Saturday, April 17, 2021

Let's Get Some Joy

Reflections on Easter 2021:

Stepping into the unknown, the silence, we get on the path less traveled, the road not always taken - to paraphrase Robert Frost. In our year of Awakening, we have stepped into believing It and loving It. Then we observed It, and now it's time to Declutter It...with joy.

We believe in the eternality, the immortality, and the continuity of the individual soul forever expanding.

We believe that we experience this expansion to the degree that we become conscious of it, awakening to it wisdom and allowing ourselves to be free from discord of every nature. And if we step away from that awareness, it's always there to resurrect Itself in our lives. 

Easter celebrates the presence, power, love, and wisdom of one who believed this. He is called the great exception, Yeshua ben Yosef (Joshua son of Joseph - a common name for the times). He grew up to become a radical evolutionary who dared go against the grain of the Jewish religion and establishment

In Matthew 5:17, Yeshua was quoted as saying, 

Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.

Did he walk on water? I don't know.

Did he raise Lazarus from the dead? I don't know.

Did he heal the sick and diseased and multiply the loaves and fishes? I don't know and I don't really care....at least it doesn't matter to me in order to appreciate him. What matters is the lessons the Gospels spoke about that came from him. All the Gospels, not just the New Testament.

Here's a guy who taught joy. To me, joy is not about happiness, which is a state of mind, a mood that comes and goes per an experience or the anticipation of an experience. Joy is a state of belief and being. Joy is found in a deep connection to God, the true source and substance of the experiences you may or may not be happy about. This man called Jesus lived his life...on purpose and in joy.

Who was this long-haired Jew that most of the world commemorates on Easter? And why is the story of this simple guy is so important as an example to us all? Yeshua was:

  • A Way Shower living a life teaching what Ezekial spoke of in 36:26:  A new heart will I give you, a new spirit will I put within you, and I will remove the heart of stone out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. Which means a consciousness full of feeling, in rhythm with and vibrating at the speed of the Divine.
  • A radical nonviolent revolutionary who hung out with lepers, prostitutes, rich man, poor man, young and old.
  • Forgiveness was his game and he taught us to forgive 70 times 7, as often and as long as it takes to reach the resurrection of the daily use of our highest self. 
  • A brown-skinned middle-eastern Jew that didn't speak English, Greek, or Latin.
  • A homeless community organizer.
  • A healer that never asked for a co-pay, only that you believed in your healing.

He didn't teach:

  • Against birth control or abortion
  • The death penalty or torture as being acceptable
  • Baptism - see John 4
  • Holy Communion as a sacred ritual
  • Anything about sexuality
  • Wealth made you a more successful person or lack of wealth made you a less successful person
  • The concept of hell or that heaven was an afterlife location or somewhere out beyond the skies
  • The concept of Original Sin, nor did he speak of man’s fall from God’s Grace. 

He DID teach:

  • Oneness - respect for each other, no matter the social standing.
  • Love was the only way.
  • Purifying the soul was capable through forgiveness.
  • That the Power and Presence of the Divine is within:  The Kingdom of God is within you.  ~Luke 18:21
  • Manifesting was through belief or faith or consciousness (right thinking or righteousness), and the power of our perceptions is key to our life's experiences:  Your Faith has healed you... and If you have Faith the size of a mustard seed... and Let it be to you according to your Belief... ~Luke 17:19, Mark 5:34, Matthew 17:20, Matthew 9:29
  • You speak a gospel (a joyous word) when you pray, revealing the Divine Council which is available at all times.  ~Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4 (Lord's Prayer)
  • God is like a beloved parent, the ever-present counsel that created all and is in all and does the heavy-lifting, through the Law of Cause and Effect.  ~Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4 (Lord's Prayer)
  • Prayer is a personal communion between oneself and the Divine:  Go into your inner room and lock the door... and ...do not pray to be seen or that others can hear…  ~Matthew 6:5-6
  • The Divine Light and the Inner Light are the same: You are the Light of the World …give light to all who are in the house! and Let your Light so shine before men that they may see your good works. ~Matthew 5:14 – 16 (also in “Godspell”)
  • Non-Judgment, Nonresistance, Detachment & Release in The Parables of the Rich Man & Young Man & The Parable of the Woman caught in adultery & the Pharisees in the Temple.
  • The Laws of Abundance:  I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly. ~John 10:10
  • The way of overcoming obstacles is through surrendering to a Higher Power which comes through communing with our Highest Self.

...Jesus’s many parables of the Kingdom ...lean heavily on the language of growth and development. His common metaphors for growth are the seed, the growing ear of corn, weeds and wheat growing together, and the rising of yeast. His parable of the “reign of God” are …about finding, discovering, being surprised, experiencing reversals of expectations, changing roles and status. None of these notions are static; they are always about something new and good coming into being.  ~Richard Rohr, Universal Christ 


Let the evil pass over you by sacrificing your lack and limitation, hate and judgment, and have an exodus from that kind of bondage. Elaine Pagels reminds us that...

...the Gospel of Thomas talks about how you must go in a sort of a spiritual quest of your own to discover who you are, and to discover really that you are the child of God just like Jesus.

You are the child of God...

- a perfect idea to blossom this Spring - 

...the Light of the world

Actively resurrect your greatest self by tapping into the Truth every day and take action on what you hear in the silence. Let's get some joy by communing with our innermost and highest Light. And not only know our Truth but live it!

...just like Yeshua taught!



Affirmative Incantation

As I observe the Power and Presence that is within, I focus on Its unconditional love and tap into Its infinite wisdom. I look at the world through my Divine Matrix, melding the intelligence, feelings, and inspiration that await me.

I look at my world as one in unity with all Nature, expecting kindness, respect, and love to illuminate every experience. My responses are heartfelt, thoughtful, and speak only to my values and purpose.

It is now that I heed the call to commune with the Universe and activate my highest self. I embrace this joyous transformation and allow me to enter the land of milk and honey, abundant with prosperity in all facets of this creative life.

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