{"id":11049,"date":"2024-06-07T06:29:57","date_gmt":"2024-06-07T12:29:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wakeupcall\/?p=11049"},"modified":"2024-06-28T14:58:16","modified_gmt":"2024-06-28T20:58:16","slug":"finding-the-divine-within-the-message-of-the-mystic-jesus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wakeupcall\/2024\/06\/finding-the-divine-within-the-message-of-the-mystic-jesus\/","title":{"rendered":"The Jesus People Are Waiting For? Maybe He\u2019s Already Here"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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Jeff Golenski via Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jesus was a man, yes, but he is also a spirit as alive today as he was two thousand years ago. He does not appear now as a man but as a state of consciousness, which does not make him any less real. ~Marianne Williamson<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In her new book The Mystic Jesus<\/em>, Marianne Williamson sees Jesus as a living presence<\/a>, as alive as you and me. Forget the dusty Jesus of the Bible. This Jesus is more a state of mind, with the power to shape and influence our lives today.<\/p>\n

Unless you follow politics, Williamson is probably best known for her writings on A Course in Miracles<\/em>. A mysterious 1,300-page text that appeared in the 1960s, Williamson calls it \u201ca self-study program based on universal spiritual themes, employing traditional Christian concepts.\u201d It is one tough read.<\/p>\n

I first read parts of A Course in Miracles<\/em> decades ago and could not get past its ornate prose. So, you might think of Williamson as sort of a Course <\/em>whisperer, a valuable guide that can pull out some of the essential messages from the texts. While The Mystic Jesus<\/em> is informed by the Course<\/em>, it stands on its own. It paints a vivid picture of what it\u2019s like to live with the consciousness of Christ.<\/p>\n

What is \u201cChrist Consciousness\u201d? <\/strong>I first saw the phrase coined by the author and spiritual sage Richard Rohr who says simply that when see the world with Christ Consciousness<\/a>, we see God in all things. Rohr explains, you are \u201cenlivened by a force larger than yourself \u2026 you are never separate from God, nor can you be, except in your mind.\u201d Like Jesus, God permeates every fiber of your being.<\/p>\n

Jesus can serve as a conduit to God.<\/strong><\/h3>\n Williamson does not believe in the stuffy religion of the church who wants to \u201coversee and guide our relationship to God.\u201d Her beliefs are more akin to the religion of Teresa of Avila, Julian of Norwich<\/a> and the Gnostic Gospels. It\u2019s about finding God through direct experience, without the need for a middleman.<\/p>\n The secret: the secret can be found within.<\/strong> The mystic Jesus is an aspect of ourselves that lives within us. \u201cHe was present as a man on the earth two thousand years ago, and he is present as a spirit within our psyches even now. He is a name for the unalterable love that all of us share.\u201d Through him, we can forge an intimate relationship with God.<\/p>\n One of Williams core teachings in The Mystic Christ<\/em> is that there\u2019s a profound disconnect between the love in our hearts and how we live on earth. We feel one way internally\u2014but when we are out in the world, we act another way. Williams\u2019 message: \u201cMove toward love and thrive. Move toward fear and slowly, or at least metaphorically, perish.\u201d Jesus<\/a> moves us toward love.<\/p>\n Five key themes from The Mystic Jesus<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n***** ** *****I have rearranged and lightly edited some of the key points in The Mystic Jesus<\/em> in a loose narrative. I\u2019ll write more on this book in the future, as it\u2019s crammed with thought-provoking ideas.<\/p>\n \n We Forget Our Relationship with God<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n***** ** *****We are like children of the wealthiest, most powerful father who have forgotten our identity and the inheritance that comes with it. We wander endlessly in search of something that cannot be found but only realized.<\/p>\n The world as we know it perpetuates our forgetfulness, constantly disrupting our relationship to God<\/a> by disrupting our relationship to each other. The only thing that separates us is an illusion of the mind \u2026 the misperception that we are separate.<\/p>\n Eventually everyone begins to recognize, however dimly, that there must be a better way. The mystic Jesus is exactly that. Think of him as a better way. He is like someone who helps us cross the river when we\u2019re too tired to go on.<\/p>\n \n We Are All One<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n***** ** The Mind of God is an infinite ocean of loving thought, and when we think with love we are thinking with God. The purpose of our lives is to learn to think as God thinks.<\/p>\n ** *****We\u2019re like waves in the ocean thinking we are separate from other waves. There is no place where one wave stops another wave starts. If I think of myself as one with other waves, how could I not feel safe and powerful?<\/p>\n \n We Must Rise Above the Ego<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n***** ** When, we align our minds with the Mind of God, we rise above the ego. The thinking of the world is no longer like quicksand that sucks us into it. We are invulnerable to the chaos that dominates the world.<\/p>\n ** The ego\u2019s kingdom is the low road of negativity and anger, limitation and fear. But there is a high road, a path of peace and positivity, abundance and love. We don\u2019t need to create the high road; we need merely to follow it.<\/strong><\/p>\n ** *****The mystic Jesus has the power to override the ego\u2019s dictates, to save us from our chronic temptation to withhold our love. Choosing to align with him, we cocreate with God a different kind of world.<\/p>\n \n What We Seek is Already Here<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n The world blinds us to who we are and why we\u2019re here. The world as we know it is not home to the true self<\/a>, and we cannot find ourselves within its walls.<\/p>\n The light we seek is not something to be found but something to be chosen. It is already there waiting to be realized.<\/p>\n The mystic Messiah won\u2019t be coming down from outside but from the inside. He\u2019s not coming from the sky; he\u2019s coming from our higher mind.<\/p>\n \n We Must Bring Our Own Light to the World<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n***** ** Even the tiniest candle casts out the darkness. Even the tiniest thought of forgiveness, of mercy, of love, can change the trajectory of our lives.<\/p>\n ** *****Without our willingness, the miracle cannot occur. When we are willing to forgive, be merciful, be gentle, be kind, we are allowing our lives to be channels for his appearance. The light Jesus brings to the world is the light he brings to your <\/em>world.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll find surprising stories on Jesus and much more in my book Wake Up Call: Daily Insights for the Spiritually Curious<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jesus was a man, yes, but he is also a spirit as alive today as he was two thousand years ago. He does not appear now as a man but as a state of consciousness, which does not make him any less real. ~Marianne Williamson In her new book The Mystic Jesus, Marianne Williamson sees […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1184,"featured_media":11052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[995,20,1329],"tags":[2370,2367],"class_list":["post-11049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christ-consciousness","category-jesus","category-jesus-christ","tag-marianne-williamson","tag-the-mystic-christ"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Jesus People Are Waiting For? Maybe He\u2019s Already Here<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What if Jesus was a state of consciousness we could access everyday? 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