Who is this man called Jesus?
In This Issue...
Notes from Neale
The CwG Reader
Holiday Special
The Calendar
Notes from Neale...
My dear friends...
This is our last Weekly Bulletin before Christmas Day. So I'd like to look at a question this week that people all over the world, people of all faiths and traditions, have been asking for a very long time. For over 2,000 years, in fact...
Who was this man called Jesus?
Yesterday I was listening to a Christmas Carol sung by Bing Crosby and I found myself turning to my wife and saying, "Imagine the kind of person you must have been to have people still singing about you a couple of millennia later."
"Yes," she agreed. "Pretty special."
We all know, of course, that Jesus was the Son of God; that he was Divinity made into Humanity. Yet so, too, are we all. Every human being is Divine; we are all the Daughters and Sons of God. We are all God's Offspring; God's Issue. We have all proceeded from The Most High, we are all made up of the Same Stuff, and we are all Singularizations of The Singularity.
What, then, made Jesus so incredibly different that he stands out among human beings, all of whom are Individuations of the Divine? Could it be that he knew Who He Was?
Yes, I believe that's it, and more. He not only knew Who He Was, he acted like it. He embraced it. He reflected it. He demonstrated it. He, quite literally, embodied it.
Jesus Christ brought into his body, mind, and soul the Divinity that is the natural inheritance of all of us. It wasn't this way with him all the days of his life. We know, for instance, that he spent 40 days and 40 nights in the desert, searching, looking, delving deeply into his inner yearning, his inner knowing. Some say it was much longer than 40 days. We have heard of "the lost years of Christ." We have heard that he spent much time with the Essenses, an esoteric sect seeking the experience of a Higher Way of Being.
Whatever is true about his journey, it is clear that Jesus challenged himself to step into another version of Who He Was and Who He Intended to Be. He dared to explore the outer limits of what it means to be Human and what it means to be Divine --- at the same time. He dared to examine what was "real" and what was not about his day-to-day experience; he dared to drop his "story" --- all the stuff he was "making up" in his head --- about himself and about others, about why things happen and how things happen and whether things should have happened.
Jesus dared to drop his Story and to adopt his True Identity.
Why did Jesus do this? Well, I hypothesize that, like all of us, Jesus felt a natural impulse toward the Divine. Like all of us, Jesus experienced, at the heart of his being, an unexplained sense of Oneness, of Unity, with all things; an undefined but very real inner Awareness that he was more --- much more --- than he was allowing himself to be...and that there was more to life than he was experiencing --- having nothing to do with what was going on outside, and everything to do with what was going on inside, of his Being.
The result of all this is that Jesus saw the events and occurrences of his life as serving him, rather than viewing himself as serving life. He saw every thought, word, and deed as an act of Self-Definition. He used life as an opportunity to experience himself in a particular way. He chose how he wanted to experience himself in every moment, ahead of time. Then he stepped into the moments of his life, seeing them all as perfectly coordinated outer opportunities to embrace the inner opportunity that awaited him.
Yet the true miracle of Jesus, in the end, had as much, if not more, to do with his outer world than with his inner world. For when Jesus came from his deep inner sense of Self Within, he placed into his outer world such a demonstration of that, that the world never forgot what it saw.
In short, Jesus modeled for us what it means to Be Who We Really Are.
Now, let's look at how he did so. He began by loving without condition. First, himself. Then, everyone...and everything...else. He saw it all as Perfect. And therefore he saw that nothing needed forgiving, and everything merely yearned to be blessed. Blessing, Jesus came to understand, meant covering everyone and everything with the Energy of Pure Essence --- and, by overlaying it, submerging it, in this Energy (which, by the way, he understood emanated from him), transforming everything he encountered, and all those whose lives he touched.
In this way, Jesus gave people back to themselves. Others, in his presence, had the experience of awakening from a deep sleep; even of being roused from the dead.
Which brings me to "us." I experience that many, many human beings are among the Walking Dead. They are dead to Who They Are, dead to what Life is truly about, dead to the miracle that IS Life Itself.
They are "dead to the world," having no idea who they are, where they are, why they are where they are, or what they intend to do about any of that. They are sleep-walking, imagining that life is happening TO them, not THROUGH them.
Many, many human beings do not experience life as a series of decisions, but as a series of dilemmas; not as a series of choices, but as a series of chances. You take your chances, you don't make your choices.
Yet I experience that all of the dilemmas I face today are the result of all of the choices I made yesterday. The question is not whether I made those choices, but whether I made them consciously or unconsciously.
But how can I make my choices consciously if I have no idea who I am, where I am, why I am where I am, and what I am doing here? I can't. Therefore, I need someone to remind me.
That's where you come in. And that's where Jesus came in.
Jesus said to everyone, "The Kingdom of Heaven is within you." He said, "I and the Father are one, and ye are brothers." He said, "Why are you so amazed? These things, and more, shall you do also." He remembered his own Divinity --- and he spent his life seeking to help us remember ours.
And that is why we remember him to this day with songs of celebration and words of praise. We remember him because he remembered us. He loved us as if we were Divine --- precisely because we are.
He forgave quickly and easily, because he knew that there was really nothing TO forgive, save our forgetfulness. And he was aware that once WE became aware of how wonderful we all truly are, we would see how wonderful everyone else is, and on that day we would resolve never to do anything unforgiveable again.
So let us celebrate today, in word and song, the life of this extraordinary being named Jesus. And --- as he, himself, would have us do --- let us celebrate, as well, the Christ that dwells within us. The part of us that is Buddha, understanding and thus ending suffering. The part of us that us Moses, leading those we love out of the wilderness. The part of us that is Muhammad, the prophet who shares great wisdom about life and how to live it fruitfully and with blessings.
Let us celebrate the part of us that is Krishna, the part of us that is Baha'u'llah, the part of us that is and remains Forever One with all the saints and sages of all religions and of every belief. Let us, this day, be Jewish and Janist, Buddhist and Brahmin, Muslim and Mormon, Confucian and Christian. Let us, today, be all of it. For that is what it means to be HUMAN.
And when we are fully human, we will become fully Divine...and THEN, at last, we will create peace of earth, and goodwill to all, everywhere.
Merry Christmas, everyone. And blessèd be.
Love and Hugs,
Neale.
The CwG Reader
Further explorations of the Conversations with God material from the author
Neale Donald Walsch through the years has given hundreds of talks and written scores of articles revolving around the messages he received in his Conversations with God. Now, every seven days, we will present in this space a transcript or reprint of those presentations. We invite you to Copy and Save each one of them, creating a personal a collection of contemporary and uplifting spiritual thought which you may reference at any time. We hope you will find this a constant source of insight and inspiration.
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This week's offering: The Five Attitudes of Godliness - (continued from last week)
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THE FIVE ATTITUDES OF GODLINESS - Part 3
To bless something means to give it your best energy. Your highest thought. Your grandest wish. You send a thing good energy when you bless it -- and this is something physical that you are doing, not merely something conceptual or philosophical.
Life energy can be moved around, manipulated, and we do this all the time with our thoughts. We also do it with our words and actions. Thought, word and action are the Three Tools of Creation (CwG Book 1). With these devices we create, and co-create with others, our individual and collective experience. We are literally producing the world around us.
That is why The New Revelations says that all behavior begins with beliefs -- and that it is beliefs we must change if we really want to change the world. Interestingly, no one who says they want to change the world -- international political leaders and worldwide religious leaders -- talks very much in these terms. Political leaders don't talk about beliefs at all, and religious leaders talk in terms of other people changing their beliefs, but insist that they, themselves, have all the right beliefs. Then they deny that this is precisely what causes the world to be such a dangerous place.
Now the true Master blesses all of this, she does not condemn it. And in so doing, the true Master transforms it, for the impact of his blessing energy shifts the energy of the condition itself. That is why blessing, and never condemning, is the greatest spiritual secret. It is why all Masters have said, each in their own way and their own words, "judge not, and neither condemn. For that which you judge, judges you, and that which you condemn, condemns you, and that which you bless, blesses you."
Finally, God is always totally grateful, for thankfulness is the experience of God recognizing Itself. To recognize means to "re-cognize," that is, to "know again." When God knows Itself again (which God does in every single golden moment of Now), God once again becomes joyful and the glorious Cycle of Life which is Life Itself continues, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
These are the Five Attitudes of God, and they are the five attributes of the human soul. When we allow these characteristics to fill our minds and our hearts, we become Godly. Our whole lives change, as do the lives of those around us. For life around us cannot help but change when we fill it with God Stuff. And Joy, Love, Acceptance, Blessing, and Gratitude is God Stuff indeed.
The wonderful thing about these Five Attitudes of Godliness is not only that one produces and creates another, but that they can be run in reverse. That is, one start with Gratitude just as easily as one can start with Joy. Either way, if the feeling is fully expressed the first domino falls, and all the rest follow.
I have tried to overlay these Five Attitudes of God on my daily life. For me it is sometimes easier to begin with Gratitude. Sometimes when I first wake up, or during my day when I encounter some very unwelcome news or moment, it is hard for me to "get into joy." I just can't seem to go there, no matter how much I try. But Gratitude for me has been a real key. I can move into Gratitude, even for moments or events that I do not particularly welcome, because I know that all things lead to my highest good.
Nothing that happens in my life happens without good purpose. Everything is perfect, and when I can "see the perfection" (as CWG invites me to do), I see the hand of God, and I know that there is a higher reason and that all things are good and that everything is bringing me to my highest expression of Who I Really Am.
Think of it as a scientist does in his laboratory. There is nothing that happens in that laboratory that is not a success, not a good outcome. Even so-called bad outcomes are good outcomes, in that they lead the scientist closer to the truth and to the outcome that is desired.
We are all Celestial Scientists, creating something utterly magnificent in the laboratory called Life. We are creating our Selves. And there is no way we can wrongly do that. Nor is there any way that we cannot ultimately get to where we wish to go -- which is back to total union with All That Is. That is, back home to God.
When we know this, when we deeply believe it and completely embrace it, we find the grace to move through our lives -- and any moment in our lives -- with joy, love, acceptance, blessing, and gratitude. And when we do that, we change our lives and change the lives of those whose lives we touch. And in this, we truly change the world.
I want to recommend a brand new book that I believe you are going to love if you see any workable insights in the above commentary. It is Byron Katie's new book, A Thousand Names for Joy.
In it this wonderful lady, who has created what she has called The Work, talks about exactly what I am describing just above. She talks about tripping and falling on the floor and seeing it as "perfect." She talks about a man putting a gun to her stomach and saying "I'm going to kill you" and seeing it as perfect. (She looked the man straight in the eye and said, "Thank you for doing the best that you can." He stared at her for a long second, then simply walked away.) She talks about a diagnosis of cancer and seeing it as "perfect."
Katie, however, would not even call it "perfect." Because the very idea of "perfect" means that there must be something that is IMperfect. And both "perfect" and "imperfect" are nothing more than figments of our imagination, creations of the mind, ideas that we slap on things which cause us to experience happiness and joy or sadness and upset. Katie simply calls the fall on the floor, the man with the gun, the cancer diagnosis "what is." It is what is happening, it is what is going on, it is reality, and there is no sense, Byron Katie says, in arguing with what is going on, because it is going on, and that's what's so.
Werner Erhard, creator of est, used to put this in his own unique way. "Obviously," he said, pointing at something or referencing something, "this is What's So. Not so obviously, it's also So What?"
Inspiring Gifts for Everyone on Your List
The holidays are such a perfect time to share the inspirational messages of Conversations with God that we've decided to compile three special gift packages with your loved ones and budget in mind. These packages include wonderful new CwG offerings like:
The Collector's Edition of Conversations with God the Movie - now with exclusive behind the scenes footage and added commentary by Neale Donald Walsch
Santa's God - a powerful children's Christmas story by author Neale Donald Walsch, with beautiful illustrations by Em Clair
Little Soul and the Sun DVD - the animated DVD version of the story which teaches younger ones about the importance of their uniqueness
These packages also contain favorite offerings like The Truth Seminar and The Wisdom Series in which Neale addresses our biggest spiritual questions. Our holiday packages are specially priced and are sure to please friends and family of all ages. Click below for more information:
The Calendar
A look at events at which Neale Donald Walsch will share the message of Conversations with God in the weeks ahead. You can learn more about the work of the ReCreation Foundation at these events...and on its official website, www.cwg.org, as well.
NOTE: Not all events are sponsored by the ReCreation Foundation, but because all of the events move forward the message of Conversations with God, which is the mission of the Foundation, the Foundation is pleased to inform you of them.
Click on each event for more information:
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Ashland, OR Contact: 352-442-2244 - willemail@aol.com |
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Changing Ideas About God, Religion and Humanity: Creating Global Coherence UMC Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA Contact: 208-344-2682 - linda@schoolofthenewspirituality.com |
University |
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A Retreat with Neale Donald Walsch and Mary O'Malley Molokai, Hawaii Contact: 206-550-2524 - sumara1@verizon.net |
O'Malley |
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Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Contact: 808/447-9228 - willemail@aol.com |
Being Expo |
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Three days of intense study of the major points of CwG Ashland Oregon Contact: Will at 352-442-2244 - will@cwg.org |
Foundation |
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