The Power of the Spirit

We have been lied to by our parents, our schools, our religious leaders, and our government. In some cases, (like in the case of our parents) they did not mean to lie to us, because they themselves have been lied to, so they simply repeated the lie. They thought they were helping us, but they are trapped in error, and their errors have unfortunately trapped us as well. The biggest lie they have told us, the Satanic lie of all lies which has been with us for millenia, is that human beings are weak, fragile, and cursed by a God who is involved in an eternal war with evil. This is the lie called dualism, which claims that there are two equal powers in the universe, a good power, which we call God, and an evil power, which we call Satan. These two powers are claimed to be involved in an endless, eternal war in the heavens, and this war has made its way onto our earth as a result of the Biblical fall of Adam and Eve. As a result of this fall, each human being is cursed at birth to be a participant in this war, whether they like it or not, and fated to choose either the so-called "good" side, or God, and the so-called "bad" side, or Satan. Depending on which side you choose, or are pre-destined to choose as some theologians would say, God and Satan each give rewards to their faithful human soldiers who fight for them in this material realm. For example, Satan is said to be the "Prince of this World" and as such he rewards his followers with earthly possessions, power, and money. God, on the other hand, often allows his faithful ones to suffer greatly at the hands of Satan's followers, in order, we are told, to test his followers faithfulness, and reward them with something greater. This reward is called heaven, a magical realm which a "good" person goes to after death and is rewarded by God with anything their heart desires. In both cases, the Gods portrayed are Autocratic Kings who will tolerate no dissent, no mistakes, and expect their followers to remain faithful to be considered as "worthy" of the rewards they will give. This theology is most clearly expressed today in the theology of Fundamentalist Christianity and Islam. Ultimately, fundamentalist Christianity and Islam believe that God will eventually triumph over Satan and his wicked followers in a display of divine fury so horrible that the earth will run with the blood of the wicked and the good, and the Earth itself Will be swallowed up in disasters both natural and man-made. However the faithful ones, the ones who fought, suffered, and endured misery for God in this life, or who believed the "right: creeds and were members of the "right" religion, will be rewarded by being "raptured" or removed from the carnage that this God of vengeance will wreak on his enemies. Finally, God will cast Satan and his wicked followers into a Lake of Fire and Brimstone, where they will be tortured for all eternity, and the faithful of God will get to see them being tortured mercilessly for their personal pleasure, apparently as a reward for having endured great misery in this life. And the most disturbing aspect of this theology is those who hold faithfully to it will tell you that God is Love.

There are so many problems with this theology that one barely knows where to begin commenting on it. However, that is not the aim of this particular essay. The purpose of this essay is to expose the lie of dualism, and offer the truth; a truth which God in his mercy, love, and compassion has revealed to me over the past year. You see, I have been trapped in the lie of dualism for my whole life. I believed I was following God, and I suppose I was, but it was a God of my own making, a God I wanted to please by forcing myself to be perfect, but I never could. One day, I realized that it was impossible to please this God because such a God does not exist, and the belief in this God was what was causing me to fail so miserably, and give into temptation. And here is the truth I discovered in the midst of my misery: human beings are not weak, fragile, cursed and doomed to a life of war, disease, global destruction, and finally eternal punishment. Human beings are, in fact, intimately connected to the infinite life of God, and this connection makes each of us potential heirs to the infinite and unlimited life and power of God. All we have to do is to realize it, and put it into practice in our lives, most notably through prayer and meditation. We believe we are weak, powerless, and doomed to suffer and die because that is what we have been taught, and this error expresses itself in our life because what we believe becomes real. The more we believe it to be true, the more real it becomes for us. However, once the lie is revealed, the truth sets you free. The truth can be expressed in this simple statement which is so self-evident I wonder how I could have missed it: Evil is not real. Evil is a part of our experience because we give it power by believing it will make us happy, and give us good things. For example, people kill out of desire for power, revenge, money, things which are perceived to be good and can be acquired and taken by force, if necessary. Nations engage in this type of behavior all the time, (note the phantom called the War on Terror, which is so clear a proof of this truth as to be funny. How can you fight a war against an emotion?). No one commits an evil act for the sake of desiring to be evil, that is absurd. Therefore, the only true reality is God, and God is Infinite Perfection, Good, Love, Joy, Happiness, etc. Evil is a phantom, an illusion, and this perceived war between good and evil is also a phantom, a mirage, a ghost of the mind. As Jesus said, we shall know the truth, and the truth will set us free. The true battlefield is in the mind, and once that is changed anything is possible. The power of God that we are connected to is so great, Jesus said that faith in this power as small as a mustard seed can give a human being the power to move a mountain by command. However, because we believe we are small, weak, limited, sinful, and doomed to die, we do not believe Jesus when he says this, even though he and his true followers throughout the ages have demonstrated this truth for all to see. No perceived limitation could stop Jesus, not disease, social and economic status, even death. He overcame everyone of them, and told us we could do the same if we only believe.

There are many scriptures which support this truth, which is why the churches have attempted to control the scriptures, or leave people ignorant to its symbolic meaning and trapped in a hopeless fundamentalism. However, The Creation Story of Genesis Chapter One expresses this truth clearly and beautifully, once one has the knowledge necessary to see it and understand it. Specifically the following passage expresses it with full clarity:

Genesis 1:26 (New International Version)

26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, [a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

This passage explains the true nature of humanity, what we were created for, and the life that God planned for us all to live in this planet. It also gives us hints about the nature and purposes of the divine. However, many people either have never read this passage, or fully understood it, or simply do not believe it is true. Often, this is because most people get caught up in a literal debate over the contents of the story. especially the fundamentalist and the atheist, who only see the literal word and therefore fail to understand its symbolic meaning. In order for the passage to be understood, it cannot be taken literally, because its true meaning will always be missed. However, the symbols are easy to understand if you look with spiritual eyes, and they reveal a God who has empowered all of humanity with his spirit, enabling us to live as Kings and Queens on earth.

In the entire text of Genesis Chapter One, we see that God speaks and creation is formed exactly as it was spoken. We know from experience that humans also can speak and certain things become real, like a leader giving a command. Is it then our ability to speak that distinguishes us as made in the divine image? Yes, but it is much more than this. Because before a word can be spoken, it has to be conceived of in the mind and consciousness of an individual. And, before something can be created, it must first be imagined and planned again, in the mind and consciousness of a person. Therefore, if we are a reflection or image of God, and we have mind, consciousness, speech and creativity, we can conclude God has to be infinite mind, infinite intention, infinite consciousness. We are the image of God because we contain spirit in the form of mind and consciousness, but it is an aspect of the divine mind, a flicker of the divine flame. It is not ours to command alone, because our mind is a reflection of the divine mind; our consciousness and creative faculty must obeys certain rules and laws, and cannot exist fully without a rooted connection to God. God is the source, and this source is infinite.

This is the source of our great power, the Power of the Spirit. We have heard a lot lately about the law of attraction, and there is great truth here as far as it goes. However, the law of attraction only works if it is rooted and connected to the Law Giver, the Creator, who established the law of attraction to reward the righteous (right thinkers) and punish the wicked (the wrong thinkers). If your mind is not right, then the law of attraction will bring corrective lessons until you learn that a tree without strong roots is doomed to die. This is why as a race, we experience evil, because we have allowed error to invade our minds and the law of attraction brings it into existence.

This blog is about my journey to tap into this Power, to become more rooted in God and to unfold the image God within me. Everyone has a unique role to play in life as a unique expression of God, and we were designed to bring blessing,goodness, fullness of life, good health, abundance, love etc. to each other in a divine symphony of love. God created everything and said it was good. Evil is an illusion, a painful one for sure, but an illusion nonetheless. God wants you to be happy, healthy, full of positive experiences, and living an abundant life. All you have to do is realize it in your mind, root yourself in God and God's immutable laws, and wait for the demonstration. The Kingdom of God is within you. This is the power we have, and the power I claim in Christ.