In looking at how I operate, that has the world occur around me the way that it does, has opened up so much for me about Life and of course on the other end of that Death. Heaven & Hell, what's here now and what comes next.
What I’ve really come to is this… and it may seem a little backwards in how I communicate it, so just hang in there with it. The way I see it, every religion and belief seems to fit this image I have, they all fit within it somewhere. I’ve not found anything to discount it - yet (and believe me I’ve been looking). In looking (Buddhism, Christianity, Zen, Philosophy, Existentialism, Etc…) I only keep finding pieces of puzzle that fit this massive mosaic of how it all really works. And whole worlds within worlds that seem to transcend all the “stuckness” of the everyday human existence. Which is of course so fascinating, I just continue to pursue the inquiry.
Consider several things:
1) That we are hugely more powerful creations than we even begin to scratch the surface of and when we’re not being THAT we feel constrained, trapped, imprisoned inside a life that just seems less than what know is available and can’t seem to access
2) Every Single Thing we think we know about the world and our life - Is Made Up (like perceptions, beliefs, imagination)
3) The meaning of life…. “The purpose of life” is not something you find. *It’s something you create.*
Yeah, ^go ahead and re-read that whole paragraph again ^. Like just take a moment to sit with the three things I just shared, just consider them as an unknown truth. Like something you don’t yet about the world. Something hidden from the view.
Negative perception of life, makes living life Hell. Like everything that occurs in a person’s world reinforces the shitty experience they have of what it is to be human. Resignation, Bitterness, Resentment, Frustration, Anger, Disempowerment, Lovelessness.
Positive perceptions of life, makes living life Heaven. Like everything that occurs reinforces a grace about life, Fun, Loving, Expressive, Empowering, Inspiring, Amazing and Enlightening.
If we look at how we see our life, like “how we feel about it”… what’s that description? How do you feel about life? Stop, and take a moment to think about that. “How do you FEEL about life?” Then take those responses and look for yourself… is the experience of life like Heaven, Hell or just kind of eh – in-between?
Where I’m going with this is that Life & Death are a part of the same world. Not “this world” and then “that world”. But if you must think in “this” or “that” terms…..think of it as: What you have in this world is exactly what you’ll have in the next. Because we make it up, like our soul makes it up. The part of us that never dies… makes it up. We are the creators. Like mini-gods we choose to create a whole world of Heaven or Hell to experience. And when the physical body ends, our soul goes on to create the next. If you don’t recognize the part you play in this HUGE creation, and utilize the immense power you have to create the experience.. you’ll be resigned to just re-create what you already know. Like literally recreate a bigger better version of Hell over and over again in an ongoing cycle. There is no escape from that future except to become aware of yourself as the source and creator of the world in which you live. You’re already creating…. In every action in every moment in every day. It’s just… Are you aware of what you are creating? Like CLEARLY aware?
So we create the prison, we create the Hell… so we can experience the Heaven =) Kind of messed up, but if you consider how powerfully creative we are… get it like a game we’ve created for ourselves. Like we set up obstacles in our life, just so we get to experience over coming those obstacle… and on the other side of those prison walls of our own version of Hell…. We get a greater sense of our own power, ourselves, our capability and the amazing experience of what it means to be human. You’ve got to be in the dark in order to see the light.
So how do you create the shift?
The following is a snippet I wrote for Jim Palmer (Author of Devine Nobodies, Wide Open Spaces and Being Jesus in Nashville) when he asked me to share a little something on what I think it means to be Jesus. Highly fascinating, and again in my inquiry, his message totally aligned with this vision I have of how it all works. His book, my article speaks to, is called “Being Jesus”…. Taking into account the Christian view that you can only reach Salvation (Heaven) through Jesus Christ’s teaching AND just as Jesus is, We All Are.
Even though the writing is about Being Jesus, it’s not actually religious.
Even though the writing is about Being Jesus, it’s not actually religious.
_Enjoy_
Being Jesus means being free from all constraint.
The first thing that shows up in that statement, right after “what the heck does that mean??!” is how do you get free from any single constraint more or less ALL of them?? Both totally valid questions. Let’s take it in parts.
Forward has to start somewhere, right? To get anywhere you first have to know where you currently are. Life is like this: as one moves through the years, they accumulate the stones of knowledge that have marked the path of do’s and don’ts. Like those rocks get collected along the way in the make-up of who you are in a metaphorical back pack that sits solid. This back pack is yours and yours alone. You carry it everywhere you go. Knowing all the while, the weight of the world grows heavier with each step, each moment and no one else can seem to grasp the burden you now find yourself carrying. The thought of taking on any more, even one single thing, is paralyzing. There’s a looooong pause in life when you reach that moment. When being still and coping is all there is to do, we take what little is left of our joy, faith, and love of life and hide it away from the impending darkness.
We build walls to protect our heart, happiness and rapidly diminishing light. With amazing velocity we build one wall for every stone of life’s lessons. A wall for never trusting anyone to take care of us. Another wall to never forgive for something wronged. Another wall for riotousness. Another wall for hatred. Another wall for guilt. Another wall for sadness. Another wall for jerks. Another wall for people that seem too nice. A wall for certain kinds of men or woman. Walls to protect against an entire race or in some cases only part of a race (like the poorer half or the half with non-native language). There are so many walls. Walls against family. Walls against religion. Even walls against God himself. We’ve spent so much time building walls; we’ve completely forgotten to live life.
During this depressing time, there’s a chance to take a look around. Around and all around, at the walls. So many walls to protect ourselves that we have essentially created a labyrinth. A self-made prison that even we can’t navigate and quite possibly has no way out. That is the confinement we’re talking about. It’s a trap the mind sets in the game of life, that near most all players fall for.
That’s the particular confinement important to get, before I set out to share with you something about Jesus that is key to know in Being Jesus yourself. As I said previously, being Jesus means being free from all constraint. This is quite literally freedom from yourself, your past, your beliefs, your desires, your pains, your jealousy, your everything. Freedom in all areas of your life until there is nothing left but just you. Stripped down to the pure light of loving harmony.
Consider, you were born pure. You were born without a care in the world. And in that, had no way to compare what you had. So in the game of life, you took on obstacles. One by one you collected your mile markers and built your walls for the exact purpose of having comparison. Take it as far as you can from what you really want, forget you’re playing the game and sit still in the confinement so you can get the tremendous impact and want to overcome! In getting you put these walls in place, and technically they’re only metaphorical anyways, you can indeed walk right through them. Choose the direction (ANY direction) other than the one you’ve been taking and keep walking. When you come to the wall of hatred, stop hating and you’ll pass right through. When you come to the wall of vanity, stop being vain and you’ll continue on. When you come to the wall of distrust, trust again and the wall will vanish. When you come to the wall of fear, fear not and you’ll pass right through fearlessly. With each wall, freedom from constraint is found and in its place is wide open spaces. Everything you’ve been searching for but could never find is there beyond those walls. It’s been there the whole time. You need only clear the view to see them.
In doing so… you become pure again. In doing so, you will witness an inspiring awareness begin to show up in your presence. You will experience a warmth you’ve never known and can’t describe. You will know a truth that can’t be taught and can’t be denied. And you will have found the You; you’ve always been looking for. Do this and you will have uncovered the walking path of Jesus Christ and you will know God in a way that only his children do. You will be, “Being Jesus.”
Jamie Bihl (10/18/2011)
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