| Answer
from Jesus:
If you take a closer look
at the New Testament, you can read between the lines and see that I
often rebuked those who took a certain approach or had a certain attitude
towards religion. I was in constant opposition to the religious authorities,
I told people to do their alms in secret and not to pray openly. The
reason being that I encouraged people to take a specific approach to
religion, an approach which on this website has been described as the
“inner approach.”
You might also call it a mystical or spiritual approach. In contrast
to the inner approach is what this website calls the “outer approach.”
You might also call it a dogmatic, rigid or even a fanatical approach.
It is the goal of all true spiritual teachings to raise people up to
take the inner approach to religion. However, one must be realistic
and admit that not all souls are ready for this approach. It is helpful
for spiritual seekers to recognize that the souls who currently embody
on Earth are at different levels of the spiritual path. The spiritual
path is a process which gradually leads souls to a higher state of consciousness.
You might consider the spiritual path as a staircase that leads from
the lowest to the highest levels of consciousness.
The lowest level of consciousness is exemplified by the consciousness
of Hell, in which you find souls who want to get as far away from God
as possible. The highest level of consciousness is that of souls who
want to get as close to God as possible in order to obtain union with
God. Most souls on Earth are somewhere in between these two extremes.
One might say that the spiritual path is a process whereby the soul
gradually reconnects with its own spiritual nature and its Christ self.
Thereby, the soul attains an inner connection to the spiritual realm
which empowers it to become spiritually self-sufficient. The soul’s
spiritual beliefs and practices, including the soul’s self image
and world view, will no longer be dependent upon anything outside the
soul but on the soul’s direct inner experience of the spiritual
reality. However, this growth process has many stages.
At the lowest levels of the path, souls have no recognition of the spiritual
side of life, including their own spiritual nature. They are so disconnected
from the spiritual reality that they often deny the existence of God
or anything beyond the material universe. Some of them recognize the
existence of God but rebel against everything God stands for.
As souls begin to climb the spiritual staircase, they will eventually
come to a point where they decide that they no longer want to deny God's
existence or move away from God. At this point the soul has a strong
and valid need for an outer religion. Such souls are no longer moving
away from God, but they are not ready to even consider the possibility
of union with God. Therefore, they need an image of God that is very
orderly and keeps God at a safe distance. They need to feel that their
relationship to God is based on a set of firm rules. In a sense, one
might say that they have a need to feel that they are in control, and
they do that by putting God in a mental box.
Because the soul has not yet attained inner attunement with its Christ
self, it is not able to get truth directly from within. In other words,
the soul cannot recognize a spiritual truth on its own. That is why
souls at this level cling to an outer religious doctrine, and this explains
why they often become very rigid in their approach to following a certain
doctrine and a certain organization. At this level, the soul literally
has a need to feel that as long as it belongs to a certain church and
believes all of its doctrines, it will inevitably be saved. While this
belief is not entirely correct, it does have a legitimate function in
terms of giving a soul the stability it needs to mature further.
As a soul matures, it will gradually build a stronger connection to
its higher self, its Christ self. In the beginning, this will manifest
in the form of intuitive insights and spiritual experiences. Such insights
and experiences will show the soul that there is something beyond the
material universe and therefore also something beyond the religious
doctrines and dogmas found in this world. The soul will realize that
no mental box can contain the infinite being of God. As the soul begins
to explore and strengthen its intuitive connection, it gradually matures
until it begins to rely more and more on this connection and less and
less on outer doctrines.
What happens to many souls in this process is that they can go through
various birth pains in terms of letting go of the old approach and fully
embracing the new, more spiritual approach to religion. In other words,
some souls begin to intuitively sense that the outer religious doctrines
are not entirely true or infallible and that they cannot give you a
complete understanding of God.
If souls do not understand the process of spiritual growth, they might
reject all religion or a particular religion. While this might be a
necessary stage in the soul’s growth, it would be more constructive
and beneficial if the soul, instead of rejecting religion, would recognize
that the problem is not religion itself but the outer approach to religion.
It would be especially helpful if the soul would recognize that the
outer approach is valid at a certain level of the path.
A soul who is maturing could then simply accept that it is time to grow
out of this approach. Such a soul could then leave the outer approach
behind with much less pain. The soul would also avoid seeing itself
as being in conflict or opposition to those of its brothers and sisters
who have not yet reached this level of soul maturity. In other words,
instead of going into a battle with those who still take the outer approach
to religion, the soul could focus on its own spiritual growth and thereby
make faster progress on the path.
As a soul matures, it will begin to realize that it needs to move away
from wearing religion as an overcoat. The soul realizes that the true
goal of religion is to attain a higher state of consciousness in which
you directly experience the spiritual reality. Religion, or rather spirituality,
has now become an integrated part of your being instead of an external
force. At lower levels, a soul will often approach religion with a sense
of fear or obligation. As it matures, the soul approaches spirituality
as a natural and highly stimulating part of life.
At this point the soul begins
to realize that a culture based on the outer approach to religion can
be in direct opposition to attaining this inner experience. Therefore,
the soul might need to distance itself from this culture of wearing
religion as an overcoat. It needs to attain true spirituality based
on experiences coming from within itself.
In the process of maturing, many souls go through a stage in which they
have to reject the religious culture based on the outer approach. This
is understandable, and once again it can be a necessary stage in the
soul’s growth. However, the soul could make the process far less
painful by realizing that the culture based on the outer approach is
simply a product of a certain level of consciousness. The soul can then
realize that it is now moving beyond that level of consciousness. So
instead of placing itself in opposition to this culture, it can embrace
the higher state of consciousness and thereby embrace the inner, spiritual
or mystical approach to religion. Instead of feeling like the old culture
still has a hold over it, the soul can surrender all attachment to this
culture and freely move into the spiritual approach to religion.
If you step back from the situation, you will see that the process of
spiritual growth requires two things. All growth is a form of self transcendence.
For example, as your body grows during childhood you will outgrow your
clothes. The pants that fit you at the age of 10 will no longer fit
you at the age of 15. As a natural part of growing up, people throw
away the clothes that no longer fit. It would be extremely helpful for
people on the spiritual path to realize that this is what needs to happen
in their consciousness. As you mature on the path, some of the beliefs
that seemed completely valid to you at a lower level of the path will
no longer fit your current level of maturity. Therefore, they should
be discarded as unceremoniously as old clothes.
What often happens is that a soul becomes attached to certain beliefs
and finds it very difficult to let them go. This is especially true
of religious beliefs. If a soul was brought up in a particular religious
culture, it can be very difficult for that soul to let this culture
go. Yet if the soul could adopt the attitude that as it rises to a higher
level of the spiritual path, it should naturally discard the ideas,
beliefs and cultural influences of yesterday, the soul could spare itself
much pain and discomfort. This does not necessarily mean that you have
to physically distance yourself from your former culture. You can still
live in such a culture and maintain your family ties. You are simply
seeing through this culture to the universal spiritual path that runs
behind all of the world's religions.
In that respect it would be helpful to recognize that even if you have
not grown up in a religious culture in this lifetime, your soul might
still have certain wounds from living in rigid religious cultures in
past lives. For example, while I fully understand some people's aversion
to certain religious expressions, the aversions show that such souls
have wounds from past lives. It would therefore be beneficial to look
at these wounds, use appropriate psychological techniques to uncover
the cause of them and then resolve them once and for all. As I said,
by adopting the attitude that growth requires you to discard the beliefs
that no longer fit, you can make this process less painful.
There are currently millions of souls in the world who are in the exact
same stage of development as you so beautifully describe in your letter.
They have come to a point where they need to free themselves from the
outer approach to religion and fully embrace the spiritual or mystical
approach. Yet many of these souls still have certain wounds or attachments,
caused by the outer approach and the culture that springs from this
approach.
It would be helpful for such souls to realize that while the outer approach
is not the ultimate approach to religion, it is simply a necessary part
of a soul’s growth. In other words, there are still millions of
souls on Earth who need the security and comfort they get from the outer
approach to religion and a culture based on that approach. When you
recognize this fact, you can make peace with the outer approach to religion
and with the people who yet need that approach.
You can simply allow them to do what is right for them at their present
level of soul evolution. You can then fully embrace the fact that you
are no longer at that level, and therefore you do not need the outer
approach or the culture based on that approach. You can then consciously
work towards fully letting go of this approach and all of its beliefs
and expressions. You can quickly come to a point where this culture
no longer influences you. You simply believe and let believe. You allow
people to be at their level of consciousness, and you fully embrace
your present level of consciousness and allow your soul to grow independently
of other souls.
You see, people who take the outer approach to religion are absolutely
convinced that they are right, that their religious beliefs are the
only true beliefs and that all who do not believe what they believe
are going to Hell. The reason being that these people need the security
and comfort they get from this belief. Obviously, as you will see throughout
this website, I do not agree with this belief. You will also see from
the New Testament that I had moved beyond that belief myself and that
I encouraged others to do the same. If my disciples had taken the outer
approach to religion, they would never have become my disciples. They
would have remained orthodox Jews, firmly convinced that the outer approach
to religion was the only road to salvation.
My entire purpose for this website is to encourage people to move beyond
the outer approach and take the inner approach. Nevertheless, I fully
recognize that many souls are not ready to do this. So I have no intent
of exposing, confronting or ridiculing people at this level of the path.
Instead, I focus on encouraging the souls who are ready, giving them
the tools they need to come up higher.
So again, simply accept that your soul has matured to a higher level
of the spiritual path. Embrace that level and let go of the worn-out
clothes - the beliefs and the culture - that no longer fit you.
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Copyright
© 2003 by Kim Michaels |
