Conversations with Zoe and Buddha: An Affirmation of Success
Buddha: There are those who think how will I survive if I don’t do? If I don’t achieve? If I don’t succeed? But ask yourself- survive what? Living? You cannot survive this as it is your destiny to leave living through death. This is inevitable. Does this mean put yourself in harms way? No. But learn to cherish the living one within. The one that unites you with all other Ones. The eternal. It is here to enjoy and explore. So why not enjoy and explore? Perhaps you can do this as you go about your daily life and business. Perhaps you can make this your affirmation of success.
Conversations with Zoe and Jesus: Times of Suffering
Jesus: There will be times when you feel you cannot cope; you cannot find the strength to carry on. Perhaps a loved one will pass, a fortune lost or a child has suffered and died. Even in these times turn to us. It is not your destiny to suffer although during your life much suffering will occur. Turn to us and we will lift you; lift you from the pain and misery that can set in after a tragedy. Pain will and must be felt but life goes on and so too must you. Choosing to suffer does not help anyone and certainly does not serve the world, nor me.
Jesus: Reason used divorced from heart or larger perspective does not serve man. How many wars have seemed reasonable? How many justified actions based on ‘reason’ have resulted in further destruction?
Reason, a marvellous human tool when used with love and companion, ends all wars, forgives all foes for what else is there? More death? Destruction?
Next time when you believe you are being ‘reasonable’ ensure that your reason is in harmony with your heart and you have considered the consequences of your action and can be at peace.
Conversation with Buddha and Zoe: In Times of Fear and Uncertainty Look Within
Buddha: We are living in a time of collective madness. We are living in societies and civilizations, not all but most, where people are living with a collective consciousness below that of hysteria. The threat is believed to come from every angle: from economic downturn, from terrorists, from immigrants, from racial minorities.
Within this context many of you will become uncomfortable, unable to function to the best of your abilities and unable to accept this way of being for yourself, for your community, for your country anymore.
When these times arise there is only one place to look that is not in defensive strategies, that is not in armament either of weapon or money. The time to look is the time to look inside and to learn to become one with what you find there in. There is nothing to be frightened or fearful of inside of yourself. There is nothing inside you that, with focus and dedication, cannot be turned into gold. So during this time look inside without fear. There will be great reticence initially at doing this for what is hidden has been hidden for good reason or so the mind has told you. But it is illusion as I repeat there is nothing that is within any human alive that cannot be turned into gold, that cannot be turned into the seeker and even the finder of better states of being.
I have been asked, “Why look within? Why will looking within and becoming at peace with what one finds be a strategy in uncertain times such as these?”
You are connected to the collective mind, to the consciousness of humanity. For the consciousness to change be the change. If enough people in uncertain times become stable and solid and stalwart then peace will be able to return. Think of a life or death situation that is being faced by a group of people. If there is one that is able to find the peace, the strength, the courage to stay in the moment and to deal with what is happening, that one is able to impact the hysteria of the many; not always successfully but impact would be made.
Now think if there were two or three or four, the odds are getting better aren’t they. So in uncertain times when one is concerned with ones material future switch to ones interior future and begin the work. By creating stillness, by allowing the system to harmonize, you will not only make more logical and grounded steps you will also impact the collective of everyone around you.
Buddha: What you’ve to understand is that all is here. All is neither waiting nor ready, it simply is. This is what can be tapped into. You have been fed information about slipstream and how all exists within the slipstream below the level of conscious thought. By bringing consciousness to the fore, thought becomes secondary, and an awareness of slipstream becomes primary. Now what happens in slipstream? Different ways of being: you simply are; it simply is. All is expansion; all is contraction. All is resonance and all resonates with the beat of God. It is within this slipstream that you can tap into being one with nature; but even nature is another level to be moved through.
For, as thought presides over consciousness, for many of you nature presides over reality. Reality, I hear you say, isn’tthat the domain of conscious thought? There is a truth, there is a harmony, there is an equinanimous resonance deeper than all of that. As deep as the deepest part of the sea, as wide as the widest part of space: yet it is neither space nor sea, but existing beyond form and beyond the levels of form.
Within this reality, within this stream, you will meet me. We will talk again.
So we all exist, all of us, as one but in the slipstream below the level of conscious thought. I say below for we are always there underneath the conscious thought. The conscious thought is like the interference on the television screen of old that becomes all absorbing. Imagine a person who, rather than watching the screen, begins to watch the interference around the side of the screen, and so misses the main show. This is what’s happening. The main show is missed. To some extent this has always been. However, there is more at stake within your world at the moment. Hence, my return.
So I say that we are all here existing below the level of conscious thought for if you take away conscious thought and begin to breathe, “da-da” there we are! (I do have great humor Zoe and I like to use it.)
So what do you need to do to become mindful of the show? Breathe: simple as that. This has been heard many times before and it will be heard many times after this has been recorded and typed.
Breathing, breathing, when one is conscious of breathing and one opens ones eyes life is simply happening; it just is. In this case Zoe as you have opened your eyes there are birds flying in the trees, the clouds are moving across the sky, there is traffic on the road nearby, in the reflection in the window you can see the palm trees waving in the wind. This is all simply happening; it is all simply being. Now if you were to become involved in the interference of your mind where would this go? Nowhere! It simply would continue to happen without you noticing it and what would you have missed? You would have missed being in the present in your own life. So what is the price of this? For many there is no question, the price is too high. But others choose to become involved in the interference and we move on to the subject, Zoe that we have been making you aware of, the pursuit of pleasure.
How do you feel Zoe opening your eyes, breathing?
Z: Peaceful.
MB: Yes, are you concerned?
Z: No.
MB: Are you worried?
Z: No.
MB: Are you desiring?
Z: No, not even that cup of tea.
MB: Simply by breathing and opening the eyelids. Isn’t that amazing? Now let’s put you into a different situation Zoe. Let’s put you into a busy office. Imagine one where the phones are ringing, people are talking, there’s artificial light, there is work in front of you, your in-tray is bigger than your out-tray. Imagine you sitting in this situation at your desk and picture yourself breathing and opening your eyes. How do you feel?
Z: Peaceful.
MB: What is happening around you?
Z: Life.
MB: Do you have any desires in that moment?
Z: No.
MB: Now let’s move you into a different situation- one that my forefathers are said to have experienced. Let’s put you into the middle of a battle zone. Open your eyes and breathe.
Z: Don’t know if I could do that Buddha.
MB: What would you be doing if you couldn’t do that?
Z: I would be looking around me to see if anyone is going to kill me. I wouldn’t feel I was capable of relaxing or switching off my adrenaline system. I feel I would need the heightened reality to live.
MB: Ok, what would it take for you to breathe? A God to visit you?
Z: Yes.
MB: You know the story Zoe and I know the story too. There are times when the human system is built for dealing with such stress, such chaos, and such heightened senses of the need to survive. You have, after all, evolved from the animal kingdom where this is a highly necessary part of their reality. To switch off your sensory system may involve in your own death.
TM: I’ve received quite a few inquiries about money and requests to talk about it. There has been a great body of writing on this from a spiritual perspective. What do you say to someone who asks, “What is the proper relationship to money, how much to have, how to use it, how to get it, etc.?”
Master Buddha: First of all, there isn’t just one way to view this because each person has his or her particular orientation to money given his or her life path. Anything I say must be understood as general statements and then I can offer examples of individual circumstances to show how some principles may apply.
As viewed from the spiritual perspective, meaning from a non-material realm, money is as worthless as a bicycle would be for travel across an ocean. It is purely a human creation. So your question presumes a spiritual oversight that doesn’t exist except in the form of advice and counsel that may be offered from time to time. That is the spirit in which I present these ideas today.
Let me attempt to simplify the concept of money in relation to a person. Humans have decided that money shall represent a value of some thing. Those things may include the physically inanimate object (house, car, etc.), a personal action (one’s labor), a promise for future delivery of value (speculation), restitution for past value (grievances resolved), a gift of love or social obligation, so on and so forth. The second premise is that the value of money shall equal approximately the value of that thing in the exchange. Sometimes the values are not equal, and if they are too unequal, then one or the other person feels either elated or cheated.
The third premise created by humans is a system of ethics regarding transactions between one another using money or the thing valued as the currency. This is a point of departure between the diverse cultures of the world. The one dominant force has been the Western philosophy governing the use of money. The ethics of the Western system have varied over the past two hundred years, but for the most part they have represented an idealism that while noble in its aim has not achieved its goal.
TM: So is it possible to answer my questions?
Master Buddha: I’m getting there, but needed to frame my response for clarity. The proper relationship to money must take on a general perspective representing larger society (we’ll call general ethics) and the particular relationship of an individual to money. From the general ethics, the idea of freedom to choose one’s occupation and one’s level of income and expense, is I think the best arrangement. As we have discussed in these conversations there is a point that one must consider that individual freedom intersects with group harmony. This means that it is necessary for individuals to contribute to the whole in a way that brings harmony to the whole and doesn’t disturb the peace of the many. This is the greatest insurance for all. The current system in Western society doesn’t achieve this goal, but with modification it could.
TM: I’m not clear on what you mean. Are you saying that there needs to be a balance in interest between the range of individual freedom and the needs of the whole population?
Master Buddha: Yes. For example, in Western society a person is permitted to amass unlimited wealth. On the other end of the scale a person is permitted to starve to death or die due to exposure to the elements because he cannot afford shelter. What is preventing Western society from implementing safeguards at the bottom end of the scale?
TM: We don’t allocate budget for it because we’ve determined other things are more important.
Master Buddha: And the contradiction is that your idealism states that you cherish life above all. Your military runs to all ends of the earth to rescue those in peril. Your governments send aid to foreign countries in an attempt to prevent starvation and lethal diseases from spreading. Yet in your own domestic domain you have families living in such poverty that their lives are at risk daily.
TM: It isn’t a perfect system for sure and most Westerners will agree that we can do more to clean up our domestic programs.
Master Buddha: What do you think is stopping you from doing this?
TM: We have an overly complicated and increasingly corrupt political system that can’t philosophically agree on just how much we are our brother’s keeper.
Master Buddha: It is first and foremost the obligation of your governments, using the general treasury, to prevent starvation and health-related problems derived from poverty. This cannot be left to the generosity and goodwill of individuals. It must begin with your domestic sphere first. It is there that you work out the ethics of being your brother’s keeper as you phrased it. Once you have mastered that step then sharing that wisdom with other cultures is a natural extension.
TM: We have the resources to do what you suggest, but not the collective resolve to do it.
Master Buddha: This is true, but you asked for a perspective on the proper relationship to money. You will have to work out the politics in order to deliver a just relationship.
TM: Okay then, maybe you can state what a person should be required to do in order to receive assistance that raises his status above poverty. That’s where we fail; we can’t agree on that. Some people say we should be self-reliant and others want to give to others with little or no requirements for self-responsibility. So, what is the answer?
Master Buddha: Ah you see, now you are into the business of designing a society that grapples with such ethical obligations yet stumbles at the final step failing to complete the mission. If the US government felt the collective will of its citizens favored a system whereby no citizen would be permitted to fall into poverty, could they achieve that?
TM: Yes.
Master Buddha: Then it must be that the collective will of its citizens do not favor such a system.
TM: How many citizens create a collective will?
Master Buddha: Enough that under your political system you could legislate and implement the system.
TM: Then you must be correct. Sadly it must be true. But you still haven’t answered my question of self-responsibility.
Master Buddha: Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. Your society has through its own design created an array of citizens from the genius to the infantile. Your society is responsible on a par level with the individuals that make up society. It will take many generations of enlightened governance to correct the mistakes and injustices created by past policies and practices. It will likewise take time for individuals to climb out of their ignorance or unfortunate circumstances due to conditions beyond their control.
Wandering your streets are the insane and the helpless. They cannot take responsibility for themselves in any way.
You have many people who are indolent and averse to responsibility through personal predilection and familial training. They will have to be educated on a new understanding of their responsibility.
You have a growing number who have turned to crime and are either incarcerated or among the general population. They will have to be educated, and until they are they will remain incarcerated because you have no other way to assimilate them.
There are those who through no fault of their own have fallen upon hard times due to major shifts in the economy. They will need to be retrained in new occupations and helped along the way.
When there are enough enlightened citizens there will be a more enlightened government and they will realize the long-term commitment required to correct your system. It is a race against the clock.
If you do nothing to correct this situation, because as a society you think it isn’t your responsibility, then you will suffer the consequences of doing nothing. The consequences will include a greater divide between the economic classes, thus more poverty; less efficacy in minimum education achievement among the lower classes; increased criminal activity; reduction of individual freedoms due to crime prevention measures; compartmentalization of community along class lines further reducing the efficacy of government and the erosion of community infrastructure. You can probably project from there what will transpire next.
If however, you find the collective will to make a long-term commitment to correction, then you will begin to see minor changes for the good. It will take patience beyond one, two or three generations. That is perhaps the greatest challenge for a society that has come to expect immediate gratifications of its goals (even though this hasn’t really been the case).
TM: What can you say to the questions regarding individuals and their relationship to money? What are some guidelines to follow is really what I’m asking.
Master Buddha: As individuals you must graduate through levels of ethical refinement regarding the role of money in your life. What is good for one person may not be good or right for another. For that reason do not be hasty in judging others for their view in earning or handling their money.
As Master Jesus and I have maintained throughout these conversations, release judgment from your view. Find your relationship to money based upon your path and your understanding and allow others to do the same without inveighing their choices. When you have come to peace with your relationship to money then you may offer a helping hand to others who may wish to hear from you.
Conversation with Jesus and TMichael: Love and Loneliness (Part 3)
TM: I recently had an experience that put to test what we discussed in parts one and two on loneliness. Someone very close to me wanted to die because of severe loneliness, alienation, etc. The ideas that we discussed seemed so intellectual and abstract that she couldn’t bear to listen or discuss them. She wanted to die because she didn’t care about anything. What would you do for someone is this shape?
Master Jesus: Love her first. Love her with all your heart. Let the power of love pierce her fog of confusion. Each person will respond differently to mental concepts, but all will respond to the purity of love in the same way.
TM: I don’t know what that means or how to do that.
Master Jesus: It means that your heart informs you and moves you to action, not the mind. When the mind argues and rationalizes a point to her, the heart just embraces her for who and what she is. The mind suggests changes immediately, the heart accepts first. The mind demands discipline and compliance, the heart offers comfort.
TM: Yes, but if she has reached this point, it’s because of behavioral patterns that need augmenting. Isn’t what you’re suggesting just a form of enabling the behavior that is so destructive?
Master Jesus: I’m speaking about first responses. The changes will come only when she feels love, first from you then from herself. Any changes prior to experiencing love are subject to disruption with the slightest provocation. No matter how sound your mental concepts are, they will wither and fall away if the emotional turmoil is present. The problem is that the emotional powers are tethered to older thought forms that are made even more powerful when denied or left unaddressed through unconsciousness. Love begins the dissipation process and provides the strength required to weather the battle. It must be experienced first; that’s why I say to you to lead with love.
Conversation with Buddha and TMichael: Anger Management
TM: May I ask about anger and its role in our lives and relationships? Will you begin with offering a definition of anger?
Master Buddha: What may seem obvious to most everyone is that anger is a reaction to not getting what you want when you want it or in the way you want it. It can be your fault, or it can be someone else’s fault. The second reflex of anger is retribution or evening the score to recover what you didn’t get plus a bonus for having suffered the agony of anger and inconvenience. There is also anger once removed, meaning on behalf of an injustice done to another for which you have a connection or affinity. The reflex of retribution is the same.
TM: I have a difficult time knowing when to express anger, that is, when it’s appropriate and when it isn’t. Sometimes I wonder whether or not anger is necessary or not, even though it seems to arise as an involuntary reaction.
Master Buddha: Let’s start with the involuntary reaction part of your statement and then move to the rest. Anger is a natural human emotion just like love, sadness, grief, joy, happiness, bliss, disappointment and others in the spectrum. They arise spontaneously as a reaction to what is happening in your life. This as a general statement is true for every human on earth. Then how do we account for the differences in reactions among people? Why do some people react violently to the slightest provocation and others almost not at all to severe events?
Humans share in common an emotional body that works in concert with your physical and mental bodies. There is an influence based upon one’s past life history—what must be experienced this lifetime? There is group connection—what must be worked out for this group of beings? There is the influence of parents, family and community that impacts one’s emotional body and conditions its reactions. Beyond these local influences, there is responsibility from humanity’s role on Earth.
The confluence of these many factors produce differences in reactions from one being to another.
As a social concern, there must be a range of acceptable reactions and for that humans have erected laws to regulate behavior. Within those laws one will find instances that permit retribution resulting in death of the offending party that passes as justifiable because of the provocation of anger and the acceptance that that person is not liable for such reactions, or as is in some cultures, entitled to the justice of the extreme reaction. Other cultures don’t condone anger reactions to that extent, but make some allowance for it that support the concept of it being involuntary if acted out spontaneously. There are also social customs below the threshold of laws that regulate behavior.
To answer your question of whether or not anger is necessary, we must ask to what purpose is it necessary.
TM: Some people I’ve spoken to about this usually say that expressing anger is natural and involuntary and that it releases the energy from you and that’s a good and natural thing, then you move on. Their assertion is that anger is within the constellation of natural human emotions as you just said and that we eventually evolve to the point that we can freely express anger without killing one another, but express we shall just like any other emotion.
Master Buddha: Would you say that as a rule, expression of anger has the potential to be more destructive in its effects than the expression of joy or sadness?
TM: In some cases yes. But maybe that’s because people overreact to some things due to repression of anger until they explode disproportionately.
Master Buddha: That’s possible, but let’s go back to your question to what purpose it serves and so is it necessary. If our definition of anger described the circumstances of anger, then let’s answer what is anger energetically? What purpose does the delivery of that energy serve?
Anger, energetically speaking springs from the desire nature, which in turn reflects human survival needs, and desires beyond the necessities of life. Anger is the defender of those personal and group needs and desires. If they are threatened, then anger arises to defend. Energetically, it is linked to desire and it does not discriminate between basic needs and frivolous wants without the help of the mental body. Anger at its root level, just is the defender that can be, when combined with mental energy, an impetus to aggression.
TM: In the desire nature and its list of wants, do you include things like dignity and respect?
Master Buddha: Yes, of course. That is a matter of ego interpretation of necessities that we have covered elsewhere.
I wish to draw your attention to the fact that anger derives its force and origin from its role as defender within the human realm of physical, emotional and mental.
TM: From that are you implying that anger doesn’t exist in other realms, such as spiritual?
Master Buddha: I say emphatically that anger does not exist in the spiritual realm because there is no need that goes unfulfilled.
TM: What about the whole Lucifer rebellion? That sounds like some needs unfulfilled.
Master Buddha: That was a matter of pride and desire, not of anger. It was a calculated, creative execution of a perceived right of domain. It failed.
TM: So spirits in the universe weren’t angry with Lucifer and his minions for disrupting and corrupting everything? I mean it seems like a major conflict and you’re saying there was no anger involved and I find that hard to believe.
Master Buddha: What can I say other than what I know to be true? There was disappointment in the whole affair, but not anger or retribution associated with anger. There were consequences that were accepted with responsibility by all involved.
TM: Okay. Please go back to your line of thought.
Master Buddha: Anger finds its origin in the human realm. Given that, we can look for its necessity there. Its purpose is to defend. But is that necessary?
TM: I think I know where you’re going. You’re going to argue that our desires aren’t necessary, neither is defense of them; so, anger isn’t necessary.
Master Buddha: That would be a difficult argument wouldn’t it? Many people would disagree that desires are unnecessary. What about basic survival needs? Don’t those need defending? Can’t anger be necessary for that?
TM: Yes, I suppose so. But couldn’t they be defended without anger? Why is anger necessary to arouse defense?
Master Buddha: Because it is. This is where humanity is right now. As the human race evolves closer and closer to its spiritual nature there will be a diminishment and eventually a disappearance of anger as the impetus for defense. Over time there has been and will continue to be this gradual receding of anger.
TM: I’m surprised. I never would have guessed that the official ‘Master’ position is that acting out anger is okey-dokey.
Master Buddha: Well, we have to cover this a bit more to qualify that position. I think what you’ll discover is that our understanding of human nature encompasses a realistic perspective of long term evolution of human characteristics and traits. The expression and use of anger as a defense mechanism is one. There are others.
TM: I think I need some elaboration on this, because it goes against what I believe.
Master Buddha: And you believe?
TM: Anger is a natural emotion arising from our attachment to what we desire and feel entitled to have. I don’t believe it’s necessary, but we are conditioned to express it, violently sometimes, and to accept it and actually be entertained by it. I believe there are ways to express anger without being harmful to others and that seeking revenge and retribution create more attachment to the experience. I agree this is an evolutionary process, but surely we at the point where we can see that anger isn’t necessary so that we can explore other ways of providing for our survival.
Master Buddha: Does it make you angry that others can’t see this point and share your belief?
TM: A little.
Master Buddha: This is one of those conundrums for which we can’t assert what should be based upon what we’d like it to be—it just is what it is. And at this point in human evolution there is a substantial number among the world population that experience anger differently from the belief you have stated and it’s going to take some time for the weight to shift. In the meantime there is progress toward peaceful solutions among people who have recognized, if nothing else, that peaceful solutions grant more security to the protection of needs and wants than it does by using anger and retribution. It’s a start. You don’t make the shift by being angry or judgmental towards those who still regard anger, violence, war, or force as the natural solution to feeling threatened. It is the natural solution for those grounded in the materiality of humanity, and that is the majority population of the world.
It will change over time through the enduring examples by those who have mastered peaceful solutions to threatening situations. It will happen. Patience is required.
TM: It always requires patience doesn’t it?
Master Buddha: Patience and a non-judgmental perspective.
Conversation with Jesus and TMichael: Religions and Religious Organizations
Master Jesus: The role of religion is to share this common knowledge by way of a social support and educational network. Through the human epoch of living as savage beasts to dining in a restaurant there is much suffering and challenge along the way. Religious organizations are educational first and foremost in intent. That they have been corrupted in that aim is not sufficient reason to abandon the concept. The first thing that humans do when they reject religious organizations is form another one in contrast to the one they rejected. There is nothing inherently wrong with religious organizations as an educational facility. There is something wrong in the clergy inserting themselves as the gatekeepers for all that is holy and righteous. Let them stand down and reclaim their roles as leaders and custodians of an institution of learning and comfort.
TM: It seems that there has been a gradual decline in organized religion. Is that true and if so, what’s happening and why?
Master Jesus: It is true and there are several reasons. First of all, it is time for the religious institutions to dissemble and reassemble. What is in decline is the foundation and structure that organized religion has been established upon. This is not the disaster many believe it to be or the mark of justice that others believe. It is the evolution of education.
Religious leaders could have transformed religions without the destructive blow they are receiving, but their historical resistance to change prevented them from doing so.
Religions by their nature tend to naturally erode because they are thought-forms and thought-forms tend to weaken as they age because the environment that would keep them strengthened changes.
So you have that which is intended by those of us who monitor and instigate change in the evolution and advancement of education; you have the failure of the human custodians to be in-sync with that process and resist it, which causes a more severe change; and then you see the natural dispersion of thought-forms over time.
TM: It seems though that many of the religious leaders and a good many in the congregations are doing everything to revive and rebuild based upon the traditions.
Master Jesus: Many are and just as many are rebuilding with new ideas. This has been the way with religions throughout human history. There are always those who disagree then break off and form a new branch or create something completely different. Every generation thinks that the times and events are unique to their generation, which is true on some things, but for the most part the patterns repeat.
What is happening now more than in the past, although not without exception, is that more and more people are claiming spirituality for themselves without a hierarchical intermediary. This has a lot to do with the weakening of the churches. It is also a major part of our work at this time as I have mentioned. Eventually though, religious thought and experience must be shared. It is not just an individual event to be kept in secret. You’re right in that you are witnessing a revival and it’s shaking the roots of religion. The leaders will no longer hold an authoritative advantage over their congregations. All will unite in order to share the blessings and experience of a spiritual life fulfilled.
TM: I feel inspired by this but I’m not sure everyone does.
Master Jesus: In the end everyone will embrace the truth of spirituality as a form of education and then they can understand how much power they have within themselves to do all the things they wish God or their priest, Rabbi or their Lama would do for them. Imagine how their hearts will sing when they realize how precious they are. That will be a day to rejoice.
TM: I’ll rejoice with you. That will be a glorious day for sure. It does seem a long way off sometimes though, and that can be disheartening. I know, I know, patience. Damn, that’s hard though.
A point of clarification for me, if you will. I’m addressing you as ‘Master Jesus’ in these conversations, and that was your name during incarnation. Why do you keep the same name while in spirit form?
Master Jesus: Master Buddha and I are using these names because they are familiar. We are known by many names and it doesn’t matter for these purposes of communication. It is simply easier and requires less acceptance of spiritual complexity for us to present ourselves by these names.
TM: So, others may address you by other names?
Master Jesus: Yes.
TM: Back to the topic at hand. I think it would help a great deal if you will explain how you and the other Masters work with humanity, especially within religion. So many of the folks who write to me after reading these conversations wonder how this is possible since you were to them the Son of God, were crucified, were resurrected, tarried on Earth for awhile with your disciples, then what? And I present these conversations with many things contrary to what they interpret from the bible and I can understand why it’s a bit confusing and confounding.
Master Jesus: It need not be confusing or difficult to embrace if you grasp the essential message behind all my teachings. I am the son of God and you are the son of God and each and every one of you is the son of God. You are born into the flesh and given life on Earth and you die of the flesh and experience death on Earth. You have eternal life in a form unique to the sphere you inhabit as you progress through stages in your universe ascension. Love is the guiding force of this area of the universe; it is the glue so to speak of all that is. As you love yourselves and love others you connect to all that is in this universe. That is at the core and the very basic of what you must comprehend. Everything else is guidance on how to deal with the illusion that you create as an obstacle to getting to this understanding.
TM: And the role of religion is what then?
Master Jesus: As I’ve said, the role of religion is to share this common knowledge by way of a social support and educational network. Through the human epoch of living as savage beasts to dining in a restaurant there is much suffering and challenge along the way. Religious organizations are educational first and foremost in intent. That they have been corrupted in that aim is not sufficient reason to abandon the concept. The first thing that humans do when they reject religious organizations is form another one in contrast to the one they rejected. There is nothing inherently wrong with religious organizations as an educational facility. There is something wrong in the clergy inserting themselves as the gatekeepers for all that is holy and righteous. Let them stand down and reclaim their roles as leaders and custodians of an institution of learning and comfort.
Conversation with Jesus and TMichael: Health and Balance
TM: Can you speak to issues of health?
Master Jesus: Yes.
TM: How is human health affected one way or another by our degree of spiritual awareness?
Master Jesus: As you become spiritually aware you make different choices. You will make different choices regarding things directly affecting your health as well as those things that affect your health indirectly. We have talked about the role of judgment. Even those at the higher levels of spiritual awareness can possess the characteristics of judgment, which can adversely affect their health. That’s an example of how choices that may seem unrelated can affect health issues. The more obvious choices most people know about, but they may choose to continue unhealthy behavior. Or they may become so opposed to those behaviors that they develop unhealthy reactions to themselves or others engaging in those behaviors.
It’s not so easy to provide a list of do’s and don’ts. Having a set of rules seems the right thing for many people, but in the long run it only runs a greater danger of producing intolerance and a judgmental nature, which can and is more dangerous to the health of humanity.
Spiritual enlightenment is not so much about one right way for everyone as it is about discovering the right way of living for each one. There will indeed emerge a set of principles to guide society in everyday affairs, but I wish to point out that without a spiritual awareness on the individual level, the societal guidelines will suffer. As individuals progress in understanding and spiritual intelligence, they will raise the standards of societal behavior. Society cannot rise higher than the largest group of enlightened beings in its ranks.
TM: How does disease, as we describe it, and the health issues you’re describing intersect? Aren’t there viruses and bacteria that wreak havoc with our bodies that have nothing to do with spiritual enlightenment?
Master Jesus: There is a host of factors to consider when examining the full spectrum of human health issues beyond spiritual enlightenment. But that will be the bedrock that all systems can be built upon. Bacteria and viruses are living organisms as are humans and animals and plants and so on. If you truly want to understand the role of each organism in the evolution of Earth, then study the past. If you want to know the future roles of organisms study the present. Humans have so upset the balance in nature that microorganisms are reacting in record numbers. You have only begun to see the potential of these organisms. The present path will force a collision of humans and microorganisms on a scale that is beyond your imagination. Much of this is unavoidable at this point, but much can be done to avert disaster on a large scale.
TM: Are you talking about epidemics?
Master Jesus: Yes. You remember our discussion about Armageddon? This is one of the ways it will work out. This is a result of humanity’s actions, not that of a vengeful God punishing you.
TM: I remember a quote, “You are not punished for your sins as you are by them. And the same for your virtues, in that you’re not rewarded for them as you are by living them.” So, how did we create the ground for epidemics?
Master Jesus: Ecosystems are in balance when all living organisms operate within their sphere and natural tendency. Humans have taken the role as lead and dominant species because of divine right. With that right comes responsibility. Humans are made up of all that exists in the world; so, there isn’t a thing that isn’t you.
TM: I must interrupt. You’re saying by divine right? What does that mean?
Master Jesus: Let me restate that to say by divine order. There is a hierarchy of life, both on Earth as there is in the universe at large. The hierarchy is determined by characteristics inherent in each species that create specific roles to maintain harmony and balance in the whole system. It allows that there are times of disharmony and imbalance, but the correction comes as a result of each species finding its role. Despite the belief that the universe is largely random and chaotic, which it certainly appears to human observation, there is an order beyond your comprehension.
TM: Beyond our comprehension or beyond our ability to see?
Master Jesus: Both. It is something you must take on faith, or belief without evidence. Among those of us who witness wonders in the universe beyond anything humans see, we can barely glimpse the order even as we comprehend it.
TM: Suddenly I feel like the dumbest kid in class.
Master Jesus: Someday humans will comprehend it, but first things first. For now, and this is what makes it such a challenge to teach as well as to accept as truth, it will be a matter of faith. Humans do as well with matters of faith as any being. It always comes down to trusting the motivation and knowledge of the source.
TM: Back to what you were saying, there is nothing in the world that isn’t us. I skipped too many science classes to understand that one.
Master Jesus: There are basic qualities of energy that compose life on Earth, which are in turn reflected in the chemistry of material existence. Humans are composed of all those basic qualities of energy found in every species on Earth. The two most abused beliefs by humans are that humans have dominion over all species and survival of the fittest species. The unremarkable intelligence that springs from those simplistic notions is creating your own Armageddon. Your role as steward has been usurped by your pride as being superior. Your role as spiritual leader has been sabotaged by your fear of spirit. Without a turnaround in these conditions, you will have to experience the consequences of these beliefs carried to their natural conclusion.
TM: To clarify, are you saying that humans don’t have dominion and that survival of the fittest is inaccurate?
Master Jesus: Humans have reduced the meaning of those truths to rationalize behavior that is inconsistent with the integrity of those truths.
TM: So, what I’m gleaning from these discussions is that we’re pretty much screwed on a number of fronts from economics to epidemics if we don’t change our ways. Is that it?
Master Jesus: You will experience the reality you have created. The masters and I want to give you every opportunity to recognize that you are creating the reality and that you will experience it as you create it; so, pay attention to what and how you’re creating.
TM: When you say masters, that sounds very Eastern. It may not be understood in the West.
Master Jesus: It means teachers. We use it as a way of deference to one who has achieved a high degree of understanding and enlightenment. And while some prerogatives of authority come with the title, it is largely a title of achievement.
TM: Whom do the Masters teach?
Master Jesus: They mostly work with disciples on the spiritual plane, who in turn work with disciples on the physical plane. However, we have begun to teach directly to those on the physical plane as a matter of expedience and some small measure of experiment.
TM: What kind of experiment?
Master Jesus: We want to see how rapidly humans can assimilate spiritual knowledge if a master administers it directly. If this successfully accelerates the process, then we will organize group sessions for those who are ready.
TM: Is this the first time this has happened?
Master Jesus: Periodically we test for receptivity along these lines. This happens to be one of those times.
TM: Lately I feel these discussions have taken on a stream of consciousness, that is, flitting from one thought to the other without ever finishing one thought. I wonder if this will deter from what you need to convey.
Master Jesus: What would you like to conclude?
TM: All this Armageddon business spurs more questions than answers to me. Please summarize the health issues relative to spiritual progress.
Master Jesus: I’m expressing these ideas in the most accessible way for most people to understand it. It’s time to expand beyond ideological boundaries and reach common understanding.
Spiritual progress is needed on the individual and group levels at this time. The time is critical due to the fact that humans have created a reality that is headed for disaster. Before it reaches the point of no return, you are given a chance to become aware of your actions and the consequences. Then you must decide what you will do. Health issues are wrapped up in the whole system. I can’t separate them for you or explain their nature out of context. Deterioration of human health is and will ensue at an increasingly rapid pace despite the illusion of medical advancements to cure disease. The root cause of this can only be corrected at the spiritual level, because it is from there that the physical level will conform to new understandings.
TM: People don’t understand disease and “why me” is the big question. I know folks who live very pure lives; healthy attitudes and diets, and yet they suffer through all sorts of physical maladies. How can you tell them the root cause is something spiritual?
Master Jesus: I can’t tell them the cause of their illness is spiritual unless I know them. I’m speaking in broad terms for the bulk of humanity, not for specific individuals. Having a healthy diet and being spiritually inclined is helpful, but there are so many variables that can trigger an illness. Often, for spiritual people, an illness reflects a clearing that they are ready for; meaning that they have reached a point that they can clear energy from their body that they have been carrying for a lifetime perhaps. It may be clearing from past lives. Very few people are so spiritually advanced that they create a shield from illness. But they can handle an illness better than if they were spiritually ignorant. And healing is about understanding spirit and using it practically.
TM: Does prayer help?
Master Jesus: Yes it does. But really the person who is ill must have a will to heal or nothing is going to heal him or her. Healing begins within. External assistance then accelerates healing by strengthening that which already exists and is in motion. There are some excellent studies addressing these claims.
TM: What’s happening in cases where the ill person wants to heal and his family and friends are praying for healing, yet he dies anyway?
Master Jesus: Again, you’re asking a very specific hypothetical question that really is impossible to answer. I know you want to know these things and yet I can’t provide the answers. This puts the burden on you to investigate for yourself in these very specific cases.
TM: How would I do that?
Master Jesus: Truly know the person fitting the description above. Do you really know what is in his heart? Do you know what is fear of death and what is true yearning to live? Do you know the guilt one feels as one nears death, and that it is at times unbearable? Do you know the longing for a life fulfilled and whether he is satisfied this is done, or there is more to be accomplished? Is there a gentle acceptance of death? Does he feel the pull of loved ones to keep him in this life for their sake? You must ask these questions and many more to fully understand an individual case.
TM: Are natural disasters prompted by humanity’s decisions too?
Master Jesus: Humanity has an impact on the environmental well-being of Earth. Weather patterns are most affected by humanity’s impact as the population grows. Earth is a living entity and as such has its own physical responses to that life that will occur with or without the presence of humanity. Earthquakes for example are purely geologic events. Global warming though is largely caused by humanity’s impact, but in other times has been naturally occurring. So while humanity must take responsibility for its impact on the health of the planet, it is in your own best interest to do so for your health. You are not separate from Earth.
TM: I know I’m asking questions out of the realm of education and religion, but I’m curious.
Master Jesus: I can speak on a number of topics, but I will bring it back to spirituality. This is the time for education to take center stage; otherwise, the age of synthesis will be missing parts to compose the whole picture. Humanity must see the whole picture.
TM: There are a lot of new spiritual books, conferences and workshops. Are they right in what they teach? Some of them seem to contradict other teachings, or at least present diverse ways of accomplishing the same end. How do we know which ones are accurate?
Master Jesus: Choose the ones that feel right for you. There is so much diversity because there is diversity among humans. Do you really believe for a moment there is one right way for everyone? At the same time, while you are choosing the right method for yourself, allow others to do the same. Blend your way with others. Any method that teaches that it is the only way is the one to avoid.
TM: We’re such social creatures though; we like to belong by identifying with sets of values. But then we make the mistake of thinking our way is superior and we want everyone to follow that way. If we could accept what you are suggesting I can see how it would work. I don’t see how to undo what is done.
Master Jesus: It will be undone by substituting a new understanding; the one we’re discussing; one that allows each person to select his or her inspiration without judgment or ridicule. The social connection must be viewed from the perspective of identification with the whole of humanity rather than the provincial identification. This is happening already within many circles and it will expand with time.
Ancient civilizations could not imagine human organizations spanning the entire world- they had no definition of the entire world beyond what they could see, and what they could see was limited. This civilization sees into the universe and yet still suffers the myopic view of its own insular world made up of petty prejudices and grievances. This will change. It will change because of a disaster that will create an environment that forces unity, or it will occur because of an enlightened populace. You choose.
