Communion
with the spiritual realm
The central idea behind all religion and spirituality is that the material
universe is not all that exists. There is a spiritual realm beyond the
material universe, and there is no impenetrable barrier between the
spiritual and the material worlds. Virtually every religion and spiritual
philosophy claims to originate from a communion between the spiritual
and the material world.
By looking at history, you
will see that the tradition of human beings communicating with spiritual
beings goes back as far as we have recorded history. In some cultures,
there has been an attempt to monopolize the communion with the spiritual
realm, saying that only the pharaoh, temple priest, prophet or church
leader can have such communication. However, other cultures have had
a more open approach in which many people have achieved some degree
of inner communion.
Opposition to spiritual communion
In a traditional Christian
culture, only the Vicar of Christ is supposed to commune with the spiritual
realm. However, if you study the history of the early Christian church,
you might realize that this was done partially for political reasons.
(For more on this, see the answer to the question Why
did the idea that Jesus is the only son of God ever become an official
doctrine of the Christian church?)
In reality, Jesus trained
his disciples to have spiritual communion. He did not send them out
with a written doctrine; he sent them to preach by the Holy Spirit.
Many Catholic saints attained spiritual communion, and many modern Christians
(from every denomination) have done the same. In fact, it is not unusual
to hear a Christian minister state that he or she received instructions
from Jesus. Many lay Christians have had the same experience.
The logical question is whether
attaining inner communion is a natural part of the Christian faith?
After all, if all people have the potential to "let that mind be
in you, which was in Christ Jesus," then it would seem that all
have the potential to achieve direct communion with the spiritual realm.
Another source of opposition
to spiritual communion comes from science. However, Einstein's theory
of relativity opens up the possibility of spiritual communion. The theory
proves that everything is energy, and energy is vibration. This opens
up the possibility that there could be levels of vibrations above the
material realm. The fact that people throughout the ages have had spiritual
visions even indicates that the human mind might have the ability to
act as a radio receiver that can tune in to the frequencies of the spiritual
realm. (For more on this, see A
new world view is needed.)
Another factor that points
beyond the traditional opposition to spiritual communion is the observable
fact that more and more people are claiming to have such communion.
This can take many forms, including increased intuition, near-death
experiences, out-of-body experiences or a direct contact with spiritual
beings.
One of the central themes
on this website is that we live in a time when more people are meant
to achieve personal communion with the spiritual realm. Is is a time
like the one described in the prophecy of Joel:
Joel 2:28 And it
shall come to pass afterward, [that] I will pour out my spirit upon
all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old
men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
Joel 2:29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those
days will I pour out my spirit.
For a more detailed teaching
on this, see the discourse, Why
and how religion and science must change.
Why is communion
important?
Why is it important for you
to achieve personal communion with the spiritual realm? One reason is
that personal communion can give you a deeper understanding of the spiritual
side of life. Studying an outer doctrine might not give you a deeply
personal understanding, because the words of the doctrine may not give
you an "aha experience." However, when you attain personal
communion, you receive a higher understanding that is expressed in words
and images that have a deeply personal meaning. Such an understanding
can give you answers that make sense to you and therefore resolve your
inner conflicts.
Another important reason
is the question of what kind of truth you want? Do you want a man-made
"truth" that is influenced by human opinions and possibly
by the eternal human power plays? Or do you want an understanding that
originates in a realm that is above and beyond the human level of consciousness?
If you study the history of many religions, including the early Christian
church, you will see that human beings have an incredible ability to
turn a spiritual truth into a relative, political doctrine.
In fact, one of the central
teachings of this website is that most people have descended into a
lower state of consciousness (what saint Paul called the carnal mind)
in which everything seems relative. The true purpose of all spirituality
is to help people walk a path that leads them out of that lower state
of consciousness and into a higher state of consciousness. (For more
on this, see the discourses
on personal Christhood).
As an example of the influence
of politics on religion, you might study the Arian controversy which
split the early Christian church into the Western Church (the Roman
Catholic Church) and the Eastern Orthodox Church. The central issue
was whether Jesus was God or a creation of God. The arguments used by
both sides clearly demonstrate the lower mind's ability to pervert a
spiritual truth. Even more revealing is the methods used by the two
sides, methods that you might expect from the New York mafia but not
from Christian bishops.
An unbiased study of the
history of religion clearly shows that religion is not above being affected
by the eternal human quest for power and control. In this war, spiritual
truth is usually the first causality. Many people have rejected all
religion because of such power plays. Yet, the obvious alternative is
to reestablish a direct communion with the spiritual realm, whereby
you can receive a spiritual understanding that is not affected by the
lower aspects of human nature, including your own lower mind.
How to achieve personal communion
One of the central themes
of this website is that every human being has a higher self, on this
website normally called the Christ self. This self is a higher part
of your mind, and it permanently resides in the spiritual realm. Your
Christ self is the open door which no human can shut.
Through this self, you can
achieve communion with the spiritual realm. You can receive insights
that are not affected by human power plays or your own lower mind. Such
insights will be deeply personal and designed to help you take the next
step on your personal path.
The only purpose of this
website is to help you realize that you have a Christ self and to help
you establish a direct, conscious connection to that part of your being.
The discourses on personal
Christhood will tell you more about this. The How
to section presents a specific technique for increasing your personal
communion.
To learn where the teachings
on this website come from, click here.
Go back to New
visitors main page.
Back
to top
Copyright
© 2003 by Kim Michaels |
