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NOTE: This
answer was given on December 9, 2006, after the NEW
DIRECTION was implemented.
Answer from Jesus:
I consider Eckhart a genuine
spiritual teacher, who is doing what he should be doing, namely teaching
based on his background, experience and state of consciousness. If visitors
to this website feel an inner prompting to study any of his books, they
should obviously follow that prompting. I will, however, not go so far
as to recommend that all visitors to this site read the books, and let
me explain why some people will want to approach the books with caution.
Any spiritual teaching must of necessity be adapted to a certain level
of consciousness. Given the large range in the levels
of consciousness found on this planet, it simply is not possible
to give a teaching that is suited for all people. When a spiritual teacher
is working with the Ascended Host, the person can often bring forth
a teaching that is beyond his or her own experience. Yet when a teacher
is standing on his or her own, the teaching will almost invariably be
based on the teacher’s personal experience.
There is nothing wrong with that, but it must be recognized that such
a teaching will work for people who are close to the same level of consciousness
as that of the teacher and not for others. Let me give an example. Eckhart
describes how he had a spiritual breakthrough that spontaneously propelled
him into a higher state of consciousness. He thus teaches based on this
experience and basically ignores the need to follow a gradual, systematic
path. He is trying to take the readers through an experience similar
to his own, and he is doing so by sharing the insights he has received
after his breakthrough.
The underlying assumption is that if people receive the right insights,
they will have a spontaneous awakening, just as he experienced. This
can indeed happen, but only for people who are close to the level of
consciousness that Eckhart had before his awakening. Yet the vast majority
of the people on this planet are not at that level, and thus there is
no possibility that any amount of insights will “spontaneously”
awaken them.
Eckhart is not the first spiritual teacher to have a spontaneous breakthrough
and he is not the first to seek to pass it on to others. Some of these
teachers, such as Krishnamurti, have even gone so far as to deny the
need for a spiritual path and spiritual teachers (in embodiment or ascended).
Yet for people who are not close to the teacher’s level of consciousness,
the effect is somewhat like holding up a piece of candy in front of
a child while you are driving away.
Most people will have to follow a systematic, gradual path before they
rise to the level of consciousness where a spiritual breakthrough is
possible. And this will require diligent work, including the use of
spiritual techniques, such as Mother
Mary’s rosaries. If such people believe that all they need
is an insight that gives them some mysterious breakthrough, they can
slow down their progress considerably. Imagine that you are walking
in a jungle and you are lost. Suddenly, you hear a helicopter overhead,
and a person yells down to you, “Come up here and you can see
the way out of the jungle!” Yet if the person does not throw down
a ladder that you can climb step by step, how will you ever make it
to his level?
My point being that many of the people who have had so-called spontaneous
breakthroughs did follow a systematic path in past lives. They may not
remember it now, but at some point the work was done. Thus, I recommend
that visitors to this website study Eckhart’s books without abandoning
their spiritual tools, such as the rosaries.
One more important point. In The Power of Now Eckhart is teaching that
most westerners think too much about the past and the future. He teaches
that the ego uses the past and the future to manipulate people but that
the ego cannot operate in the now. Thus, he recommends that people focus
more on the now, which is not a wrong approach given that so many people
do tend to focus too much on the past and the future. That is indeed
why I said:
Take therefore
no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the
things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Matthew
6:34)
I agree that the ego finds
it very difficult to operate in the now, and if you are truly awake
in the eternal now, the ego has no influence over you. However, saying
that people should focus on the now is only a useful approach for people
who have reached a certain level of consciousness. It takes a high level
of spiritual maturity to actually BE in the now, and until one reaches
that level, one will have no ability to simply BE.
So when such a person is told to be in the now, he or she cannot actually
experience being in the now. Instead, the person forms a mental concept
of what it means to be in the now—based on the teacher’s
directions rather than personal experience. And the ego is quite capable
of manipulating any and all mental concepts human beings create. This
can easily lead some people to take an unbalanced approach to being
in the now. The concept of being in the now is not new, since it was
first taught by the Buddha. Over the centuries many people have taken
an unbalanced approach, causing them to go toward one of two extremes:
-
Some people reason that
being in the now means they can ignore their past. By spontaneously
awakening, you will overcome your past without having to deal with
your karma or psychological wounds. Thus, they start seeking a miraculous
insight that will do all the work for them. Again, a breakthrough
can happen if you have already overcome your karma and wounds in
past lives, but for the vast majority of people this is not the
case. Thus, most people will slow down their progress by ignoring
their past. They would make much faster progress by using all available
means to resolve their psychology, overcome dualistic beliefs and
purify all misqualified energy (karma) from past lives.
- Some people reason that
they can stop thinking about the future, including planning their
lives. Some even go so far as thinking God will miraculously take
care of everything, and this has caused some otherwise sincere spiritual
seekers to actually commit suicide through neglect. This is what the
devil used when I was tempted after my stay in the wilderness:
6 And saith unto
him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written,
He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands
they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against
a stone.
7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt
the Lord thy God. (Matthew, Chapter 4)
My point is to
always take a balanced approach to everything in life—being
aware that the ego will always seek to polarize you toward one extreme
or the other.
A final point is that Eckhart
gives some teachings on the mind that can easily be interpreted to mean
that the mind is the enemy of your spiritual growth. I realize Eckhart
himself does not believe this, but his statements will make some people
believe it. It is indeed true that an overactive mind, especially a
well-developed intellect, can be a hindrance to spiritual growth—which
is a more intuitive than intellectual process. However, believing that
your own mind is an enemy is not a constructive approach since it only
makes you even more of a house divided against itself.
The correct view is that the mind is like a house with servants. It
only becomes an enemy when the master refuses to take command in his
own house. That master is you, specifically your conscious
self, which is meant to have dominion over your lower being by taking
up the responsibility to be the Christ. When you find the middle way
of the Christ, you will not let your mind control you and neither will
you seek to control the mind to the point of extinguishing its creative
potential. Many spiritual people have indeed used discipline to so control
the mind that they have forgotten that they did not come to Earth to
sit in a cave and meditate on God. You came here to be a co-creator
and bring God’s kingdom to this planet.
Your mind has the potential to become an extension of your I
AM Presence, which truly makes your mind an extension of the mind
of God. Everything is created out of God’s consciousness, meaning
that everything is created out of the mind of God. Thus, when your mind
takes up its rightful role as an individualization of the mind of God
– rather than as a mind separated from its source – your
mind will become a vehicle for you doing what you came here to do, namely
to have dominion over the Earth.
Let me make it clear that I am not hereby saying that people should
not read Eckhart’s books. I am simply saying that I expect visitors
to this website to use the insights they have received here when they
study any kind of spiritual teaching. And I expect people to do their
utmost to heed my teachings on the need for balance. If you have not
yet realized that I often talk about balance, then I recommend you read
the website again and take note of how often I describe balance as the
most important prerequisite for true spiritual growth. I especially
recommend my two ego discourses on black-and-white
and gray thinking.
That being said, there is no question that Eckhart has given many valuable
insights about the ego and the duality consciousness. People at all
levels can benefit from these insights, but you need to be realistic
and not abandon a systematic approach to spiritual growth in favor of
chasing a miraculous insight that will suddenly turn you into an enlightened
being. It is far better to keep working methodically and let the spontaneous
awakening happen—spontaneously. Seeking to take heaven by force
has never brought anyone out of reach of the ego.
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Copyright
© 2006 by Kim Michaels |
