Philosophy and Beliefs

Considering the experiences I have had in this incarnation (Intro, Engineering Your Spirituality, Appendix 3), God is in everything we look at and everything we touch. God is within every person, every animal, every “inanimate object.” God is not a person in a different geographic location, but an omnipresent energy, a consciousness that permeates everything and everyone.

We know that God is NOT an elderly, superhuman and fearful male with a white flowing beard who lives in a remote place “up there.” We believe he/she exists in all things, throughout all creation, and is, therefore, directly accessible within each of us (the Christ within).

We need only to quietly turn within ourselves to contact God. We are all created in the image and likeness of God…but not in the physical form. We are all aspects of God and, therefore, incapable of “sin” as normally defined in religious doctrine.

Our personal experiences echo what is stated in “Starseed: The Third Millennium,” by Ken Carey: “Matter is conscious. Every atom is aware. The earth is a living being, conscious of the life on her surface and daily making choices that affect that life.” Virtually all Native American tribes had the same philosophy (mistakenly interpreted as classical polytheism by our “more advanced” white ancestors) and some of my personal experiences as delineated in Appendix 3 of Engineering Your Spirituality bear that out. Among other topics, see 6, 20 and 24. ~ Don

As aspects of God, we are endowed with our own individual inalienable rights, and our individual and collective Free Will is an inherent aspect of these. Further, we have a responsibility to develop our own individual relationship with our Father, which cannot be dictated or governed by outside influencing factors. Because of the severe limitations of language in this regard, this individual relationship takes many different routes and is called by different names, depending upon the individual participant. Some of these names are gnosis, inner peace, feelings of grace or joy, knowledge (not the acquisition, but the experience), etc. These “feelings” cannot be generated by a mental condition or activity, but only by fostering that inner connection.

Despite a quotation attributed to Pope Leo X (1513-1521), “All ages can testifie enough howe profitable that fable of Christe hath ben to us and our companie,” everything that came through Rev. Diane Chapin affirms that yes, Jesus (the outward demonstration of the inner) Christ lived. His main teaching was to change the God of Moses (that God is a fearful god, which was necessary for the time) to that of the God of Jesus, who is the God of Love.

His “death” demonstrated very clearly that death is not “the all to end all,” for, without the events that came after His “death,” i.e., His re-appearances and the manner in which His apostles carried the word around the known world, it is quite likely that there would be no Christian faith, and that both Jesus and the God of Jesus might not have been remembered.

We reject the traditional views that Jesus is a deity to be worshipped, that he intended to start a church within today’s concept of such institutions or that he came to “die for our sins.”

Interestingly, there is no real mention in ANY religion that the resurrected Jesus “hung around” the Earth plane for about another 40 years! Rather, He came as a 9th Dimensional Being (humanity is 3rd dimensional, moving into the 5th dimension possibly after the year 2012, as potentially predicted by Nostradamus, the Cheops Pyramid, the Mayan calendar, etc.) to alter the Mass Consciousness of the Earth and much more, all of which has been badly misinterpreted and “re-engineered” by Christian religions.

Yes, he was Divine, as are we all. Yes, you can call upon Jesus Christ to help you in a spiritual sense and He WILL provide whatever assistance you will allow, but we look upon Jesus as a great healer, miracle worker, and mystic who was conscious of His direct access to God and that, given sufficient personal development, or insight, we COULD emulate his capabilities and actions today (“These things ye shall do, and more.”).

Jesus, Buddha and others were Teachers who demonstrated the importance of thoughts, words, and deeds in shaping our lives. However, we cannot accept the tenet that the only way to God is through Jesus Christ. The experiences of many other individuals and religions around the world dictate otherwise. In a private reading of Nov 8, 1998, Quest stated “Jesus had obtained the pinnacle of spiritual development. He did come to save the world by taking upon himself the (sins of?) mass consciousness, rendering the world free of guilt, shoulds, coulds and woulds. He also left an avenue of clear love and freedom from mass consciousness.”

Notice that he worked on the mass consciousness of that time so as to provide that path of love and spiritual development. This did not mean he was absolving each and every individual, through all time, from their own lack of individual self-responsibility and karma. Yes, a true ‘conversion,’ so to speak, can wipe the slate clean for any individual, but this is subject to that individual’s inner level of commitment, cannot be judged by humankind, and does not permit that individual to feel he/she can go out and repeat his/her previous pro-or-con behaviors without additional karmic consequences, pro or con.

We accept as Christian any individual or group who devoutly, thoughtfully, seriously, and prayerfully regards themselves to be Christian. Included are a thousand or so religious organizations that identify themselves as Christian as well as those who consider themselves to be Christian even though they do not identify themselves with any particular religious group…this site included (Adapted from http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_defn3.htm)

It should be noted that even Thomas Jefferson, in evaluating the New Testament, found many dichotomies within it, including between the Gospels concerning Jesus’ resurrection. He therefore cut up a Bible to boil everything down to what he could accept, and “published” this version (alongside translations in French, Greek and Latin) which depletes virtually all Church doctrine (see “The Basic Text of the Jefferson Bible” at http://www.angelfire.com/co/JeffersonBible/). In a correspondence to Benjamin Rush, Jefferson wrote, “To the corruption of Chris­tianity I am indeed opposed, but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself.”

The Virgin BIrth is another church-ordained belief but, after all, what does this “fact” have to do with what Jesus evolved into? Whether there was a true “virgin birth” (which, if memory serves from several years ago, is supposedly a medical potential in 1/1,000,000 births, though this does not take into account the practice of Light-Conception) or Joseph was the biological father is of no real consequence.

Technically, while this would be claimed as a “miracle” by the church, there are still the facts that (1) this same scenario was prevalent in prior cultures, particularly among the Essenes and Magdalenes where the practice was called Light-Conception and (2) this is not an original tenet of the early church, but was adopted from these prior cultures (even as the topic was hotly debated pro-and-con) as the Christian church developed a “uniform” set of belief structures through the first few hundred years.

According to quite reliable sources (Anna, The Voice of the Magdalenes, by Claire Heartsong) Jesus (Yeshua ben Joseph) sired a number of children in this manner with his three consorts/wives – the three Marys. Given the above, it appears that the Christian church advanced Mother Mary to sainthood (but ignored Anna (Hannah), Mary’s mother and Yeshua’s other two Marys), indoctrinated the masses, and the energy from attention and veneration of the masses has provided the entity that was Mary into the spiritual powerhouse we know of today.

Look at the evolution of the Eastern equivalent, Quan Yin (which can be spelled different ways), who started out as a Hindu-imagined male god, then into a boddhisatva, and yet again into the Eastern Goddess of Compassion, Mercy and Healing.

The only true second coming is the awakening of the Christ within each of us. This was the TRUE meaning of the words “Only through me…”. We do not believe that this occurrence will be/is being manifest in the second physical appearance of Jesus Christ on the earth plane. We see this Second Coming as currently in process in the form of the opening of each individual to the Christ within. As this occurs in each individual, a not-so-subtle shift in mass consciousness also occurs. From Starseed: The Third Millennium, by Ken Carey: “Yet the event the Christian world looks toward as the Second Coming of Christ is no spectator event. It is a participatory current of dynamic transformation, a rapidly flowing stream of consciousness into which all are invited and through which all must pass as this consciousness grows to eventually en­gulf the earth.”

We believe that God answers all prayers, without exception. Prayer is normally used in the context of asking for God’s assistance in some matter. However, we believe that prayer does not involve begging God for a favor, or repeating standard prayers in a ritual setting.

If you are asking for something, don’t say “I want,” since the universe will simply agree with you that, yes, you do want that. Be intentful and know that whatever you “want”/ask for has been provided.

Also, we strongly believe that (as some Native Americans seem to (3)), while ritualistic prayers may help invoke age-old energy patterns (such as East Indian Mantras), the most beneficial prayers are those which come spontaneously and from the heart, with feeling and intent behind them.

Meditation is an act of communicating with God…an act of becoming spiritually one with God. Meditation can be accomplished in hours, minutes, or seconds, it depends strictly upon the individual. It is entirely possible to conduct one’s life as a walking prayer, or a walking meditation, while still engaged in daily activities. This is a function of mastership on earth (or in whatever realm one is in).

Either one’s prayers or one’s meditation, or both, can be directed at all those who are receptive. This was a key factor in healings of any kind, including those that Jesus accomplished.

Service is generally seen as an external manifestation, as helping individuals or groups of humanity to

(a) provide basic necessities, or

(b) to better themselves by self-empowerment.

However, we would contend that an even more effective, albeit unseen and longer-range manner of higher “service,” is through personal self-empowerment/self-improvement, thereby shifting Earth’s mass consciousness.

A subset of this approach is working, through energy methods, on a global basis. Numerous examples can be seen of the first application, but, with the second application it is virtually impossible to point to examples. Some few individuals, such as Mother Theresa, can be easily identified as operating with both applications, but the vast majority of those using the second application only are, by very nature, virtually impossible to externally identify.

A very personal experience with profound impact demonstrated what the term “service” really means. From The Crystal Stair, by Eric Klein: “The hierarchy of beings who are serving are always eager to find a new way to express their love, a new way to focus the light through themselves to assist others. This is truly what service is. It is not a matter of good deeds or noble activities. Service is simply those actions which you perform coming from the inner plane of love in connection with your divine breath, surrendering to the Holy Spirit. You might say that service is the root of all Creation. The universes are always expanding, new creations occurring constantly, new opportuni­ties for service. New opportunities to shower forth that light which is flowing through. And when you align more and more with that light within you, you will find a great desire within you to share it spontaneously, in just the same way that you were laughing previously. You will find the desire to share this energy spontaneously. And it will be this desire of your heart which will counsel you and direct you in your next phase of service.”

Heaven is not a place “up there” to be experienced as a reward after death, but is a state of mind. An attitude of thankfulness and receptivity, and, therefore, a state of being. A state ofbeing that is/can be experienced anywhere and at any time. As Jesus is reputed to have said: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand,” and “The kingdom of God is in the midst of (within) you.”

We believe the traditional concept of hell as a place of eternal torment, in which people are eternally punished with fire because of their beliefs and /or actions during life (i.e., Dante’s Inferno, which also came from prior cultures), was promulgated by the church to help control the populace.

Rather, similar to how heaven can be experienced, hell is a state of consciousness to be suffered here on earth when we are simply out of harmony with our natural being.

If God is All Things, then how could there be an “opposite” of God? How could there be a “bad” “fallen angel?

“In the beginning” God formulated what might be considered a “lower nature” in order to experience him/herself and, from this, the legend of “Satan” was born.

Satan is not a separate entity, but can be described as our “lower nature:” selfishness, greed, a separation from God.

“Satan” can be resisted by systematically striving toward our higher nature. “Lucifer,” on the other hand, was/is an entity, as can be verified in various works.

Traditionally, sin has been defined as falling short of perfection. This of course includes the “original sin,” from which mankind must continually atone.

We totally reject this traditional concept, since, as we are an aspect of God, this would also imply that God can be “sinful.” The only true sin, we believe, is the illusion that we are separate from God. (Reference Book #10, specifically Chapter 8 for this and the topic above. Also see the second paragraph under the topic “Jesus Christ,” above.) From “Starseed: The Third Millennium,” by Ken Carey: “Those who day after day continue to think of them­selves as sinners have no intention of changing. They deny the grace that would fill their lives with love; they betray the consciousness that would reflect in them the clear, undiminished beauty of their eternal nature. “Repentance is a doorway, not an abode; it is of value only when it inspires healthy change and passes on into a state of restored self-acceptance. To value yourself less than God values you is not humility, it is pride of a most destruc­tive nature. “When repentance is prolonged, when it is dragged on into a lifestyle or institutionalized in a religion, it is repug­nant to the spirit, as spiritually divisive as the pride in which it is rooted. Prolonged repentance destroys the bridge that I would establish between Creator and Creation. It closes the human heart to the love that would otherwise pour through it and outward into the world.” Here is another channeled version of exactly what I tried to say on this topic, although Chief Joseph, “coming through” John Cali with the title “The Sense of Sin” (doc), is much more to the point, including what I’ve also tried to say about a formal religion.

• Present-day Eastern Religions
• The early Christian Church, prior to the Council of Nicene in 325 AD, but particularly before the Second Synod of Constantinople in 553 AD
• The Essenes, one of the Jewish sects active while Jesus was alive and the one from which it is believed he emerged. (Note: The concept of reincarnation was common during Jesus’ time and there is no evidence that Jesus criticized the people for their beliefs, or declared reincarnation to be heresy.).

We believe that the concept of reincarnation is only logical and is supported by a tremendous amount of evidence in the common literature, as well as many Chapters presented on this website.

Baptism

Within various Christian groups, some use a total body immersion in water, while others simply sprinkle drops of water on the person. We believe that this is an event that is unique and deeply personal to each individual, as a “re-union” (a re-remembering) between each “individual” and God, which cannot be adequately symbolized by any form of external function.

Communion

In the words of St. Paul: “The Kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Communion becomes a close encounter with God in prayer or meditation, in which one becomes aware of the impact that God is making in all areas of one’s life. Although there is a mystical meaning in the details and purpose of the conventional rite of Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper, we prefer the concept of an “inner communion.”

Marriage

Again, we believe that this is an event that is unique and deeply personal to each individual and couple, no matter their race or sexual orientation. “Civilized” societies now “require” that a State certificate be accomplished, whether by a minister (or equivqlent), witnessed and properly recorded for “recognition” purposes by the State. Alternatively, in various states and municipalities, a governemt official may perform a marriage ceremony. This is considered “acceptable” in our “modern” State-dominated societies, but the true dedication is to one another, particularly in maintaining the marriage through the succeeding years, where many forces (including uneven spiritual development) often “work” to separate the couple. Under the U.S. Constitution, we do not agree that the State should be involved in any way in such an event and are in full and total agreement with the opinions espoused in this newspaper Editorial piece and the following article. We believe the government should stay as far away from this Marriage Sacrament as they do those of Baptism and Communion within the Christian Church and equivalent activities of other religions.

• Conversion – the belief that lives need to be transformed through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Where we are – See Jesus Christ, above.
• Belief in the Bible as the supreme authority. Where we are – See The Bible, above.
• Cruci-centricism – the emphasis on Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross. Where we are – Again, see Jesus Christ, above.
• Activism – living out one’s faith through witnessing to others, social action such as serving the poor and disenfranchised, and developing a holy life. Where we are – We feel this “definition” is somewhat backwards. Going back to The “Second Coming,” above, we believe that the development of “the inner” must come before there is any true dedication to others…and such dedication may well not look like what others may feel/believe is “the right way.” Only on a personal and individual basis can we have any real idea what is going on within ourselves, and the business of “witnessing to others, social action such as serving the poor and disenfranchised,” etc., will assume personal and individual expressions of service.

Specific References (among many others)

(1) Ehrman, Bart D., “Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why,” HarperCollins, San Francisco, 2005 (2) Pagels, Elaine, “Beyond Belief, The Secret Gospel of Thomas,” Random House, NY, 2005 (3) McGaa, Ed, “Mother Earth Spirituality: Native American Paths to Healing Ourselves and Our World,” HarperCollins, San Francisco, 1990