The
Secret of Life
NOTE: This is an
excerpt from the first chapter of the book Save Yourself, A Conversation
with Jesus.
Kim: In my observation,
one of the main obstacles to people accepting the spiritual path is
that many people have come to believe that they are stuck in circumstances
beyond their control. They believe there is nothing they can do to
improve their lives, so why bother trying? What would you say to such
people?
Jesus: I
would first say that if you take a look at the sketchy glimpse of my
life recorded in the scriptures, I think it should be obvious that I
had great compassion for people who were suffering. In reality, my entire
mission was directed at helping people overcome the sense of being stuck
in human limitations. So I do feel great compassion for the many people
who are experiencing very difficult situations and who naturally feel
stuck in circumstances beyond their immediate control. I am not here
trying to say that anyone can easily change any condition they face.
What I am saying is that it is possible for you to improve your life
and your life experience.
I fully understand why so many people feel stuck in human limitations
and feel like they could do nothing to change their circumstances. Yet
I am also a spiritual teacher, and therefore I clearly see the reason
people feel stuck. And that reason is a lack of understanding. The simple
fact is that people feel stuck because they have not been given a proper
understanding of the basic fact of life. Neither orthodox Christianity
nor any other religion or philosophy – including scientific materialism
– can currently give people an understanding of the secret of
life. Yet once you understand that secret, you will see that you are
never actually stuck. There is always something you can do to improve
your situation.
That certainly
sounds intriguing. What exactly is the secret of life?
To explain the secret of
life, I would like to begin by asking you to get a mirror.
A mirror?
Yes, please get a mirror.
Okay, I’ve
got the mirror.
Hold it up in front of you
and look at the image that appears in the mirror. Let us now imagine
that you want the image in the mirror to smile. How could that possibly
happen?
Well, in order
to get the mirror image to smile, I would have to smile myself. Obviously,
the image is just a reflection of myself, so it can’t change
unless I change my expression.
That is correct. Now imagine
that you have a person who wants to see his mirror image smile. Yet
he is simply sitting in front of the mirror with a straight face, waiting
for the image in the mirror to smile. His attitude is that when the
image in the mirror smiles at him, he will smile back at the image.
What would you think of such a person?
Obviously, I would
think the person was ignorant about the basic facts of life. I mean,
everyone knows that the mirror can only reflect back to you what you
do. If you want the face in the mirror to smile at you, you have to
first smile at the mirror. What has that got to do with the secret
of life?
It illustrates the secret
of life. The simple fact is that God has created a universe that acts
like a mirror. You are living in the center of your personal house of
mirrors. You are literally the center of your own personal universe,
and it will reflect back to you whatever you send out.
If you want the universe to smile at you, you must first smile at the
universe. Unfortunately, most people take the same approach to life
as the imaginary man takes to the mirror. They are sitting in the center
of their personal house of mirrors, and they are waiting for the universe
to smile at them. They have adopted the attitude that they either will
not or cannot smile at the universe until the universe smiles at them.
In other words, they have allowed themselves to become trapped in a
state of consciousness in which they believe they have no control over
their own situation and their own destiny. They believe their happiness
and well-being depends on external factors over which they have little
or no control. They believe the universe is too big and powerful to
be affected by their thoughts, their world view, their attitude and
their state of consciousness.
In reality, the universe is made from God’s energy. Energy is
a passive substance that can take on any form. Yet energy cannot take
on form by itself. To take on form, energy must be acted upon by the
active force of a self-conscious mind. Therefore, if you wait for the
universe to smile at you before you are willing to smile at the universe,
you have completely misunderstood the most basic fact about life in
this world.
The basic fact is that human beings have the capacity of consciousness
to affect God’s energy. Because of that capability, you are the
author and finisher of your own destiny. You create your own situation;
you make your own bed and you will inevitably have to lie in it.
The simple fact is that most people aren’t happy about their lives,
and they think they are unhappy because their outer conditions do not
live up to their expectations about life. Therefore, they reason that
they cannot be happy until the outer situation changes. They think that
if only certain conditions were different, they would automatically
be happy. Yet because of what I have just explained, this is taking
a backward approach.
If you want your outer situation to change, you must begin by changing
your inner situation because the universe can reflect back to you only
what you send out. If you want the universal mirror to show you a smiling
face, you must first smile at the universe.
Wait a minute,
I think I understand what you are saying, but I also think it is a
very radical message that most people will find it quite difficult
to accept. For one thing, where is the connection between what you
just said and the teachings you gave us 2,000 years ago?
The connection is very direct.
I said essentially the same thing 2,000 years ago, I simply used different
words. The reason was that in those days people did not have the understanding
that most people have today. They did not understand energy, so I could
not give them a more profound teaching. That is why I spoke to the multitudes
in parables and taught all things to my disciples (Mark 4:34). Yet even
my disciples could not understand the concept that everything is made
from energy.
If you read the scriptures, you will see that the message I just gave
you is woven through my teachings. The most obvious example is the concept
of turning the other cheek (Matthew 5:39), of doing unto others what
you would have them do unto you (Luke 6:31). Don’t you see the
clear connection to the fact that the universe is a mirror which reflects
back to you what you send out?
I am well-aware that because of the distortion created by orthodox Christianity,
most people have misunderstood this concept. Because of the consciousness
of guilt and fear that took over the Christian religion, most people
look upon my commandments as dictates that carry the threat of eternal
damnation and punishment. In other words, they think I was telling them
to turn the other cheek because if they don’t, they will burn
forever in Hell. Yet what I am talking about here is simply enlightened
self-interest. Hell is something people create with their own consciousness.
Because their outer situation is a reflection of their inner situation,
they will be trapped in imperfect circumstances, some of which rightfully
deserve to be called Hell on Earth, until they change their state of
mind. Paul understood this, and that is why he told people to “Let
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians
2:5).
Imagine that you walk down the street and suddenly see a man who runs
headfirst into a concrete wall. He almost knocks himself out, but he
manages to get back on his feet, and he runs right into the wall again.
Obviously, you would think that the person was odd. When he gets a concussion,
you would never think to blame the concrete wall for his injuries. It
would be obvious to you that the man brought his misfortune upon himself.
After all, anyone should have known that if you pound your head against
a concrete wall, you end up hurting yourself.
In reality, most people are pounding their heads against the concrete
wall of the universe, and then they turn around and blame the universe,
God or other people for the fact that they get a headache. Some even
spend the rest of their lives trying to change the universe instead
of changing themselves so that the cosmic mirror can reflect back a
better image.
Most people think that my message to do unto others as you would have
them do unto you is a fear-based message. They think that if they don’t
follow my “dictate,” they will be punished by God by burning
forever in Hell. In truth, my message was not fear-based but reality-based.
I was simply trying to tell people that if they pound their heads against
a concrete wall, they will hurt themselves. If they frown at the universe,
the universe will frown back at them. I wasn’t warning people
about what will happen to them after death. I was trying to tell them
how to improve life here on Earth. I was trying to tell them that they
will be trapped in limitations and suffering until they change their
approach to life, their state of consciousness.
In other words, if you treat other people the way you want to be treated,
the entire universe will treat you the way you have treated others.
The simple reason is that the universe will inevitably reflect back
to you what you send out. It is up to you to take the first step because
the universal mirror can only reflect your own actions back to you.
Don’t you see the obvious connection to my old teachings?
Yes, I do see it,
and I am quite frankly embarrassed that I never realized that truth
before. It is very obvious to me the way you explain it.
Well, there is no need to
be embarrassed. You didn’t know, and when you don’t know
better, you simply cannot do better. That is why the key to improving
your life is to expand your understanding of life.
I am quite aware that this idea has many profound and subtle ramifications,
and for most people it will take some time and effort to fully absorb
and integrate this message. Therefore, I know it will take time for
people to change their lives according to this truth. That is why I
told people that in their patience they shall possess their souls (Luke
21:19). Nevertheless, I caution people against becoming overly patient
with themselves.
As I said, your outer situation simply cannot change until you begin
to change your inner situation. So by delaying the change of consciousness,
you are only delaying the day when you will see improvement in your
outer situation. So truly, God does not punish human beings. Human beings
punish themselves because they create their outer situation according
to their state of consciousness.
Copyright
© 2005 by Kim Michaels |
