Do we really know ourselves?

Thirty Three by Umbra Perchiazzi

Unlocking the Bible requires all the necessary tools. The most important tool is to have a clear understanding of who we are as human beings. This could be why the image of a physical man nailed to a cross who then goes through a resurrection is burned in our consciousness. The truth about human nature has been blurred for centuries, by the church and by science. For this reason many texts in the Bible don’t make sense, especially when we look at the fundamental meaning of the Hebrew or Greek words.

When we begin to understand the makeup of a human being we can also begin to know ourselves more deeply. There are many ways to approach this but let’s start with our physical body. How strongly do we identify with our physical body, thinking that this is who we are?

Then we hear mention of the soul. Where is this soul and what does it do? We can also hear a confused mix of expressions about our soul and our spirit. The way these terms are used can lead us to believe that they are interchangeable. Certainly the translators of the Bible confuse these terms.

The Greek terms are as follows: body soma; soul psuche; and spirit pneuma. If you search these terms in the Greek interlinear Bible you will be surprised to see how a text can have a different meaning if these words are translated accurately.

It doesn’t take a lot to understand that difference between our body, our soul and our spirit. I have written a book about the difference between these, and many who read it and study it have come to know and understand themselves in a way that assists them to take greater charge of their lives.

We will start with a quick overview of how the human being is a being of body, soul, and spirit. Then we can discover how each of these three aspects has three functional parts. We can put it simply in this way:

1.  The body is physical, it grows, and it moves.
2.  The soul feels, it thinks, and it has intentions (will).
3. Through the spirit we develop higher faculties of imagination, inspiration, and intuition.

All of these elements within us are governed by what the Bible refers to as the I AM. We can call this I AM the Higher Self. The way the I AM or Higher Self interacts with us is mostly unconscious and it is our job to develop a conscious awareness of it.

We hear about this I AM in the second book of the Bible when Moses has his famous conversation with God. Moses asks God what his name is (Exodus 3:14) and the response is Ehyeh asher ehyeh I AM that I AM. In the New Testament we meet the I AM in the Greek expression ego eimi.

The ancient Greek Philosopher Philo wrote of this event which speaks of the I AM and of God.

There was a bush or briar, a very thorny plant, and very weak and supple. This bush was on a sudden set in a blaze without any one applying any fire to it, and being entirely enveloped from the root to the topmost branch by the abundant flame, as though it had proceeded from some fountain showering fire over it, it nevertheless remained whole without being consumed, like some impassible essence, and not as if it were itself the natural fuel for fire, but rather as if it were taking the fire for its own fuel. Philo

Burning bush by Arnold Friberg

So what is this I AM, is it God or is it human? Well, simply put, it is both. The I AM is that part of God that is in us. We often hear that God is the Creator, and the main thing the I AM does is make us creative. Whenever we express our talent, in those amazing moments when we do great things, it is the I AM expressing itself in us and in this way we can become aware of it. A powerful example about this is from a conversation between Michael Parkinson and Paul McCartney which went like this:

“This is just me in here. Paul McCartney is some guy over there doing amazing things. If I thought that was me constantly it would blow my head off.”

Our I AM is certainly a mysterious and powerful thing. Knowledge of it has been hidden from us by the churches and secret societies down the ages. The time has come for us to become aware of it and to use it to the fullest possible effect in our lives. The trickiest thing is that we have to discover it ourselves, no one can teach us what it is, they can only point to it, and then we must experience it firsthand.

The Bible is one of the best handbooks I know to assist with this discovery as I reveal in all my books. I must stress here that this is NOT about any specific religion; each religious expression is a path up the mountain to the pinnacle of knowledge about the I AM. The way I explain the I AM is also not about dogma and definition, this knowledge can only live in us if we strive to experience the reality of our own being when we are motivated to really know ourselves. In this way we learn how to know others too.

I Connecting - discover the difference between body, soul and spirit

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Who or what is God?

The Creation by James Tissot

One of the most astounding things I heard when I began to really study the Bible was that there were many gods. Not in the sense of the ancient Greeks and Romans looking towards Olympus - although that could hold some answers as well - but in the sense that God-God, the Highest One, needs other mighty beings to implement His intentions.

Take for instance the first words in the Bible,

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

In Hebrew this text goes like this,

“Bereshit bara Elohim et hashamayim ve'et ha'arets.”

The word translated into English as God is Elohim. Who is this Elohim character? For the Hebrews God was Jehovah or YHVH, but they also had other gods as described in Wikipedia:

El Elyon ("Most High God"), El Shaddai ("God Almighty"), El `Olam ("Everlasting God"), El Hai ("Living God"), El Ro'i ("God of Seeing"), El Elohe Israel ("God, the God of Israel"), El Gibbor ("God of Strength")

It will be no accident that there are seven. Then there is Moses’ famous conversation with God at the burning bush, when Moses asks God what his name is (Exodus 3:14) and the response is Ehyeh asher ehyeh, I am that I am. In the New Testament, Jesus refers to this I Am often using the Greek words ego eimi. Notably when he was challenged about where his authority came from in John 8:58

“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

Landscape with Moses and the Burning Bush by Domenichino 1600-10

Understanding the I Am can provide answers to questions we may have about God. link to I Am post.

Amidst all this confusion, it is perfectly understandable when people say, “I don’t believe in God.” They have the courage to admit that, so far, they have no information to assist them to have any plausible understanding of God. Blind faith doesn’t do it. When they come across ideas about God they do not experience any inner confirmation that the information makes sense.

When I first heard that about the Elohim-God I felt liberated. The Elohim are one level of the nine levels of spiritual beings that put the highest God’s intentions into action. These nine levels of spiritual beings were described by Dionysius the Areopagite and using his list we can find them identified throughout the Bible, specifically when the words, power, authority, might, principalities, among others, are used.

The Greek word for Elohim is Exousiai and is rightly translated as power – the power to create. Furthermore, the word Elohim is plural and feminine. I have come to understand why this is. They are the creators of form, like a pregnant woman, and we see their work in every form on this earth. This is like seeing the finished house from the architects plan.

It is clear that no one can explain God to us, we must remove the blindfold ourselves and intelligently discover not just one God but all the Gods who uphold this universe and keep it in order.

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Disciples as Mind Traits 2

Jesus Sent Them Out Two by Two by James Tissot

The road from disciple to apostle has one purpose; to open us up to the experience of our Higher Self referred to in the Bible as ego eimi, I Am. If we speak these two words, “I AM” out aloud and imagine standing in the Universe, beyond the idea of time and space, we get a sense of this eternal state of being. Yesterday, today and tomorrow open up to us as one place. In this way, we claim our own individuality without the weight of opinions and the ideas of society. Try it, it is refreshing. When we come back to the here and now our outlook has changed. It is from this perspective that we can view the disciples.

We can imagine their incredible journey with Jesus - the one who experienced his I Am first - and stand in their shoes as they approach their own I Am from their unique perspective. This was not without trepidation as we read in the Bible.

We can ask what it was like for John, Thaddaeus or Matthew as they journeyed through the Middle East with Jesus as he challenged the status quo. Each one experienced it through the qualities given to them by their name.

As previously suggested, while the disciples represent qualities in our mind or consciousness, they also represent the different paths that we each take as we strive to connect to the highest, purest human condition, our I Am. At this stage in the evolution of consciousness, we are about halfway there. As with all things, some are a little ahead, some are a little behind. This does not mean we can pass judgement on others, it simply means they are taking a different path.

Disciples John, Thaddaeus and Matthew

John: The name John means ‘the grace of the Lord’ and he represents love and grace. This love is agape, one of four main Greek words for love. Agape is the highest love, it loves everyone equally; it does not favour family over friends and acquaintances nor does it favour one’s own culture over another.

In its highest expression, love is objective. It does not see through the eyes of judgement, but understands human behaviour as a developmental process we all go through. This love is not biased and it does not take offence. It is a kind and understanding witness, always recognising the pure human seed within each human being. Then, seamlessly this love fertilises the seed in the other person opening it to its inner potential. From this comes the expression of grace.

Grace is that capacity in our soul for doing what is right, what is good, out of our inner self, not through externally imposed rules and regulations. Grace says, “How can I be so that you can be free.” Charis is the Greek word for grace - which reveals the word charismatic. This is when love shines from us in an inspiring way. Other people want to become like us and they do this of their own accord, not because we give them advice about how they should be.

Thaddaeus: Thaddaeus represents elimination, letting go of things so that we can keep moving forward. The name Thaddaeus means ‘of the heart’, big-hearted, warm-hearted. The disciple Thaddaeus is also known as St Jude and was a brother of St James the Less, and a relative of Jesus. It is the heart which can eliminate things that mesmerise the mind. Thaddaeus within us works continuously to restore harmony by eliminating that which disrupts. This is tied to forgiveness.

Forgiveness is not so much about covering up what we feel, but stepping over it and moving on. To assist this, we could work with John and adopt some love and grace.

Matthew: Matthew represents our will - human intentions and actions. Matthew collected taxes. He works in the depths of the community to sustain the body - the infrastructure - of society. He was called away from that to serve in the innermost circle so that human will could become freewill. The other thing about will is that it reveals ourselves to us. Our acts of will, when, for example, we dig the garden or rearrange the furniture, give us a glimpse of ourselves, of our ability and place in the world.

As separate paths, or working in conjunction with one of the other disciple-paths, we can find our way to our Higher Self. Using the disciples to become more aware of our character and qualities, and the particular path we are on, is the ancient recipe for personal development untainted by modern fads that often accentuate the self over others. This is the ego trying to displace the I Am - feeling threatened by it actually. By accepting our own path, and remaining open to the path of others, the whole human race will climb the mountain with more certainty and security.

You can read more about the disciples in my book

First published on Huffington Post

Have you seen Christ Jesus? Did it happen like this?

Blue Angel By Charles Andrade http://www.lazure.com/

Why is the Christ Being so misunderstood? Perhaps people are frightened of the idea that one great Cosmic Being is within us and around seeking to unite us all in a community of loving individuals. Is this picture too big for us to comprehend? Do we actually prefer to stay in small cliques of agreeable people and ostracize anyone who disrupts the status quo? Jesus tells the people here to go to Galilee, the place of mixed races and creeds.

Then, many people will speak about God, out there somewhere, who they can pray to when they experience difficulties. But even then they want to compartmentalize this God and tie him to different belief systems.

Should we be concerned with all this unbelief? For that is what it is, we can’t call it belief because there are so many things people can’t believe in. Not to mention all the work-arounds to make ideas comfortable. Let’s have a look at what St Matthew writes about the Risen Christ.

And behold, Jesus met them and said, "Hail!" And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me." While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sum of money to the soldiers and said, "Tell people, 'His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.' And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." So they took the money and did as they were directed; and this story has been spread among the Jews to this day. Mt 28:9-15

Behold, idou, has a special meaning indicating an all-encompassing perception. You see and know everything about what you are seeing.

Jesus met them; met is hypantao, which means a confrontation. It suggests a certain level of force - not a friendly force but an opposing force. This opposing force is the etheric life-force in all living things. In our bodies it is the force that opposes the decay of our physical substance. When this force loses its principle of opposition, our physical bodies die.

Since Jesus’ body has disappeared, it is from this force that Jesus said, “Hail.” Hail is chairo, which also means rejoice. Using our imagination we can see a mighty spiritual being, an imposing and frightening etheric figure greeting the people in a way that draws them to him - drawn in the way we are drawn to nature. Nature is especially etheric.

“And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.” “They came up” is proserchomai; pros means moving towards, and erchomi is a very specific word which means to come from one place to another, to change position, not just physically. This suggests that these people entered into a spiritual connection with Jesus. As they physically stand there, they spiritually connect with him.

“Took hold of”, is krateo, which means to have power, and refers to the Spiritual Hierarchy of Exousiai, named Elohim in the Hebrew language, or Powers. These are the Creator Gods from Genesis who created this physical world and, as intermediaries, hold and herald the power of the Cosmic Christ.

Feet podas could mean just that part of him which was approachable from the lower etheric levels. It is interesting that they were not warned not to touch him as Mary was in St John’s Gospel” Jesus said to her, "Do not hold me” in 20:17. Perhaps enough time had passed that this mighty etheric presence was anchored in the spiritual world and supported by all the beings in the Spiritual Hierarchy.

Of course they worshiped him. Worshiped is proskyneo, and means ‘to kiss towards’ and indicates reverence.

We are left with the impression of an extremely powerful event. One in which we are shaken free of our earthly body enabling us to be present in our etheric body and there to meet the Risen Christ. It would be frightening; it would feel like the ground beneath our feet has fallen away. Yet we don’t feel unsupported, we replace our feet with his, we “take hold of his feet” giving us a feeling of security and reverence.

This is a description of what will happen to us when we perceive the living Christ. Of course we will be shaken. It will be like no other experience we have ever had. The physical world in which we have been living will lose its value - or at least the value we have given it. We will now see it for what it is; a stage in the process of standing in our own I Am.

When we perceive the living Christ we will be stirred to reverence and we will be called to act - “go to Galilee”. This is because Christ is not to be found in the church, he is in the world and he disturbs us.

“Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” ‘Go and tell’ really says “take word” apangello; apo, means a state of separation, and angelos, means angels, messengers. This supports the idea that this is a spiritual event. “There they will see” where ‘see’ is horao which means to see what appears. What appears is the etheric Christ, divested of his physical substance, and they will see him.

What takes place between the guard, the chief priests, the elders and soldiers is the perfect description of today’s society. The truth is silenced and money is elevated to a Christ-like position. Nothing is more valuable in the world today, or more worshipped than money. Lies are told to support this position which prevents us from seeing the etheric presence of Christ who is waiting for us to reach up and to hold his feet with reverence. From the soon to be published Vol 6 in the series Who is Jesus : What is Christ 

First published on Huffington Post

Have you seen Christ Jesus? Did it happen like this?

Blue Angel By Charles Andrade http://www.lazure.com/

Why is the Christ Being so misunderstood? Perhaps people are frightened of the idea that one great Cosmic Being is within us and around seeking to unite us all in a community of loving individuals. Is this picture too big for us to comprehend? Do we actually prefer to stay in small cliques of agreeable people and ostracize anyone who disrupts the status quo? Jesus tells the people here to go to Galilee, the place of mixed races and creeds.

Then, many people will speak about God, out there somewhere, who they can pray to when they experience difficulties. But even then they want to compartmentalize this God and tie him to different belief systems.

Should we be concerned with all this unbelief? For that is what it is, we can’t call it belief because there are so many things people can’t believe in. Not to mention all the work-arounds to make ideas comfortable. Let’s have a look at what St Matthew writes about the Risen Christ.

And behold, Jesus met them and said, "Hail!" And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me." While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sum of money to the soldiers and said, "Tell people, 'His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.' And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." So they took the money and did as they were directed; and this story has been spread among the Jews to this day. Mt 28:9-15

Behold, idou, has a special meaning indicating an all-encompassing perception. You see and know everything about what you are seeing.

Jesus met them; met is hypantao, which means a confrontation. It suggests a certain level of force - not a friendly force but an opposing force. This opposing force is the etheric life-force in all living things. In our bodies it is the force that opposes the decay of our physical substance. When this force loses its principle of opposition, our physical bodies die.

Since Jesus’ body has disappeared, it is from this force that Jesus said, “Hail.” Hail is chairo, which also means rejoice. Using our imagination we can see a mighty spiritual being, an imposing and frightening etheric figure greeting the people in a way that draws them to him - drawn in the way we are drawn to nature. Nature is especially etheric.

“And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.” “They came up” is proserchomai; pros means moving towards, and erchomi is a very specific word which means to come from one place to another, to change position, not just physically. This suggests that these people entered into a spiritual connection with Jesus. As they physically stand there, they spiritually connect with him.

“Took hold of”, is krateo, which means to have power, and refers to the Spiritual Hierarchy of Exousiai, named Elohim in the Hebrew language, or Powers. These are the Creator Gods from Genesis who created this physical world and, as intermediaries, hold and herald the power of the Cosmic Christ.

Feet podas could mean just that part of him which was approachable from the lower etheric levels. It is interesting that they were not warned not to touch him as Mary was in St John’s Gospel” Jesus said to her, "Do not hold me” in 20:17. Perhaps enough time had passed that this mighty etheric presence was anchored in the spiritual world and supported by all the beings in the Spiritual Hierarchy.

Of course they worshiped him. Worshiped is proskyneo, and means ‘to kiss towards’ and indicates reverence.

We are left with the impression of an extremely powerful event. One in which we are shaken free of our earthly body enabling us to be present in our etheric body and there to meet the Risen Christ. It would be frightening; it would feel like the ground beneath our feet has fallen away. Yet we don’t feel unsupported, we replace our feet with his, we “take hold of his feet” giving us a feeling of security and reverence.

This is a description of what will happen to us when we perceive the living Christ. Of course we will be shaken. It will be like no other experience we have ever had. The physical world in which we have been living will lose its value - or at least the value we have given it. We will now see it for what it is; a stage in the process of standing in our own I Am.

When we perceive the living Christ we will be stirred to reverence and we will be called to act - “go to Galilee”. This is because Christ is not to be found in the church, he is in the world and he disturbs us.

“Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” ‘Go and tell’ really says “take word” apangello; apo, means a state of separation, and angelos, means angels, messengers. This supports the idea that this is a spiritual event. “There they will see” where ‘see’ is horao which means to see what appears. What appears is the etheric Christ, divested of his physical substance, and they will see him.

What takes place between the guard, the chief priests, the elders and soldiers is the perfect description of today’s society. The truth is silenced and money is elevated to a Christ-like position. Nothing is more valuable in the world today, or more worshipped than money. Lies are told to support this position which prevents us from seeing the etheric presence of Christ who is waiting for us to reach up and to hold his feet with reverence. From the soon to be published Vol 6 in the series Who is Jesus : What is Christ 

First published on Huffington Post

Becoming a Christ

The Bible is the story of the developing human spirit. The books of the Bible tell us where we came from, where we are going, and how to get there. From the very first words in Genesis, to the very last in The Revelation, the story of the human journey, in the presence of Christ’s activity, is told.

The ultimate goal is to become Christen-ed. I use this word purposefully because the being we call Christ is the human archetype. We strive to be like him.

“Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2

In other words, we become a Christ. St Paul speaks about this often, particularly in this statement:

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me;” Galatians 2:20

Therefore, Christ is the model for what we are to become. This mighty Cosmic being who had never experienced this earth before, entered into the human being Jesus, to show us what is possible. John puts it this way:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father.” John 14:12

To understand what this means in our lives, we must first try to understand what Christ is for us. This is not about being religious, nor is it about attending a particular church. Christ is a spiritual force present in the whole of humanity; this force is present in every human being, in nature, in this earth and in the universe.

In his highest expression we can call him the Cosmic Christ and find him as part of the Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. At the other end of the scale we can see him in the body of Jesus who lived on this earth. This spectrum from mighty spiritual being to human being is the story of the Son of God becoming the Son of man. His journey is revealed in the Bible as well as in the many myths and legends passed down through the ages.

The immediate question arising from this is why? Why would such a mighty being bother to come to earth? Surely not to save us from our sins - wouldn’t that be a bit of an overreach? Since sin, harmartia, means missing the mark [explored in a previous post] nothing should interfere with us perfecting our aim. Why would we let someone or something else shoot our arrow for us?

One simple reason this mighty Christ Spirit made the journey into the sphere of this earth was to save this earth, to give it a new lease of life, thus enabling us to continue to perfect our aim. His union with the body and blood of Jesus, and the subsequent gushing of blood from Jesus’ side when he was struck with a spear, enabled the spirit of Christ to literally penetrate this earth and hence every human being on this earth who eats food grown in the earth.

This is the basis for the Last Supper when Jesus explained that the bread, a product of the earth, was his body, and the wine made from sun-ripened grapes was his blood. While this event is celebrated during Holy Communion, we can also celebrate it each time we eat. We can think of the journey Christ made through the spiritual spheres of the universe to enter into us, because he entered into Jesus before us.

The reason he came is directly connected to a new phase in the development of the human being. He didn’t come to take something away from us (sin), he came to give us something which we could not access by ourselves - our Higher Self, our True Self, which is our I AM [discussed in this previous post].

We should not take this idea of Christ entering into a human body too lightly. It was not an easy thing to achieve. If we read the accounts of the crucifixion from the point of view of Christ’s difficulty rather than Jesus’ difficulty, we can have new and different understandings. What was it like for a mighty being who had no idea what it was like to live in an earthly physical body, whose consciousness had no limits, to be confined in Jesus’ body? We could liken it to a university professor suddenly having to use the mind of child.

To recap in very simple terms what I have come to understand and experience about this event over the last 33 years. Jesus was the most highly developed human being ever born, his purity exemplified by his mother, the Virgin Mary. His journey to the cross was a series of events that prepared him to receive into himself the Cosmic Christ. Jesus was a vessel prepared for generations through the Hebrews so that he could be the channel for the Son of God to enter into a human body. In so doing, he showed us how to follow in his footsteps and prepare ourselves to become aware of our True Self and awaken the presence of Christ within us.

Our immediate response might be to say. “I want that.” Yet, we have to be able to bear the powerful presence of Christ. Since Golgotha, Christ is within us as a potential, as a seed, to which we must give life. As we know, no seed can survive without being nurtured.

Image: Crucifixion by Giotto di Bondone

First published on Huffington Post 

2 Jesus boys + Jesus & Christ = I AM, Our True Self

The Bible remains locked to us if we gloss over the facts. Examining the difference between Jesus and Christ while exploring the purpose behind the birth of two Jesus children, as well as the baptism of Jesus, does not completely make sense unless we understand the reason why Jesus was born in the first place. He didn’t come to save us; he came to show us how to save ourselves!

To express it in the simplest way possible; a human being was required - Jesus - to take into himself a mighty cosmic being called Christ, so that every human being could personally experience the I AM.

What is this I AM? The first time we hear about the I AM is after Moses sees the burning bush which is not consumed, and then he has his famous conversation with God. Moses asks God what his name is, and the response is Ehyeh asher ehyeh I AM that I AM (Exodus 3:14). We also find this term I AM in the New Testament in the Greek words ego eimi.

Moses and the Burning Bush by Arnold Friberg

Before the time of Christ, human consciousness was not sufficiently developed to experience the I AM. To have this experience required high levels of initiation as was the case for the great initiate Zarathustra. The only way the general population could experience the I AM was in a secondhand way through Elijah in the Old Testament, and Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita.

Elijah's Chariots of Fire, Byzantine Museum, Athens, Greece

Only through the birth of two Jesus boys, as well as the baptism of the 30 year old Jesus when the Christ Spirit entered into him could we have this personal, firsthand experience of the I AM. Because of Zarathustra’s initiation into the I AM before its time, he played an influential role in this process through his involvement in the birth of the Matthew Jesus. A second Jesus, described by Luke, whose pure being was not tainted by life on this earth, was also required.

Why did this I AM take so many convoluted paths before it became accessible to human beings? The short answer is that it can’t just be given to us, we have to earn it. Human consciousness had to evolve to a point where it could handle the power of the I AM, and it has been a long time in the making; from Adam to Elijah to Jesus and now to us. The power of the I AM is like fire; it must burn in us but not consume us. One way we can recognize it our consciousness is when we are angry but the anger does not consume us.

So what is this I AM, is it God or is it human? Well, simply put, it is both. The I AM is that part of God that is in us. Its main role is to make us creative as God is creative. Whenever we express our talent, in those amazing moments when we do great things, it is the I AM expressing itself in us. We also see it when people who don’t like each other ignore their differences and work together in, for example, an emergency. The I AM knows no boundaries of color, creed, gender or nation.

A powerful example of the nature of the I AM arose in a conversation between Michael Parkinson and Paul McCartney which went like this:

“This is just me in here. Paul McCartney is some guy over there doing amazing things. If I thought that was me constantly it would blow my head off.”

The I AM is certainly a mysterious and powerful thing. It can make us anxious and even fearful. Perhaps for this reason knowledge of it has been hidden from us by the churches and secret societies down the ages. The time has come for us to be aware of it and to use it to the best possible effect in our lives. The challenge is that we have to discover it ourselves; it can’t be taught. We can read about it but then it is up to us to have our own firsthand experience of it.

Every detail in the Bible about the life of Jesus shows us how we prepare ourselves to work with the I AM. The previous posts about Repent, Sin and the Word introduce us to ways in which we can strive to become fully human, which means fully integrated with this I AM. In my book I Connecting : The Soul’s Quest I explain it in a non-religious psychological way.

While I recommend the Bible to discover the true meaning of the I AM I must stress that it is NOT about any specific religion; each religious expression is a path up the mountain to the pinnacle of knowledge of the I AM. Nor is it about dogma and definition, this knowledge can only live in us if we strive to become aware of our own true nature, that is, to really know ourselves.

I am always uplifted and inspired when I read the final words in St Matthew’s gospel: “I am with you always, to the close of the age." In the Greek it says: ego eimi, I AM, always with you till the consummation of this period of time.

Contemplating the ego eimi statements in the Bible is one good way to awaken to the activity of the I AM within us. You will find my fist book about the seven I AM sayings helpful, and all my books focus on this work.

First published on Huffington Post

What is Sin

Sin is one of the most misunderstood concepts today. All too often it is tied to guilt and fear which has the potential be psychologically disturbing. “If you don’t do A, B will happen to you.” Surely this is not encouragement to avoid sin but rather motivation to conceal sin.

In the New Testament, the Greek word for sin is hamartia, which literally means ‘to miss the mark’. Think of an archer pulling on the bowstring to point the arrow at the target. Think of the archer’s body; every muscle aligned with precision, eyes focussed on the target, coordinated breathing, stillness, and full concentration. To hit the target the first time, and every time after that, is expecting a lot.

Let’s take a look at the word ‘sin’ in this bible text.

“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” John 20:22f

If we start with the Greek word for ‘any,’ which is tis; it is an interrogative pronoun used in order to ask a question: who, which, what? It doesn’t necessarily refer to others, it can refer to ourselves by applying it in this way: ‘If you forgive the sins of yourself? they are forgiven;’.

Forgive is aphiemi made up of two words; apo and eimi. Apo means separating the part from the whole, or distancing ourselves; eimi means ‘to be’, as we might say, “I just am.” This suggests a state of harmony and balance, and a position of recognition (not necessarily acceptance).

Retained is krateo which means to have power, to be powerful. Whenever we want power, we usually have the wrong motive. We enter into a state of compensation rather than just being with whatever is happening.

A better way of understanding sin is to see it as a state of non-perfection, which has the possibility of becoming perfection. Then sin becomes something constructive, part of our goal. With this attitude, we have the courage to keep pulling on the bowstring, working on our aim and our poise.

When we have developed a certain level of skill we are able to see how we have underperformed. When it comes to sin, this takes courage. Usually we are inclined to make excuses for missing the mark; it was someone else’s fault. Then we engage in the power of retaining sin, not the recognition required for forgiving sin.

If we are going to hit the mark, we need to work out what the mark is. What target, as human beings, are we aiming for? Surely is it love, the New Commandment: Love one another as I have loved you. John 13:34

This love understands; it has the right perspective. It is a love that recognizes the effort involved in honing the archer’s aim. We become objective and in this way, we stand in the other person’s shoes and see, not their failure, but how, step by step, they sharpen their aim. We also apply these same principle to ourselves.

We could also say that we sin when we don’t make an effort to understand sin. Without this understanding, we perpetuate sin. Our task is to aim the bow by recognizing the right way and the wrong way. None else can do this for us, not any law of government or religion, but only our own understanding of who we are as human beings and where we stand in the universe. There is an ancient saying, “Man, know yourself!” and as we work towards knowing ourselves we become much more aware of our motives. The true meaning of sin gives us the courage to objectively recognize how we miss the mark and work on perfecting our aim.

First published on Huffington Post