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If you seek the real Jesus,
look inside your heart.
He is nowhere else to be found.
Have
you ever considered that the world’s spiritual teachers might
have spoken the same basic message? That message is quite simple,
“There is more to life!” If you are tired of living inside
the mental box of orthodox Christianity, take a different approach
and discover the real Jesus.
By Kim Michaels
All spiritual teachers have been telling us that we don’t have
to live our entire lives the way we were brought up, or programmed,
to live. We don’t have to live a superficial life in an endless
pursuit of material possessions, fame, career goals or other outer
goals. We don’t have to confine our minds to what we were taught
in school and Sunday school.
There
is more to do with your life.
There is more to understand about life.
There is more to experience, and it isn't reserved for the few.
It is something that all
of us can have, if we are willing to learn how to get it. Experiencing
a life that is more, that is spiritually abundant, is not a matter
of magic, luck or fate. It is a matter of adopting the right approach
to life, of learning a systematic procedure for expanding your awareness
and of directing your attention inside yourself instead of always
chasing some outer mirage.
How do you get started on this spiritual life? You
must become a seeker of truth instead of a follower of doctrine.
What does it take to become a seeker of truth? Consider the following
question,
“If
your present religious beliefs were incomplete or incorrect—would
you want to know?”
If the answer is a clear
“Yes,” you are already a seeker. If the answer is tentative,
you might want to consider that you might be a seeker without realizing
it.
Why have people always been dreaming about improving their personal
lives and finding happiness and peace of mind? Why are we constantly
trying to improve society? Isn't it because somewhere deep within
us we know there is more to life than what we experience right now?
Because we sense that there must be more to life, we are on a quest.
We are engaged in an ongoing process of learning, a process of growth.
What starts this process of growth, both on a personal level and in
society as a whole? It all starts with a question, an unanswered question,
and the burning desire to find an answer.
To grow or not to grow
We have two options in life: to grow or not to grow. Growth starts
at a point of humility, namely the recognition that we don’t
know everything, that there might be something we have not yet understood,
that there might be more to life than what we have presently discovered.
This recognition leads to the desire to understand more about life,
a desire to discover the unknown, a longing to connect to something
greater than ourselves. This longing, this willingness to learn and
grow, is the hallmark of all spiritual seekers and all spiritual teachers.
The essence of growth is a willingness to look outside our present
knowledge and beliefs, a readiness to
think outside the box. In opposition to growth is
an unwillingness to look at ideas that do not fit inside the mental
box of our present knowledge and beliefs.
This reluctance to ask questions and seek answers can spring from
pride or arrogance. We feel that we already know everything there
is to know, everything that it is important to know or everything
we are allowed to know. We feel that our present belief system can
give us all the answers we need.
Opposition to growth can also spring from fear. The fear that if we
look outside the box, we might discover ideas that make it necessary
for us to reconsider, revise or even abandon our present beliefs.
We fear losing our foundation, our sense of comfortability and security,
even our sense of identity. We somehow fear that expanding our understanding
and finding answers to our questions can be a threat to our present
sense of who we are. And even if we are presently unhappy, we think
a familiar unhappiness is better than the uncertainty associated with
new ideas. We simply don’t dare to take the chance that if we
go beyond our present beliefs, we might end up with nothing. We see
new ideas as a threat rather than as an opportunity. We
fear change and growth.
The seekers
Many people grow up learning only what allows them to fit into their
social environment and adopt the lifestyle they were brought up to
accept as their only option. After reaching adulthood, such people
rarely think about new ideas or seek answers to deeper questions.
Instead, they focus of the outer aspects of life and ignore or suppress
all spiritual questions. They simply
stop growing, both physically and spiritually.
Yet in every generation, a certain percentage of people cannot be
satisfied with this form of life. They cannot stop thinking about
the deeper, spiritual questions of life. They cannot stop thinking,
and they cannot stop seeking answers. These people cannot stop growing
spiritually, even when their bodies stop growing in size. They cannot
be satisfied with the outer aspects of life. They
want more, because deep within they know there must be more.
Such people become seekers. For them life becomes a process of continued
growth towards a deeper and deeper understanding of the spiritual
side of life. Sometimes the growth can seem slow, and it can even
feel like you are getting nowhere. Yet suddenly a breakthrough can
occur and you find a wealth of new ideas that instantly open up new
horizons and make you feel alive and growing.
What does it take to become a seeker? Some have been seekers since
childhood. Some are awakened by the realization that there are certain
questions they simply have to have answered. Some are awakened by
a personal crisis. Others are awakened by the maturity that comes
with advancing years and changing priorities. Yet what is the single
ingredient that propels a person from merely existing into the vibrant
life of a spiritual seeker?
The motor of growth is love
When we grow, we are constantly changing, moving and transcending
ourselves. We are willing to let go of our present state of consciousness,
our present level of understanding, in the hope of finding something
better.
When we are not growing, we stand still, stagnate or perhaps even
shrink. We hold on to what we have and what we know. We see no opportunity
in growth, but only a threat of losing what makes us feel comfortable.
Growth and anti-growth correspond to two emotions, namely love and
fear. Fear is what makes us afraid to change, reluctant to let go
of what is familiar and comfortable. Love is what makes us non-attached
to what we have and willing to take a risk in order to attain something
better.
Only love can propel you from a fear-based
approach to life into the realm of the spiritual seeker.
You must love something so much that you are willing to leave the
certainty and comfort of what you have in order to find what you love.
For many seekers this love comes spontaneously, and they have little
understanding of how it happens. Yet it is possible to consciously
cultivate this love. This can often be done by examining your inner
desires to find out which aspects of life give you the greatest joy.
Discover your innermost love, your strongest curiosity and you will
discover the key to your awakening as a spiritual seeker.
Do you love to learn new things, to feel that you suddenly understand
something that was hazy before? Do you love beauty and sense that
there must be an underlying beauty to the universe? Do you love knowledge
and feel that life somehow must make sense? Do you love truth and
feel that there must be a reality beyond the many man-made theories
and belief systems? Do you love a spiritual being, such as Jesus or
God, and feel a desire to be closer to them? Do you love something
deep within yourself and feel that there must be more to your own
being than the limited, mortal person you were brought up to be?
Discover your innermost love and curiosity, and then nourish it by
giving it your attention. Study the topic from all angles, including
outer spiritual or religious teachings. Contemplate spiritual ideas
and allow a deeper part of your mind to give you answers as your conscious
mind is ready.
So many people look at life through
a filter of existing beliefs based on an outer belief system.
As you allow your love and curiosity to help you look beyond such
mental boxes, you will discover that you have the ability to find
answers that make sense from a source inside yourself. You begin to
realize that life is a journey of discovery and that all discovery
is self-discovery.
Discover the real Jesus
So many people have been brought up with a rigid view of Jesus, and
their relationship to him is boxed in by doctrines and rituals. Yet
even the best doctrines and ritual are boxes that exist in this world.
Today, Jesus is a spiritual being who resides in a higher realm. Therefore,
no box in this world can contain and
confine the real Jesus. He is more, much more, than
any of the boxes, no matter how complete or infallible they claim
to be.
So if you love Jesus, decide that you
want to know the real Jesus and then have the courage
to look beyond all of the doctrines and mental boxes. If you are willing,
this website can show you many glimpses of the real Jesus and his
true, spiritual teachings. Yet no outer teaching can ever give you
the fullness of who Jesus is.
So please do not confine your search for the real Jesus to this website.
Instead, use the tools
on this site to go deeply within your heart and develop a personal,
inner, intuitive relationship to Jesus. Allow Jesus to reveal his
Presence to you, and let him do so the only place it could possibly
happen, namely in your heart!
This website cannot show you the real Jesus. It can show you the way
to discover the real Jesus, but you must walk that path on your own.
I
am the open door, but you must walk through it.
Jesus
Copyright
© 2009 by Kim Michaels |
