I live the depth of my life in two layered worlds. \u00a0I have been deeply formed by the Christian message and the life of Jesus. \u00a0My life has been\u00a0dedicated to my\u00a0conscious and active choice to model my living after this great sage. \u00a0It is also true that I have journeyed to find fellow travelers seeking authentic relationship to the Universe, and that journey has moved me beyond Christianity into the broad world of enlightenment and spiritual awakening.<\/p>\n
These worlds, for a time, seemed quite separate. \u00a0I couldn\u2019t find seekers in my church communities and it was hard to find devotees of Jesus\u00a0exploring other traditions and spiritual teachers. \u00a0These worlds have been coming closer together inside my own journey for the past two years.<\/p>\n
It started when I began studying a Hindu meditation style and wondering about what a guru was. \u00a0Quite clearly in my meditation, Jesus reminded me that my dedication to him made him my guru and there was an invitation to go deeper. \u00a0And so I did. \u00a0Jesus and I had been in a strained relationship for years, even though I still modeled my life choices after his example and teaching, so I made amends, got back in my Bible and started to pray.<\/p>\n
The experience for me was like the colors after a rain storm. \u00a0The text was vibrant in a way it hadn\u2019t been before. \u00a0The teachings were wise beyond any reading of them I had done before. \u00a0I had eyes to see the meaning now. \u00a0I had ears to hear. \u00a0I can\u2019t explain how profoundly those scriptures, that had been living in my bones for years, transformed into teaching that explained the process of spiritual awakening.<\/p>\n
The Lord\u2019s Prayer was one of those texts that blossomed before my new eyes. \u00a0I could see that if I held Jesus in the light of enlightened spiritual teacher, everything changed. \u00a0I wondered why everyone didn\u2019t appreciate Jesus more? \u00a0I don\u2019t know about you, but I can have intelligent conversation just about anywhere about a teaching of Buddha without fear, but Jesus seems to trigger defensiveness. \u00a0It occurred to me that I\u2019ve never had anyone say to me that if I didn\u2019t believe in Buddha\u2019s teachings I\u2019d go right to hell. \u00a0Unfortunately, many Christians have stated that if I don\u2019t believe in Jesus, that\u2019s exactly what would happen. \u00a0It\u2019s so sad. \u00a0That kind of judgement masks the message of love that I feel is the only reality of the Universe.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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