The mystic knows of humility. He or she understands the need to be humble. The dictionary lists the first definition for humble as “marked by meekness”. For many the word meek means to be easily imposed on or to be submissive. But the first definition of meek is listed as, “to show patience and humility” and to “be gentle”.

Christ didn’t say “the meek shall inherit the earth,” because he felt that those who were easily imposed on or those who were submissive had the right idea. He said it because being humble is the sign of one who understands that ultimately it is not the false self or Ego that is in control, but God through the Spirit within each of us. It is the sign of one who has learned to live with Ego, not live under Ego. It is the sign of one who has begun to discover that the kingdom truly is within, here and now.

Being meek or humble then is not the sign of one who is submissive. It is not the sign of one who can be easily imposed on. It is the sign of one who has the courage to state that one has become a vessel for the love and light that is the Divine.

Being humble means that one has reached the level of spiritual maturity where there is understanding that ultimately, there is only One. So having patience and humility, and being gentle comes easily because having patience or humility for another is just having it for oneself.

The Christ said:

“After all, no one lights a lamp and puts itunder a basket, nor does one put it in a hidden place. Rather, one putsit on a lamp stand so that all who come and go will see its light." -Gospel of Thomas, Saying 33.

He also said:

“Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.” Matthew 5:15

Both of these sayings are very straightforward. As a Christian, onemust be an example for others, a shining light for all to see. One mustlive like Christ would live – as a loving, caring individual who is notafraid to challenge the injustices of the world.

Buddha toldhis followers the same basic thing 500-plus years prior to Christ. Theeightfold path, as explained by Buddha, includes Right Action – being aloving, caring, compassionate person. It also includes RightConcentration, the idea of concentrating on wholesome thoughts andactions. And the eightfold path is preceded by the idea of RightAssociation – associating with people of Truth.

Buddhaunderstood like no other how social humans are, and how much societyinfluences human behavior. Right association is the act of associatingwith those who have glimpsed the Truth and, once one understands theTruth, to become one that others want to associate with - to become ashining light.

The following chart comes from Brian Robertson, an American mystic who runs www.christianmystics.com, and has written The Gospel of Jesus, A Mystic’s New Testament. He writes of two Christianities, one a Christianity of Law and one, a Christianity of Love. The differences are fascinating.

Belief Christianity of Law Christianity of Love Jesus Death on the Cross and Resurrection In payment for sins and won eternal life for believers. His death/ resurrection is a spiritual event, illustrating the passage from worldly to divine. It symbolizes the sacrifice we all must make in order to enter union with God as Jesus did. The Meaning of Jesus' Life The event of his life and death and resurrection. His teachings and the way he lived, showing that God's love is inclusive and always present. The Kingdom of Heaven Those who obey the law receive a heavenly reward after death. God's kingdom is here and now and our unity with God is an event both inside and outside of time. Who's Included? Those who are saved are God's own, deserving of love. Others are not God's children. God loves all beings and all are his children. Judgment It is possible to judge others, or at least to know how God will judge them in spiritual terms. I cannot judge another in terms of their relationship to God, for I have quite a bit to do to determine what God wishes for me to do. Judgment is more self-inflicted. Knowing God God can be known through his word and commandments. If you have knowledge of the Law, you know God. God is essentially unknowable by knowledge, but we can know something of God by grace, loving God, and loving each other in the mystic body of Christ. What is Evil? Satan is a creature who deceives, tempts and puts into bondage, misleading some into thinking they are Christians acting from God. Darkness is separation from God. While much of the evil in the world is man made, there is ample evidence that Evil exists, although it is overcome by God's love. Our own understanding Trusting one's own mind or emotions is fool-hearty, for Satan can manipulate, raise doubts and raise questions. Our mind and conscience are God's gifts to use, part of our freedom to ask, question, learn, explore and understand. God's love is stronger than evil and with prayer, consultation and reading, we are intrinsically able to hear and recognize the voice. Is the Bible literal truth? The Bible is literal truth. The Bible must be read critically, intelligently and with an understanding of its historical and cultural contexts for the vast spiritual truths it contains. Is the Bible all we need? The Bible is the ultimate source of truth. The ultimate source of truth is God, not a book or a practice or a product by humankind, given in grace. Still, it is helpful to consider the tradition of early, pre-New Testament Christianity, the history of Christianity, the Bible, spiritual writings of the Church Fathers and Mothers. What about things like icons, art, music? There are such things as idols and these may be icons or other non-literal approaches to God. There is great mystery and beauty in that which is holy, and this can be expressed lovingly, not as the thing-in-itself, but rather pointing beyond itself like a window toward God. Where is Jesus in this? Jesus is the center of the faith and the total acceptance of him is the ultimate criteria for being saved. Jesus' concern was to point beyond himself toward God and to help us understand how, in the humanity of his special nature, we can inherit the kingdom and become as he was in our humanity. What is a Christian to do? The business of a Christian is to save souls by forcefully presenting the Law. The Christian is charged with finding Christ within the poor and sick, with remaining humble and letting God's love so enrich his or her life that those in the world are drawn to God's goodness. How is God perceived? God is the masculine, powerful Father figure. Although, being human, we cannot know God's essence, we can know God's energies and they are a mixture of the masculine and feminine as Jesus reflected in his use of "Abba" which means "Daddy" and implies compassion and love as well as guidance and direction.

 

Awareness. Of all the things that one can do to help enhance one’s spiritual journey, being aware is of utmost importance. Many people, whether on a spiritual path or not, are not aware of the present moment. It may seem surprising, but it’s true. And if one is not aware of the present moment, is one really living life to the fullest?

For the mystic, the need to be in the present moment is paramount. The ability to commune with the Divine is compromised if the mystic is not fully present during prayer or meditation. And if the mystic is not present, his or her ego will be.

One’s ego is the part of the psyche that is normally in control. The ego is concerned with all three states of time: the past, the present, the future. The past is important because it reflects on one’s ego either positively or negatively, depending on what happened. The future is also important because what happens will either cause pleasure or pain for one’s ego; the present is only important if it involves instant gratification. While the past and the future are not important to the true Self, the present – the now - is.

The true Self is only concerned with now. “Now” is important for the true Self because “now” is the only time one can touch the divine. It’s truly the only time one is really “alive”. But if one’s ego is in control, then “now” is not experienced in the same way, and the true Self will not even be aware of what is going on. If one has been on a spiritual path, one has probably experienced this: an action is taken (based in ego), but the true Self was not aware of the action. It took a slap to the face, figuratively or literally to help one see what one’s ego was doing so that the true Self became aware of it.

This is an example of not actually living one’s life. It’s an example of living on a kind of automatic pilot, letting ego be in control and not experiencing life as it can, and should, be.

Awareness only happens when one intentionally takes the time to supersede the ego and let the true Self emerge. This happens by taking the time to focus on the current moment. It takes effort and intention continually so that one’s ego stays in check. If the ego is not in check, then one is not alive, but dead – a walking dead.
 

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Those on a mystical path are working to reunite with the Divine. And while it is a worthy undertaking, some argue that there is no need to reunite because we are already divine. This, of course, is part of the message of the Christ. He speaks of it in the New Testament. He also speaks of it in the Gospel of Thomas, one of the many apocrypha discovered over the years.

 The Gospel of Thomas, pieces of which were first discovered in 1900, was found to be more in tact at Nag Hammadi in 1945. It is said to be one of several gospels that were kept out of the New Testament based on the demands of Emperor Constantine and a couple of Bishops that he controlled at the Nicene Council.

In the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus offers hints to his vision of God and his new interpretation of God. When asked by his disciples when the new world would come and when the resurrection of the dead would happen, he said, “What you look forward to has already come, but you do not recognize it (Gospel of Thomas #51).”

At another point, the disciples ask Jesus when the kingdom would come. He replied, “It will not come by waiting for it. It will not be a matter of saying ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is.’ Rather, the kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and people do not see it (Gospel of Thomas # 113).” This is very similar to Luke 17:20-21, which reads,“. . . nor will they say, ‘Look here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ for the kingdom of God is within you.”

Again speaking about the“coming kingdom”, Jesus stated, “The kingdom is inside you, and outside you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will see that it is you who are the children of the living Father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty, and it is you who are that poverty (Gospel of Thomas # 3).

Finally, Jesus told his disciples that we are all divine: “If they say to you, ‘Where did you come from?’ say to them ‘We came from the light, the place where the light came into being by itself and was revealed through their image.’ If they say to you, ‘Who are you?’ say, ‘We are its children, the chosen of the living father (Gospel of Thomas #50).’”

These statements by Jesus, are similar to statements found in other gospels kept out of the Bible, as well as found in it. And they point to the concept that we all are divine and that we must go within to touch our divinity as well as to reach God.

If one believes in spiritual evolution, then one believes that people are at various stages of "enlightenment" with regard to their understanding of the Divine. If this is the case, then wouldn't the Bible need to be reinterpreted as one's spiritual maturation progressed? Christ certainly though so.

Christ saw the need to reinterpret old laws because the laws, when first created, were written for people at a certain level of spirituality so that they could be understood. But as people mature spiritually, the laws need to be reinterpreted. In Matthew 5: 38-39, he states that prior to him, people had been told an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. But Christ challenged this belief: "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." It is no longer an eye for an eye. It is forgiveness, not retaliation.

More specifically, in Matthew 19:7-8, Christ speaks to not being ready for the truth behind a law. Some Pharisees came up and asked him if it was okay for one to "put away" his wife for every cause. Christ talked a bit about two becoming one and asked if the Pharisees were not aware of this. But the Pharisees did not listen and continued on. They asked why Moses commanded "to give a bill of divorcement and to put her away?" Christ replied, "Moses for your hardness of heart, suffered you to put away your wives, but from the beginning it hath not been so."

What Christ was saying is that people in Moses' time had a hardness of heart - were not open to the love, the spirit of "God", so Moses had to set a strict law to guide them - even though from the beginning, this should not have been the case. We see then, that there is a maturation of spirit that occurs in each of us. And as we mature spiritually, "God's" laws need to be reinterpreted in light of the love that is "God" and as we can better understand them.

If one is to ever get close to reunification with the divine, then one must die each day. St. Paul said he died daily (1 Cor. 15:31). This can be taken to mean that upon awakening each day, he would need to meditate/pray to bring forth (or keep) his true self, thus “killing” his false self. Like one who awakens each morning from the unconsciousness of sleep to the consciousness of life, one must awaken from the unconsciousness of the false self to the consciousness of the soul, the true self. Doing this daily is dying daily.


The Islamic mystic Abd al-Kader wrote something similar. He said, “There are two types of death: one which is inevitable and common to all, and one which is voluntary and experienced by a few. It is the second death which Muhammad prescribed saying, ‘Die before you die.’ Those who die this voluntary death are resurrected.” (Sufism/Islamic Mysticism quotes).

Dying voluntarily, not as required upon the death of the body, but as would happen by allowing the false self to die, is what one must do to resurrect. Continual resurrection is necessary to reunify with the divine.

With the beginning of the new year, some think of new behaviors to work on, or new rules to follow. Since the 10 Commandments found in the Bible can cause a stir, how about a new set of commandments from a more spiritual perspective. These commandments (the author would prefer to remain anonymous) were found on the Religious Tolerance website:

1. Respect and worship any deity within your faith tradition, if you follow one. Value and support the right of others to do the same.
2. Enjoy and support legal guarantees of freedom of religious belief, religious practice, assembly and speech for all.
3. Do not use obscene speech in the name of the deities of any religion.
4. Follow the guidance of your faith or secular tradition every day of the week, because every day is important.
5. Help to establish social safety nets so that the very young, the elderly, the sick, mentally ill, physically disabled, unemployed, poor and broken will receive adequate medical attention and enjoy at least a minimum standard of living.
6. Minimize the harm you do to others and yourself. Treat others as you would wish to be treated.
7. Do not engage in sexual activity with another person, which is coercive, unsafe, manipulative, public, or outside of a committed monogamous relationship.
8. Do not steal the property of others, except in case of emergency (and then only if you attempt to replace or pay for it later).
9. Do not lie, either in or out of court. Be honest and truthful at all times.
10. Attempt to be satisfied with your current standard of living; do not obsess over the possessions of others; that path leads to unhappiness.

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