3.1 Religious Love

Religious Love

After losing its connection to subconscious mind that allowed Us to know We are Love, humanity’s conscious mind sought to understand self.  Religion is the oldest example of Our continuous quest to know self as Love, offering answers to the Five Key Questions presented in the Book of Truth.  Religion is the first example of how institutions have forgotten Love.

Part One:  The Word of God

Religion will tell You that God is Love.  I will tell You that Love is God.

This may be a very long chapter so before I get too far into it, I do want to make note of one small but significant observation I made about the ‘book’ of God.  Generally speaking, this book is often referred to as “The Word of God”.  The reason I point this out is because I say that truth is revealed virtually everywhere and there is a very subtle one to be found here.  Whether You have read it or not, You are surely aware this is a very big book, a long read with many words.  Yet I have never heard this book called ‘the words of God’.  Whoever it was that coined the phrase, knew that if God were to summarize all of His book into one word, it could only be Love.  The word of God is Love.

Part Two:  Fact vs. Fiction

I am not a religious man, but I am deeply spiritual.  There are many truths reflected in the bible, the problem is they are most often preached by people who do not understand them and this creates many problems.  This is probably the best time to readdress the fifteen year old boys from the science room of their Christian school.  How can I reasonably endorse religion when it so clearly promotes ignorance in the developing minds of children?  I don’t even want to know what they were suggesting when they told Me it is easier for black people to become white than it is for white people to become black!  I was truly horrified, it gives whole new meaning to the expression ‘blind faith’.  Furthermore, these boys began telling Me that if I believed in evolution, I had been tempted by the devil and that I would have to answer to God for My sins!  Thankfully, they didn’t tell Me I would go to hell; they said that would be up to God!  Good thing I know Him well.

Religion insists the truth of God will be revealed and cannot be denied; imposters will be exposed and will answer to God for their sins.  So then why is the church so intimidated by science and technology?  Why have they worked so tirelessly over the millennia to cover up new discoveries forcing great minds like Newton, Darwin, Galileo and countless other scientists, philosophers and astrologers to work in secrecy?  Really, I ask You to think about this very seriously.  What is it that the church is so afraid of?  That their lies will be exposed?  If the church had an open mind from the beginning and welcomed new discoveries, they would be able to move forward with science.  They would understand that the bible and other gospels were never intended to be taken literally; they are metaphors of the same truth.  The truth of Love is very difficult to explain even with all the evidence of Our modern world.  It was much easier to create simple stories with a spiritual message.  If the church had taken an open minded approach from the beginning, today they would be excited to see developments like those of quantum physics, could profess to the world ‘I told You so…’ as the truth of Love becomes unveiled everywhere We look.

I do not think the bible is a terrible book full of lies, I think it is full of great wisdom when understood and taught properly.  I admit I am only now reading it in its entirety for the first time, but already I could easily write a full novel teaching exactly the same philosophies I am sharing here just by interpreting biblical stories.  I’d probably end up with a bounty on My head, but this Book will likely have the same result.  But how does that expression go…  “No such thing as bad publicity…”?  For now I will share only one.

Adam and Eve is a perfect example of how a breakthrough like Darwin’s theory of evolution could have supported the church by giving deeper meaning to their scriptures and helping them move forward with the times.  Ironically, it is also the biblical story that caused the boys to dismiss Darwin’s theory of evolution so the explanation seems appropriate.  I will show You how it is actually a metaphor for his work.

Here is a very rough biblical summary of the story.

God created a perfect paradise called the Garden of Eden.  From this garden He took a piece of earth and moulded the perfect man in His own image.  Although the garden was beautiful Adam did not have a companion and appeared lonely.  So God once again reached down, took one of Adam’s ribs and created the woman Eve so that Adam would have a friend to share his paradise.  Then God told them that the garden was full of beautiful animals and wonderful fruit trees.  They were free to eat from any of the fruit trees except for the Tree of Knowledge, an apple tree in the middle of the garden.  Eating from this tree would allow them to know all things God knew but having His knowledge was strictly forbidden.  If they did not obey God they would be cast out from the Garden of Eden.  They would toil hard to make a life for themselves and Eve would suffer painful childbirth, they would wither with age and eventually die.  As long as they did not eat the forbidden fruit, they would never experience any pain or suffering, they would never age or die and they could enjoy the garden for eternity.  Then God left Adam and Eve to enjoy the Garden of Eden.  For a time, life was wonderful and Adam and Eve experienced much joy and happiness in God’s paradise.  One day, a serpent appeared in the Garden and persuaded Eve to tempt Adam with the forbidden fruit.  Unable to resist Eve’s charms, Adam ate the fruit and God was angry.  He cast Adam and Eve out of the Garden to endure the pain and suffering as He had promised.

Now, this is a very loose translation, but here is the interpretation as it relates to the truth in this book:

The Garden of Eden is earth, created by Love.  Adam represents Love’s evolution to know self, emerging from the oceans to become the earliest stages of humanity, Love on earth (symbolic of God creating Adam from earth).  Created in God’s image simply refers to Love on earth (Love (God) has no physical image), a being that would create with thought as Love does.  Eve represents the necessity for Yin and Yang reflected in the human form.  This being knows it is a great being, but does not yet understand its individual creative capacity.  Humanity is still connected to Love by the subconscious mind and has not yet developed conscious awareness; humanity does not yet know self.  Humanity knows it is only one part of the totality of Love’s endless quest to know self, still at one with nature.  Earth is a paradise abundant with everything humanity needs to flourish, life is endless for death is not feared but understood as a continuous process, thereby being eternal.  Humanity enjoys the experience for a time and conscious mind continues to develop sense of self.  Humanity begins to question individual self – humanity asks ‘what am I?’  In the biblical version, this is the serpent asking Eve to tempt Adam with the forbidden fruit.    Love and all of its parts (including humanity) are on a continuous quest to know self; self knowledge is essential to the totality of Love’s complete understanding of self.  This is reflected by Eve offering the apple to Adam; Adam is powerless to resist Eve as man’s necessity to procreate is essential to the continuation of the species, just as humanity is powerless to not know self for it is essential to Love’s complete understanding.  Humanity knows self as Love, the most divine being.  Humanity believes individual self is greater than all other beings.  Adam taking only one bite of the apple is symbolic of humanity knowing only one part of Love; humanity knows individual self as Love, but does not understand it is also part of the totality of Love for it does not yet have all the knowledge contained in the apple.  Humanity believes self Love is greater than the totality of Love and begins to fear death, not wanting to return to Love.  Fear enters the minds of humanity and the world is no longer the paradise it once was, symbolic of Adam and Eve being cast from the Garden of Eden.

If religious institutions were less fearful of theories like evolution they would understand how they do not dispute their scriptures, but support them and allow for deeper understanding.

Part Three:  “Ask and though shall receive” – the bible.

Religion preaches much and practices little.  Religion is the king of hypocrisy.  Religion will teach You not to judge while condemning Me for bringing You new thoughts.  Religion will tell You not to be greedy while hoarding wealth to build glorious institutions for teachers adorned in the finest of fabrics.  Religion will teach You not to kill, though religion is responsible for the death of millions who have chosen independent thought over the church or any faith other than their own.  Above all, they have taken from humanity the sacred truth of Love which humanity seeks to know most, called it God and used it to manipulate humanity by way of terror, insisting God will condemn You, that You will burn in hell for eternity if You so much as question their gospel.  Blind faith, ignorance, is all the church has left.

‘If You know everything, I can teach You nothing.’

Although I am a free thinker, I had been to church several times and had a basic understanding of what was being taught.  The problem was nothing I heard made sense in My heart.  At a very early age the church was telling Me that if I did not believe them, I would go to hell.  I remember telling My mom on the way home from one of My first trips to church that I didn’t ever want to go back, the church didn’t know God.  She just smiled at Me and said, “Okay honey, You don’t ever have to go back.”

I could not believe that God could be so cruel, He gave Me the mind to question…  So I kept asking.

In ‘The Book of Understanding’ I told You that truth was not something I believe, but something I know, divine wisdom given to Me by God.  If You haven’t noticed that Love is synonymous with God in this Book, You know it now.  I will not call Love God in any other section of this Book because the God most people have taught You to know is not Love.

I also told You that in the very first moment of My experience, the presence of God was undeniable.  An incredible sensation of Love filling every part of My body and beyond.  He was not only with Me, filling the room and everything beyond, He was Me, He was the room and everything beyond.  His presence is undeniable and those who have had the experience will tell You the same.  And so began the process of understanding, asking…[1]

“What are You?”

In that moment, I told You I became everything and was looking at Myself.  However, I was no longer the self lying on My bed meditating.  I was the young boy again, maybe five years old, standing between two massive pine trees outside My house, looking out at the countryside.  This was not like a dream; I was there, in every conceivable sense of the word.  I was the boy again, hearing every sound, seeing every sight, feeling every sensation and yet, I was outside of the boy, looking down on the boy, hearing My thoughts as the boy I once was.

“Wow, this is so beautiful, so much to see!  I have a whole lifetime to enjoy this, a whole world to explore!  Thank you!”

And I was answering the boy, “Yes, all for You.”

And the boy, hearing, feeling Love, “Thank you…  I will do…  I don’t know, something great.”

“Yes, anything You like.”

“Thank you!  Why does the rest of the world not see this?  I will tell the world how great it is!  Please, do not let Me forget, I will do great things, I promise.”

“Yes, You will.  I will not let You forget.”

Then I wondered how I could forget, how could I have forgotten this moment?  In the next moment, God showed Me every word in My journal that had questioned everything I had been taught to believe, the demands I had made for those that I Love and the requests I had made for Myself to prove God was kind and all powerful.  Then, each of the demands was shown to Me along with My own, each revealed in perfect clarity, just as I had requested.  My brother, My sister, My mother; having all the things they had ever told Me they dreamed to have.  Then, the return to where I was in that moment, My request for a humble life in exchange for these things, a humble but beautiful apartment overlooking the mountains a few minutes away from the ocean.  I cared for nothing else but to know the truth of God.

As I lay there, still in His presence, I could only feel Love and awe as I contemplated what I had just been shown, the last sentence revealed in the perfect clarity of My own handwriting, ‘prove to Me You exist, show Yourself and no one will question’, still etched in My mind.  Then, in another experience I truly can’t explain, He gave Me all of it, complete wisdom.  It took no time, it was just there.  I am one part of the God that is everything and I came here to know God in the human experience.  I am God on earth.

This is why people say God has a sense of humour.  When I learned this, I could only ask, “So what now?”

“Who exactly are You asking?”

I couldn’t help but feel His humour.  I had just learned We are the same.  The father is God, the son is Me and the holy ghost is the unseen connection, the illusion of separation.  I wanted everyone to know this and was immediately reminded that We will all die one day.  Very funny, but not quite what I had in mind…  This is what I mean about the fearlessness of death.  How could I fear death knowing this?  No, I want humanity to know this now, now of course being My lifetime.  And so We shall, I give You My word and My word is God.  You cannot mess with divinity, Love on earth shall be known.

The questioning that I had assumed for so long meant I had forgotten God was really remembering God.  What people told Me about God compared to what I inwardly knew made Me believe I did not know God and caused Me to question.  Children are born knowing God; it is Us that teach them to forget.  So many times I was told that one day I would have to ‘grow up’ and forget all My ideals, that I was a visionary, not a realist.  I was never questioning God; I was questioning what people had told Me about Him.  Go to the source if You want truth.

This is how religion interferes with Our ability to know Love.  Religion tells You that if You question God You will be condemned to hell.  But Love is God and Love has no capacity to harm You, now or ever, especially for asking to know God!  You can only harm Yourself by not asking and this is what religion wants.  This is how it maintains the ignorance in children like the boys I met at the school and it is how it continues to divide humanity by faith, Our beliefs, Our thoughts; the greatest power We have.

So why would You not ask to know that which claims to be most glorious?  And if You really want to know truth, why limit Yourself to one book?  Should You not get as much information as You can so You can make what they call an informed decision?  I will not tell You that if You don’t believe Me You will go to hell!  I beg You to question; question every single thing I write.  But do not question Me alone, question everything, everything You read, everything You hear, everything You see and especially the things You feel.  Decide for Yourself what makes the most sense; do not let Yourself be formed by the opinion of others.  Question the morality of those who have offered You truth before, ask Yourself if this is as great as Love (God) can be.  If it is not, then it is not Love and if it not Love, it is not God.  I believe I came to know Love because I questioned everything, I never stopped asking.  I waited thirty-five years for My answer, but I got it.  Everything I had written, every request I made for My mother and My family had been done.  This was how I had asked Love to reveal itself.  And Love’s greatest wrath for asking to prove Itself was “so what would You like now?”

“Please, let them know You like this…”

Ask and You will receive.

Part Four:  “Blessed are the poor” – the bible

This is only one of many quotes from the bible suggesting those who live luxuriously are living in ignorance of truth.  In fact, when I began reading the bible Myself I was so stunned to discover just how many references there are that I began to wonder if priests, ministers and others who teach the gospel deliberately omit these sections in their sermons.  This is the only way I can reasonably understand why people continue to attend sermons believing they are guided by any kind of moral conscience.

“The God I believe in isn’t short of cash, mister” – Bono, U2

From the moment I first heard those lyrics, they resonated with Me, made Me smile…  It felt good to know that someone with such a huge audience was saying something so meaningful – even if He is filthy rich.  What exactly does God need money for?  Pray tell Me, really.  And what exactly does the church need money for?  I can tell You that when I went to the church with the young girl, the money was financing their elaborate Christian rock band, their massive school where they breed ignorance in children and, “If God willing” (according to the pastor that evening), they would soon purchase a massive farmer’s field across the street where they would build a bigger, more glorious church.  Of course!  Because that is what the world needs…  Forget about the homeless, the poor and countless other humanitarian efforts that the money could be used for…  What We really need is more churches!

While literally millions of people suffer from poverty and malnutrition across the globe, the Roman Catholic Church is one of the wealthiest institutions on the planet.  The Pope wears a ring worth over one million dollars alone, the Vatican vaults hold the majority of the world’s gold and yet they will take the last ten dollars from an old lady’s pension without so much as a blink of an eye.  Somehow, despite all of this, religious fanatics continue to empty their wallets and it is not Catholicism and Christianity alone, virtually all forms of organized religion are guilty of the same charge.  In Japan where I spent six months of the last year, it seems there are as many shrines and temples as there are coffee shops in downtown cities of America.  In order to be blessed You must literally pay respect to whatever God it is that You are about to worship or they will not listen to Your prayer (or so I am told).  I am thankful for Buddhist teachings because they introduced Me to the meditation practises that were responsible for My awakening, but although I enjoy visiting these beautiful sites I will not throw My money away (because I am blessed [poor]) and I am not sure I have met a Buddhist here yet that knows what Buddhism is.  I sincerely don’t understand how these institutions managed to convince people that God(s) need(s) money.  When exactly did spirituality become a corporation?  I watch as I see people approach these shrines in utter disbelief of what I am witnessing…  I feel like screaming out to them ‘This is supposed to be Buddhism!!  Have You no idea what Buddhism is?  What would Siddhartha say if He saw this?’

Unfortunately, My last statement is ‘on the money’, so to speak.  The people who do empty their wallets for churches and shrines or whatever other religious institution really do have no idea what they are doing.  But it is not their fault, they are doing what they have been taught to do, they believe this is right.  They have no idea about spirituality or God because these institutions aren’t teaching them anything; they are keeping them in ignorance.  Because these people don’t have any idea about spirituality, attending church and emptying their wallets makes them feel better.  They don’t know what God is but they believe the institution they support does, so contributing makes them feel as if they have ‘saved their soul’ and ‘done good’.  But if this is You, I am sorry if I have hurt Your feelings but I never said the truth would be easy.  But I will tell You, next time You think about giving money to a religious institution, put the money aside, stick it in an envelope and think about the people in the world who need it most.  Once a month, send the envelope to whatever charity supports the cause You chose and I promise You, even if You still have no idea what Love is by the end of this book, You will know You have truly ‘done good’ – and so will God.

Part Five: Heaven and Hell

Just in case You think that reading this Book or entertaining the philosophies presented in it will cost You Your first class flight to heaven or condemn You to an eternity in hell, I should probably tell You the truth about these two destinations.

I’ve been telling You a lot about religion and what Love is not; so let’s take a quick moment to remember what Love is.  You are Love.  Love is the creative power of thought, knowledge of self.  Although religion does not preach the truth of God, if You believe that it does, then it does.

This is the best way to understand how religious institutions have maintained so much power over humanity…  People have faith. Faith is belief and that is why faith is so critical to all religious institutions.  In fact, this is true of all institutions (religious or otherwise) but for now We are talking about religion.  Religion offers You a few alternatives that determine Your fate in the afterlife depending on how You performed in the eyes of the relative God(s).

So religion has a set of rules, or laws, like the Ten Commandments (for example).  They tell You that these are God’s laws and if You break any of them You will be damned unless of course You confess Your sins or perform some other kind of ritual that allows You to be forgiven by the God.  These laws are designed to maintain Your faith.  The church is hitting You where it hurts the most.  They are telling You that they know what this God approves and disapproves of.  The main reason people go to church is because they are afraid of death, the unknown.  So the church tells You that it can assure You safe passage into the afterlife provided You meet a few simple criteria.  These criteria always include at least one rule that prohibits You from contemplating any other spiritual path (do not worship false Gods, for example).  This is to keep You loyal, or faithful to the path You have chosen.  If You break one of these laws, like exploring another faith, You begin to fear that God will be angry with You.  In order to release Yourself from this fear, You must return to the original faith to be absolved.  This is how religions maintain their disciples.  You are held in fear of God’s wrath, yet they tell You this God is Love and that is exactly why it is not.  Love will not harm You, regardless what You do.  In fact, this is why some people say that the truth of Love (God) is blasphemous, because there is no dire consequence.  However, that is not entirely true either.

Hell:

I will discuss later why there is pain and suffering, why some people choose to hurt others.  For now, We know that such things exist.  So let’s use that which most of Us would agree is one of the most ‘evil’ personalities; let Us consider the fate of a rapist and serial killer.  This person does not know what they are, they do not know they are Love and this is the primary reason for why they act the way they do.  But even this individual will not burn in hell when they die, for there is no hell (logical thinking will assure You of this if You consider that the physical body is left behind; pain exists in this reality only).  Instead, they will come to know what they are; they will discover they are Love.  The feeling will be as blissful for them as it will be for anyone else with one primary exception.  In understanding what they did not know on earth, they will feel infinitely bad for their actions and unworthy of the bliss they know.  They will understand that life was a glorious opportunity to know this greatness in the human experience but they did not know it.  They missed out on the most wondrous gift they could give themselves.  The opportunity to know Love on earth, to know that they could create whatever paradise they wanted, was missed.  This individual cannot move onto another plain of experience, cannot continue to know new greatness, for they did not understand the greatness they were.  In the instant of understanding that which they had been, they would immediately want a ‘do over’; and they would once again begin the experience of life, hoping to remember that which they are.  Hell was the experience of life for this individual; they will continue to redo the life experience until they reach a level of awareness that allows them to know Love on earth.

Heaven:

Of course, this is exactly the opposite.  Heaven exists on earth for all those who understand they are Love.  These individuals will not be concerned with physical pain or personal suffering for they are already aware they are Love and know that each of these experiences will only add to the glory of the experience waiting for them.  Instead, they will be guided by spirit, hoping to share the truth of Our being with the rest of humanity, to help others remember the true nature of their divine being.  These people will leave their mark on the world, giving others the opportunity to know truth; people like Ghandi, John Lennon, Martin Luthar King Junior and many others; but ultimately, the choice will be Yours.  It is not an easy thing to do.  I know the message I want to share, I know I am speaking truth and yet My own family has the most difficult time understanding Me.  They can’t accept the truth I share because it shakes the very foundation of their own existence, forcing them to question everything they believe in.  My truth has also freed Me from many of the National and International laws that I know were created by men who were ignorant of Love (and I have used the term men deliberately here).  Because I will still be subject to judgement by these authorities, My family worries that I may spend My life in jail crusading for what I believe in.  They can’t understand that I would be happier to spend My life in jail for the values I believe in than I would be to allow My spirit to be contained by laws created in ignorance that oppress Us and keep Us from knowing and sharing truth.  I know that so long as I continue to allow Myself to be guided by spirit, I will have done all I came here to do.  I will be free to enjoy the glory of My being knowing I have done My part to remember Love until I return (to Love).

Part Six:  Love Divided

Whatever You believe, You cannot be wrong.  Your belief, Your faith is all there is, it is everything.  I have asked You only to question, question everything You hear, everything You read, everything You see and most of all, everything You feel.

Your conscience is the best guide You have to know truth.  Your heart, the feeling of Love is there to guide You always.  If You listen to Your heart, You know that pain hurts, so why choose to hurt others?  If You listen to Your heart, You know people live in poverty, so why choose to hoard wealth?  If You listen to Your heart, You know that all of humanity is searching for Love, so why judge the faith of another when You can share Love?  It is difficult for Me to not want to share My truth with everyone I meet but even I must understand that some are not yet ready to know it.  Love is a continuous quest to know self and it is necessary for some to have this experience of life to continue the development of their spirit.  Religion has divided people in search of the same truth; We are all looking for Love.  Listen to Your heart, You know Our world is not as it should be and We can choose to know better.  Let Love guide You.

Part Seven: The Holy Trinity

The father, the son and the holy ghost.

Love, You and Us. 

Everything, individuality created by conscious sense of self and the subconscious mind that knows We are one.

Conclusion

Modern day religions are little more than evolved pagan religions using stories and words attempting to explain a divinity so complex, it could never be fully understood.  Just like the faiths preceding them, modern religion continues to separate humanity by the same ignorance, believing We are all worshipping different gods and claiming each represents a unique truth.  The only truth is Love.

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[1] Once again, God has no physical image.  The reference to God as male is merely a reflection of My identity.