about that (& my friend Rob points out that the very same "pact with the devil" that threw the French out of Haiti, also threw the French out of the USA, giving us the Louisiana purchase ... so 1/3 of our nation is due to a "pact with the devil"... Sheesh).

Earlier today, it grieved and perplexed me that while reporters were able to get in to Haiti (for we MUST have coverage!), the relief organizations were not. But I've heard reports of relief now beginning to pour in ... may we all give what we can. Here's a resource for helping, as you're led.

On one hand it blesses me to hear of so many who are ready to give all to help these people ... on the other hand, if we were at war with this particular nation, we wouldn't be doing anything to help them. In fact, the wars we've carried out have caused this much devastation (mostly to women and children, who suffer the most in wars) in other countries ... and we justify it.

Do we not see the imbalance & utter incongruity here...? With one hand we help, and with the other hand we kill ... which of those suffering humans are less precious and deserving of compassion? When will we wake up?

Shalom, Dena

"C'mon, Baby ~ Let's do the Shift!"

Here's the problem: we have a skewy view of God, and therefore a skewy view of ourselves, and all of creation as well.

Here's the solution: we need a correction in our view of God, which will result in a corrected view of ourselves, and all of creation as well.

Sounds simple enough, right...?

But paradigm-shifts rarely come easily, or simply ... not because the Truth is complicated, but because of how our minds cling to what we think we know -- with a life-or-death grip. Our brains want to retain status-quo, and our emotions will send out all manner of "danger! - warning!" messages, that are designed to keep us loyal to what we already believe to be truth.

It takes a great deal of courage, a huge amount of trust, and even a sense of daring recklessness to plunge off the cliff of the unknown, before we discover that God will either catch us or else teach us to fly...!

It takes an inordinate level of self-honesty, to look deeply into what we really believe (as opposed to what we think we *should* believe), about God, about ourselves, about life.

If we see God as distant, separate, out-of-reach, unless and until we manage to please Him through right beliefs and correct actions ... if we believe that we must earn His love, if we believe that sickness is inevitable, if we believe that He is angry, wrathful, exacting in His demands, and certain that He will smite us when we err, that He's disgusted and disappointed with us, because we've thwarted His perfect plan, if we believe He's out to teach us hard lessons, and even to punish us because of our choices, then THAT is the sort of God we will experience.

But ... is it true? Is that who God really is, or is that a god created in our own image, a god who looks/acts/thinks like we do, a god we've projected out of our worst fears, out of our extreme distrust, out of the traditions of man which continue to nullify the word of God...?

Could it be true that God wants us to know Him, as He is, and wants us to discover how He views us, His offspring, we who are made in His exact likeness...?

I see that God is love. Nowhere are we told that God is wrath, or God is anger, or God is punishment, or God is justice. God IS love, and all that comes out of Him is therefore a manifestation of that love (just for fun, and perhaps enlightenment, go read 1 Corinthians, verses 4-7, and replace every instance of "love" with "God" ... for this passage is describing the very nature of God ... let your perspective be challenged and changed, to align with His reality).

I see that God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all. The darkness that we see is a projection of our own egoic/carnal thinking ... it originates in our own minds, and not in the nature of God.

God has made us in His own image and likeness ... like begets like. We are His offspring. We are His beloved children. When He looks at us, He sees Himself ... He sees the completion of Christ.

If we see ourselves as less than that, in any way, then I suggest, no, I declare, that we must have our minds renewed, so that we see as God sees, and think as God thinks. This is our inheritance.

God saw everything that He had made (everything! that includes you, and me, and everyone), and behold it was "very good." Good means (in Hebrew) "perfect, complete, undamaged, uninterrupted, incorruptible."

You and I and everyone are "perfect, complete, undamaged, uninterrupted, incorruptible."

Selah (pause and reflect on that).

THAT is our true nature. Anything else we think, anything else we believe, anything else we experience, is illegitimate, and comes out of the darkness of our own egoic thinking.

The Law of Life says that "each seed reproduces after its own kind." We are made of God-seed ... that is who we really are. And we are not to judge by appearances, but by righteous judgment (right thinking -- God's thinking). We are not to lean to our own (limited/egoic) understanding, but to acknowledge HIS ways as our own.

(this stuff was always there -- right in scripture -- but we've allowed the traditions of man, the "stories we tell ourselves", the human-taught propaganda, to nullify what we read, to nullify the word of God whispered into our very hearts!)

Enough of THAT...!

We are created by God ... we are God-stuff, we have His very Spirit, His very nature, His very life -- and we can learn to *expect* that ONLY that which flows out from God to appear and manifest in our own lives!

We learned the erroneous stuff -- we can certainly learn the Truth stuff! We can UNlearn, and RElearn ... unless, of course, you really *like* the way the old stuff is working for you ...! We do always have that choice ... and we see that the broad road that leads to destruction is the far more popular route ... while the narrow way, the road less-traveled, which leads to LIFE, is, thus far, less populated. Many are called, but few are the ones who choose it.

[Note: this has nothing to do with our "eternal destiny" after we die ... scripture isn't focused on what happens to us after we die -- that outcome is assured -- we come from God and we return to God. Scripture is concerned with how we live this here-and-now life ... this life matters. How we experience God, how we thus live, how we thus influence those around us, how we treat all of creation - matters.]

So, back to disease ... yesterday we explored how disease is illegitimate. It isn't real, except that we make it real (we are co-creators - our thoughts and beliefs have creative powers -- we need to learn this, to know this, and to use this ... otherwise, it's using us). Our collective consciousness (human thinking en-mass), is the manifestation of our hearts which believe that we are inherently unworthy ... that we have massively disappointed God ... that disease and suffering are a direct consequence (& punishment) for having failed God. We do not see ourselves in the beauty of God's creation (in fact, we're taught that all of creation is now deeply flawed and corrupt). We believe that we have, at the core, a "sin nature". This, we believe, and are taught, results in a separation from God... our Source. But sin IS the thought of wrongly believing ourselves separated from God...! Sin has always been "wrong thinking", not (as has been our hyper-focus), wrong-doing.

We have much-maligned the nature of God! Such a god as religion has created has NEVER existed! Only in our twisted egoic-minds, minds which do not know or experience God, could such a distorted image of God be created, believed, and perpetuated...!

And our thoughts of disease come out of that distorted view of God.

As the false thinking is healed, a new vision of God, a new vision of ourselves, a new vision of life itself, will emerge ... for Truth is there, obscured by our insistence in believing the lies.

More and more of us are awakening to see that we've long believed in lies... it no longer works, and we are no longer willing to believe and participate in the collective insanity that has ensued. This awakening is contagious ... for the Truth lies within each one of us, no matter how repressed, no matter how dormant, no matter how forgotten ... things we say, things we do, ways in which we live in awakened-freedom, can spark that slumbering Truth within others, and they, too, will wake up. Truth, Life, the Way, is hibernating in each human heart ... longing for the kiss of true love to arouse them from slumber. The dragon standing guard is a mere illusion ... the threats and curses are mere fluff-concepts, vapors of nothingness ... shadows that are absorbed by the Light. There is no battle, there is no war, there is no struggle ... there is only the awakening to what IS.

And when we know what IS, when we live in what IS, when the Truth of God is our own experienced and spirit-known truth, then the manifestations of God's very nature, truth, wholeness, perfection, completion, fullness, joy, love, balance, peace, goodness, kindness ... & yes, even health ... will be the inevitable and inescapable result.

We ARE made in God's exact image and likeness.

Ponder that.

Believe that.

Trust that.

Manifest that.

Shalom, Dena


P.S. I just put together the slides and commentary from the Presence Zone meeting -- an expose of transformation, in pictures ... if you've already emailed me, saying you'd like a copy, you'll get it -- if you would like to receive it, feel free to let me know, via email: brehmites @ aol . com (remove spaces first). It's pretty cool, if I do say so myself, and I do! ;)

A Message for Me Today ... Also for You?

I love how God is always speaking. Always. I get the visual impression of Him continuously broadcasting ... within me and all around me. The question is: am I tuning in? Am I receiving what He's revealing? Or am I listening instead to the many egoic "stories I'm telling myself" - those traditions of man that nullify the word of God...?

For, indeed, those traditions can be external, or internal - or both.

Am I believing and heeding the many "lies" I've been told (by myself or others), or am I hearing the Voice within, which is seeking to renew my mind ... to replace those lies with Truth? And, when I am first exposed to Truth, am I aware of the all-too-human tendency to consider that truth to be heresy/blasphemy, because of how it clashes with what I think I *know* about truth...? Am I aware of how my very own ego will launch an all-out assault against anything "new", anything it perceives to be a threat to it's own view from the throne of my mind? Am I aware of how the ego masquerades as "me", and will enlist me to defend myself even against the Voice of God within me..? That it will warn me to not trust my own heart, my own feelings, my own thoughts, my own experiences (the very things through which God most often communicates)...?

Am I aware of how my own worst enemy is within me, disguised as me...? "We have met the enemy and he is us." Am I aware that when I join the many who overly-personify and project the enemy as a being outside of me, that I then deny what the enemy is (my own ego/carnal nature), and thus enable it to continue it's invisible and undetected dominion within me..?

Am I aware that dethroning the enemy/ego does not require a battle (a wholly egoic notion in itself!), but that it merely requires awareness ... that in the Light of awareness, the darkness of it fades into no-thingness..? If I insist upon shadow-boxing with my own ego, it will "win", for it's goal is to keep me so distractedly & busily deluded that I cannot see it for what it is.

It's the manifestation of my own fears, writ large. As well, the collective fears of humanity around me ... both contemporarily and historically, ganging up on me, reciting an endless litany of fear, shame and anxiety (which feels so familiar that I mistake it for "truth") ... luring me to swallow-whole the liturgy of propaganda, and to bow down to worship this idol of oppression. And if I do so, I cooperate with my own blindness...!

Instead - I shine the Light of Truth upon it, and it all is instantly, and without a murmur of resistance, absorbed the Light. There is no battle. There is no struggle. There is no striving. There is only seeing anew, from a higher/deeper perspective of the One within me ... and I see that all is well, that all has always been well. That I can live in the state of open trust ... knowing that all things (including the *gift* of my ego) work together for my good ... for universal good.

(Hmmm... I had no idea that I was going to write all of that ... I set out to only write a short intro for a couple of messages I'd received in my in-box ... what a delight to find that within me!)

Here are those messages, which reflect what I was saying above. I believe that these are messages for me, for today -- are they for you as well...?

Shape Shifting to Glory

“Be renewed with new thoughts of abundance and prosperity.”
~Romans 5:1-3

“Where we invest our energy is a result of choice. No one outside of us forces us to invest our energy in any particular emotion, thought, or act. The energy investment choices we make are either conscious or unconscious. Either way, where we direct the energy of our thoughts and emotions gives rise to our experiences.”
~Michael Bernard Beckwith


Today's Affirmation

I always find what I expect to find.

Today's Meditation

Dear God,

Help me remain awake and aware of the choices I make everyday.
I intend that my thoughts and actions are perfectly aligned with Love.
I know that everything is working together for good, right now.
I choose to relax into your peaceful presence.
Dance yourself into expression, through me.
Amen!

Aaaaaaand:

"This day is a messenger of God, and this day brings into my experience God's grace, God's law, God's life, God's presence, and God's power. I choose this day whom I will serve. My heart, my soul, my mind is filled with the conscious realization of the presence of God. I surrender myself unto God. I listen for the still, small Voice - that It may guide, lead and direct." You are then knowing the Truth, you are choosing, and you are sowing to the Spirit: Throughout the day you have brief two minute, three minute, five minute reminders: "This day is a messenger of God, for this day is bringing the presence and the power of God into my experience. This day is revealing God's glory. The heavens declare the glory of God, the earth showeth forth His handiwork. God's grace is being revealed in my experience every moment of every day."
(Joel Goldsmith)

May this day manifest God's Presence, in a plethora of jubilant and awe-inspiring ways...!

Shalom, Dena

Expose on Tradition...

I read this some time ago in a book entitled, "Satan Unmasked" by Dr. James B. Richards. It hugely spoke to me then, and still does ... I share it for those who have never considered this life-altering point of view:

Tradition is an incredibly powerful tool. In fact, Jesus said it was so powerful that it could make the Word of God have no effect in your life (Mk 7:9-13). This neutralizing effect happens when tradition becomes as much a part of our belief system as the Word of God. Tradition is the product of the ideas and perceptions that
have been repeated so frequently that they become accepted as reality. Once this happens, they are as important to us as the Bible itself. Tradition is not something about which we are passive. It is something we attempt to guard, maintain, and
defend. It is a part of who wee are. We understand ourselves through our traditions; therefore, we fight to preserve them.

Tradition becomes a part of our emotional fabric through a simple mental process. Once we accept a certain opinion, the mind begins to seek equilibrium. In other words, if you believe it to be true, the mind seeks to prove it is true. In fact, if you do not determine something to be false and you continually expose yourself to the idea or behavior, it will, in time, be determined to be acceptable and factual. This is the subtlety of deceit.

This isn't something that happens on a mere emotional level. Your mind works 'til your beliefs and your sense of reality are well balanced. There is a set of nerves at the base of the skull called the Reticular Activating System. Once we accept something or pass a judgment, activity in this area of the brain affects our reasoning process. A neurological process begins in our brain to establish it
as fact. It alters our ability to perceive. It literally causes us to see it as we believe it to be. I call this process 'selective reasoning.'

If you believe something to be true, your mind will seek to prove it true.

In selective reasoning we stop seeing things as they are and seek to prove what we have already chosen to believe. It is like looking at a word and thinking it says 'horse.' You read the sentence over and over again, and finally realize that it says 'house.' You could've sworn that it said h-o-r-s-e. Why were you so sure, yet so wrong? Your mind had already determined what it was seeing.

Our traditions begin the moment we insist that we see. The moment a new paradigm is established, we have begun to form a new tradition. It is at that moment that we become blind to anything other than our point of view. Once it is accepted as truth, we begin a process of unquestioned repetition until we can't conceive of any other
point of view.

The Pharisees heard the message of God's love and forgiveness, yet they insisted their doctrine was right. Because they clung to their point of view, they could never see what the Scriptures really said. Thus, they not only rejected the truth, the also crucified the One who brought the truth. "Some Pharisees who were with Him
heard Him say this and asked, 'What? Are we blind too?' Jesus said, 'If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains'" (Jn 9:40-41). Insisting that we see is the road to blindness and tradition. Once something is accepted as fact, it is acted upon without thought or
question.

All that we must do to see is to honestly "consider other possibilities". The Word of God holds so many possibilities to which we have already closed our mind. Therefore it is impossible to see them. We are so consumed with defending our position that we, like the Pharisees, crucify those who bring the truth that will
set us free. We must relieve ourselves of the need to prove we are right. Why do we place so much of our self-worth on being right? What I currently see about any subject may be right or wrong. It may have nuggets of truth as well as nuggets of error. Being right or wrong changes neither who I am in Jesus, nor my position before
those with whom I interact. We place far too much emphasis on the need to be right, and too little emphasis on the need to serve and build up.

If interested, here's more on the Reticular Activating System, and how we see, or don't see, truth: http://www.sourcetext.com/sourcebook/essays/scotoma.html

And a short video description: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5vyLyFo77M

Shalom, Dena

Apologetics ... without Apology

I keep running into folks who are alarmed by me ... who find my thoughts to be too challenging, too radical, too dangerous even. I've been accused of discounting Jesus, negating the Atonement, teaching "doctrines of demons," throwing out the Bible ... and because I share whatever I'm thinking and believing quite openly, I'm also a "false teacher."

But don't, they warn me, tell them that they're acting out of fear. Okaaaaaay.

In case anyone who's reading here has had the same thoughts as above, I figured I'd just address it straight-up.

As far as Jesus and His Atonement goes ... I've come to believe that Jesus, who is the Savior of the world (or universe, in my thinking), actually managed to save everyone He intended to. I believe He actually reconciled the world to God. So, in my thinking, that really magnifies the Atonement ... whereas my previous notions rendered Him either less than fully-loving (as if some had been created to be eternally tormented), or less than fully-omnipotent (as if He couldn't quite save everyone). I guess I see that God is both all-powerful and all-loving ... and this view has hugely magnified Jesus for me. As for those who say that there's a "special hell" for those who believe God is "too loving," well, that just makes me smile...!

As for doctrines of demons ... I encourage anyone who uses the term to study to see exactly what those teachings were ... it's a fascinating discovery. Hint: notice how many authors of the Scriptures said that they were in the last days ... in the first century.

As for being a false teacher ... I see that we live in the covenant in which there is no need for anyone to teach anyone else about God ... though, of course, we're all invited to share our journey with others ... to share what He's teaching us (didn't Jesus say that there was only One Teacher?). I have no desire to set myself up as a teacher ... I'm a consummate student -- if I inspire others to do the same, wondermous! But don't expect to find me sitting on top of a mountain, donning Depends, uttering ethereal wisdoms...! Egads!

As for the Scriptures ... here's what I've come to believe ... I certainly don't throw them out. I do however, want to understand them, apart from the agenda of man. I test the spirit of what I read, by means of the Spirit within me. I've come to believe that I can hear the Voice of God as well as any of the writers of Scripture. I believe that God is still speaking... in a myriad of ways. He's always broadcasting, if we would but tune in...

I believe that Truth is a Person to know (and not merely a concept to grasp and defend), and I believe this Person has spread His Truth all over this planet, lavishly! And so, I delight to find His Truth, wherever it may be found. Having come to know Him, knowing His voice, I know what resonates ... I know what fits with His nature and character (& anyone can likewise know this for themselves). And so I read all manner of spiritual writings (not just the Bible, but including the Bible), and I test it by what the Spirit reveals to me about God's nature. He *wants* me to know. He doesn't hide from me, but has sent His Spirit to lead me into all truth. I do not believe that He meant "a book will be compiled that shall contain all truth." Somehow we've been taught to replace the former with the latter, to our detriment...

Of course, as I read, I pray to not be deceived (by my own egoic thinking ... which I've come to believe is the essence of what we've called "satan" ... that which is adversarial to God, within man). Having asked God for bread, I do not expect Him to give me a stone ... having asked for a fish, I know He will not give me a snake.

My friend Annie recently wrote, "I am convicted of error too many times in my meditations to believe that the voice I hear is that of ego, who ordinarily either congratulates or condemns. The voice speaks freeing impartial truths ... I've been accused of being on a slippery slope, of 'picking and choosing' for doing this, but what's the alternative? Didn't God grant us self will that we might CHOOSE? The only other option is to let a person, a religion, a book, think FOR us... selah."

I find myself on that same slippery-slope ... and I've discovered that it lands me right smack-dab in the arms of my delighted Father... and so I choose to follow Him, to hear His Voice, over the voice of man, as well.

Questions

Dave, a new reader here, left some pertinent and important questions in a comment ... I'd like to share them here, and then answer them, as best I can. Know that I do not even *attempt* to deliver "all truth" here ... that's a destination we're all heading toward, not something we can claim to now possess. I can share what I'm seeing at this point, which could change tomorrow, as I'm more able to bear all that Christ has to show me. I expect Him to show me more ... I expect that I'm merely resting on stepping stones at this point ... I expect to grow, and change, and be challenged as I go. To remain ensconced is, as I perceive it, to stagnate.

Dave's comments will be in italics, mine in standard font:

Dave: Dena, maybe I am misunderstanding you, but do you really mean to say there is no evil and that God is in everyone?

Certainly we have the perception of evil ... things that appear to be horrendous happen all around us, even to us, in this life. In my experience, however, there are times I've discovered that I merely had an errant perspective of a situation, and once I was shown another perspective, my entire view, my entire experience, was profoundly changed. For instance, I first experienced being excommunicated and shunned by my former church as a horrendously evil event. In time, and with more maturity, and when I could better see through the Mind of Christ, I was able to see that same event as an incredible blessing, in that it liberated us from a destructive and abusive situation (to which we were largely blind while *in* it). It's become a source of joy and freedom for me ... even though what actually happened didn't change at all.

As for God being in everyone, as I've come to see this, there is no Life-Source besides God. He IS life itself. He is the one and only Source of all life - there is no "competing source". Scripture confirms that we are "all His offspring". At the very core of each of us, is His life. In Him we live and move and have our being. We're created in His very image. Sure, we have layers of misperceptions, confusion, deception - about Him, about ourselves, about all there is. We're seemingly enslaved to our deceptions ... and yet, Jesus came to set the captives free. I believe that He can, and will, and has, done this. I believe that each of us comes to our senses, as in the parable of the Prodigal Son, and in the life-example of Saul of Tarsus ... who declared himself to be an example of those who do not yet believe, and who reminds us that God is not a respecter of persons.

Dave: Help me with this, then: I have a real hard time believing that Hitler, for instance, had God in him.

Yes, I know ... Hitler is nearly *everyone's* stumbling block..! Can't tell you how many times his name is brought up! Hitler, like the rest of us, was a product of his upbringing, and had numerous lies planted in his mind, just like the rest of us. Unless and until we get our minds renewed, we will be driven by those lies ... they will be like unto truth for us, for if we believe them, they seem true to us. We cannot know the inner battles of another ... we cannot compare our insides with their outsides. We cannot discern hearts ... we cannot know what another suffered, nor what they pick up from the collective thoughts of their environment (science is only beginning to understand the power of thoughts, words and deeds upon each other - read for yourself about the nocebo effect).

The perception and experience of both good and evil come from the same tree ... we cannot know one without the other. We cannot know hot without cold, joy without pain. At what point does cold cease and hot begin ...? They're just the polar extremes of the same spectrum. What if good and evil are the same? What if we were told to stay away from feasting on that tree because we do not have the ability, while in this human form, to truly discern one from the other?

God says that all things work together for our good, as we're transformed into the likeness of Christ (a verse we could unpack for years, and not exhaust!). ALL things work for our good ... all things ultimately then are good (& we're told to be thankful in ALL circumstances). We just lack the bigger-picture perspective to see with spiritual eyes. We can't see the grandeur of the forest, for the one rotten tree (which dies in order to feed the growth of the forest, but I digress).

What does God not allow? And, if He allows, is it not part of what works-to-be-good? And, if God allows a thing, including the choices and actions of Hitler, is that not then His will? I see that it's God's will that all of us, including Hitler, have free choice. I also see that it's not God's will that any of us would be punished unendingly, unceasingly, if we do not make the choice God wants us to make. If that were the case, how "free" has He made our choices? Are we really free to do what we want if we know we'll be made to suffer unspeakably if we do not do what God wants? What sort of choice is that?

If it was God's will that we should never suffer, why would HE create the possibility that we would? And why would He allow us to be tempted, day and night, to break the very laws that He put down?

I see that the only way we can rationalize our theology (the traditions of man), is to render God either powerless or cruel.

I see we have a choice: if we believe that life is a test or trial, a period of putting us through a test to see if we're worthy, then our theologies begin to make sense. However, we can also see life as an opportunity, a process of experiencing who we are not, so that we can discover who we really are. I see that Jesus came to show us who God really is, and who we really are, but we couldn't bear it ... and so we continued in the vein of the old covenant/striving process, of trying to earn God's favor through our behaviors ... seeing God not as the Loving Father, but as the Vengeful and Angry Wronged-One... the one who must be appeased by our behavior, even as the volcano-god had to be appeased with the sacrifices of first-borns and virgins.

Dave: And I have a real hard time saying the holocaust was merely a perception of evil.

As the wife of a Jewish man, and mama to 8 half-Jewish children whom Hitler would've deemed unfit to live, I completely understand how this is hard. Believe me.

I'd like to share something that I read, which has shaped how I view this:

Hitler could do nothing without the cooperation and support of millions of people (as well as those who ignored and denied what was going on). It was the collective consciousness which provided fertile soil for the growth of the Nazi movement. Hitler seized the moment, but he did not create it. It's important to understand the lesson here. A group consciousness which speaks constantly of separation and superiority produces loss of compassion on a massive scale, and loss of compassion is inevitably followed by loss of conscience. The horror of the Hitler Experience was not that he perpetuated it on the human race, but that the human race allowed him to do so. The astonishment is not only that a Hitler came along, but that so many others went along. The shame is not only that Hitler killed millions of Jews (and others), but also that millions had to be killed before Hitler was stopped. The purpose of the Hitler Experience was to show humanity to itself. Learning this lesson is GOOD. And yet, Hitler was not sent to you. Hitler was created by you. He arose out of your collective consciousness and could not have existed without it. THAT is the lesson. The consciousness of separation, segregation, superiority -- of "we" versus "they", of "us" versus "them" -- is what creates the Hitler Experience.

It is GOOD when we allow ourselves to learn how we are complicit in such things. It is EVIL when we ignore the lesson, and do not learn from it, and thus perpetuate it. How we respond to it determines whether such a thing is good or evil -- therefore, it's all about perspective.

The bigger question for me, Dave, is not "how could Hitler have done such a thing", but "why is Christianity still perpetuating the notions of separation, segregation and superiority, that have indeed resulted in a loss of compassion, and a loss of conscience...?"

I'm also curious.. If there really isn't evil, what was it Jesus was driving out of people when it says he drove out an evil spirit? Was He simply driving out a perception of evil? In your opinion, do demons/evil spirits have God in them, too?

I no longer hold to a traditional view of demons (surprise, surprise!). It's my *opinion* (and not something I will either debate, nor attempt to prove), that evil spirits are manifestations of our negative thinking ... from our own carnal minds (egos) ... that which is "adversarial" (i.e., "satan") to God, and which resists Him. These negative thoughts can come in the form of lies which we believe, illnesses, inordinate physical strength, depression, rage, hatred, addictions, mental problems, etc. I personally believe that since the people in that age believed them to be demons (preferring to project them "out there" rather than taking ownership and responsibility for them), that Jesus met them where they were, in that understanding, and dealt with them in a way that would be effective for them.

I don't see demons as "beings" to either "have God" or "not have God" in them ... they are no-things, parts of our own imaginings, parts of our own carnal mind, which can be utterly absorbed by the Light of truth, just as darkness is a no-thing that cannot resist light, but becomes absorbed by it.

Dave: Also, if there is no real evil then I suppose there is no real sin... and if there is no real sin, then Christ died for nothing. Thoughts?

I believe that the time which Daniel prophesied, a time that was to be the fulfillment of Christ, was in his future, but is now in our past. I believe that Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and John (in the Revelation) were foretelling of the time to come (for them) which was the transition from one covenant into the next. I believe that this timeframe was a one-generation period of time (40 years) that began in 30AD, and ended in 70AD, with the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem ... thus utterly ending the old covenant, and fully unleashing the emerging new covenant. I see that Daniel said that this new covenant would be a time that brought an end to iniquity, a cessation of sin, and would be bringing righteousness. Sin is about separation from God ... I see that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself. Now, this was done in time, with the events from 30-70AD ... but this was *always done* in God's perspective (outside of time) ... "the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world" (also, we were chosen from the foundation of the world). As I see it, from the whole story of Scripture, we were never separated from God -- but our shame made us *think* we were separated from God ... our beliefs made it our perceived reality. For, as a man thinks in his own heart, so is he. If we believe we're separated from God (and from one another), we will experience that, and act like that.

I see that mankind saw themselves as separated from God, and sought throughout ancient history to work his way back into God's favor ... sacrificing to the volcano-gods ... then God shows up as One God and seems to say that He wants animal sacrifices instead ... so they do so, meticulously, for centuries ... then God says He never wanted sacrifices at all, but wanted mercy. What gives? Did God (who never changes) change? OR did our perception of what God wanted change? This is the same God who says HE never wanted to be our "master", but our "husband". (The same God who wants intimate relationship, and we insist upon religion instead.)

As I see it, we were groping in the dark, trying to comprehend God for all those years, projecting our own stuff onto God ... and so Jesus comes, as God, to show us the Father -- before then, we were clueless. Jesus shows us the God who doesn't *want* our sacrifices ... in fact, He shows us the God who *BECOMES* the sacrifice for us. The Sacrifice to end all sacrifices. This is the God who becomes the Cure for what was killing us ... our own deceptions.

I no longer buy the theory of substitutionary atonement (the notion that God was angry, and demanded blood, and someone had to pay, and so Jesus stepped in to "take the heat" for us). I now see the view of Christus Victor ... the concept that Jesus was utterly victorious in the Atonement (the at-one-ment), re-conciling us to God (which implies to me that we were once "conciled" to God in the first place), and that He not only saved every single one He intended to save, but that it was always done, from God's perspective.

We were never separated from God in the first place (for how can anyone be separated from Omnipresence?), and more and more are awakening to this REALLY good news for ALL mankind, that God really is too good to not be true...! It's not that we need to "be saved" ... it's that we need to "wake up" to what's always been.

(again, this is my perspective, at this juncture of the glorious journey, with the One who is both Guide and Goal ... your mileage may vary!)

Shalom, Dena

The Truth ...

A most-powerful video. Be sure to watch it all the way to the end ... the full message is well worth it.

Shalom, Dena

A Conversation ...

I'm having this conversation with someone who sees a bit differently than I do (which happens a lot, LOL!) ... and I notice that in having the conversation, as I respond, clarity comes. I notice that I often write things I didn't know I knew, 'til I wrote them. I notice that I learn in process ... that it's not about "figuring it all out," but observing what unfolds along the way. Quite a relief to this former anal-queen-perfectionist, LOL!

I'll share the conversation here, in case someone else can relate in some way (my words are in bold; theirs are in italics):


I appreciate your thoughts ... and we see much the same. The differences have to do with the uniqueness of each of our journeys ... neither of us started in the same place, and each of us has had unique things to overcome, to see, to understand, to rise above. While He is both Guide and Goal, and we will end up in the same fuller-understanding, our pathways along the way to all truth are likely (if not guaranteed) to appear dissimilar.

I can tell you what's true for me, as I've experienced Him in my life, and you can tell me what's true for you, as you've experienced Him in your life ... and there will indeed be much overlap. However, it would be folly and presumption for any in-process/finite/limited-perspectived human being to tell another in-process/finite/limited-perspectived human being what IS, and what IS NOT true for all beings, at one time. God meets us where we are, and leads us ever-more into all truth.

Our instructions, along the way, during this transformation/mind-renewal process we call "life", is to love ... to love all others as ourselves, whether we perceive the "other" to be brother/sister, friend, or "enemy."

And so, as I share my heart with you, with anyone, I am not saying "this is true for you"... I can make observations about what I perceive, at this point in time, and I can tell you what I perceive to be true for me, at this point in time (allowing for the possibility, if not probability, that God will lead me into a deeper truth that renders a former truth merely a stepping stone), but I am not making the assumption that my perceived truth is your applicable truth. I wouldn't put that on you ... neither do I accept another's truth as something to be put upon me. IF (& when), however, the Spirit within me says to me, "they've just reminded you of a truth that I've given you - receive it with joy", then I do so ... and I will celebrate that moment with you, grateful that you've cooperated with Him in my recognizing (re-cognizing, re-knowing) a Truth that He's given me.

(whew! can I get long-winded or what?!? LOL!)

With all that as preamble, I'll respond to what you wrote:

Dena, thank you for the kind words. Although the Lord is at work everywhere, everything is not his work. The Holy Spirit is given to lead us into all truth. If everything that happens was of him, then it would all be truth, and we would lead no one to be the truth discerner and teacher.

I appreciate that this is your perspective ... I would have once shared it with you. I no longer do ... I do see that God is in everything, that everything is of Him (for He tells us in scripture that He created even what we call "evil" for His purposes). God comes to me disguised as my own life. I receive it all as from His hand, and I let it unfold to show me the gift hiding within the presentation. I figure it's my perspective that needs adjusting when I resist what's happening ... and I notice that what I resist, persists. But when I thank Him for whatever is happening (whether or not I understand it, on the surface of it), I move from my perspective to His (for I have the Mind of Christ), and I'm better able to receive the gift, and to learn from whatever He is showing me in that circumstance. I confess, I'm sometimes more successful at this than others ... I'm very much a person-in-process ... but I even learn from my "mistakes", so it's all good, as He says it is.

The nature of the kingdom of God is both "Now" and "Not Yet". This is a concept that describes the tension we find in the Christian life. We are seated with him in heavenly places both now and not yet... There is always a coming reality that is greater than that which we have seen, and yet we have seen it. And since we have seen it, we know him by what he has given us... His son. Not by the creation in which we live, although it speaks of God, we would not have needed the manifestation of the son if we could fully know God without Him.

I appreciate that you see it this way, and, again, I once did as well. While there's no need to "compare" (or to compete) with our various perspectives (neither is "better" ... each just serves, or does not serve, where we are), this perspective no longer rings true for me, with where I am.

I see that it's indeed our perspective that the Kingdom is both "now" and "not yet", because of our experience (which, ironically enough, is dependent upon our perspective ... what we believe determines what we will experience). I now understand the Kingdom to be that which cannot be observed with our natural senses ... and I notice that Jesus told us this is so ("My Kingdom does not come with observation, but is in your midst."). I believe that the Kingdom is, and has always been, a NOW reality ... but that it is only spiritually discerned ... always available for those who will have eyes to see, and ears to hear ... seemingly out of reach for those who believe that God has to *do something* to make it come, in the future, in a tangible/physical manner (which would go contrary to Jesus' words, that it won't come by observation). And, in a historical-timeline perspective, I believe it already came.

So, if I could put it into words (which are always so inadequate), I'd say that I see/experience the Kingdom as NOW, and it is seen/experienced by us "waking up" to it's reality, rather than being seduced by the illusion of the physical realm.

It is important not to limit our understanding of what he has said to our own understanding. Now that will bring in some tension...

Very true ... and I observe that Christianity has taught us to do just that -- to limit how we experience God to our own "approved" collective-understanding. I've discovered that those human traditions no longer serve me. I'm discovering that I have to be "out of my mind" in order to experience God.

The Son was given to reveal the nature and character of the Father. It is written that the Father was in Him. However, it was not also written that the fullness of the Godhead is manifest in every person, even though it is in him we live and move and have our being.

I believe that while what is written is a way for us to begin to experience God and His truth, it is not the summation of all truth. I believe that scripture itself teaches us that. While I greatly appreciate the foundation of the written word, I no longer limit myself to what's written ... nor do I believe I'm meant to. I see that I'm meant to follow Christ, not the Bible... and I previously experienced the latter as a substitute for the former. I believe spiritual maturity requires moving from the tangible (the scriptures in hand) to the spiritual (the Living Word within) ... from the external, to the internal. From rules to relationship. From the observed to the experienced.

I have come to experience, and thus believe, that God is manifest within every person ... it's our perspective (and our human traditions) that tell us otherwise. I notice that there is no other Source of Life, but God. There is no competing life-source "out there." I believe that everything, seen and unseen, is a manifestation of the Life of God. I see Oneness all around me ... and that we are either aware of it, or unaware of it. But even if we are asleep to it, we can awaken. In fact, I'm delighted to observe that many, many are awakening, to this awareness of Oneness...

The ability to function in the kingdom of God is found in being able to live in tension between two seemingly opposite truths. It feels just like walking on water... And it is glorious! Amen...

Now THIS I heartily resonate with! Beautifully put! We do have to see that what we see is not really real. The truer-truth is found beyond the illusion of our physical surroundings ... even quantum physics is showing us that all physicality is but an illusion (love it when science catches up with God, LOL!).

It's a glorious thing to come to see Him as He Really Is, and to discover ourselves as We Really Are. He, and His truth, are mind-blowingly too good to NOT be true..!

Shalom, Dena

Pondering Truth...

When we recognize that we, in finite form, cannot possibly contain *all truth*, then we can continue in the journey of receiving all truth ... as He promised that His Spirit would lead us into all truth.

However, all truth cannot be confused with, or limited by "all doctrine" ... one proceeds from God, and the latter proceeds from the limited mind of man. And if we imagine we already possess all truth, we're not open to the "more truth" that He's continually revealing to us ... He has much more to show us -- but, like the disciples, we often cannot bear it.

Sometimes we have to let go of previous notions about God, in order to comprehend what God is showing us about Himself ... this can be alarming, and threatening, and many will dissuade us from this journey.

Like many folks, I'm exploring what it means: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

What part of "all things" would be excluded from that? What exists that He did not create? What things are not held together by Him? What's not *of* Him...? What other Source of life is there? What other Essence of life is there? Science tells us that all we see and perceive through our senses is illusory ... that matter is merely energy manifesting in various vibrational frequencies ... that what appears to be solid is actually moving energy ... that everything is constructed out of energy ... that each atom has more space within it, and around it than what it's made of ... that matter is held together with Energy ... Life ... God.

He is in all things ... all things are of Him. Everything is an expression of Him.

How He is magnified..!

The universe declares the glory of God...!

(just my own thoughts de jour ... y'all are perfectly free to dismiss some, or all, of it...)

Shalom, Dena

Questioning Tradition...

Tradition is an incredibly powerful tool. In fact, Jesus said it was so powerful that it could make the Word of God have no effect in your life (Mk 7:9-13). This neutralizing effect happens when tradition becomes as much a part of our belief system as the Word of God. Tradition is the product of the ideas and perceptions that
have been repeated so frequently that they become accepted as reality. Once this happens, they are as important to us as the Bible itself. Tradition is not something about which we are passive. It is something we attempt to guard, maintain, and defend. It is a part of who wee are. We understand ourselves through our traditions; therefore, we fight to preserve them.

Tradition becomes a part of our emotional fabric through a simple mental process. Once we accept a certain opinion, the mind begins to seek equilibrium. In other words, if you believe it to be true, the mind seeks to prove it is true. In fact, if you do not determine something to be false and you continually expose yourself
to the idea or behavior, it will, in time, be determined to be acceptable and factual. This is the subtlety of deceit.

This isn't something that happens on a mere emotional level. Your mind works 'til your beliefs and your sense of reality are well balanced. There is a set of nerves at the base of the skull called the Reticular Activating System. Once we accept something or pass a judgment, activity in this area of the brain affects our reasoning process. A neurological process begins in our brain to establish it
as fact. It alters our ability to perceive. It literally causes us to see it as we believe it to be. I call this process 'selective reasoning.'

If you believe something to be true, your mind will seek to prove it true.

In selective reasoning we stop seeing things as they are and seek to prove what we have already chosen to believe. It is like looking at a word and thinking it says 'horse.' You read the sentence over and over again, and finally realize that it says 'house.' You could've sworn that it said h-o-r-s-e. Why were you so sure, yet so wrong? Your mind had already determined what it was seeing.

Our traditions begin the moment we insist that we see. The moment a new paradigm is established, we have begun to form a new tradition. It is at that moment that we become blind to anything other than our point of view. Once it is accepted as truth, we begin a process of unquestioned repetition until we can't conceive of any other
point of view.

The Pharisees heard the message of God's love and forgiveness, yet they insisted their doctrine was right. Because they clung to their point of view, they could never see what the Scriptures really said. Thus, they not only rejected the truth, the also crucified the One who brought the truth. "Some Pharisees who were with Him
heard Him say this and asked, 'What? Are we blind too?' Jesus said, 'If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains'" (Jn 9:40-41). Insisting that we see is the road to blindness and tradition. Once something is accepted as fact, it is acted upon without thought or
question.

All that we must do to see is to honestly "consider other possibilities". The Word of God holds so many possibilities to which we have already closed our mind. Therefore it is impossible to see them. We are so consumed with defending our position that we, like the Pharisees, crucify those who bring the truth that will
set us free. We must relieve ourselves of the need to prove we are right. Why do we place so much of our self-worth on being right? What I currently see about any subject may be right or wrong. It may have nuggets of truth as well as nuggets of error. Being right or wrong changes neither who I am in Jesus, nor my position before those with whom I interact. We place far too much emphasis on the need to be right, and too little emphasis on the need to serve and build up.

(From "Satan Unmasked")


If interested, here's more on the Reticular Activating System, and
how we see, or don't see, truth: http://www.sourcetext.com/sourcebook/essays/scotoma.html

And a short video description: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5vyLyFo77M

Shalom, Dena

Would God Say This...?

I believe that all truth is God's Truth. I delight in finding evidence of His truth in all the places where it's "not supposed" to be. To me, this magnifies Him ... and "intimizes" Him within me... as if He comes to me and says, "Psst, let Me show you a secret, I really think you'll like this!"

For instance, from Joan Chittister, a Catholic nun:

The shape and cultivation of the God-life is a very personal thing. It touches each of us in the same way and yet differently. The sense of the presence of God is almost natural to many and a real struggle to some. But whatever our natural inclination for God, there are, nevertheless, some givens: We must be open to the God within us. We must be free of the shackles of the mind. We must be willing to forgo everything we have been told about God to this point. Realize that all of it is inadequate, partial, well-meaning, but fallacious to a fault. We must
not fear to go beyond proofs for the unprovable, or beyond belief to the unknown. Just because we do not know does not mean that we do not know. As the Tao says, 'The Way that can be told is not the eternal Way'.

Once we empty ourselves of our certainties, we open ourselves to the mystery. We expose ourselves to the God in whom "we live and move and have our being." We bare ourselves to the possibility that God is seeking us in places and people and things we thought were outside the pale of the God of our spiritual childhood. Then life changes color, changes tone, changes purpose. We begin to live more fully, not
just in touch with earth, but with the eternal sound of the universe as well.

The other day, I sensed God impressing the following to me (through a book called "Conversations with God"):

"You must be willing to really know Me. Not simply to know what you *think* about Me. If your beliefs about Me make it impossible to know Me as I really am, then all the belief in the world won't work. You'll continue to know what you think you know, instead of what's really so.

You must be willing to suspend what you imagine you already know about God, in order to know God the way you've never imagined."

My spirit grasps this, even as my mind reels ...

And I have to ask, "Why wouldn't that be God...?"

Shalom, Dena