Celebrating the Spirit of the Season
As I sat down to write this week’s column, I turned on the stereo and scrolled to my play-list of Christmas songs.
Joy to the World
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
O Come All Ye Faithful
These holiday hymns celebrate the birth of a new spirit on earth. “The Lord has come! The Savior is born!” they proclaim. A divine messenger has been born on earth.
More than simply a messenger, Jesus Christ represents the physical expression of a greater universal pattern – the cosmic Christ, or Christ-consciousness – a universal archetype for eternal, awakened Being. Jesus, the man, was the perfected embodiment of this greater pattern. His life was an unwavering example of a self-realized master manifesting the divine will on the earth. Regardless of your religious or personal beliefs, it seems appropriate to celebrate Jesus not simply as a great teacher or prophet, but as the very embodiment of this greater cosmic principle.
When Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life,” (John 14:6), it was an exaltation of this Christ-consciousness that he spoke, not a reference to his individual personality. In fact, Jesus rarely referred to himself as a person or indicated that any individual personality was at work. Instead, he always gave praise to ‘Him that sent me’, proclaiming the greater divine force for which he was speaking, the Supreme consciousness, Creator, Source or God.
By awakening Christ-consciousness, Jesus taught that all human beings are equally the sons and daughters of God, just as He was the son of God. Through His example, Jesus demonstrated how enlightened consciousness can be expressed in all of us. He beckoned us toward divinity. The scribes and Pharisees attempted to stone him one day for this teaching, to which He responded:
“I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?” The Jews answered, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God.” And then Jesus reminded them of the verse in the Psalms: “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, You are gods’?” (John 10:30-34)
Jesus invites us to give up our limited, individual consciousness, and become one with universal spirit. Our mission in this human laboratory is to become open vessels for Christ-consciousness, recognizing our unity with universal presence. Jesus was not the only one to teach this. Enlightened masters of many faiths -- the Buddha, Krishna, the great yogis – have brought us this message.
The power of Christ-consciousness operating in the physical realm is immense. Jesus performed miracle after miracle. “If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20) Jesus was very direct in this teaching – if you open with faith to the greater Christ-consciousness, you can do anything. You can create miracles as I create miracles, you can become enlightened as I am enlightened, you can embody God on this earth.
Not only can you create miracles, but “Whoever believes in me will have eternal life.” (John 5:24, 11:25-26) With the dawning of Christ-consciousness comes the recognition of the eternal, infinite, unbounded nature of spirit. We have always been, and will always be, one with the universal presence.
With this expanded perception comes also a deeper understanding of Jesus’ statement that the “Kingdom of Heaven is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21) Heaven is an internal state of awakened consciousness. Heaven is recognition of oneness with the divine. The celebration and exaltation of our hymns recognizes that with the birth of Jesus came the birth of Heaven on Earth for those committed to awakening Christ-consciousness within them.
Many enlightened ones already live this reality. With the realization of Christ-consciousness, they have entered the Kingdom of Heaven, here and now.
For the rest of us, this season and the celebration of Christ’s birth are an invitation to invoke the Christ-consciousness within us…to remember the deeper divine presence…to beckon us home to the kingdom…the Kingdom of Heaven that we are all awakening together here on earth.
Joy to the World
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
O Come All Ye Faithful
These holiday hymns celebrate the birth of a new spirit on earth. “The Lord has come! The Savior is born!” they proclaim. A divine messenger has been born on earth.
More than simply a messenger, Jesus Christ represents the physical expression of a greater universal pattern – the cosmic Christ, or Christ-consciousness – a universal archetype for eternal, awakened Being. Jesus, the man, was the perfected embodiment of this greater pattern. His life was an unwavering example of a self-realized master manifesting the divine will on the earth. Regardless of your religious or personal beliefs, it seems appropriate to celebrate Jesus not simply as a great teacher or prophet, but as the very embodiment of this greater cosmic principle.
When Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life,” (John 14:6), it was an exaltation of this Christ-consciousness that he spoke, not a reference to his individual personality. In fact, Jesus rarely referred to himself as a person or indicated that any individual personality was at work. Instead, he always gave praise to ‘Him that sent me’, proclaiming the greater divine force for which he was speaking, the Supreme consciousness, Creator, Source or God.
By awakening Christ-consciousness, Jesus taught that all human beings are equally the sons and daughters of God, just as He was the son of God. Through His example, Jesus demonstrated how enlightened consciousness can be expressed in all of us. He beckoned us toward divinity. The scribes and Pharisees attempted to stone him one day for this teaching, to which He responded:
“I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?” The Jews answered, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God.” And then Jesus reminded them of the verse in the Psalms: “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, You are gods’?” (John 10:30-34)
Jesus invites us to give up our limited, individual consciousness, and become one with universal spirit. Our mission in this human laboratory is to become open vessels for Christ-consciousness, recognizing our unity with universal presence. Jesus was not the only one to teach this. Enlightened masters of many faiths -- the Buddha, Krishna, the great yogis – have brought us this message.
The power of Christ-consciousness operating in the physical realm is immense. Jesus performed miracle after miracle. “If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20) Jesus was very direct in this teaching – if you open with faith to the greater Christ-consciousness, you can do anything. You can create miracles as I create miracles, you can become enlightened as I am enlightened, you can embody God on this earth.
Not only can you create miracles, but “Whoever believes in me will have eternal life.” (John 5:24, 11:25-26) With the dawning of Christ-consciousness comes the recognition of the eternal, infinite, unbounded nature of spirit. We have always been, and will always be, one with the universal presence.
With this expanded perception comes also a deeper understanding of Jesus’ statement that the “Kingdom of Heaven is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21) Heaven is an internal state of awakened consciousness. Heaven is recognition of oneness with the divine. The celebration and exaltation of our hymns recognizes that with the birth of Jesus came the birth of Heaven on Earth for those committed to awakening Christ-consciousness within them.
Many enlightened ones already live this reality. With the realization of Christ-consciousness, they have entered the Kingdom of Heaven, here and now.
For the rest of us, this season and the celebration of Christ’s birth are an invitation to invoke the Christ-consciousness within us…to remember the deeper divine presence…to beckon us home to the kingdom…the Kingdom of Heaven that we are all awakening together here on earth.
posted by Stacey Lawson at
10:37 AM
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