The Nondual Bible Verses Project

Eric Chaffee, Editor 4EricC@rochester.rr.com

I am launching a project that identifies and considers nondual Bible verses. There is a treasure trove of material here that seems to have received little attention from this angle. The project doesn't belong to me. If someone else wants to seize the day and go to press with the idea, please send me a review copy. I don't know if my efforts and receipts will be of interest, or be worthy of sharing anywhere. I don't even know how to receive your nominations and commentary efficiently. (Anyone with insight or experience in digital compilation of such a project will win my eyes, ears, and gratitude.) With that disclaimer in place, I invite nominations of your favorite nondual Bible verses (any published translation will be fine as long as it is identified; I usually quote kjv, but I read numerous versions). Commentary is also welcome, although it may, or may not get associated with 'your' verses, depending upon my editorial judgment. The email address for the project is 4EricC@rochester.rr.com . Thanks for your contributions! (Credit will be given in lieu of payment, if anything is published or shared. By contributing your views to this project you agree to allow them to be published without other consideration or remuneration.)

Eric Chaffee chases sheep and tortures botanical Being on an organic farm near Buffalo NY. He also participates as a volunteer in a lively, nondenominational Bible study at a local prison every Saturday.

HOW MANY VIRGIN BIRTHS?

The Lord himself shall give you
a sign; Behold, a virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son, and
shall call his name Immanuel
[God with us]. -Isaiah 7: 14

I will now argue that the virgin birth is not a rare and unique event, but is a destiny for each of us. Yes, it appears to be one-of-a-kind. (Some scoffers doubt it even happened, pointing to a translation issue regarding a nuance over virginity versus maidenhood, ie: mere youthfulness. I choose to accept Mary's clear statement saying she has not yet 'known a man' in the sexual sense.) But virgin birthing may well be an occurrence that every true son and daughter of God eventually must experience as happening to themselves. I hope to show there is scriptural basis for this adventurous position.

Are we disqualified? We may think we've squandered our virginity through worldly experience. But until we volunteer to become God's instrumentality by submitting to His penetration into our child-heart, with disregard of what our neighbors will think of us, we will stubbornly remain in cowardice or rebellion, living, struggling, by our own wits, ways, and means.

Yes, it takes humility to submit. Mary was invited to become the mother of the promised Messiah by an angel. She assented, discounting the cost. She dismissed the fear of what her fiance would say, or of the judgment the neighbors would render regarding her big belly, being yet unmarried. Her tryst with the divine would revolutionize the world. She did not shrink from the offer
.
Again, I'm beginning to think a virgin-birthing experience is in store for all of us. Here's the basis of my thought:

How many virgins are in the Bible? Besides Mary, I can quickly count ten more. The parable of the virgins with the lamps comes immediately to mind (see Matt 25:1-13). Five were distracted and unprepared, having forgotten to bring oil for their lamps; and five were enlightened -- or at least, bearers of light, with sufficient oil to keep their lamps lit. Why did Jesus choose 'virgins' for this parable? Surely there must be a point in that choice; and perhaps the point is, that there must needs be additional virgin births to come. I ask that you allow me some elasticity of definition, as these additional virgins may not be destined to experience physiological birthing, a messy process. I will soon offer a new conception of the term, and of ourselves, by analogy.

Agamogenesis, as pertaining to a virgin birth, means asexual reproduction, or 'a fatherless beginning.' Intellectuals may dismiss the so-called virgin birth of Jesus as a fairy tale. Yet many of them will readily subscribe to the demonstrated practicality of cloning, which is surely agamogenesis, as seen in the birth of Dolly, the sheep, and similar replicated examples. (Such techniques will likely be performed on humans some day.) How odd, that the technology which is sniffed at when pertaining to God, is acceptable with those same folks, when credited to humans. Dolly illustrates the feasibility of virgins giving birth.

If we are destined to participate in a virgin birth, could it be that we must each discover our pristine nature, our original innocence? (Original sin has been all the rage since Augustine, although some would say, since Adam; but that doctrine had minimal currency until that saint popularized it in the 5th century.) Once we are ready to grasp this innocent nature, allowing the concept to displace the charge of a fallen nature, can we abide by it, be comfortable in it, let it bear fruit? Could metaphorical birthing by additional 'virtual and virtuous virgins' be just as holy and significant and necessary as Mary's virgin birth?

Here's the somewhat redacted benediction that I pronounced at the end of worship service the Sunday before Christmas, with emphasis added (and it was audible): "...The Holy Ghost shall come upon THEE, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow THEE: therefore ALSO that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." (shortened from Luke 1:35).

Although Luke was reporting this verse as pertaining to Mary, I think the words above have universal application. Can YOU hear the invitation and the promise? Will you respond? The new birth is not the offspring of a quickie, not a one-night stand. We are being beckoned into participation in a relationship with the divine, chosen to bring forth progeny, trusted to be faithful to our Mate. This suggests ongoing intimacy. After all, God is not a Father who abandons his children, or his mate. "You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you." (John15:16).

Too much of Christendom is stunted by preoccupation with the jump-street question: "Are you saved?" (and its troublesome corollary, "who's in, and who's out?") The typical formula is: admit your sins, accept Jesus as your personal savior, and you'll get into heaven -- and there'll be pie in the sky bye-and-bye, and you'll get raptured out of the chaos and suffering of the apocalypse, if it arrives during your time on Earth. For me, this is too much like buying an insurance policy. (A friend quips 'it's better to have it, and not need it, than to need it, and not have it.' The father of probabilities, Pascal, calls this a wise bet. But God is not courting us because of our astute risk-assessment skills. S/He's deeply interested in, and attracted to each of us.

'Who, me?' you ask. 'Why would God be interested in starting a family with me? I have nothing worthy of preservation!' Ah, but maybe God knows otherwise. He has sired us, and wants to deliver us to His good and ultimate purpose. God doesn't 'spawn' children, S/he bears them, and nurtures them, patiently, until we are ready to set aside our own distractions and desires and imaginations, and accept the divine plan.

But would it be okay even to want to be a virgin mother? Isn't that a form of over-reaching pride, or a ridiculously impossible goal? Although not directed at the preceding question, I love the image CS Lewis presents in his essay, Weight of Glory: "...Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

Can we reconstruct our desires with the building blocks of original innocence? Where do we begin? For starters, I will offer a simple observation about the nature of water, surely an image of purity. A chemist would tell us that water isn't water if it contains anything other than hydrogen and oxygen in the right proportion. If water is muddy, it isn't water at all, but something else, generally said to contain "salts." But the water can be recovered through distillation. Through change-of-state, it is purified of its contaminants. The muddy salts are left behind, and the pure, clear liquid flows forth. This reagent, pure water, is known to be a universal solvent, able to wash away accumulated grime. Will we allow ourselves to be thus instructed and cleansed by something so basic and simple, through a change of heart, or thought. Hidden within this illustration is a baptism which can wash us daily, rather than merely once, ceremonially. Today I can be a chaste virgin if I will but re-conceive of myself as a child made in God's image and likeness. The 'me' of yesterday need not persist unless I allow it. I can be fresh and clean and new today, as if awakened from a dream-state.

Someone has said most of life is simply 'showing up.' Are we ready to accept our invitation, our assignment? Is there oil (energy, eagerness) in THIS virgin's lamp? Have we re-conceived of ourselves as virgins with the commission of sharing our light (but not our oil) with our neighbors? The invitation is marked 'RSVP, please.' (The One who invites us is worthy of our response.)

"...the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut."

Be there! Or continue making mud pies; as you wish.

May you rediscover your eligibility to be counted among the prospective and alert virgins, chosen of God, to shine light into dark places.
"I am the light of the world" said Jesus. "You are the light of the world" said Jesus. "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all."

~ ~ ~

Greetings! ("Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with
thee" -Luke 1:28)

MY UNDOING.

It's been a busy week in Lake Onlibegotten, my hometown,
although I was out of town for much of it. (This town is many, many
miles from that other famous town on a lake, Lake Woebegone, which is
home to many who are confused, quirky, and include more than a few
mere positive thinkers. Our town's name reminds the citizenry of our
entitlement, and of our duty -- that of being and seeing Christ
(Messiah, the Anointed One, as promised in Isaiah). It reminds me
that I may be the only glimpse of Christ anyone else might encounter
today, so I need to be Christ centered.

Last Sunday, before I left for a sales conference in Vermont, my
brother fell off a ladder and was thought, perhaps, to have broken
his neck.
Not! He's recovering nicely, although he was out-cold for four
days. His doctors are expecting a full recovery. My mom and I (and
many others, including Bible students I visit in prison) are
praying steadfastly to claim and behold God's everpresence, knowing
that Scott has never been outside of His care. Progress is very
evident now that he is conscious again. (They had doped him.)
Neeedless to say I got to my meeting late -- 2am -- missing the
opening party.

And I had to leave the meeting early to race home for
preparations for a major roofing project. An Amish crew of two dozen
men was coming to tear off five layers of old shakes and asphalt, put
down new substrate over the shake rack, and apply beautiful new
shingles which look like slate. The new roof is expected to last 50
years.

Since it's been so dry I had to build an outhouse; so many guys
flushing would surely have depleted our well. Yes, that timeless
technology still works quite well when you are short on water. And
toilets don't know how to function without water! But privies don't
mind. Just sprinkle some limestone and some peatmoss or sawdust down
the hole when you're done, thankyou. (Don't forget to put a dime in
the iron pig to defray the cost of not having to squat in the bushes.)

This morning, while reading the story of Jacob wrestling with
God's messenger, I came across a tidbit worthy of sharing. It's in the
Companion Bible, a heavily footnoted KJV Bible published in London
by Samuel Bagster & Sons:

24 And Jacob was left alone; and
there wrestled a Man with him until
the breaking of day. [. . .]
27 And He said unto him, "What is
thy name?" And he said, "Jacob."
28 And He said, "Thy name shall be
called no more Jacob, but Israel: for
as a prince hast thou power with God
and with men, and hast prevailed."

The Companion Bible offers these footnotes:

Jacob=contender... Israel=God commands, orders, rules. Man attempts
it but always, in the end, fails. Out of some forty Hebrew names
compounded with 'El' or 'Jah' God is always the doer of what the verb
means. (cp. Dani-el, God judges). Prince=commander, orderer. Here not
used to dignify but to reproach. Prevailed (28)=succeeded. He had
contended for the birthright and succeeded. He had contended for the
blessing and succeeded. He had contended with Laban and
succeed; he had contended with "men" and succeeded. Now he contends
with God--and fails. Hence his name was changed to Isra-el, God
commands, to teach him the greatly needed lesson of dependence upon God.

[Me, again]: "God is always the doer."[?] So, that's my problem!
I've been meddling and tinkering, whenever I haven't agreed with
God's management of my life. A backseat driver, am I. Perhaps I need
to ride in the trunk so I can't reach over seat to grab the wheel, or
attempt to influence the Driver by whispering prayers in Her ear.
Enjoying the ride is divinely stoic, if by that I am able to convey
something vastly more than 'grin and bear it.' I guess I mean I must
trust the Driver. Trust makes the ride so sublime. Do enjoy it with me!

~ ~ ~

...Rejoice not, that the spirits
are subject unto you; but rather
rejoice because your names are
written in heaven.
-Luke 10:20 kjv

What's in a Name?

In the late 70's and early 80's my wife and I lived within a short
walk of Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts. One
bright-and-still summer day, we sat on the front porch of our second
floor apartment and watched, spellbound, as a small, high-powered
aircraft began to write in the sky with fierce intent. The huge block
letters were positioned by the tiny invisible hand of the pilot
through precise control of stick and throttle; this allowed skillful
placement of the nib of his "pen," a tank of compressed gases which
condensed into white puffs high over the city.

The first stroke from our airborne calligrapher was a straight line.
The visual effect of that stroke ended, but the audible pitch
continued with intensity as the skilled-but-concealed hand redirected
the nib in a tight but untraced arc to align with the top of the first
stroke. As the plane approached the first stroke a line began to flow
onto the empyrean tablet doubling back in a u-turn which reconnected
with the first line of puffs about midway along. Was it a 'P' or
perhaps the start of a 'B'? More energetic maneuvering. An oblique
contrail was released. We could only guess at the strokes to come, as
the baseline of the message was imaginary. The next pass perhaps
could become an 'A' or a 'V,' but which way was up, which end was top?
Alphabetic vertigo kept us guessing until a crossbar was traced onto
the 'V' making an 'A' and establishing some orientation for
landlubbing gawkers all over town.

Eventually six letters hung in the blue, the first already beginning
to swell to reveal signs of dissipation displayed by all things
ephemeral, even while the last letter was just being completed. The
name of an area Cadillac dealer hung in the morning sky: PATKIN. We
saw this name graffitti'd onto our airspace several times that summer
and always enjoyed the experience. But the event was to have more
than mere entertainment value.

There was a woman at church who seemed distracted by life, and at the
same time adrift, 'cumbered about by much serving.' Her name was not
Martha (whom Luke identifies with that phrase of distracted busyness
in his gospel later in the same chapter where we find our quote,
above). It was Patricia. If you've taken Latin you will readily
recognize the nobility of this name, which means 'a citizen of the
kingdom' and shares a root with words that point to the Father, such
as 'patriarch' or 'patronize.' It occurred to me one day as the
buzzing tin misquito exhaled yet another car ad overhead, that I could
actually see this woman's name written in heaven. I reached for my
camera and recorded this important fact. After the third letter was
complete, but before the fourth was started, I snapped the shutter:
PAT. I then framed the print in a simple clear plastic box which I
gave to her, inscribed with our verse above, ever reminding her of her
heavenly citizenship. It's not often that many are fortunate enough
to glimpse such a literal expression of a spiritual truth. When it
happens it's appropriate to document the event. The experience of
watching this happen in the sky over Cambridge has stayed with me for
many years, and it wasn't even my name that was written there. But by
extension, I know it's true for me, and everyone else, as well.

So, what's in a name? For me, it hints at nature; that by which a
person or thing is known or identified. But who is the knower? Adam
was preoccupied with naming stuff. Perhaps it gave him a sense of
control with which he would eventually fool himself into thinking he
was an author, of sorts. Of course, naming certainly simplifies
communication. And correct identification requires considerably more
than knowing a name. Dropping names without close acquaintance with
their true nature can be embarrassing. The sons of Sceva attempted to
perform an exorcism in Acts 19:13 'in the name of Jesus whom Paul
preacheth.' The demon responded by saying 'Jesus I know, and Paul I
know, but who are you?' -- and then pounced on those mere prattlers.
(Had they known something of the authority which had called them by
name originally, I'm persuaded they could have prevailed.) Indeed,
sometimes a name will powerfully remind us of a nature or a special
relationship or fact, as Patricia's name did for me, reminding us all
of our heavenly present citizenship.

It's good to remember that we are clearly known, and correctly
identified by our divine nature, origin, and source, with whom we are
forever one, inseparable -- this, even if we are not, ourselves, clear
about who we are. Isaiah says that God has asked "Can a woman forget
her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of
her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold,
I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands." (49:15,16). This is
probably not 6 billion tattoo's writ small on the Lord's palms at
Angel's Tattoo Parlor & Emporium. But could it be in the form of two
scars inscribed by nails instead of needles, scars formed from being
fastened to the cross? Scars are sometimes good reminders of the
evidence of a healing, of God with us. "What's his name? What's his
son's name? Tell me, if you know." (Proverbs 30:4). What's your
name? What's your nature? God knows! And God is not ashamed to
count us all as family, yes, even those who have left home.

~ ~ ~

Call to me, and I will
answer you, and show you
great and might things,
which you do not know.
-Jer 33:3

God's Phone Number

When I was a boy our phone number was only 4 digits short. Now, I
haven't fossilized yet! It wasn't that long ago, although much has
changed. I'm speaking of the latter half of the 20th century. We had
a party line, so we had to wait for the line to be clear before
calling. (Perhaps you've seen the movie 'Pillowtalk' with Doris Day
and Rock Hudson. They share the inconvenience and intrigue of a party
line.) Back then, if we were calling out of town, we needed help from
an operator. Before long, Bell gave us three more digits 'made easier'
by what they called an exchange. Our exchange, which preceded our four
digits, was RL9, meaning Rural 9. The letters of the exchange were a
mnemonic device which were there to help us remember 3 more digits, by
assisting us in converting them into numbers with the help of letters
on the rotary dial of the phone. The arrival of exchanges were sung
into communications history in the movie 'Bells are Ringing' with Judy
Holiday and Dean Martin: "PLaza Oh, double Four, double Three" -- many
thanks to my wife, Mary, for the movie trivia.

The song continues: "What a perfect relationship. I can't see him.
He can't see me." I wonder how many of us prefer our relationship this
way with the Divine? So many people have been taught that God is far
away, but reachable through prayer. We're on our own and free to chart
our own course, but we can cry out if we get in a tight spot. We
welcome God as 'savior' but are not so eager to have God as 'master'
(owner). If this is your present sense of relationship it might be
helpful to tuck God's phone number into your wallet for some future
moment when you're in a jam and need some help or guidance or insight:
JER 33:3. (Better yet, memorize the verse!) A friend gave me 'God's
business card' (or perhaps it's God's AAA card) with this phone number
printed on it. He likes to encourage people to read scripture.
Although I share his love for this reading material, I prefer a
somewhat different conceptual approach to God's availability and
location.

Paul tells us in numerous places that we are the temple of the living
God. In First Corinthians 3:16 he pointedly inquires of us: 'Don't you
know... this already?' It all reminds me of a real estate billboard I
used to pass along the Charles River near downtown Boston a few decades
back, before the 'Big Dig.' It wryly pitched to commuters stuck in
traffic: "If you lived here, you'd be home now." I'm very interested
in this indwelling God who wants to be at home in us, and wants us to
be at home in Him/Her. Conveniently, in this cosmic real estate offer
we are able to dispense with busy signals, operators, cell bills, poor
signal quality, and all the other glitches of technology. And I've
often pondered the parallel in growth between technology and
spirituality. Do I only imagine a correlation, as the people of the
world move into this 'temple within' where God already resides, and
where both are comfortably One? Infinity equals one, Zeno and
Parmenides, and Newton and Leibnitz tell us. Of course, they were able
to teach us this with words; but others, most notably, Jesus, speaking
in prayer throughout John 17, was able to teach us oneness so
eloquently -- v.21 "That they all may be one; as thou Father, art in
me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may
believe that thou hast sent me...(v.23) I in them, and thou in me,
that they may be made perfect in one;" and then he illustrated this
oneness with his life, sacrificial death, and resurrection, recorded in
the chapters that follow.

Perhaps you wonder why God let this apparent tragedy take place? I
choose to think that I need the illustration in terms that my flesh can
appreciate. But ultimately, I suspect that I will have to grasp the
lesson in spite of the flesh, through pure consciousness, even while
overhearing the noise and complaints which the flesh might make. I hope
I will not be looking for a misplaced business card from a 'far off'
God -- which is why it is always a good time to clean house and welcome
this gracious and persistent and eager Dweller into my humble abode.

God is not picky about his dwelling place. A palace is not what is
sought. But a turning point offered as a gesture might be found most
welcoming. I treasure the illustration provided by Anne Lamott's
spiritual autobiography, TRAVELING MERCIES: Some Thoughts on Faith
(Anchor Books, 2000). She was in a heroin-induced stupor, near death,
when she finally said to God, 'fuck it, come on in.' And this
surrender, her crude but genuine opening of the door of her heart, was
honored and accepted and graciously agreed to. "God...dwelleth not in
temples made with hands." (Acts 17:24). Surely you know that there's
no place like home. If you lived 'here', you'd be home now, too.

~ ~ ~

The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,
and the power of the Highest shall
overshadow thee: therefore also that
holy Thing Which shall be born of thee
shall be called the Son of God.
- Luke 1:36 k j v


Holy Ghost Hang-up?

Religious language is a big stumbling block for some folks. We can react badly to terms we don't like, or don't want to like. I have a problem with Hindu terms. I don't know how to begin to pronounce them, and I don't like their look on the page. Yet I'm very grateful for the blessings that have come from a long line of sages from that part of the world. (Christians who dismiss these lights as being 'false' are refusing to recognize Christ in his full-spectrum technicolor coat, speaking through and to the human family; we each have to tease the truth out of all language, even the Bible. ) But bless me in English, please, by translating the concepts in a nicely comprehensible way. That's what good translation does. And please forgive those of us among the English-speaking family who are so unwilling to learn other tongues. We're struggling more than we can say with our own deeply vexing language issues. Aside: thank God we didn't have to learn this miserable 'glot as a second language like the rest of you suffering throngs! You obviously have a greater affinity for language than we do, or you would have been assigned to the same remedial language course that we're in.

'Holy Ghost' is likely to be a term that makes some people cringe. And its a significant part of the pageantry of the holiday season, as the text might remind us, the Holy Ghost is instrumental in the births of John (the Baptizer), Jesus, and many more. Can we unpack this phrase?

In English 'Ghost' is derived from the German, geist, which means soul/mind; and, as the linked forms might suggest, it has some breadth to it. The Greek has Holy Ghost as hagion pneuma -- more broad terms. Considered together, these yield some significant payoffs, I think. Hagion is most often rendered holy, but also means awesome, special, separated, revealing God's innermost nature. And pneuma has the tricky dual meaning of spirit and/or breath. (Devotees of breathing disciplines may appreciate the idea that Holy Ghost could be translated as 'awesomely divine breath' but most scholars would dismiss this -- along with dismissing me -- as nonsensical; yet the words clamor to achieve their full resonance, rather than obediently remaining in their tidy parochial-school uniforms.)

Elizabeth, John Baptizer's mother, was thought to be too old to conceive; and Mary, the mother of Jesus, too young -- or at least, yet remaining sexually inexperienced, as she herself attests in Luke 2:34, thus quelling the dispute over whether or not she was actually a virgin (Greek) or merely a young maiden (Hebrew). I choose to accept her own testimony on this, rather than speculating. It's the gentlemanly thing to do. Afterall, nothing is impossible to God, who created the universe ex nihilo -- from nothing -- not merely rearranging pre-existent material building blocks, as some would have it. Such quarrels are best left to those who prefer to be distracted from entering into, and learning from, the story. Focus! Whether we elect to take it literally or metaphorically is less important than what we do with what we take away from the story. And this story is pregnant with "good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."

What the text doesn't reveal is the wealth of information which a camera would certainly divulge. Being a former art student I'm a very visual guy. My mind's eye wonders: was there a midwife? -animals in the stable? -was everybody in town able to hear the chorus of the heavenly host, or was it audible only to the shepherds in the field? Oh, if only the sound track were available at Borders! (Socrates speaks of being a midwife, in his dialogue with Theaetetus.) If the Director will allow it, and you, dear reader, don't think me too weird, perhaps we can gain from imagining Socrates in attendance to this birth, the delivery of our own offspring; not of Mary only, but the Christ-child of each of us. I'm sure Socrates would be most willing to help out, based on his quote: "Such are the midwives, whose work is a very important one, but not so important as mine...but the difference lies in this -- that I attend men and not women [we'll disregard this], and I practice on their souls when they are in labor, and not on their bodies; and the triumph of my art is in examining whether the thought which the mind of the young man is bringing to the birth is a false idol or a noble and true creation.... I ask questions of others and have not the wit to answer them myself...the god compels me to be a midwife, but forbids me to bring forth. And therefore I am not myself wise, nor have I anything which is the invention or offspring of my own soul..." Of course, Jesus leaves behind no biological progeny (in the cannon) either, and later is quoted as saying "I can of mine own self do nothing." I have to believe that these two guys would be pals, off the set. And certainly the children of Jerusalem and of Athens have collaborated together over the years to our benefit.

As ridiculous as it may seem to imagine Socrates as midwife to the birth of Jesus, it has some measure of reality to it in my own life. Imagination is real, of course, and is a key element in the arts; but I am speaking of the effective use of the Socratic method of questioning that a Sunday School teacher employed in his class in my youth. This man wouldn't accept "sunday school answers" to his questions. If he asked a question which one of us attempted to evade by responding "...because God is love" he would proceed by asking: "and what is love?", ever drawing us out. Instead of learning a dogma, we learned that the beginning of wisdom was asking the right question; and then we learned to listen intently for the answer to come to the surface of our thought. Instead of teaching the class, he was a fellow listener who trusted the Holy Ghost to do most of the instruction. It wasn't until years later that I realized that he, too, was a midwife to the birth of a Christ-consciousness in the lives of many of his charges. I wrote to him in his last days thanking him for being a spiritual father to me. He had no biological children, but he and his wife had adopted a son. And they were examples of the verse that says the desolate have more children than the married (see Gal 4:27) for I know of teenage friends who developed an enduring spiritual practice as a result of this man's contribution.

Ok -- you're pregnant. (Guys, too!) The Holy Ghost has overshadowed you to reveal that you're still an innocent virgin with a vital destiny, in spite of all your futile, dissatisfying, misbehavior. But now it's time to deliver the real goods. This is what God has always wanted from you, afterall, in case you've been wondering. And, you're very scared! Life is passing you by, and you still haven't a clue what it's about. How could you possibly be expected to deliver the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed Savior, the Awakened One, to the world. No amount of waffling, aborting, or disclaiming-your-worthiness will deter His plan for you. You've been chosen for this. (One of the Jewish characters in 'Fiddler' asks God: "Couldn't you choose somebody else for a while?" and then "I don't know nuffin' bout birfin' no babies! -woops, wrong show.) The assignment is basic -- to reproduce your true nature, -- but daunting, if you haven't discovered it for yourself thus far. Yet who could possibly be prepared to deliver and raise up this child? --You, with God as Father! And you can't just say 'No' to God, the Father of all. ("Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord?" -Isa 66:9). Each of us has been chosen to see this child as the only kind of offspring God has ever borne. His is the family resemblance throughout the community, around the world. Each member of the human family is destined to bear this nature, wear it, and share it. How do we prepare for such an event? Where do we find good counsel. Personally, Mary's path seems a good point from which to embark. When told she would give birth to Messiah, she assented with: "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour." (2:46,47). I encourage you to agree to feed this child as it grows within by reading scripture to it, meditating on what you've read. Unlike your normal appetite, this one will increase the more you eat (and will shrivel away if you starve it). John's dad, Zacharias, has a bit of parental insight to share, too, regarding the raising of children: "thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways; ... to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." (2:76,79). Happy trails!

~ ~ ~

We spend our years
as a tale that is told.
- Psalm 90:9(b) k j v

The Stories of Our Lives

The word 'as' is probably my favorite word in all of scripture. So simple. So revealing. Here, in this verse, we are invited to contemplate context, meaning, purpose, (or lack thereof). What are we to extract from our story? A co-worker used to prattle some years ago: "But, what does it mean, Grasshopper?" (I asked her the source of the quote, but she didn't know. If you know, I'd be most grateful to be able to fill in this blank. It sounds like it could be from Pinocchio, but I haven't looked.)

At any rate, we've all arrived well after the story of life began to be recounted. And we're trying to make sense of the episodes we've experienced, meanwhile pondering what we've obviously missed. Sometimes we can share useful insights with each other, becoming characters in each others' narratives. I'm becoming increasingly confident that none of us is the main character in this story, in spite of the persistent temptation to think "it's all about me." My working hypothesis is that the Author is really the main and only character, all the while modestly diverting attention away from this possibility; instead, we imagine that life is about "my" happiness, success, fame, or pain. Some folks might say I can't count very high if I quit at one.

Yes, there are nearly 6 billion of us; but there is only one human being, just as there is only one numeral one, with many fonts to display it. Yet never has anyone gone to the tool crib of numbers and had to wait for the One to be returned so we could perform a calculation. My point, perhaps, is that the idea of man [humankind] is infinite and unique, simultaneously. Truly, there is only one Man. Many of us are deeply interested in this Man's story.

All meaningful tales center on character. (Hollywood seems to misunderstand this, focusing instead on plot, drama [conflict] which is why so much of what they generate is mere entertainment.) Anthropologists muddy the picture by observing that man is what he does, and therefore many conclude that humankind is a mess. Yet I remain hopeful that we have the capacity to filter out the sticky particulates. Afterall, water is only water when it is comprised of nothing beyond two parts hydrogen and one of oxygen. Anything more is mud. Let's not lose sight of the unmuddied man lest we become demoralized.

People are deeply interested in people -- because others can inform us and edify us. We learn and grow from each other's stories. Stories are the currency of our experience, which we exchange in order to satisfy our appetite for comprehension. To deny story is to deny our spiritual destiny. As a fish would be challenged to describe wetness, we are awash in stories, yet barely aware of their pervasive presence. Each single word is pregnant with history, meaning, power, value. (A friend has observed that violence is often the result of a poor vocabulary.) We become a composite of the characters we admire through hearing or reading their stories. There is great promise here, if we can tame monkey-mind to do more than imitate. We may not be originators in any true sense, but we can synthesize and thereby carry forward this timeless conversation, while at the same time fulfilling our assignment to become who we are intended to be.

Those nondual teachings which appear to advocate the exclusion of the trajectory of story seem adrift to me. Now is not an island unto itself. A movie without an editor will fail to invite viewers, if it ever gets screened at all. Life is more than "one damn thing after another." It is comprised of choices. A good editor knows what is compelling and worthy of retention, and also knows what to exclude and when to call for a retake. If our editor is a monkey we may find him simply, or lazily, pasting footage together one reel after the next, world-without-end, amen. A careful chooser will insist that life has a point, and enjoy the illustration of it. Let me be the first to admit that the ideas named ' Author' and 'editor' are merely concepts. As such they are shorthand describing relationship. But even Jesus relied on concepts in order to communicate; he spoke in terms we could understand, often resorting to stories called parables. If he had meditated only non-verbally in silence on the mountaintop alone, not visiting the marketplace, no one would be able to enjoy his teachings nor benefit from his victories over church-fights, hatred, perils-of-the-flesh, and the grave. Gratefully, he did not withhold his stories. He died sharing and illustrating them so we can grasp our own.

In a wonderful little volume entitled The Healing Power of Stories by Daniel Taylor (Doubleday, 1996) we are given a definition of 'story' (which he cautions may contain some leaks): "A story is the telling of the significant actions of characters over time." (p.15). Bible stories are very significant to me. They are tools with which to comprehend my own narrative. Perhaps they are also of use to you. What's your story? Is there a Bible verse which is inviting you to share your insight? We'd be happy to hear it. What are you bringing to the party of life? Come on in. Welcome home. We're glad to see you even if you don't have a dish to pass.

~ ~ ~

A hostile world! I call to God,
I Cry to God to help me.
From his palace he hears my call,
my cry brings me right into his presence --
a private audience.
Psalm 18:6

SOME THOUGHTS ON GRATITUDE

Peace is more than the absence of conflict; it is an unflappable awareness of Presence, a personal gratitude which indicates some understanding of God-with-us and in-us, an acknowledgment that we are incapable of maintaining order throughout 'our' world, but we can surrender to the Creator's order and consciousness.

The Hebrew lads, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, (see Daniel 3) were not excused from facing and entering the heat intended by their neighbors to be career- (and life-) ending, but they were brought through by a Presence which reveals a Peace that never fails, in spite of appearances to the contrary, even after they (and we) may have lost all hope of deliverance. This is because Peace is not dependent upon us. It simply is a fact of Being even in spite of our distress, whether we recognize it or not. It pervades, despite our fears, which sometimes are many. There is much cause for gratitude as the realization of the availability of peace dawns in our consciousness. The reason we can still read this account of rescue from the furnace is because those guys were delivered from intense judgment which sought to silence them. There would have been little occasion even to write about them if they had perished. Their deliverance serves to inspire hope and dispel fear. It inclines us toward gratitude and praise as we remember deliverance.

I've been reflecting upon the nature of Thanksgiving. Is this holiday merely a 'rear view mirror' in which to reflect upon past blessings, or has it a more progressive aspect? Thanksgiving's cousin, Forgiveness, is rather forward. The 'for' of forgive is a contraction of 'before' indicating a predisposition of the heart, that declines to be offended, by inviting us to forgive when we have been wronged. (Admittedly, sometimes we need to recover this attitude after we've 'lost it.') Forgiveness has been known to be charmingly disarming.

The injunction of Jesus to 'turn the other cheek' (Matt 5:39) is not an instruction for anyone to be a doormat, but one that advises us to forgive immediately by re-identifying the offender as a dear brother. (Strangely, there are no outsiders in the Kingdom of Heaven, which is illustrated for any who care to contemplate, when Jesus forgave all those who crucified him. His kingdom was populated with 'the only begotten' of which he is 'the firstborn among many brethren' (Rom 8:29). (The word translated as 'the only begotten' -- monogenes -- means 'of one beginning'-see 1John4:9 and 1Pet1:3. In other words, Jesus was clear within his own consciousness that God, the only Father, has only one kind of child. Therefore, there are no outsiders in the divine family. Unfortunately, too many translators and readers think 'only begotten' means that Jesus is uniquely elevated, rather than 'proto'.)

Forgiveness delivers and maintains peace by building upon the intention to forget the offense before it even happens. If we want to maintain or reclaim our peace we must choose to forget, and keep it forgotten, buried, with a stake in its heart, that prevents it from ever climbing out of its grave and back into our memory. Perhaps this is why St Paul says we must 'die daily.' The dead remember nothing. This kind of dying enables us to wipe our mental slate clean each night of memories of the wrongs we've experienced or done. "Let not the sun go down upon your wrath" (Eph 4:26).

The grudges or embarrassments of the past are a fiction that only survive because we abuse our 'instant reply' function. It is our choice whether we want to challenge the decisions of our own internal umpire. Perhaps we need to choose to forget even where that function resides on our mental menu. That little man in the striped uniform is a prisoner doing time for stealing our identity, wearing our name tag. We should realize that we are meant to be little messiahs, little christs, little anointed ones. We can liberate that guy in the stripes by sending him to the unemployment office to look for another job. Besides, he never was impartial, making him a poor referee.

As we choose to forget the offenses of the past we become aware of peace in the present. This bears the fruit called gratitude, Thanks, for the Presence and Realm of Peace.

~ ~ ~

Seek ye first the kingdom
of God, and all these things
shall be added unto you.
-Matthew 6:33

A gift, or The Giver?

Desire can be downright distracting. We want, until we get, and then we want more, or other. An old rock song says "I can't get no satisfaction." Who is this demanding 'wanter,' anyhow? Can autonomy be achieved over this slavedriver? Perhaps desire can be refined and elevated into a form of prayer that achieves a unity between desire and purpose. We all have needs. Getting in touch with the spiritual dimension behind the needs can serve to re-groove us into being better vessels or instruments, more suited to the purpose for which we've been designed. (Surely you know you've been designed, for the prospect of a design without a designer is akin to shaking the Lego box until the skyscraper assembles itself. Absurd!)

When Jesus met a Samaritan woman one-on-one at a well, he asked her to draw some water for him to drink. He was human; he was thirsty. She was surprised that he would even talk to her, let alone ask her for water. (It was as if a plantation owner from out of town had asked a slave woman for a sip from her jug. -see John 4:1-42) She appears to have thought that perhaps Jesus was sexually interested in her. When Jesus instructs her to go get her husband (checking on her availability, maybe?) she replies that she isn't married. Notice that he doesn't spurn her for making herself available to him in the absence of her partner. He responds prophetically that she has told the truth by saying she's not married -- he somehow knows that the guy she's living with isn't her husband, and she's been through five previous relationships. She then realizes that she's in the presence of a very perceptive individual; perhaps this isn't about either water or sex. And then he proceeds to reveal to her the nature of true provision.

This 'loose' woman had both spiritual aptitude, and spiritual appetite. In other words, she had an array of desire -- a spectrum, ranging from lust to curiosity and teachableness. She was perceptive enough to recognize that this encounter was not about basics. Desire can be damaging and painful. But it can also be profitable and progressive if the spiritual dimension of the need is considered and tapped. She was at first willing to accept what might be called counterfeit goods. But he wanted her to have real blessings.

Sometimes we deceive ourselves into mistaking the nature of desire without even going within to ask about the pressing spiritual need behind the desire, and we are the poorer for this short-sighted response. Really, the spiritual need is the only need. We've simply misunderstood this need, allowing our 'selves' to be 'bought off' by the baser aspects of suggestion, a word I borrow from the trade of the hypnotists. (Hypnos was the Greek god of sleep. His twin sons were: Morpheus, shaper of dreams; and Thanatos, god of death.) The woman perked up when Jesus offered 'living water' that didn't need to be drawn from a distant well, because it was ever within her: "...the water I give...will become in him [or her] a well of water springing up to everlasting life."

When Moses saw the bush ablaze but not consumed, he had enough spiritual curiosity to turn aside to consider what it was that he was observing. And so it was with this woman, and with us, if we will turn to the wellspring within, to consciousness that shines without being quenched. This spiritual curiosity resulted in the blessing of discovery: I AM revealed itself to Moses as a result of his desire to understand, and his openness to being taught (-see Exodus 3:1-6). It wasn't a secret. It merely took someone with enough spiritual curiosity to be open to it. In this illustration the holy source is immediately under foot, right where we are.

We are all 'thirsty' for truth, hungry for 'angel food,' longing for the comfort of oneness. But these commodities are not packaged by Perrier, or Duncan-Hines, or Comfort Inn. Awakening, in and of itself, even has an element of desire. Do you want to live wide awake? As many lawyers say: 'he who snoozes, looses.' "Awake, O Sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light" (Eph 5:14). Real prayer is desire; but it is not begging the Divine, outside of us somewhere. What is it that you really want? What is the nature of the ideal? Go within and learn the Answer. "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." -Matt 5:6

~ ~ ~

Teacher, don't you care that
we are about to die?
                                Mark 4:38 t e v

PIE-CUTTING THEORY FOR DISPOSING OF FEAR
Contrary to appearances, life is not a terminal condition ever on the verge of dissolution. Rather, it is a gift intricately intertwined with consciousness, a portable commodity. It has a handle, and we carry it (or it carries us) along the road of life. The ancient Hebrews worshipped in a portable facility, a tent, called a tabernacle. When worship, or life, was over, the tent was folded and they moved on.

A friend is said to have cancer, "the crab" (as distinct from "the crabs"-- for those whose primary language is not English; although neither of these afflictions are to be made light of, there is a significant difference imputed by a single letter: the latter is an infestation of body lice dwelling in private areas, usually associated with casual sex ). The Greeks named the former affliction, associated with irregular growth, 'the crab' because of its observed tenacity. But the question arises: does the crab have the person, or the person the crab? -and then we have a contest of language that has little to do with the challenges of life.

Jesus didn't get caught up in a linguistic debate with his students when they woke him up from a nap to report that they were all about to sink in a storm and drown. (Remember: these guys were fishermen, not whinemakers; this was a disaster which threatened.) Did he ask 'Who has a storm?' No. But he did wonder aloud why they had no faith. Nevertheless, he did not preach to them to have more faith. Instead, he showed them his peace. He spoke it to them, although the text says he spoke to the sea. His students had ears, which the sea lacked. The sea was stormy, but it was not disturbed; it was merely the sea. But his students were distrubed; disturbance is an emotional condition. So he said "Peace, be still" to those who had ears. It is significant that this is not an imperative statement, but declarative. He did not shout down the storm, ordering it to shut-up, although some translations would suggest this. Rather, he simply announced peace. He revealed peace. He exhibited peace. Not with bravado. Not forcefully. He simply became peace in front of his students, amidst the howling wind and threatening waves. And all honored his living Presence of peace. Suddenly, the storm, which had been so real to them, was a thing of the past, as easily as we turn a page in a book. Consciousness had folded its tent, or perhaps trimmed its sails, and moved on to the next lesson. Sometimes the courage to go forward is an equivalent of faith. When we say 'No' to life, it can be tantamount to 'Game Over.'

When winds of change howl, and bloodhounds of age pursue the flesh, how are we to respond? An emotional response is not helpful. Instead, we can begin by using a tool which Jesus demonstrated for his fishing buddies. 'The Teacher within' invites us to reduce all fear to its Lowest Common Denominator. (For the arithmetically challenged, a quick review: 8/16 is more easily managed when thought of as 1/2. I prefer to eat half the pie rather than cut it up that many times to eat eight pieces. It's simply more efficient to dispose of in this way.) So, this LCD of fear, what is it? What are you afraid of? -Lack of autonomy? -Of means? -Of clarity? -Of approval? Afterall, what is lack, but the lie that God is cheap! -That God is withholding what you need. -That God is distant, or indifferent, or deaf; or on vacation this week. Lies! And the liar always uses the SAME ploy: separation from good. (You'd think we'd begin to recognize it more quickly. Remember the disguise!) Over and over scripture tells us God is with us and in us. So where is the lack? Life flows inexorably. Yes, sometimes it goes over a steep cliff, but it continues to flow, as does consciousness, although the eyes lie to us, saying that consciousness stops when breathing stops. (They testify of what they cannot know.) Go with the flow. Don't be intimidated by the lies, or the liar that tells them. Don't be a lap-dummy for the ventriloquist. He can't steal your voice, or silence it, or even imitate it very well. He always tries to speak to us in the first person: "I'm a mess!" "I'm miserable!" "I'm lonely!" Yet your true 'you' knows the Teacher's voice, and is comforted by its nearness:

The sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
And a stranger will they not follow... for they
know not the voice of strangers. -John 10:4,5

I will never leave you nor forsake you. -Heb 13:5

My peace I give unto you. -John 14:27

I AM with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. -Mat 28:20

~ ~ ~

And the voice which I heard
from heaven said, Go and take
the little book which is open in
the hand of the angel which
standeth upon the sea and
upon the earth. Rev 10:8 k j v

HOW TO READ A BOOK

Q: "How do I read the Bible in a nondual way?"

When I was in graduate school one of the teaching assistants suggested I consider a book by Mortimer Adler entitled How to Read a Book.I was not happy to think that the guy thought I needed remedial help in this area, but I read the book anyway. Adler's approach was to read a book as though it were a love letter, which is to say: frequently, between the lines, and with intense curiosity.

To avoid having the tail wag the dog, I would not advise that anyone set out to read in a nondual way. Nonduality is a dawning realization that God is One, All-in-All, and there is no other. (Some would point to Satan as the opposite of God, but this is mistaken. Satan, literally 'the accuser,' is the developed character of Lucifer, an 'angel of light,' God's chief musician, who fell from favor after willfully attempting mutiny -- see Isa 14:12-17; perhaps you, too, have noticed anarchy in the arts. I went to art school and studied anarchy. But this all sounds rather Greek.) The point is, that as we begin to suspect that only good is real, we will begin to notice glimpses in scripture that are indicative of this fact. For example: "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." (1John1:5) So, where, then, is sin, and pain, and death? Where does darkness 'go' when the light comes on? Why do we observe no contest between these apparent entities? Does Johnny's miscalculation, that 6+7=15, disrupt the harmonic laws of mathematics when he writes it on his homework paper? Will 'my' sin, pain, death confuse God about the nature of Creation? Can sin derail God's handiwork?

Some have termed this 'theodicy,' the problem of evil. Job didn't need a fancy word. He knew sore boils hurt. Yet he also knew he didn't deserve them because he was tight with God, and this couldn't be God's doing, or nature. Job was confident of his own righteousness and innocence. Perhaps he was standing on his rights rather than on his duties. (Why is it, that we claim our entitlements more eagerly than we accept our responsibilities?) At any rate, Job eventually came to see that the problem of evil was not his to solve. It was not about him. It was beyond him. We might say that he awoke to restoration, as from a bad dream about God's nature and their relationship. He let go of ego, and confusion, and of the perceptions of others. In some respects we see Job reborn. And as we do, we awake.

And that is the effect of nondual contemplation. Are you born again? Have you read from God's love letter, The Bible, lately? When Jesus told Nicodemus that he (and we) must be born again, he was pointing to the Great Guru, God. Literally, the text says you must be re-spermed, ("you must be born of water and of the spirit," of spiritual water, an idiom for divine sperm; see John 3:5) but you won't hear that language in church. He was telling us that we need to be re-Fathered. We need to re-conceive ourselves as children of God, with all of the rights and responsibilities. We need to come home for God's instruction, and sit quietly reading the love letter. Are you ready for one-on-one Sunday School on a daily basis?


Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto ME, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto ME: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. -Isa 55:1-3 [emphasis added

~ ~ ~

Jesus said to him,
"I am the way, the truth,
and the life; no one comes
to the Father, but by me.
John 14:6 r s v


The Case of the Invisible Comma – Or, What is 'Messiah'?

In our last posting I may have stepped out of bounds -- if that is even possible on the court of nonduality. The statement naming Jesus as 'The premier nondualist' is rather silly. And it makes no more sense for me to have a Jesus, a Buddha, or a Shankara bumpersticker, than to have a Kerry or Bush bumpersticker, even though I do vote, and do have preferences among these individuals.

To illustrate, when he was called 'good master' by an admirer, Jesus corrected the man: "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone" (Mark 10:17 n e b). Much of Christendom has been taught [indoctrinated?] that Jesus IS God, so it may not seem like a correction to everyone. And indeed, Jesus is God, qualitatively, but not uniquely, as a careful look at the Greek reveals when considering the oft' mentioned verse "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30 k j v). The Greeks have two words for 'one:' hen (n.), and heis (m.). In this verse Jesus uses hen, which means 'one in essence.' If he had meant 'one in person' (implying 'I am the Father') he would have used heis, but he did not. Saying 'I am my own father' would be a perplexing thing to say, yet few Bible teachers make the effort to point out that he did not claim to be God, ignorantly teaching or fearfully perpetuating a seriously flawed doctrine, rather than facing the charge of heresy and the wrath of the majority, by disabusing students of the nonsense that Jesus is uniquely God. (For a detailed account -- which is also a 'good read' -- of how this doctrine got started, see WHEN JESUS BECAME GOD: The Epic Fight over Christ's Divinity in the Last Days of Rome, Harcourt, Brace, 1999, by Richard Rubenstein.)

Ironically, Jesus was viewed as a heretic and a cult member by many of the faithful of his day. (Those who might level a charge against me as a heretic, flatter me by association. On another site I was actually called 'the antichrist!') Simply put, Jesus did not elevate himself, but pointed out: "I am not come to be ministered unto, but to minister" (Mark 10:45 k j v). The word here means 'to serve' which I like to contrast with 'to be worshipped.' He came to serve, but we've turned him into a brand, and Deified him, chanting his 'magical' name while seeking an emotional high, or hoping for a 'get-out-of-jail-free card' useful for graduating to the next life, which would protect us, like fire insurance for the soul: "if you don't join our club, you're on your way to hell." What a sad perversion of such a glorious example!

So, what about messiah and the invisible comma? 'Christ' is the English word for the Hebrew 'messiah,' which means 'anointed one.' (See Leviticus 3 for examples.) It points to a ritual used regarding community initiation of priests and kings. (Unfortunately, in the church today, we have too few of these, and too many lawyers and judges, where we should, instead, be able to meet many who minister to others by modeling themselves after the 'servant king' – Jesus.)

The name 'Jesus' is a Greek version of the Hebrew 'Joshua' which is derived from Yehoshua, meaning ' YHWH is salvation,' or 'God saves.' (These four letters signify God, a name too holy to pronounce. Moses, trained in Egypt, reveals the name as I AM. Significantly then, Christ is an Egyptian concept rather than being Hebrew. This is thoroughly documented and enjoyably conveyed by Tom Harpur, a Rhodes Scholar and former professor of NT Greek, in his recent book THE PAGAN CHRIST: Recovering the Lost Light (Thomas Allen Publishers, Toronto, 2004). I'm told it is available in the US through Amazon, although it hasn't been picked up by an American publisher yet. Harpur thoroughly debunks the fairy tales which churchmen have conspired to tell for far too long. Every thinking Christian should carefully ponder this volume. Warning: it may cause a crisis of faith for the faint of heart. But Harpur's motive is to bless -- and I think he has achieved this, while also correcting a horrendous imposition on the career of Jesus.

Meanwhile, the term for messiah gets elaborated in the NT by adding 'The': 'ho christos' -- resulting in Jesus, 'The Christ.' No, friends, his initials are not J.C. as though these were his first and last names. (More probable would be the initials YB: standing for Joshua, bar (son of) Joseph.) But the question presents itself: is there a particular messiah? It's a vexing question. Harpur seems to think not. My conclusion is that Jesus instructs us on becoming our own messiah; our own, priest/king. This is a tall order, but we have an excellent example to follow, by referencing the life of Jesus.

When insufferable Christians smugly cite our lead quote above, and tell you that you are on a bus to hell if you don't pray 'the sinners prayer' and name Jesus as your personal saviour -- because this is the ONLY way of salvation -- you can parse the verse for yourself, or gently share with them -- if you're brave and have time to invest, as follows: I AM, the way to the Father; I AM, the truth about the Father; I AM, the very life of the Father. Jesus didn't merely utter these words; he illustrated them. (A note for the literalists who might venture upon this column: you should be aware that there is no punctuation in the original Greek texts of the Bible, making it one of the world's longest run-on sentences! Punctuation has been supplied by the translators to suit their sense of the text and ease the eyes and minds of us moderns.)

The so-called I AM statements of the Gospel of John are some of the most significant words Jesus spoke; yet he was talking about BEING, not about himself!!! Catch the import of what he is saying: I AM the Bread of Life. 6:35
I AM the Door of the Sheep 10:7
I AM the Good Shepherd 10:11
I AM the Resurrection and the Life 11:25
I AM the true and living Way 14:6
I AM the true Vine 15:1
I AM the Light of the world 8:12

And, naturally, it follows: YOU are the Light of the world Matt 5:14

Rather than claiming to be God, or pandering to be recognized as God, Jesus came to awaken each of us to our divine nature, our very being: I AM. Yes, it is too holy to pronounce. But this does not mean that we should flee from the realization. Neither Eric nor _________(fill in your own name here) can pull himself or herself out of the swamp by the hairs of the head, but I CAN. Jesus is inviting each of us to get in touch with our true SELF. Jesus saves! I AM, THE SAVIOUR.

This is all compelling, But be sure to count the cost. The ego must be crucified. Yes, this path will cost you your life. If this scares you, you're not awake yet. Have another cup of java, and read the Gospel of John. Invite the main character in the story to interpret his words for you. This story is about you. Come, read about the true you.

Any version or translation will do. If you don't have one, or are looking for fresh language, I suggest THE MESSAGE. (Bono, of U2 likes it. He gives it a plug on the dust jacket.) Navpress, 2002.

~ ~ ~

"What is Truth?" Pilate asked.
–John 18:38 t e v

THE BANANA REPUBLICS OF AMERICA?

Pontius Pilate may have presaged 20th-century post modernism when he asked (sneered?) his question of Jesus. On the eve of the American election we may be tempted to wonder anew if there is such a commodity, as the media prepare us for multiple lawsuits in counties of key states across the land, which will almost certainly be heated contests of the recount process. While nonduality disregards the significance of polarity, it is likely that this nation has not been this polarized by politics since the wars in VietNam and the Civil War. Is it inconsistent for a nondualist to vote? –And how might we bring an atmosphere of peace to the anticipated aftermath of this election?

Truth is not arrived at by vote of a majority. (Interestingly, it is negatively defined in NT Greek as 'that which is not a lie.') It is a position that those who love her are destined to arrive at. I view Jesus as the premier nondualist (as well as seeing him as The Messiah, which is not the subject of this posting.) Immediately prior to Pilate's question, Jesus asserted "My kingdom is not of this world," causing Pilate to ask "Are you a king, then?" His response to Pilate's question is disarming: "if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight.... " Pilate: "Are you a king, then?" Jesus: "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice."

He didn't negotiate; he didn't protest; he didn't squirm. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews observes that "for the joy set before him he endured the cross" (Heb12:2). It doesn't look like a very enjoyable assignment! How did he retain such equanimity in the face of such a career-ending, kingdom-canceling disaster? The answer to this question might be instructive to those of us who could feel tempted by a loss of peace or a resort to force over another strident electoral quarrel.

Americans are generally good sports. We've invested in the image that our polity is fair, in spite of localized reports of electoral fraud in the past. When the NFL suspended the instant reply rules a few years ago it soon realized that technology was a reasonable aid for the process of review, so it was reinstated, with some better practices. Sadly, our elected officials haven't been as astute about the delicate nature of governance, after the contested election of 2000. Have they forgotten how the protests over the war in VietNam nearly shut down the government? What if both sides of this probable quarrel show up in the nation's capital?

What makes me governable, civilized? What restrains our inclination to resort to force to achieve our will? If the community around me goes into meltdown, will I be able to exhibit the poise and peace demonstrated by Jesus. What did he know that enabled him to be a model of peace while facing the prospect of execution? These are powerful questions that we may want to ponder. The prophet Isaiah, describing the promised Messiah, states that "the government shall be upon his shoulder " (Isa9:6). I'm relieved to know that it isn't located in Washington DC. I'm listening longingly for the answers to these questions. The model of a man 2000 years ago is instructive; but what is the lesson?

~ ~ ~

My prayer is not that you take
them out of the world but that
you protect them from the evil
one. –John 17:15 n i v

BEWARE, THE BOGEYMAN

The world can be a scary place if we believe there is an evil presence lurking in the dark. As a child I was healed instantaneously of fear of the dark. One evening when I was about seven my dad asked me to bring him his slippers from under his bed, which was upstairs. (There was no wall switch in the bedroom; the light could only be turned on near the bed, after entering.) As I approached my parents' room I became terrified of reaching under the bed; so I went into my own room. I reached, instead, for a newly acquired book. It was my first Bible. It had belonged to my great grandmother, given to me by grandpa after her funeral. I opened it, and a verse from Psalms 139 presented itself to me that spoke of an Ever Presence that dispels all fear. The fear departed immediately. I confidently retrieved and delivered the slippers. (And I put a trophy, which will never be lost, into my conceptual display case.)

Our verse above seems to indicate that there is such an entity that would keep us intimidated, but is this what Jesus is praying? Actually, the phrase 'the evil one' does not include the word 'one' in Greek, but says 'the evil': tou poneros, the wicked, or the worthless. Some translators (most) include it, as they feel it is implied. (I should emphasize that I am not a scholar of NT Greek; but anyone can view this verse by consulting an interlinear Greek-English version of the text, and then reviewing the history and meaning of the individual Greek words in a lexicon such as Kittel's Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. (Available abridged in English from Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, through Baker Bookhouse.) So here we have an example of how the devil is inserted into scripture by translators. And most Bible students will argue vigorously for the justification of the devil's place in the book. (Apparently many people need an antagonist to keep the book moving; but the letters a-g-o-n in that word mean 'to wrestle.' Are you tired of wrestling yet, Jacob? –Holler 'uncle' once you figure out that you won't win by wrestling with the darkness.)

We are all translators, interpreting the events of life that surround us. Some events are immediate, as my healing of fear of the dark; some are vicarious, as we learn from the experiences of others, through stories and writings. Translation is a delicate art. Anyone who has struggled with language skills in either their own primary language, or in an additional language they are attempting to acquire, knows this firsthand. Add the dimension of time to the assignment, and we see how challenging it is to recover meanings penned in another tongue thousands of years ago. Yet we can squeeze juice out of the lessons of the past, if we persist.

But beware mere persistence. It can cause us to cobble together a dark view of the world. Indeed, the 'world' (kosmos) in our verse has as its primary meaning 'beautiful, orderly,' but also has a hint of corruption (chaos, its antithesis) mingled into it historically by our fellow translators, some of whom have been hired to publish bibles and preach in places of worship. My point, I guess, is that we need to be mindfully engaged in doing our own translating, enlisting the listening ear of the heart, which we have all been given. Invite your heart to hear what the Spirit is longing to tell you. You don't need a guru, a course, a miracle, or a book. Your inner ear is not deaf!!! Go within and listen. Yearn to hear. "One thing have I desired of the Lord. That will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple." –Psm 27:4 k j v.

~ ~ ~

..., Hallowed be thy name. –Matt 6:9 / Luke 11:2 k j v

HALLOWE'EN, or HALLOWED NAME?

What's in a name? How did this bizarre holiday (holy day!) acquire its name? We are told that Adam had a proclivity for naming (Gen 2:19,20). The practice of naming can seduce us into feeling a false sense of knowledge and control, or it can convey dominion – if we allow Divine intelligence to do the interpreting for us. In the last column we considered the OE root 'hale' also found in today's quote, 'hallowed,' meaning whole, holy, unbroken, healed, etc. So the holiday means 'holy evening,' in its contracted spelling. What are the nondual aspects of this holiday, and what could it possibly have to do with the second line of what is commonly known as The Lord's Prayer? These may be significant questions at this moment in history.

It has been said that ten righteous men can save a city. (Using inclusive language, let's update this to 'ten righteous people can save the planet.') I would like to invite interested readers to meditate on the holiness of the upcoming holiday. This may seem folly to some, but it is compelling to me. As we approach the holiday, and the U.S. election, the suggestion of a 'Madrid scenario' or a 'Bhophal variant,' designed to influence the election, looms large, as vastly more than a dark prank.

Can prayer and meditation alter the course of history? (I won't venture an opinion here.) But I feel dutifully assigned to invite you to breathe the sweet air of peace that is shared by all, exhaling an aroma of healing and holiness. We all breathe the same air. The words 'spirit, 'air,' and 'breath' have common origins in Hebrew and Greek, the language of the Bible. Let this commonality be shared around the globe, throughout the atmosphere of consciousness. Trust that it permeates all life. Feel it, as it oxidizes all partisanship, animosity, strife. Be reminded, breath-by-breath, of the presence of the Divine, immanent and transcendent throughout all creation.

Some years ago I was troubled by a report that presented statistics indicating that crime increases relative to the appearance of a full moon. I remembered Winston Churchill's attitude toward statistics, which helped me gain a better perspective on the aforementioned crime link: there are lies, damned lies, and then there are statistics. Now, when I look at the full moon, I am reminded of the full sun – shining constantly, never blinking, even while Earth turns her back to face her own shadow. Lunacy's supposed link with crime has been eclipsed by the ever shining light "which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." (–John 1:9 k j v)

Catch the vision!!! Breathe in. Breathe out. Shine.

(Darkness shrinks, departs, incapable of intrusion on the light.)

~ ~ ~

And the Lord God said, It is not good
that the man should be alone; I will
make him an help meet for him.
--Genesis 2:18 k j v

ALL ALONE, or ALL ONE?
I was at a church wedding recently and heard the verse above read from the pulpit (along with many other verses). I find scripture to be meditative. I'm always looking/listening for nondual aspects of Bible quotes. On the surface, the bit about 'not good' doesn't sound very nondual.
Let's sidestep this 'not good' pothole for a moment. I hope we can discover that the 'onliness of good' is resident in this verse, and I ask that you trust me while I attempt to evoke it. If you will permit me to use a device borrowed from the practice of magic, mis-direction, I will ask you to focus, instead, on the word 'alone' in our verse. But I'm no magician; I'm merely a contemplative reader. So, let's consider the word 'alone.'

The problem of loneliness is among the most vexing problems on the planet. It accounts for much desperation and destructive living. The history of the word 'alone' is most interesting. Rushworth Kidder, founder of the Institute for Global Ethics, in Camden, Maine -- www.globalethics.org/default.html -- discussed the history of this word in the concluding remarks he gave during a presentation at Glenmont, a care facility in Hilliard, Ohio:

"...the word one, until the 17th century, was pronounced own. That pronunciation lingers on in words like alone, only, and lone. And that's what alone means -- all one, which is what God is ... and to be at one is to be, in a very important way, alone with God. ... I noticed years ago, as a university professor, that my students confused solitude with loneliness. Because they didn't want to be lonely, they were unwilling to be solitary."

Our verse gave me pause to remember my own painful search for a mate. The process seemed always to be hurtful to one party or another (as often as not, me). So I became celebate for several years while I contemplated the nature of relationship with the Divine, and sought to dispense with human longing. Serendipity, finding what we aren't looking for, introduced me to my wife, my 'help meet.' That was nearly three decades ago. We've nurtured each other in ineffable ways. Magic happens.

The verse reminds me of the significance of wholeness, oneness, integrity. I wasn't capable of being in relationship as long as I sought a missing half. Once I pursued and discovered my own wholeness, she appeared. The challenge for me still is to be mindful of my wholeness (and hers) lest I mistake it for being a couple. Wholeness, holiness, health -- all share an Old English root: hale, meaning free from injury, unbroken, whole, healed, complete. (One is not two.)

Perhaps you've come across a Bible verse that has nondual meaning, between the lines, or boldly on the surface. Please consider sharing it with us. (To stay focused, we will confine our discussion to the generally accepted Bible canon; any reputably published version will serve, but please tell us which version, translation, or paraphrase you are sourcing. As editor of this column, I will attempt to honor all submissions -- but please, no quotes from The Bass Fisherman's Bible, etc.) Share your findings with us by sending them to me at 4EricC@rochester.rr.com

~ ~ ~

"If Thine Eye Be Single"
by Eric Chaffee

It would seem that few readers of "the Bible" (Hebrew/Christian scriptures) are inclined to look for its nondual message. The majority persistently contend that these writings are essentially dualistic, good and evil. While I was doing graduate studies at a prominent non-denominational divinity school years ago, I was dumbfounded when a lecturer proceeded to map various belief systems, omitting monism (nondualism). When I inquired about her exclusion, she responded by saying "It's so naive as to be unworthy of our time."

We hear a similar dismissal in an otherwise handy new volume entitled Being Logical: A Guide to Good Thinking, by DQ McInerny, Random House, 2004. As a first principle of logic we are introduced to The Principle of Identity: "The whole of existing reality is not a homogenous mass. It is a composition of individuals, and the individuals are distinguishable from one another." We're not told why all of existing reality cannot be considered as a homogenous mass (the ancient philosopher Zeno's important observations notwithstanding), aside from being told that an apple is not an orange. The logical(?) extension of the author's position would seem to argue that the nondual position is illogical.

Minority positions are often marginalized by terms such as 'naive' and 'illogical', but this needn't end the consideration of nonduality. Surely we can respond.
Although our fundamentalist friends, and even many thoughtful liberals, would probably agree with both of the above characterizations of nonduality, we can point to a significant nondual statement early in the Bible, my favorite textbook, that is most worthy of consideration. It is the powerful injunction first encountered in Genesis 2:17 -- "Of the tree of the knowledge of good AND evil, thou shalt not eat of it..." [emphasis added]. Those of a literalist bent seem to reason that the bell can't be un-rung, unless you join their club and subscribe to their interpretations and doctrines, which are decidedly dualistic, and, ironically, are adorned with, and seem to argue on behalf of, the very fruit which God has proscribed. Most of the Judeo-Christian world seems to believe that our two earliest ancestors blew it; we're left with their tainted fruit, a raging plague called sin, which even God could not quench with a flood (Genesis 6-10). Yet these same good folks seem less inclined to accept the advice offered by God to Ezekiel (18:1-3) "What mean ye that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge? As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use the proverb in Israel." So, heredity is out; blaming our parents' parents doesn't wash with God! -What to do, what to think, where to stand?

An excellent article, 'Who Told You?,' on our verse in Genesis 2, can be found in a slim but weighty volume entitled The Thunder of Silence by Joel S Goldsmith. (I happily came upon nonduality.com earlier this year while searching for mentions of this author.) Although I think Sarlo gives Goldsmith only a star and a half in his nondual rating on this site, I find him to be a compelling teacher because he is more than a theoretician; he practices and illustrates the application of nondual contemplation and living, if you will. The aforementioned title is one of his deepest volumes; those disinclined to eat the cherry first may prefer to start with Living the Infinite Way, which the author himself suggests, or a personal favorite that I like to share with those open to encountering this author, The Spiritual Power of Truth. He has assiduously prevented anyone from founding a church around his teachings; a few websites, of debatable merit, are hosted by some of his students. But primary sources are generally best. His lectures are also still available on tape and cd, through his estate, although the speaker departed the planet in 1964.

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