On this Rock: Direct Revelation from God

Direct Revelation from God is
connecting with, relating to, receiving from and worshiping God in spirit and truth

Jesus said in John:

God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship (kiss) in spirit and truth (reality).

See here about meaning of worship.
See here about meaning of truth.

God is Spirit, we must relate to God as spirit, not as flesh;
spiritually, not physically.

Because we are taught to see through our physical eyes,
and hear through our physical ears,
and understand through our physical/rational mind,
we don't understand what Jesus is talking about most of the time, in the bible.

One can not apprehend God or spiritual reality through the body, emotions, mind:
From my perspective, it is like "trying to get to heaven on the end of a kite" (as the song says ; )

From my perspective, we are taught to have a physical focus, a body focus;
and not taught that there even IS a spiritual focus,
and certainly not HOW to attain that spiritual expereince.

This spiritual practice is the focus of the ministry I am called to,
so I am excessively passionate about it ; )

It is frustrating to me that the wheels of the Christian religion, by-and-large,
work Against this spiritual focus,
which is the CORE of Jesus' message (the Reign {Kingdom} of God/Heaven),
but that is the way of the World.

SO, for example, on the physical, when viewed through the body,
our Christian walk looks like a PROCESS of transformation
- and it IS! ... from a physical perspective.

But, IMO, the SPIRITUAL REALITY is what is key
- and in spiritual reality, Right NOW is our wholeness, our rest, our power and our glory:
in our spiritual reality it is all NOW!!!

Almost no one can hear what Jesus said, what Paul said, over and over and over.

Jesus said:

- the reign (often translated 'kingdom') of God is within you: NOW

- seek ye the reign of God, and all these things shall be added to you: NOW

- Fear not, little flock, because your Father did delight to give you the reign: NOW


Paul said:

- in him we live and move and have our being: NOW

- (God) did raise us up together, and did seat us together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus: NOW

- at all times the dying of the Lord Jesus bearing about in the body, that the life also of Jesus in our body may be manifested: NOW


IMO/E, when one begins to read the New Testament with the distinction that we are spirit in a body (Paul says spirit vs flesh)
and pays attention to the past, present and future tense (useful to read the literal translation for this, IMO)
it can be absolutely life altering.

Of course to start to let the message get through to us:
we must be willing to let go of all the preconceptions and programming (which is not easy!)
and be willing to ask God to assist us to will and to to do God's good pleasure:
receiving God's blessings for us and leading for our lives directly as spirit from Spirit; spiritually, not physically.

But the labor is worth it;
the message God has for us Really Exciting
... one might say it is Good News!

Just one example of the core necessity of spiritual focus versus physical focus, and I will stop.

I notice in Matthew 16:13-23:

Peter gets spiritually focused information
'Happy art thou, Simon Bar-Jona, because flesh and blood did not reveal it to thee, but my Father who is in the heavens.'

Jesus says, of this spiritual information, and those who operate through this spiritual information:
'upon this rock I will build my assembly, and gates of Hades shall not prevail against it; and I will give to thee the keys of the reign of the heavens, and whatever thou mayest bind upon the earth shall be having been bound in the heavens, and whatever thou mayest loose upon the earth shall be having been loosed in the heavens'

To be SURE we get the point, that it is NOT about PETER, rather it is about living on the ROCK of our spiritual information: revealed to us by Abba who is in the heavens: Direct Revelation from God:

Peter goes and says a physically-focused thing to Jesus,
and Jesus corrects him strongly FOR his physical focus:

'Get thee behind me, adversary!
thou art a stumbling-block to me,
for thou dost not mind the things of God, but the things of men.'

Amazing, to me - it continues to amaze!
It is right there in black and white, but most of us have trouble seeing it, because (from my perspective) on so many levels we have been socialized differently.

may we be given always more open
eyes to see and ears to hear what Spirit says to the people of God.

thanks for playing!
-wendy

PS
 this doesn't address: what are the KEYS, see here for more ; )

"Putting on the Mind of Christ: The Inner Work of Christian Spirituality" by Jim Marion

I love this book, it is one of my favorites of all time.
I have re-read it several time in the last dozen years, and I continue to say hello to parts of it.
I bought a case of them and shared them all, and keep buying more to share.

From my perspective, Marion doesn't help much with the HOW of spiritual deepening (although he takes a shot at it)
- I have very effective tools for that, so that doesn't matter to me.

But, while many Christians seem to be sitting around waiting for the heaven train,
Marion inspires us with the Big Fat 'why bother' to do our spiritual work, spiritual deepening, discipleship...

He encourages us to engage our Unique Process of Soul Maturity, Teleios 

Realizing who we are in God, into our body, life, world...

Marion encourages us with the purpose of all of our spiritual evolvement (and in the case of this work: true Christian Spirituality):
to experience (as Jesus did) non-dual consciousness (Oneness),
in Jesus language: “the Father and I are One”.    

Although I personally disagree with some details of Marion’s book,
I am Thrilled to see the idea of this evolvement being encouraged within Christianity.
And I am encouraged in my own spiritual ‘progress’ as well as my 'challenges',
by Marion's sharing about many fellow travelers ahead of us on the path.    

Marion is writing from a Christian perspective,
overlaid on the work of Ken Wilber – who outlines the developmental stages we go through psycho-spiritually regardless of religious or spiritual background.

Although I am grateful to Wilber for his breakthrough work,
I personally prefer the flavor of Marion's presentation of this wisdom.

in Life! Wendy

...
Info from Spirituality and Practice: Book Review

Info from Amazon:

Customer Reviews

Editorial Reviews Below:

Ken Wilber, from the Foreward
"A pioneering book, a truly inspired revelation, and a gentle guide to the deepest terrain of our own souls."


Bo Lozoff, author of
"It is encouraging to see a book that reminds us that true spiritual development is neither easy, safe, nor comfortable."


NAPRA ReView
"an adventurous study of Christianity which opens the mind and searches the soul."


SMV News - Feb. 2001
An important book, which will both challenge and inspire those already actively engaged in the process of 'putting on the mind of Christ'.


Science and Medical Network, Network No.74, December 2000
an illuminating book that brings the Christian mystical right into the present.


From the Publisher
At a time when many are turning away from organized religion and dogmatic Christianity for their own uncharted "life in the wilderness," Jim Marion shows how standard Christian terms and concepts illuminate a genuine path of inner development, one that requires a fair degree of effort.
He says if you expect to get to "Heaven," there are no priestly chauffeurs who will deliver you unwrinkled to the pearly gates. You'll only "get there" on your own volition, and in order for it to mean anything, you need to do it while you're here, alive, on Earth, wondering what life is all about.
You don't have to be Christian either. Marion draws on various spiritual and metaphysical traditions--Buddhism, the Yaqui teachings described by Carlos Castaneda, Native American shamanism--and the insights of several mystical mavericks to make his case. You'll get to "Heaven" in stages, as you unfold your inner process, and he sets out the typical experiences and travails you're likely to encounter. He charts a develpmental model for inner spiritual unfolding, and uses well-chosen excerpts from scripture and other sources to make his points. This is Christianity the way Christ meant it to be done.
This is not a book about theory, or one man's speculation about how you might get there. Jim has done the hard work: the meditating, the inner scourging, the questioning, the despairing, the life of the committed monk--he has done his tunnel work, burrowing through the great mountain of the Self to the other well-lit side where you can rightfully put on the mind of Christ.


From the Inside Flap
What does it mean to follow the path of Christ today? For Jim Marion, former Catholic monk, mystic, and attorney, if you want to join the Christ in the Kingdom of Heaven, you must do so while living as a human on the Earth. It's not something that automatically happens to Christians after death, nor can the Church do it for you. Indeed, says Marion, inner spiritual growth has always been the true essence of Christian practice.
"Putting on the Mind of Christ" is the ardent expression of a modern mystic reporting his spiritual experiences within a "Christ-focused" framework. Neither evangelist nor theorist, Marion is a Christian practitioner--he's simply done what the scriptures advise. For Christians who are disaffected with contemporary Christianity there is another way--Marion calls it the "old original way"--to experience the true spirituality of Christianity.
Drawing upon his own rich mystical experience and deep understanding of scriptural models, Marion shows the reader how to emulate the developmental stages of the Christ--how to put on the mind of Christ to achieve spiritual illumination and communion with the Christ. Provocative and pioneering, transcendent and grounded, "Putting on the Mind of Christ" may permanently alter the landscape of 21st century Christianity.


About the Author
I have written Putting on the Mind of Christ to share with you, the reader, some of the things I've learned in my many years of following the Christian spiritual path. I also wanted to provide you with a modern map of the way to what Jesus called the "Kingdom of Heaven." The map I have drawn is based on the writings of Christian saints and mystics, on the work of modern psychologists and psychiatrists, on the work of "consciousness studies" pioneers like Ken Wilber, on my own mystical experience, and on the New Testament and the words of Jesus himself.
„Putting on the Mind of Christ‰ is the first book to clearly describe the entire Christian spiritual path. Step by step, from the consciousness of infants, children, and adolescents, „Putting on the Mind of Christ‰ will lead you to the highest level of human spiritual and psychological inner development--the consciousness (or awareness) that Jesus called the "Kingdom of Heaven." In the Kingdom of Heaven there is no separation between us and God nor are we separated from each other. Jesus' public ministry and his Death and Resurrection were designed to show us the way to this inner Kingdom; and that way is for us to develop our own consciousness, step by step, into that awareness.
I hope you will enjoy reading the book, and that you will learn as much in reading it as I learned in writing it for you.


Book Description
A former Catholic monk and modern mystic asserts that the path of Christian spirituality is difficult, and that individuals, not the Church, must do the work of preparing themselves for the Kingdom of Heaven. Marion believes the "Kingdom of Heaven" is actually a state of mind that any practicing Christian--those doing the hard inner work of spirituality--may attain. Marion uses his extensive knowledge of scripture to document his assertion that "putting on the mind of Christ," or achieving the same degree of spiritual illumination as the Christ, is the original and true goal of Christianity.

Pope Poo-pooed by GOP for Being too Jesus-like

I was encouraged to read this morning:  Pope Poo-pooed by GOP for Being too Jesus-like.

Jesus was not popular with the power-brokers - religious, economic, political, even social and familial.
We have the gospels, which spell this out very clearly.
But, it is hard to remember and engage this reality, as we are steeped in our Christian-culture overlay, through which we live, read the gospels, experience God.

I am really grateful for Pope Francis for being Light in this world, and for helping to shed light on this disparity between the way of power and the way of God, so clearly.
As the essay concludes, and it may serve us to grok:

I suspect Pope Francis really doesn’t care if the U.S. Congress honors him this way.  Kind of like Jesus probably wasn’t hoping to be honored by Pilate.

Jesus was not run by the world, the flesh, the devil - rather he did what he saw the Father doing.
We are called to follow Jesus: to let-go of being run by the world, the flesh, the devil - rather to do what we see the Father doing.

And, of course, when we also do what we see the Father doing,
we also inevitably and quickly come up-against the domination systems of our world
- inside us, in our lives, and in our world.

In case we haven't noticed lately, domination systems do Not Mess Around.
Empires - in any arena (religious, economic, political, even social and familial) - do not become 'king of the mountain' through 'live and let live', they get there by utilizing 'the cross', early and often.

Empires of this world are playing the physically-focused game, and playing it to WIN.
Jesus was playing a completely different game, a spiritually-focused game, and playing it to WIN.
Jesus called this game, this focus, this spiritual-reality which he spoke of incessantly, the Reign of God (the Kingdom of Heaven).

Jesus was crystal-clear that we cannot play both games, we can not serve two Masters.
Jesus operated through the Reign of God, always - it was the secret to his spiritual success
and it cost him everything in this world: followers, friends, and eventually his life.

He called us to do nothing less.
For example:

25And great crowds went with him; and, turning round, he said to them, 26If any man come to me, and shall not hate his own father and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, yea, and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple; 27and whoever does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
 - Luke 14 (Jesus was hard-core, this whole chapter is an inspiration in living the spirit-focused life)

We have the gospels, which spell this out very clearly.
But, it is hard to remember and engage this reality, as we are steeped in our Christian-culture overlay, through which we live, read the gospels, expereince God.

We die daily.
The the world, the flesh, the devil have less and less hold on us
- inside us, in our lives, and in our world.

We live and move and have our being in God.
This becomes more and more our conscious reality, and we live as spirit in this world, in Glory.
Bringing more and more Light - inside us, in our lives, and in our world.

Amen, Wendy

The Word of God: from Glory to Glory!

From my perspective,
the bible is not many things we have been led to believe:

• The bible is not God. 
• Reading the bible is not a substitute for Adventuring with the living God.
• The bible is not the point... it is a tool.

The bible is this and so much more:

• The bible is a message of Hope and Glory, spiritually, and in this world.
• Reading the bible is an encouragement for us, seeing so many before us falling down and getting up.
• The bible a signpost to Choose Life... Abundantly!

I believe that the main point of the bible
is to point us to a real, intimate, 2-way relationship with the Living God,
and from there with each other, and our world.

I believe we are generally confused in modern chrsitian culture about the WORD of God:

• The 'Word of God' is not the bible.
• When the bible speaks of the 'Word of God' it means the actual present-time Expression (and therefore Presence and Blessing) of the Living God (which Jesus IS one expression of)
• The 'Word of God' is Not some vestigial words in a book...

If interested: Please check out this Bible search of 'Word of God' here

God did not get laryngitis 2,ooo years ago!
God did not then send a book to replace our personal and unique communication and adventure with the Living God!

The point of the bible is NOT reading about someone else, a long time ago, doing the spiritual equivalent of...

• having the best relationship of their lives, 
• the best dinner of their lives, 
• the best sex of their lives, 
• the best dance of their lives,  
• the most intimate conversation of their lives, 
• the most sublime and Real expereince of their lives...

Rather,
The bible inspires US to DO IT!!!!
The bible points to our Real and Present Relationship with God, inspires us:

To spiritually:

• allow God to explode/implode within and around us.
• allow God to open the eyes and ears of our Soul to spiritual reality / Christ Consciousness /  the Kingdom (Reign) of God/Heaven...
• allow God to lead us personally, and to fill us uniquely in our own Soul's Light, Love, Truth, Life, Way...

To spiritually:

• step into the direct experience of God ourselves
• Live that Adventure,
• Die and resurrect spiritually (again and again) along the unique road that we are led....

as So many before us have, from Glory to Glory!

The bible inspires US to DO IT!!!!

In this way, we engage our Unique Process of Soul Maturity, Teleios 

Realizing who we are in God, into our body, life, world...

.
God's Word creates the world, creates us, creates all possibility.

Living with, in and through the Word of the Living God:
God's Being, God's Doing, God's Presence, God's Gifts
feed us, clothe us and set us free.

If we are not getting IN this Blessing;
If we are not BEing and DOing in Alignment with God;
by being with, in and though the Word of the Living God in each step of our lives...

If we are not getting IN this Blessing;
We are squandering our life - and it isn't the fun kind of squandering!

.
If INSIDE OURSELVES, spiritually:

• we are less-than Enthusiastic, less than Hope-Full, less than Free...
• we are not living in Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Gentleness, Humility, Kindness, Self-Mastery, Faith...

There is a Reason for This!
This is a sign that we are are not in alignment with God, we are missing the mark, missing the boat, missing the Blessing of what Life Can Be.

.
When we are in alignment with God, spiritually:

• The Fruit of the Spirit is the fruition, the blossoming, the mature expression of the Life of God with, in and through us!
• We walk and talk and are filled-with the expereince of the Living God: we Live Life Abundantly! 

.
When we choose not to do this:

• Our life can feel like trying to drive with an empty gas-tank, without a map or cell phone or money, in a scary part of town at night... 
• It is no surprise that our expereince of life can become merely "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short."

.
Therefore, I exhort us all to : Choose Life, Real Life, the Life we are made-for, the Life that is waiting for us:
Living spiritually with, in and through the present-time, personal Word of the Living God,
a juicy Relationship with God, from Glory to Glory!

thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it.
- http://biblehub.com/isaiah/30-21.htm

.

How do I discern in my relstionships? Outreach, Play-friends, Friends, Intimates

For me,
it is really useful to be clear about who people are to me.

Are they a friend, with whom I can give and take, share and receive-from easily, naturally, comfortably - am I filled-up after relating with them?

or are they 'outreach' - someone to whom I mostly give, offer support; where I feed but I am not well fed?

With a little paying attention to my interactions, how I feel during and after, looking at trends in the relationship -
I can usually know if they tend to fall into the category of friend or outreach.
And, for me, it is really useful to keep this in mind when relating - it keeps everyone happier - espeically me!

.
SO then Friends

are they play-friends, with whom I enjoy most in groups and doing stuff?

or are they regular friends, with whom I enjoy sharing active and also one-on-one time, sometimes?

or are they intimates, with whom I really am fed in one-on-one encounters, who I can cunt-on: I can call in the middle of the night if my life hits the shit, who love me no matter what and I love no matter what - and all that is right on the table, we KNOW each other: the good, the bad and the ugly.

.
So then Intimates

I nurture an inner circle of friends, which I call intimates, what we share is an overlapping cloud of experiences, including:
Freedom – aim to be our unadulterated selves with each other and for each other
Support – willingness to ask for and receive, as well as give (as much as is comfortable), support on any level – emotional, relational, physical, spiritual, etc
Love - love and be loved unabashedly – includes affinity, reality and communication
Juiciness – each enjoying the relationship and blessed to be in it
Consistency – we stay in touch, enjoy being together, our friendship is real and realized
Trust...

I fall short a lot, I notice as I read through this. It isn’t always easy or possible, but this is the general area I am shooting for with my intimates.  Each of my intimate relationships is unique and constantly in flux.  We aren’t always firing on all the cylinders above.  But my intention is toward these areas, and I trust theirs is too.

I call these people intimates, Jess Lair called his closest friends mutual need relationships, I align with him pretty well, so I will share about him.

Back at the end of college, ’87, I read Jess Lair’s “Sex: If I didn’t Laugh, I’d Cry” – which might be my favorite of his books.  He was really hot on “Mutual Need Relationships” – he talked about them in several of his books.  He used the term in a similar way to my use of intimates. I seem to remember he said it was healthy to have more than one, but hard to handle more than 4 or 5.  In this book, he defined them in a way that stuck with me:

1) their faces light up when they see you
2) they have no program for your improvement
3) they like you the way we are, which is similar but a different flavor than above
4) they joy in your presence, just sit there having a good time, don’t need to think of anything to talk about
5) they look you up, if you don’t look them up
6) they stick with you, if you move away, or get in trouble or do some unpopular thing

I am a Big fan of Intimates, however defined, and whatever we call them ; )

.
SO then how do I handle Outreach

This part takes being tuned-into my spiritual information -
Where is God leading me? What is the healthy choice from a spiritual perspective?

One big issue is that i am (most of us are) so thrown-to and programmed to help, heal, fix, save.
But, IMO, often our helping doesn't help, it just gets in the way of what the person and God are co-creating.
Meanwhile all this helping diverts me from where i am led to actually serve, and in my OWN healing - which is OH SO FUN to Avoid - by allegedly helping others.

Therefore, from my experience, it really helps to develop the capacity to listen when there is a voice behind me saying' this is the way, walk ye in it'.
It really helps to develop the willingness to be still and KNOW… God, myself and my unique path in every moment.

This is a process of spiritual discipline which serves all of my life, and Life…
This process serves all my relationships - but especially, for me, with outreach relationships.
And the best way to figure when to engage and when to not engage; when to assist and not assist.

It eventually becomes really easy-peasy to get info about any particular person or encounter.
But, for most of us, developing this tool takes a commitment and time...

And, of course part of learning this discipline of acting from spiritual rather than physical information,
is continually letting go of all the disturbance in my own space, the programming, the pain, the habits which keep me in the old tracks -
and really do make it possible to turn the Titanic, not just re-arrange deck chairs.

THIS makes a HUGE difference in who we BE in the world, the most important thing we can ever DO for those around us, IMO!

Without this, it is the blind leading the blind, best we can, with our well-meaning physical info (thoughts, beliefs, religious programming, feelings, feedback, results…)

With our spiritual leading, we can find balance in our lives, our wellness and our relationships.

best,
Wendy

The Good News is we can Experience the Kingdom of God Now

I believe Jesus' main message, the Kingdom (Reign) of God (Heaven),
IS the Mystical expereince of Spiritual Reality Now,
some call this God-Consciousness.

An example, one of Many verses which I find relevant to this conversation:
Luke 8:1 – 21:

Jesus is speaking about our actual experience-Word of the Living God,
from the same Father with whom Jesus was in constant communion,
whose Light is experienced when we see Jesus.

Jesus gives a parable of how mystical experience comes to us,
and how most of us do not let this in or let this thrive in us.

But for those of us who do allow our expereince of God to grow: the fruit is Abundant!
And, the more we behold and reflect the Word/Light/Glory of the Lord, the more we receive.

Lastly, those who hear God and do God's will that we directly hear, like Jesus did,
we are Jesus Family (he is the first of many brethren)

This is my truth:
The Good News is we can Experience the Kingdom of God Now.
This IS our mystical experience,
YMMV.

Blessings, Wendy

.
And it came to pass thereafter,
that he was going through
every city and village,
preaching and proclaiming
good news of the reign of God…

And a great multitude
having gathered,
and those who from city and city
were coming unto him,
he spake by a simile:
'The sower went forth
to sow his seed,
and in his sowing
some indeed fell beside the way,
and it was trodden down,
and the fowls of the heaven
did devour it.
'And other fell upon the rock,
and having sprung up,
it did wither,
through not having moisture.
'And other fell amidst the thorns,
and the thorns
having sprung up with it,
did choke it.
'And other fell upon the good ground,
and having sprung up,
it made fruit an hundred fold.'
These things saying,
he was calling,
'He having ears to hear --
let him hear.'

And his disciples
were questioning him, saying,
'What may this simile be?'
And he said,
'To you it hath been given
to know the secrets
of the reign of God,
and to the rest in similes;
that seeing they may not see,
and hearing
they may not understand.
'And this is the simile:
The seed is the word of God,
and those beside the way
are those hearing,
then cometh the Devil,
and taketh up the word
from their heart,
lest having believed,
they may be saved.
'And those upon the rock:
They who, when they may hear,
with joy do receive the word,
and these have no root,
who for a time believe,
and in time of temptation fall away.
'And that which fell to the thorns:
These are they who have heard,
and going forth,
through anxieties, and riches,
and pleasures of life,
are choked,
and bear not to completion.
And that in the good ground:
These are they,
who in an upright and good heart,
having heard the word,
do retain it,
and bear fruit in continuance.

And no one having lighted a lamp
doth cover it with a vessel,
or under a couch doth put it;
but upon a lamp-stand
he doth put it,
that those coming in
may see the light,
for nothing is secret,
that shall not become manifest,
nor hid, that shall not be known,
and become manifest.
'See, therefore, how ye hear,
for whoever may have,
there shall be given to him,
and whoever may not have,
also what he seemeth to have,
shall be taken from him.'

And there came unto him
his mother and brethren,
and they were not able to get to him
because of the multitude,
and it was told him, saying,
'Thy mother and thy brethren
do stand without,
wishing to see thee;'
and he answering said unto them,
'My mother and my brethren!
they are those who the word of God
are hearing, and doing.'
- Luke 8:1 – 21 (YLT)

Why isn't everyone a Mystic?

So-called mystical experiences happen to all of us,
all the time;
regardless of our intellectual belief structures.

Some of us have ears to hear, and eyes to see...
we are open to feeling and knowing our direct spiritual experience.
Others of us have unknowingly closed the doors to our mystical senses. 
These doors can be re-opened, if we choose.

There are lots of reasons that we are blocked:
intellectual reasons, emotional reasons;
these can't get us to our spiritual expereince, but, they can block us!

There are lots of reasons we get and stay blocked:
choice because of trauma, invalidation, pain, fear...

The picture I like for this:
the sun is always shining;
sometimes it is night (our back is turned);
sometimes the clouds block the sun (our expereince of the Light is muffled, distorted, unclear). 
None of this is God's doing (none of this is the sun's fault).

I know this sounds like blaming those who don't have these experiences,
but this is just how it is, IMO.

There are pretty direct ways to spiritually say yes to God,
and when we say yes and stay with yes,
our direct spiritual expereince of the Living God changes. 

I have trained mystics for the last 8 years,
working with hundreds of folks,
and I see it happen over and over.

Most of us just don't spiritually practice being still,
and knowing the subtle whisper presence of God.

For most of us it takes courage, it takes willingness, and it takes tenacity...
And, It helps most people, especially at first, to be with a group, intentionally focused and open.

Basically, Everyone who can walk, can dance - to varying degrees.
Basically, Everyone who can talk, can sing - to varying degrees.
Basically, Everyone is spirit, a part of God, and it is our birthright to enjoy our unique mystical experience, our spiritual senses - to varying degrees.

Blessings on your unique path Home,
Wendy

PS - what I rarely say: 

I share soul tools/levers and places to stand within; wisdom, healing & practices... 

that Really help to make this process SO much easier, more accessible.  

I offer 1 - 1 and Group work,  I offer workshops if you wanna come play - your first one is free.

I hope to hear from you:  LifeAbundantly@WendyRWolf.com 

:) w

Is Jesus the Only Way?

Is Jesus the Only Way?
Yes and No.

I believe:
the WAY Jesus walked,
the WAY he was / IS / embodied God,
the WAY he showed us to spiritually live in a body in this world...

IS the WAY:
to expereince Christ-Consciousness,
to experience Living in the Kingdom (Reign of Heaven),
to expereince the Way of Light, in action in this world...
to BE Light / Truth / Love / Life in this world.

I am not talking about what he did on the physical.
I am talking about who he was being in the Light,
while he was walking around.

This inner alignment with Source,
this living IN the Kingdom (Reign) of Heaven (spiritual reality),
While here on earth (physical reality),
IS the WAY.

He showed us how to BE it.
Meanwhile, Others walk / shine / BE that way in the world, as well.
Everyone who shines the Light, they ALL help all of us
to BE in the Light, to Be Light, as well.

(This is regardless of our intellectual beliefs, our religious programming.
Intellectualizing and intellectual beliefs about God and the Way
are mostly a distraction from
Light / Truth / Love / Life / Experience of the Divine / Walking our Unique Path in God!)

So, I would say:

• Spiritually, Yes!  Jesus IS (His Being-ness shows us, he embodied) the Only way that any of us can consciously enjoy the Abba experience of God, in this world.  And others show us this same Christ-Consciousness, Living in the Kingdom (Reign of Heaven), the Way of Light, in action in this world, as well.
• Physically, No!  There are many who can help us on our unique path / way. There are as many useful ways up the mountain, as one can count (some more popular, easier, or more straightforward, than others ;)

I hope you are enjoying your unique path!
Wendy

Too Much Spirituality?

In response to the question:

CAN THERE BE TOO MUCH SPIRITUALITY?

Spirituality is a word so broad, that it seems to have no meaning; unless it is the being and practice of consciously connecting with and manifesting spirit.

"beholding and reflecting, as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord"

We already ARE spirit, we are already seated in Heavenly places with Christ -  there is no where to strive to or from. 
Our practice is only to encourage us, invite us, to allow this reality into our conscious expereince within and around us: to uncover Light/Love/Truth/Way/God in ourselves and in our world... to see and to be Light - to be filled with God within as well as invite God to Shine in our world.

We do this by focusing spiritually, not physically - and there cannot be too much spiritual focus:
Being spirit in my body and acting powerfully from that place is the practice and the Being.

Meanwhile, much of what people consider spirituality, is actually the body trying to understand, making efforts to shift and change to obtain some physical or allegedly spiritual result.

There is no end to our desire, physically; including the desire for 'spiritual' wisdom, power, results. 
THIS is where we are tempted to imbalance - with physical desire, even too much is never enough! 

Therefore, when my body is in charge of my spiritual expereince, practice and goals - I am 'tryin to get to heaven on the end of a kite'.

Most of us start in this physically-focused place in our spiritual walk. 
But, if we allow it, God moves us to a move spiritually-focused place, in which we live in more balance, freedom and love;  while we learn our lessons, create/heal, serve and enjoy our unique journey here on earth.

Blessings, Wendy

Shifting Consciousness, Spiritually

When Problems/challenges arise,
it helps me to remember that God is SO Big,
even when my vision and resources feel So small, sometimes.

When I try to fix my life, or figure out who I should be, or what I have to do - I often stay stuck.
But, when I spiritually put on the Mind of Christ: spiritual perspective, Christ Consciousness;
Everything Shifts inside me and in my world, naturally, effortlessly.

When I Try to be Good, to Act Loving, to Perform as I believe Jesus would have:
I get off track - Because I am being physically focused, no matter how 'holy' my intention.
When I focus spiritually, bring my spiritual eyes back on Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith, everything changes in and for me.

I am Not speaking of focusing on the Jesus of Religion, of Christian Faith and Practice, of Ethics or the Bible.
I am Not relying on who I think Jesus was or what I think he did when he walked the earth...
I AM speaking rather of who Jesus is Now, as spirit:  always spiritually present with us, available to each of us now, in intimate relationship, in spiritual communion.

From this spiritual perspective, 
problems/challenges are an invitation
back to my spiritual center: alignment with God and my unique path.

My challenge is:

• Really Allowing God's abundant, limitless blessings IN, and
• Allowing my eyes to shift from:
• flesh: my body, my needs, my shortfalls/brokenness and my myopia;
• to spirit: living as Jesus, as God's Way, Truth, Love, Life, Light manifest in our world.

SO many of us Mean to do all this, Think about this, Sometimes feel this and sometimes don't.
We hunger for God; to experience God's Blessings, Fruit, Leading and Manifestation in our lives, and in our world.
And many of us struggle with HOW to do this.  

THIS is the focus of my ministry. Please see here for info.

This post was inspired as a followup response to someone who is struggling, after they responded to the previous post.

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Conflict, Suffering, Change: The only way out is through... the Cross

My favorite Christian Minister, Dr Bruce Morgan, used to quote often:

The apparently unendurable conflict is proof of the rightness of your life.
A life without inner contradiction is either only half a life or else a life in the Beyond, which is destined only for angels.
- CG Jung in a Letter - here is the whole quote 

My experience has been:
When I keep coming before God with my questions, my unresolved yearnings, my pain...

Letting go of who I think I am in God, 

who I think God is, 

and where I think God has me to go and to do…

THEN I allow a Break-through to a new Reality,
in which I experience my wholeness, empowerment and peace in God, again.

I have found, when things become untenable, there is something
- within me, to break,
- within my inertial trajectory, to change.

When I am willing 

- to die, and

- allow God to resurrect me,
miracles happen.

Until then, I suffer, suffer, suffer.

The conflict, and even the suffering, 

is a Gift from Life, from God.

It grabs me by the neck, 

and Forces me to Pay Attention, 

to Shift;

When I Never, Never, Never 

would have shifted/ changed/ let-go, otherwise.

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I want to come to my unique wholeness / maturity in God. 

Engage my Unique Process of Soul Maturity, Teleios.   

Realize who I am in God, in my body, life, world...

I ALSO enjoy being 

comfortable in myself, 

accepted in my world, and 

flowing with unconscious inertia in my life...

Painful conflict within myself, 

and in my outer expereince, 

is Life's, God's Dark Gift to me:

• to help me choose, again and again,
• to take the tough road, the unimaginable road,
• to choose the Way that leads me outside "the camp" ... and into the "heart of God".

Blessings on your unique journey in God
- wendy

Follow-up to this conversation here.

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Supporting Your Unique Spiritual Path

My ministry boils down to 2 things:
Inner Tools and Spiritual Companionship.

Inner Tools

I struggled for decades in my life, in my walk with God.
I savored spiritual expereince, feeling, guidance within... Sometimes.
Other-times, I felt spiritually obdurate, closed, un-moored, cast-out, in Darkness and pain.

I tried many different churches, fellowships, worship experiences, and meditation techniques -
nothing was right for me, nothing Worked consistently.
Where was the Rock on which to build my life, in practice not in theory?

I FINALLY allowed God to lead me to learn and practice Inner Tools
that have put my relationship with God on a strong, reliable foundation.

The promises of the bible, of Christianity, became real for me.
I wrote a blog explicating this experience a few years ago, called I have found what I'm looking for

I became so excited about the tools, my spiritual expereince and fruit, spiritual deepening and healing...
I learned, healed and developed spiritually, so I can empower groups and individuals intheir connection with God.
This was a very challenging process - and completely worth the journey!

Spiritual Companionship

When life gets intense for me, problems/challenges loom: it helps me to ask a buddy to meditate with me.
I know you can totally do it yourself, as I can - but it is harder
If you want to go before the Lord together;
allowing healing, blessing, filling, letting-go... while focused on Jesus; to help get out of a 'rut', ping me.

Blessings on your Unique Path!
-Wendy

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Patriotism as Idolatry

Man has always been able to desire to build a heaven. But it seems he has never been able to admit that he didn’t pull it off. So he keeps insisting that he did pull it off. And that is really what patriotism is all about. It is the insistence that what we have done is sacred. It is that transference of allegiance from what God did in creating the whole wide world to what we have done with (or to) a little sliver of it. Patriotism is immoral. Flying a national flag—any national flag—in a church house is a symbol of idolatry. Singing ‘God Bless America’ in a Christian service is blasphemy. Patriotism is immoral because it is a violation of the First Commandment. - Will D. Campbell

From my perspective,
the Kingdom (Reign) of God (Heaven) is within us.
And the the will of God for this world comes from Heaven, not from the world/flesh (politics, etc) - no matter how ideal they may seem, or have the alleged 'potential' to be.

Our Way, Truth, Light, Life is spiritual-focused (of the spirit, as Jesus embodied, and showed us to Be, implored us to Do)
not physical-focused (of the flesh), as we are thrown to be, trained by society to do.

Like Jesus:
when the Kingdom of God / spiritual-focus, is the ground of our being,
we come to spiritual maturity/manifesting who we really are: children of God.
We shift and the world shifts, as well.

For all creation, gazing eagerly as if with outstretched neck, is waiting and longing to see the manifestation of the sons of God.

So often we want to put the cart before the horse.
With so much potential and glory, unrealized;
we celebrate the little sliver we are able to pull ourselves out of the mud, 
making idols of our paltry creations.

Meanwhile, hope you all enjoy a beautiful day, and a fireworks night
: ) Wendy

The 'curse' becomes Blessing

Every 'curse' that affects me
is one to which I spiritually consent.

I have learned to be glad of these challenges,
because without them,
I would Never have gotten where I am,
or where i am going.

The 'curse' becomes Blessing
as it 'encourages' me back into alignment,
with myself, my path, my God.

May we all find our Way, Truth, Life,
in our own unique alignment,
as quickly and comfortably as possible.

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All Manner of Things Shall be Well

On a forest road, off of Mountain Loop Highway:
my favorite Mountain area near Seattle,
a quick and easy connection to Momma Nature,

I got stuck in the snow, in my friend's RV.

I had been on this road, near its singular entrance, for 27 hours,
and had only seen one truck come and go.
I was now near the top of one of 3 branches of this road.

I tried many ways to release the RV from the snow:
digging,
rocking,
wedging branches behind the tires
… repeat.

The snow was like a sno-cone,
packed down hard after much thawing, freezing,
so that my big-self on my little-feet barely sank-in.

Which was convenient for walking around,
not so convenient for getting the RV free.
I grumbled to myself: 'Darn this front-wheel-drive RV, with it's weight is over the back tires!'

After the RV was not immediately released,
I had offered a quick prayer, that I would shift out of this with ease,
and set restfully to work, without haste, without fear, without concern:

All will be well...
All is well.

This is just an adventure, of many adventures.

I met my friend David, about a dozen years ago, in Baja.
He loved to say at the time:
Adventures start when breakdowns occur.

Of course, he is right. 
And what a blessing to stand in that place.  A place of serendipity.
God breaks-through and breathes new direction into my well-laid plans.

It is a joy to have the luxury of time.

So that a breakdown has the time/space/energy to be a joy, a blessing;
not a time to hold my breath while I am knocked off-kilter.

Usually my life feels like there is never! enough! time/space/energy,
and of course that is tied directly to money.
Breakdowns usually seem to mean a cascade of frustrations and disappointments.

In my life, I think this is one of the most undermining cycles that I get caught in:
the lie that there is not enough time/space/energy/money.
and that the answer is to rush! to try! harder!

As if scurrying and effort actually get me anywhere...

It was Wednesday afternoon in late-May, the least traveled time of the week in a National Forest,
at a time of year unpopular for summer-activities, as well as waning interest in winter-activities.
It crossed my mind that another vehicle may not come way up here, until the weekend.

I had plenty of supplies, so my only real concern was the cold,
for the RV was resting on and surrounded by snow.
I knew I could handle the cold, with the resources I had... possibly even comfortably.

Or... I could walk the many miles down to the 'main' road,
although it would be near the edge of my endurance.

So, I went about, doing what I could do,
working/playing with snow and the RV:
in peace, in contentment, in play and in comfortable challenge.

And a half-hour after I got stuck,
long before I was out of schemes to disengage myself from this rut I got myself into,
up the road came a truck.

I was pleasantly surprised!
And as I walked up to the truck and the party unfolded before me,
I knew that God was taking amazing care of me.

This 4-wheel drive truck had a sweet man driving,
with his wife sitting beside,
with two dogs romping out of the back,
and next a babe-in-arms emerging out of the cab.

I knew I was ok.
Even if it had been 4 guys in the truck, drinking beer and toting rifles (a more likely option out here).
I knew I was ok.

But my body/thoughts/emotions were a lot happier with this rescue party
I now found frolicking around me.
A family who lived 50 miles away, and hadn't been up here in months...

The guy had a four wheel drive,
a heavy-duty web that easily hooked to our vehicles,
and he did all the work.

It took no time,
and when we were done,
he would take no money, or food, or anything I offered.

It was a joy though, to repay the debt,
when (you can't make this stuff up) they got stuck in the same snow I did,
and I was right there to pull them out. 

Ha. God is Good.

God is so good to me! and
I rest in the gentle arms of Momma Nature.
This is always true, but often I don't notice.

Jesus said: 'when your eye is single, your whole body also is full of light.'
One of the things I love about being out in Momma Nature:
life is so simple, uncomplicated, singular, of human-scale.

I sleep.  I eat.  I do nothing.
I read.  I write.  I play with quotes.
I hike.  I play in a creek.  I lay on stones in the sun.

I daydream.  I vision.  I meditate.
I play with Spirit.  I savor Momma Nature.
I just be, I am.

In day-to-day life, there are so many layers of challenge.

As we all do, I have so many piles of to-dos,
so many people/places/things to manage.
I am a good juggler and yet, life is intense.

I enjoy being in Momma Nature
where I can let that all stand aside:
challenges are straightforward, uncomplicated, solvable.

In this scenario,
a need for a bit more friction under the front wheels,
or a little help from a gracious stranger.

Less then an hour after getting stuck in the snow,
I was off on a hike up the road through which I couldn't drive.
With my snowshoes on my back.

Slipping snowshoes on and off, as needed;
I climbed the gorgeous, increasingly snow-packed road for an hour,
all the way to its amazing end.

Enjoying the view.
Savoring the challenge.
Knowing more deeply that God is with me.

Knowing All is Well…
All Manner of Things Shall be Well.

When have you known God was taking really sweet care of you?  How has that changed your life?

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God leads us into And out of church

My experience is:
God leads us into And out of church:
churches, structures, organizations, biblical understandings, spiritual paths...

- to serve
and to be served

- to learn
and to teach

- to be nurtured
and to nurture

- to confront
and the be confronted

- to heal
and to be healed

- to be empowered and validated
and to empower and validate others

- to open to God
to be opened to God...

What matters is that we be free in God, to be ourselves
and allow God to keep us free to follow our path in God
on and off the well-traveled, accepted ways...

I find that It helps to have friends in God,
Especially when called outside the organized church.

'Picking up the cross' always ends up looking so unexpected, unacceptable... I find...
I know with my life how weird and painful that can be - and how much fruit there is!

You know this too!
But i find it helps to mirror this for each other.
We remind each other that the cost of following Jesus is TOTALLY worth it!

The Death of all we are, and all we thought we would ever be - over and over and over -
Always ends in Sublime Resurrection.

So let's Hold On through the dark, and through the light.
Follow no matter what, no matter where.

Jesus leads us.
This is what being a disciple of Christ IS.

in life, wendy
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Show me God!

Question: If God is real, why won't God prove it?

My Answer: This perspective helps me make sense of God's seeming hiding:

"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

God is Spirit.

We can see, feel, hear, taste, touch, know PHYSICALLY - we can reason and we can apply the scientific method, but we will never find God physically - with our physical senses, minds, reason, emotions - because God is Spirit.

We can see, feel, hear, taste, touch, know SPIRITUALLY - we can open to our spiritual information, expereince, gifts and fruit. It is HERE that we find God, spiritually.  We also find who we Really are and what we are called to be and do, spiritually.  We find everything we need to be free, whole and grow into our maturity in God, spiritually.  We can live in the Kingdom of God NOW, spiritually.

We can't do ANY of this physically.  God is Real, and our life in God is Real - but none of this is consciously available to those who refuse to look beyond the physical, into our direct, unique spiritual expereince.

The Bible: an out-dated pile of contradictions?

Some say the bible is just an out-dated pile of contradictions,
from which people pick and choose their beliefs.
I think they are right
... but this is not the Whole story.

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From my perspective:
The bible is not the Way.
Knowing Jesus is the Way.
Listening to the Holy Spirit is the Way.
Following our Unique Soul Path in God is the Way.

I believe the whole bible points to doing this:
having our own, real, present-time relationship with the Living God.

I believe Jesus in the bible points to doing this as central to our lives, as his followers:
living in the Kingdom of God (in the Reign of God).

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From my expereince:
When we are operating spiritually, in the Reign of God,
the bible makes incredible sense, and
the paradoxes are tripping points, signposts to Truth: don't miss this!

When we are IN Christ,
the bible is beautiful encouragement to be who we are in Christ, to listen to him, to know him, to follow him, to do what he did in the world;
in our own unique way, in present time, spiritually.

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From my expereince:
When we are focused and operating physically (in the flesh) -
the bible is a pile of contradictions.

How do we decide
which way to go?
which directive to follow?
what to believe?

When operating IN and through the flesh,
we are experiencing the bible through emotions, intellect, ego, habits, reactions, programming, tradition, borrowed truth, dogma...
our perception of God's Way, Truth, Life and Word for us
is colored by 'the world, the flesh, and the devil' (as they used to say more conservative circles : )
and we pick and choose what we like, from there, from our physical perspective.

Many utilize the bible as a tool for self-justification of already present perspectives, beliefs, alliances.
And, really, what else can we possibly do if we only have physical perspective?!

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From my perspective:
Those who see the bible as contradictory and way out of present-time experiences from the Past
... are absolutely right... from a physical perspective.

And those who see the bible as an
Invitation to Life Abundantly in Delicious Relationship with God,
Support for the Way of following Christ, and
Validation of the fruit of this unparalleled sacred expereince
... are absolutely right... from a spiritual perspective.

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Thanks for reading my perspective.
May we all live in Peace,
Wendy
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Fixing our eyes on Jesus, not on our sin

let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith  - Hebrews 12

I am not worried about your sin, or my sin, or anyone else's sin... and I don't believe God is either.

My expereince in my ministry is, folks do their spiritual work: actively deepening in God and letting God heal them...  and they start dropping sin/addictions like crazy:  sugar, cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, sex, caffeine... One day, they just show up and say: "I don't need, want or enjoy this anymore," Then we work with the energy and 'demons' associated with the issue, and they drop it and they are free.  I watch this happen over and over.

It isn't about working with me, I am just blessed to watch.
It is about fixing "our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith."
It is about allowing God to Fill us with Blessings and Grace and Mercy and Fruit, 
and allowing God to wash away So Much Pain and Fear and Striving and Doubt and Lies.

From my perspective, a focus on SIN is a stumbling block, there are many wisdom warnings about this:
What we resist, persists.
What we run from, pursues us.
What we focus on, we become.
What we give our attention to, grows.

My favorite Christian minister, who helped pulled me through years of challenges with his teachings, Dr Bruce Morgan; used to say:
"enjoy your sin as long as you can, because it will fall away before you know it" 
something like that... I thought he was quoting someone like Luther, but I can't find it - I found this quote instead, and with this I will close:

Be a sinner and sin boldly,  but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly, for he is victorious over sin, death, and the world. As long as we are here [in this world]  we have to sin. This life is not the dwelling place of righteousness,  but, as Peter says,  we look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. It is enough that by the riches of God’s glory we have come to know the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world.  No sin will separate us from the Lamb, even though we commit fornication and murder a thousand times a day. Do you think that the purchase price that was paid for the redemption of our sins by so great a Lamb is too small? Pray boldly—you too are a mighty sinner.  - Martin Luther

Out of the Box: GOD alone!

Face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire Jehovah spoke with you (I stood between Jehovah and you at that time, to declare to you the word of Jehovah; for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up to the mountain) - Deuteronomy 5: 4-5 (precursor to the "10 commandments") .

This 'trick' of getting a mediator between ourselves and God is a very Old Game.

We are not alone in avoiding God, in wanting someone else to stand between us and God.  The FIRE is HOT.  Going 'up' the mountain can be treacherous!

It is a common mis-step, from my perspective, but it is lethal to our spiritual growth. We must allow ourselves and others to risk relying upon the living God.

It is important to know the bible – some of God’s interactions and revelations to God’s servants are very instructive to us!  But I believe that the bible points us to God, and the so-called word of God (the bible) is not the *Word of God*... The Word of God is the Living God speaking to us directly here and now.

The bible is not the Word of God. I did a bible study on all the instances of Word of God in the New Testament (rather easy in the computer age) and I became convinced this is true. Go ahead and do it yourself. Notice what you read in context, and keep in mind the only 'bible' they had at the time, Christians now call the Old Testament.

I believe modern Christianity has made an idol of a book, and this trips us in our deepening in God. Instead of SPIRITUALLY looking unto God, instead of fixing our  spiritual "eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” we are told to PHYSICALLY use our intellect to read a paradoxical book.  From my experience this Does Not Work if we want to be disciples of Christ, only if we want to be disciples of Christianity.

The BOOK tells us to go to God - if we want to listen to the book, how about we GO TO GOD?

Does Satan, and the world, and the flesh try to snare us? Absolutely.  But the bottom line, IMO/E is that Jesus says “my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” and I believe him! Absolutely.

Do we have to grow up into this knowing, be trained by God? Absolutely.  Is this learning and growing obligatory in the Christian life? Absolutely.  Any individual who does not do this ends up as a big fat sheep, a Christian who lives an entire life and never leaves Kindergarten.

Churches of almost every stripe exacerbate our laziness and rebellion by telling us we don’t have to go to the living God, that there is some other way. But there IS NO OTHER WAY to be a disciple of Christ, to live the unique journey that is our call.

SO many say the way to know God is to read the bible. That occurs as dung. The bible is not God.  If we want to know God, we need to be still, and know God.

The bible is not God.  We are not called to a relationship with the bible. We are called to a relationship with the living God!  There is no other way to grow up in God than to go TO GOD and let God grow us up. No Other Way.

I believe Protestants went awry when they separated from Catholicism.  And the Catholic church went awry right near the start.  The Catholic church likes to say it is is/was built on scripture and tradition.  Protestants said – No – scripture alone.

I say they are all missing the mark! It is God Alone.  God Alone!  God alone can not only save us, but also keep us.

The bible is a tool God uses in our journey deeper into God. The bible is a tool God can use in many ways in our growing up in God. But it is only a tool and it doesn’t matter. In the end it is only a book and it is dangerous to allow it to become an idol!

Modern Christianity is so off the mark on this, IMO, that it is hard to even communicate about it, because it is so far from our programming about what Christianity IS.

May God teach us to look to God Alone.
Amen.
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Spiritually: Choose Life!

See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways ... I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days

Two points I would like to make about this amazing finale of Deuteronomy 30:

1)
Application of the wonderful Gift of our Free Will is the most important aspect of our life and creativity in our bodies and our lives.
My teacher often said something like this, and I am just starting to grok how wise were her words:

• Just Choose!
• You can't do it wrong.
• If you don't like the result: Choose Again, and keep choosing.
• Movement IS Healing: GO!

2)
We are spirit (souls), a part of God.
If we identify with merely the flesh we are 'lost at sea' in this world.
When we identify with Spirit- our Oneness with God, in God... our life, and our world, is transformed.

We are spirit and we have spiritual senses and abilities that go WAY beyond our physical senses and abilities.
This is foundational to most every word in the bible
and a key to understanding what God is saying to us over and over and over.

In the case of the quote above: GOD is Speaking, and saying the way of LIFE is to:

• Be in Loving Relationship with God
• Walk in God's Paths
• Listen to God's voice
• Cling to God.

We CANNOT do this as flesh,
we cannot do it with physical-focus;
that has no meaning.

Consider it: one cannot live with God, walk with God, Listen to God, Cling to God as a BODY!!!
The body can only pretend these things, desire these things, think about these things, have feelings about these things, doubt these things...
and follow rules and structures and teachings, as a child is trained to do.

This is not a spiritual life!
This is not the beautiful message of the prophets and mystics through the ages.
This is not the Good News that inspired spiritual evolution and revolution in Jesus day...

Rather, we must do these things as spirit, in our soul, with a spiritual-focus! 

As Jesus said:

God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

We must relate to God and follow God Spiritually - not physically!

Let us ask God to open our spiritual eyes more and more to read scripture from a spiritual point of view and it will become more and more Life-bringing to us.
Exponentially more importantly, let us ask God to open our spiritual ears more and more to hear God's voice directly... and respond directly.

We must relate to God and follow God Spiritually - not physically!
This is what we are asked to do, let us do it!
If you don't know how, find out.

as David and Paul said:

Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts

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First - hear/see God and God's leading
Second - follow, do not resist

We relate to God and follow God as Jesus did:
seeing what God is doing and doing that;
hearing what God is saying and saying that.

IF we want to relate to God and follow God, we Must do it Spiritually - not physically!
This is what we are asked to do, let us do it!
If you don't know how, find out.

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SO, I encourage us all, deeper and deeper, to:

Choose Life:
Get our free-will back, and learn to apply it.

Choose Life:
Align with God, behold and reflect the Glory of God, from right-relationship with God be filled and healed and matured by God.

Choose Life:
Open to our spiritual senses to See the Way, Hear God's voice, and then Act from there - Being the Hands and Feet of God in our world. 

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From this place, we can engage our Unique Process of Soul Maturity, Teleios 

Realizing who we are in God, into our body, life, world...

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IF we want to Choose Life, we Must do it Spiritually - not physically!
This is what we are asked to do, let us do it!

If you don't know how, please find out.

It is the Pearl of Great Price. 

Blessings on you Journey!
Wendy
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Abundantly!

Often, when I see the title of this blog,
I sing this old song to myself,
which I used to utilize in my personal worship a lot in my late teens:

    Abundantly!

From mountains high, cool waters flow,
The singing breeze, green meadows grow;
Shine tall pine trees, blue sky above,
Are all expressions of my Lord’s love.

And this one God who made all these,
Is interested in you and me;
His greatest gift is to make us free,
New self, more life, abundantly.

God speaks, He acts, what He says He will,
His promises He will fulfill,
Through Christ His focused love appears,
To put at ease the life that fears.

Relationships to all He brings,
The solid feel inside me rings;
No phoney do I have to be,
For God, through Christ, accepts just me.

The dawning sun, a bright new light,
For folks to join, no need to fight;
Creation through variety
Displays God’s plan for unity.

And this one God who made all these,
Is interested in you and me;
His greatest gift is to make us free,
New self, more life, abundantly.

Law of the Spirit, Life, Grace

It is my understanding that one of the major conflicts within early Christianity, was the question of what to do regarding Judaism and the Law, basically:
- Do Gentiles have to become Jews?
- Do Christians have to follow the Law?

Some said Yes. Some said No.
When push came to shove, folks seemed to generally align in 2 camps:

Live Jewish and keep the Law as a prerequisite to being Christian
OR
Live according to the leading of Spirit in the Freedom of Christ - whether previously Jewish or not.

The watershed for this choice was seen starkly around circumcision:
- if you were non-Jewish, did you get circumcised?
- if you were Jewish, did you encourage non-Jewish believers to get circumcised?

Under pressure to deal with this issue, the (Jewish) Christian leaders realized that folks didn't have to become Jewish to follow Jesus, but they felt the need to add a few caveats for acceptable behavior from non-Jews, a compromise, if you will:

abstain from food polluted by idols,
from sexual immorality,
from the meat of strangled animals
and from blood

To see read this story for yourself, see Acts 15.

I don't know how much these decision-maker(s) were in the will of God to choose this path, or not. It seems to me this ruling was made from CONCEPTS/pictures/hooks of the most onerous, unacceptable and un-Jewish behavior; these became the guidelines for non-Jews... But whatever, that is what was decided.

Notice, these are the only rules the Jewish leadership asked the non-Jewish Christians to follow. This is important to note, IMO, in the context of modern Christianity:

• not all the Law,
• not the 10 commandments,
• just 4 rules...

BUT as experience clearly shows, from that day til this, there continues to be struggle within Christianity on this point: the Law. Most folks take some kind of middle ground... which i find sad.

Paul was a Major advocate for Freedom, Grace, Living by Spirit, not by Law; for ALL being welcome to live in Christ, not just Jewish people. I really appreciate the place that Paul evolved to about this question. A LOT of what he wrote touches on this issue, because his ministry was TO the non-Jews... that would be almost all Christians, these days!

When I was finally brought to an understanding of this, back in college, my reading of the NT letters, changed. It all made a lot more sense to me. For those not aware of this information, perhaps this distinction will be useful for you as well.

For example, the entire book of Galatians revolves on this issue.

And it contains one of my favorite verses in the bible:
Paul invests almost the whole book saying WHY we are free from the Law, to live by Spirit of Life, in Grace, and then says in chapter 5:1:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
Stand firm, then,
and do not let yourselves be burdened again
by a yoke of slavery.

From my perspective, and Paul makes clear - we have to CHOOSE:
live by LAW or live by SPIRIT;
as children or as mature, spiritual adults;
as slaves or as heirs...
CHOOSE!

Meanwhile, we CAN NOT live by the Law, Jesus made sure of it - that we had to be clear it is IMPOSSIBLE to do: letting us know it wasn't just about the outside, but also our inner experience.
Humanly, by the flesh/body living by the Law is ridiculously impossible!

On this point, I highly recommend the hilarious and insightful book by AJ Jacobs on this subject: 'The Year of Living Biblically' is about his quest to live the ultimate biblical life, to live under the Law. To follow every single rule in the Bible – as literally as possible.

So, we Must live by the Spirit...
BUT, from the flesh, from our physical point of view, we CAN NOT live by Spirit. It makes no sense to our intellect or our everyday experience, and it doesn't WORK to TRY or theorize about living as Spirit. Most Christians don't even have a useful concept about what living by Spirit MEANS.

TRYING from a physical perspective, to live a spiritual life, to live as as Christ lived, has been proven for at least 2,000 years, to not work.
I believe Chopra covers this untenable situation well in 'The Third Jesus', where he focuses on Jesus as the cosmic Christ who speaks to us who want to find God as a personal experience, to attain what some might call Grace, or God-consciousness.

SO, it is my strong opinion:
from a body-focused / flesh / intellectual perspective we cannot live by Law
... AND we cannot live by Grace.
What is to be done, then, to live as a disciple of Christ???

The church has tried to solve this paradox by pretending it doesn't exist.
Christianity has invested the last 2,000 years in trying to find some middle ground, to live by Law AND Grace, to live by Flesh AND Spirit.

From my perspective this is a ridiculous and offensive 

undermining of Jesus mighty gifts to us. 

This makes for a toothless spirituality, 

a domesticated Christianity, 

a relationship to/with Jesus that is shackled by earthbound concepts and mundane limitations.

Do I feel strongly about this? You BET!  

Because there is a spiritual LIFE beyond the necrophilia that is preached as Christianity every Sunday.

Jesus had little patience with folks who pointed always to the flesh and not to Spirit! 

 Jesus was ALL about the Kingdom of God, 

not the ways of people, religion, physical-focus; 

in the bible this often seen in Jesus interaction with the Pharisees.

If you want to see focus on the Law differently than we have been programmed about, falsely;
and let go of 'Jesus meek and mild' that we have been taught in Sunday school, I suggest doing a study on Jesus' relationship with the pharisees.  Here is one source: I recommend skipping all the commentary and going 2/3 down the page to the listed verses.

Jesus' answer to this paradox of Law and Spirit was very different from ours.
HE constantly pointed to living as spirit, in spiritual reality: the Kingdom (Reign) of God/Heaven.

Jesus did not trip on the flesh, he did not trip on the LAW:
he operated Spiritually and exhorted us to do the same!

Jesus incessant focus, his core message was 

The KINGDOM: the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God.

I believe the use of this translation ‘Kingdom’ diverts us from the truth with which Jesus was so committed to enlightening us.
I believe Young’s Literal Translation gives a much better picture for us about what he is pointing to. Let me give an example:

For Luke 17:20-21, the King James version, and most other translations, say something like this:

And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

But look how Young's Literal Translation translates the same verse:

And having been questioned by the Pharisees, when the reign of God doth come, he answered them, and said, 'The reign of God doth not come with observation; nor shall they say, Lo, here; or lo, there; for lo, the reign of God is within you.'

It is difficult to speak about the Kingdom/Reign of God - it is all too easy to be misunderstood.  Many believe we are ALREADY on the path of Life; but for most of us, the FRUIT in our life seems to say otherwise.

The WAY of the Kingdom/Reign of God, as Jesus lived and taught, 

goes through a Death of the body, the flesh and physical-focus; 

and Awakening to True, Abundant Life and spiritual focus. 

The FRUIT of this process is very clear, in the fruit we see: 

are we living the life of Christ in us?

Jesus invested most of his ministry as 'a finger pointing at the moon' on this subject of the Reign of Heaven, by utilizing parables.  

At the same time, he actually taught his disciples spiritually, to LIVE  and to ACT in the Reign of God: 

and they taught others, and the world caught on FIRE.  

But mostly we are left with the archeological remains of this fire 

- dry bones of The Way of Christ, with no LIFE in them.

Fortunately there are some with a spiritual perspective, and the Spirit of God is, of course, unstoppable.  

I have been blessed to find a path that serves me in this process and I have experienced this process watching and supporting many others.  

I pray that each of us does not STOP, 

until we each find our unique pathway to LIVING the Abundant Life that God has promised us; 

a life of ripening and spiritual fruition.

A life of engaging our Unique Process of Soul Maturity, Teleios 

Realizing who we are in God, into our body, life, world...

May we each leverage the Freedom that Jesus provides us, to live in Spirit an Abundantly Fruitful Life.  If you need assistance or resources, Ask and Receive.
Amen, Wendy

Want to read more, about the process of growing up - learning to walk spiritually?