Tuning into the Christ frequency, part 2
Over the millennia, much has been made of the search for the “historical” Jesus. For a while I too got caught up in this madness, but I have come to the conclusion that searching for the “historical” Jesus is a fool’s errand. Jesus was a very common name in the ancient world, and if there ever was a single person on whom the stories in the Second Testament are based, any actual facts about that person have been long lost to the conflation of imaginative historical fiction and biblical literalism. So, I have concluded that trying to prove whether or not Jesus “actually” existed sort of misses the point of the stories, which were likely meant to be spiritual parables.
Now, if we want to talk about Jesus as a rebel who spoke against the Roman Empire, the historical context is important—but it still doesn’t matter whether or not the rebellious Jesus written about in the Bible was a single historical person, an amalgamation of many people of the era (as many scholars believe), or an entirely fictional character (as many more scholars are starting to believe). For our spiritual growth, for the intentional raising of our conscious awareness of the something more of existence, all that matters is the meaning of the Jesus parables.
What matters is that the Jesus in the Second Testament stories reveals a higher state of being. One of the best examples of Jesus as an example of the higher state of consciousness we are all capable of attaining is in Matthew 25:1-13, often called “The Parable of the Ten Virgins”. Eckhart Tolle was one of the first people I know of to hint at the idea revealed in this parable. Once you read this parable form the perspective of attaining enlightenment, you’ll start to look at the other parables this way, then eventually, at every one of the Jesus stories as parables meant to help us achieve higher consciousness. Our spiritual journey is ongoing and participatory. We are asked to live these stories, not to simply read them. This is what happens in “The Parable of the Ten Virgins”—the main characters exemplify the difference between living in the sensory world (and being trapped by it), and living in the higher state of awareness Christ represents.
If you recall, at the beginning of this parable Jesus says something along the lines of, “The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.” Many people (too many people) interpret this to be about Jesus himself—he is the bridegroom the virgins are going to meet. But the bridegroom is not Jesus; it is a higher state of being, a higher level of the awareness of God within us all, all the time. When the virgins go out into the desert, they take oil lamps with them. Five of them only take their lamps. They are referred to as “foolish”. The other five also take jars of oil, and are called “wise”. It takes a long time for the bridegroom to arrive (raising our consciousness takes patience, practice, and yes, a long time!). When the bridegroom does finally appear, the oil in the lamps is running out. Here, the oil represents our ability to be conscious of a higher state of being, and to have enough energy and patience to continue to strive to achieve a higher level of consciousness. Do we have enough “oil” to make it through this long journey to awareness? The five “foolish” virgins ask the others for some oil, but are refused and sent back into town. While the “foolish” virgins are away, the five “wise” virgins enter into the wedding banquet with the bridegroom—enter into the higher state of Christ consciousness that is inherently within us, and the others are shut out.
This is not a story about accepting Jesus Christ as your only Lord and Savior or being denied entry into Heaven. It is not about being “left behind” when Jesus returns to earth. This is a story about living into the higher state of being that is already within us all. The five “foolish” virgins represent the five senses, which too often keep us from accepting the idea there is more to living than what we can see, hear, taste, touch or smell. The five “wise” virgins represent humans who are constantly attentive to spiritual development. We work out our minds and we work out our bodies. Why are our spirits so neglected? I think at least partially because organized religion has told us we are not worthy. We can’t work on our spirituality, we can’t increase our consciousness, we can’t commune with God directly, because we are not Jesus, we are not special.
I think this parable proves that thinking wrong, and I think the authors of the Jesus represented in the Second Testament stories would be appalled at that thinking. Every single human on this planet is One with God. We are capable of so much more. We have the possibility to evolve spiritually, but it takes a conscious effort on our part, as shown in “The Parable of the Ten Virgins.” We have to participate in our spiritual wellness and the expansion of our consciousness. We must be attentive to the things of the spirit, as well as to the things of the world, because the two are intrinsically interwoven in ways we are only now beginning to understand. If we truly want to see the kingdom of heaven, the work begins, consciously, within ourselves.
Meditation: Make me conscious of my thoughts and actions, so that I have enough oil to get through this entire journey to Oneness with you, God who is my being, God who is all being. Amen.
Now, if we want to talk about Jesus as a rebel who spoke against the Roman Empire, the historical context is important—but it still doesn’t matter whether or not the rebellious Jesus written about in the Bible was a single historical person, an amalgamation of many people of the era (as many scholars believe), or an entirely fictional character (as many more scholars are starting to believe). For our spiritual growth, for the intentional raising of our conscious awareness of the something more of existence, all that matters is the meaning of the Jesus parables.What matters is that the Jesus in the Second Testament stories reveals a higher state of being. One of the best examples of Jesus as an example of the higher state of consciousness we are all capable of attaining is in Matthew 25:1-13, often called “The Parable of the Ten Virgins”. Eckhart Tolle was one of the first people I know of to hint at the idea revealed in this parable. Once you read this parable form the perspective of attaining enlightenment, you’ll start to look at the other parables this way, then eventually, at every one of the Jesus stories as parables meant to help us achieve higher consciousness. Our spiritual journey is ongoing and participatory. We are asked to live these stories, not to simply read them. This is what happens in “The Parable of the Ten Virgins”—the main characters exemplify the difference between living in the sensory world (and being trapped by it), and living in the higher state of awareness Christ represents.
If you recall, at the beginning of this parable Jesus says something along the lines of, “The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.” Many people (too many people) interpret this to be about Jesus himself—he is the bridegroom the virgins are going to meet. But the bridegroom is not Jesus; it is a higher state of being, a higher level of the awareness of God within us all, all the time. When the virgins go out into the desert, they take oil lamps with them. Five of them only take their lamps. They are referred to as “foolish”. The other five also take jars of oil, and are called “wise”. It takes a long time for the bridegroom to arrive (raising our consciousness takes patience, practice, and yes, a long time!). When the bridegroom does finally appear, the oil in the lamps is running out. Here, the oil represents our ability to be conscious of a higher state of being, and to have enough energy and patience to continue to strive to achieve a higher level of consciousness. Do we have enough “oil” to make it through this long journey to awareness? The five “foolish” virgins ask the others for some oil, but are refused and sent back into town. While the “foolish” virgins are away, the five “wise” virgins enter into the wedding banquet with the bridegroom—enter into the higher state of Christ consciousness that is inherently within us, and the others are shut out.
This is not a story about accepting Jesus Christ as your only Lord and Savior or being denied entry into Heaven. It is not about being “left behind” when Jesus returns to earth. This is a story about living into the higher state of being that is already within us all. The five “foolish” virgins represent the five senses, which too often keep us from accepting the idea there is more to living than what we can see, hear, taste, touch or smell. The five “wise” virgins represent humans who are constantly attentive to spiritual development. We work out our minds and we work out our bodies. Why are our spirits so neglected? I think at least partially because organized religion has told us we are not worthy. We can’t work on our spirituality, we can’t increase our consciousness, we can’t commune with God directly, because we are not Jesus, we are not special.
I think this parable proves that thinking wrong, and I think the authors of the Jesus represented in the Second Testament stories would be appalled at that thinking. Every single human on this planet is One with God. We are capable of so much more. We have the possibility to evolve spiritually, but it takes a conscious effort on our part, as shown in “The Parable of the Ten Virgins.” We have to participate in our spiritual wellness and the expansion of our consciousness. We must be attentive to the things of the spirit, as well as to the things of the world, because the two are intrinsically interwoven in ways we are only now beginning to understand. If we truly want to see the kingdom of heaven, the work begins, consciously, within ourselves.
Meditation: Make me conscious of my thoughts and actions, so that I have enough oil to get through this entire journey to Oneness with you, God who is my being, God who is all being. Amen.
