Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
INNER CIRCLE: Raising Consciousness

INNER CIRCLE: Raising Consciousness

Last updated on: September 5, 2025 at 8:19 pm by Keith Giles

0 Comments

INNER CIRCLE: Raising Consciousness 2025-09-05T20:19:54+00:00 Keith Giles

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

IMAGE: Keith Giles

The Teacher said, “Blessed is the one who exists before existing, for those who are were, and they will be.”

The superiority of humanity isn’t revealed, but exists in what’s hidden. So, it (humanity) masters animals that are stronger, that are greater in terms of that which is revealed and that which is hidden. This allows them to survive; but if humanity separates from them (the animals), they kill, bite, and devour each other, because they didn’t find food. But now they’ve found food because humanity has cultivated the earth.

(The Gospel of Philip vs. 57-58)

This passage echoes one of the sayings of Jesus from the Gospel of Thomas which reads: “Blessed is he who was before he came into being” (Saying 19). In that passage, Jesus is affirming that we pre-existed before being born into this world. Therefore, the one who realizes that they were One with God and all things before being found in a physical manifestation of the Divine is truly blessed.

When Jesus expresses this reality in the Gospel of John, he is nearly stoned to death for suggesting that he was with God before the beginning of time: “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58)

Here, the words are different, but the idea is the same: “Blessed is the one who exists before existing, for those who are were, and they will be.”

The only difference in this passage from Philip’s Gospel is that Jesus emphasizes the eternal quality of our being. Those who exist before existing will also exist forever. They are those who “were, and are, and ever more shall be.” This is exactly how John speaks of God and Christ in the book of Revelation when he reports that, in his vision, he hears:

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Rev. 1:8)

However, in this Gospel, we learn that God and Christ are not the only ones who can say this. We, too, are those who are, and who were, and who are to be. We are created in the image of the Divine and so what is true of Christ is true of us, as well, because Christ is all and is in all, and because we are all filled with the fullness of Christ who fills everything in every way.

There is no separation between us and God, or Christ, or one another. We are all One with all things and all things are One with all of us.

In the next verse, Philip says that “The superiority of humanity isn’t revealed, but exists in what’s hidden.” In other words, we must observe how human consciousness elevates the consciousness of other living things. Humans, though we have no claws or sharp teeth, can tame the lion and domesticate the wolf. We can coerce the elephant to dance, or the whale to jump, literally, through hoops, if we want to. How is this possible?

Humans also raise the consciousness of animals when we teach them the difference between right and wrong. Without human interaction, animals do not consider the suffering of others; they do not feel shame when they behave in selfish ways. But the more animals remain in contact with humans, the more they can learn to respect other living things.

For example, researchers have used sign language to communicate with apes. In one case, such as with Koko, a gorilla who was taught a modified version of American Sign Language (ASL) by psychologist Francine Patterson, the primate was observed to use the signs creatively to express her thoughts and emotions, and to invent new compound words on her own for objects and concepts that had not been taught to her. Another ape, the chimpanzee Washoe, was taught ASL and in turn passed on some of her signs to her adopted son, Loulis.

Reptiles have also shown significant cognitive improvements when confined to enriched environments. One study showed that the brains of hognose snakes grow larger when they have a more stimulating habitat. Tortoises can also display optimism, while reptiles in general can show play behavior, suggesting a capacity for both positive and negative emotional states.

These things are only possible because humans have a higher level of consciousness than animals do. The more connection animals have with humans, the more likely they are to experience an elevation of their own consciousness.

Remember, the Divine Consciousness is everything, and everything is the Divine Consciousness. We shouldn’t be surprised that a higher consciousness can elevate a lower consciousness, especially if all consciousness is the same consciousness.

Christ is all and is in all, and Christ fills everything in every way.

The new book, “The Quantum Gospel of Mary and the Lost Gospel of Truth” is now available on Amazon.

The book from Keith Giles, “The Quantum Sayings of Jesus: Decoding the Lost Gospel of Thomas” is available now on Amazon. Order HERE>

Keith Giles is the best-selling author of the Jesus Un series. He has been interviewed on CNN with Anderson Cooper, Coast to Coast Radio with George Noory, USA Today, BuzzFeed, and John Fugelsang’s “Tell Me Everything.” He co-hosts The Heretic Happy Hour Podcast and his solo podcast, Second Cup With Keith which are both available on Spotify, Amazon, Apple, Podbean or wherever you find great podcasts.

Previous Post

August 29, 2025

INNER CIRCLE: Mary Magdalene Shines Bright

Next Post

September 12, 2025 INNER CIRCLE: One Flesh

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"Googled: “In psychology and everyday language, intelligence is the capacity to learn, understand, reason, think ..."

Herm

AI Is A Gateway to the ..."

"It's so weird to me how anyone thinks that getting basic income is in any ..."

Scott Santens

AI Is A Gateway to the ..."

"Sounds very much like what Pope Leo wrote in Magnifica Humanitas - a lot of ..."

ffeineandsugar

AI Is A Gateway to the ..."

"As it is written in the canonical Gospels:But as many as received Him, to them ..."

Herm

INNER CIRCLE: God’s Transcending Love

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Art Biblicism Christian Politics Cosmic Christ Deconstruction Discipleship Dispensationalism Divine Unity Ekklesia End Time Stuff Eschatology Evergreen Following Jesus Gender General Christian Topics Gnostics God's Love Gospel of Judas Gospel of Mary Gospel of Philip Gospel of the Kingdom Gospel of Thomas Gospel of Truth Hell Historical Jesus Inner Circle Investigative Reporting Islam LGBTQ Issues Marriage Mental/Emotional Health Mystery Non-Duality Philosophy Podcast Poetry Politics Poverty Preemptive Love Prophecy Psychology Quantum Theology Racism Reconstruction Satire Sex Technology Theology Uncategorized Universalism

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What traveling companion of Paul was a physician and historian, writing two New Testament books?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Mark Luke Barnabas Silas

Books by This Author Books by Keith Giles

See All Titles »