“Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate” Luke 6:36

As I “read” Jesus: his way, his truth, and his life I realize that the WORD made flesh (for those who like to quote the word) life was about compassion, not judgement, and certainly not fear of God.

He was present among those who suffered.
He was friends with those who were excluded from the religious/social community.
He touched the untouchables.
He preached love and prayer for enemies to the religious “law quoters”.
He suffered with and listened to the “religious law quoters” as they spewed judgment to the woman who was morally and spiritually bankrupt. He reminded her of her dignity as a child of God. He helped others to see their own falleness.

Read Jesus.

For many in the pulpits, morality is defined by the limited use of four letter words; such as the f-word, while other four letter words like: hate, kill, and shun seem to be easily accepted.

“Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” Even our good buddy Paul, who, for many who confess to be Christians, believed that love and compassion was a bigger way. Paul wasn’t Jesus. He wasn’t on the ranking order or cross. Sadly there are many folks, however, who claim to be followers of Jesus’ way, truth and life who are Paultians, not Christians and readers of the WORD made flesh.

We can’t claim to follow Jesus without having read Jesus, the Word made flesh.

And as we read the Word made flesh, we discover that he was the compassionate one in our midst.

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The following is a review from Publisher’s Weekly of Ken’s upcoming book, The Integral Vision, to be released on August 14, 2007.

“The WORD became flesh and dwelt among us.”

For Christians, the WORD that became flesh is Jesus. For those who like to quote your pastors understanding of scripture, please stop quoting your Bibles and read the Word; the Word who became flesh.

Read Jesus. Read his life. Read his way. Read his truth.
If you want to know the Word, then read Jesus.
And we can’t know the Word, until we have read Jesus.
(and for those who may be missing my point, I am not talking about the little red letters printed in the bible, I am talking about the way, truth and life of the Word made Flesh within the stroy of those red letters.)

Read Jesus.

If you want to be his disciple, then follow him.
Read his truth. Read his way. Read his life. Read Jesus. We can’t follow Jesus as long as we are reading something other than the WORD made flesh. Get in touch with Jesus; his humanity– the WORD who became flesh.

For Christians, the WORD became flesh and dwelt among us. For Christians, that means God became incarnate. It wasn’t Paul, Peter, you, me or the 30,000 denominations that divide the Body of Christ.
It was the WORD, Jesus who became flesh.

Please stop quoting your bibles.
Read Jesus.

And when we read Jesus we’ll soon discover how close we are to God’s kingdom or better said, how close God’s kingdom is to us. When we begin to understand just how close God’s kingdom has drawn near to us; we’ll experience the Good News. And we can stop pretending that we are speaking for God by quoting our bibles and begin to speak for God when we love; when we do for the least of humanity. Let’s stop quoting our bibles to rationalize and justifiy our self-centeredness and desire to kill, steal, and destroy others who are not like us.

Read Jesus. Read his life. Wasn’t it the Pharisees who had mastered the law? They knew their “bibles” inside and out, but when the Word made Flesh appeared and dwelt among them, they killed him.

It seems there are way too many folks quoting their bible who have never read Jesus.
When you read Jesus, you just may discover that on your road and journey, that you encounter the One.

When we read Jesus we won’t have to stone others to death. When we read Jesus we’ll discover that what we do to the least of anyone we do to God. When we read Jesus we will no long have to hide behind the law that separates, divides, and excludes. Read Jesus. Read his Life. Read the Word made Flesh.

Read Jesus.
Read his way.
Read his life.
Read his truth.

Perhaps Jesus was right: That’s the way to God. That’s the way to community. That’s the way to yourself. Read Jesus and you will no longer have to quote your bibles.

It seems that some folks are absolutley stuck on the concept of sin and God’s wrath and judgement of humankind. It feels like some are saying “God is a loving God, but make no mistake, God is coming back and he (of course God is a he) is pissed. And if you don’t love God back, then you are doomed to an eternal lake of fire.”

I realize that this isn’t the theology of many of the folks who visit here, but what concerns me is that there are folks who, for some reason are stuck on a God of fear and judgement and their “personal” sins.

I think that is a little sad in some ways for the motivation of reaching our truest potential as human beings created in the image of a Loving Craetor seems to come from fear rather than love.

Aside from the list of “do’s and don’ts” preached from some pulpits on Sunday’s, what is sin and who is the sinner?

How many SUV’s are parked in the church lot comsuming God’s natural resources and destroying the environment with the toxic fumes?

How many “worship” God from chairs made from materials that destroy God’s earth?

How many are wearing clothes they bought at Walmart that are made in sweatshops in Asia?

How ’bout that extra long shower that is a gluttonous waste of God’s resources when their are people on the planet dying of thrist?

So we must be careful about how we define sin; what pisses God off; who is going to be judged in the end; and perhaps take a long hard look at how we participate in sin. It could be possible that God is pissed when you drink, cuss , smoke and take a peek at your wife’s Victoria Secret magazine, but something tells me that if that is our focus, then we’ve missed the big point. For it seems, as best I can tell from Scriptures, that when we deface any of God’s creation– the Earth and all that is in it– we sin.

So for those of you who want me to talk about sin and God’s judgement, here you go:

Repent and sell your huge truck that consumes massive quantities of the Creator’s earth.
Repent and protest war and volence.
Repent and stop captial punishment. Jesus said it’s not about an eye for an eye.
Repent and ride a bike to work.
Repent and plant a tree.
Repent and rip-out your carpet treated with chemicals that destroy the earth.
Repent and adopt a dog.
Repent and change a light bulb.
Repent from supporting sweat shops and child-labor, and make your own clothes.
Repent from your use of your automatic dishwasher and wash your dishes by hand.
Repent and never choose plastic again.
Repent and stop picking on people who have different views of sex than you.
Repent and demand that the publisher of your Bible use recycled paper.
Repent and do everything in your power to stop and prevent child abuse.

There, I talked about sin and God’s judgement. I hope that makes some readers happy.

As for my part in the need for redemption, I pray for mercy.

Someone recently asked in the comment section of one of my posts, “Where have all the prophets gone.”

I was just thinking about that very questions this morning in my meditation.

Who are the prophets today?

Is it the young women sleeping in a tree to prevent a corporation from detroying the environment?

Is it the funky looking dude in front of me at Whole Foods with his hemp bag rejecting the choice of: paper or plastic?

Is it the Hollywood actor in his new Prius using his fame to be a voice to a nation that consumes and wastes the vast majority of God’s… the Earth’s natural resources?

Is it the young women who ties herself to a bulldozer and is murdered for her conviction that war and violence does nothing to further the Kingdom of God on this planet?

Perhaps it is the group of folks outside Neiman Marcus in Union Square in San Francisco who protest the sale of animal furs for the sake of vanity?

Maybe it’s the grandmother who refuses to throw away her leftovers simply because it’s wasteful.

I am not sure who the prophets are; I suspect it are those folks who speak for the things of God that have been left unspoken for. I suspect a prophet is one who raises our awareness and consciousness and is the unpopular voice outside not in the majority who rejects the status quo and essentially says, “Not in my Father’s house.”

I am not sure who the prophets are but I suspect it is often the one who no longer will sit by an tolerate any form of injustice against or unnecessary destruction of God’s creation, whether it be a human, animal or the earth itself.

Where have the prophets gone? They are there; they are here; but all too often I don’t listen; all too often I turn a deaf ear to my sin against God’s earth and all who live in it.

But God doesn’t stop. God continues to send prophets to be God’s voice; to remind me that it is only one-sixth billioneth about me.

The pivotal Old Testament date is the Exodus. Knowing this date, the date of a number of pre- and post-Exodus events can be calculated. I would like to share what I learned from correspondence with Willie Sucher in 1972. Sucher gave the year 1435 B.C.E. saying that on September 18th of that year a Great Conjunction (helio) took place between Saturn and Jupiter that was an “ancestor-event” of the Great Conjunction of 6 B.C.E., which he regarded as the “Stars of the Three Kings”.

He further felt that: “the Exodus was not just a running away but was conducted out of a clairvoyant insight, similar to that which the Three Kings had”.
Supporting this, the Israelites must have known of the clairvoyantly-inspired Osiris legend from their sojourn in Egypt.

Sucher further said: “Less than a year after the Great Conjunction of 1435, Jupiter moved into sidereal Libra, and Saturn about a year later. This would have coincided with the Giving of the Law”.

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“But dont be fooled by the radio
The tv or the magazines
They show you photographs of how your life should be
But theyre just someone elses fantasy
So if you think your life is complete confusion
Because you never win the game
Just remember that its a grand illusion
And deep inside were all the same.” Dennis DeYoung, The Grand Illusion

Are you confused by all the “answers” from those who tell you how your life should be?

What I write here is basically my opinion; take what you like and leave the rest. I am not attempting to pursuade you to believe like me. I am simply sharing my experience; asking my questions; sharing my journey.

Respectfully, I don’t care what another believes about God. I would love for any person to feel free to share his or her personal experience of what we call God here.

I am not looking for answers from anyone.

I don’t think I possess answers; particulary the right answers. I am not looking for a guru to tell me what to believe or how to believe; and I certainly am not a guru spewing a doctrine for others to believe. I suspect that deep, down inside we are all the same.

This is my journey and my experience.

I suspect when I think that I “possess” the right belief or “right” answer that I am serving my EGO. Because if I possess the right answer and belief then I will feel defended; my EGO will feel safe, secure, and protected. Exploring the questions without the need to “possess the right answer or belief” scares the hell out of my EGO.

My EGO cares what you believe. My EGO cares what you think. My EGO wants to defend itself. My EGO needs answers. Questions scare the hell out of my EGO. My EGO rejects you if you don’t believe like me because my EGO needs you to believe like me in order for me to be acceptable to myself.

Pardon me while I digress, but just for the record, much of how the word sin is used in certain religious circles makes me want to puke.

But when I go inside myself and listen to my soul underneath all the noise of others’ fantasies, I discover me. I meet my true-self. I listen to what I believe; what is real and true for me. I find myself closer to God; closer to who that God created me to be.

When I pull the curtain on my Grand Illusion, I discover deep inside we’re pretty much all the same.

I once believed in Santa Claus. I thought I loved Santa Claus.

“You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
He’s making a list
And checking it twice;
Gonna find out
Who’s naughty and nice
Santa Claus is coming to town
He sees you when you’re sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows if you’ve been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!”

It seems hard to truly love that Santa Claus, but easy as hell to fear that Santa Claus.

Truthfully, Santa was a big dude with a white beard who watched your every move; he looked nice but you certainly better not piss him off. If you piss him off, you don’t receive a present. Santa loves you, but if you don’t get any gifts its because you are bad.

Sadly, for many the “theology” of the nature of Santa and the natue of God are the same.

I guess I never really loved Santa Claus;
I feared Santa Claus.
I just wanted the gifts,

“Dude, I’ll sit on your knee and smile and hope that I can convince you that I’m a good kid and deserve the Hot Wheels Racing Set that the brainwashing gurus at Mattel have
hypnotized me into believing I wanted on Saturday morning cartoons.”

That feels fear-based, shaming and stifiling to one’s soul, yet it’s much of the theology that is being preached all over the world.

Perhaps when one no longer fears hell (or missing out on all the presents one gets for being good), only then can he/she come to a place where one can truly experience the love God that sets him/her free.

Perhaps, where God’s love for me and my love for God intersect is the true-self– Christmas– the child is born.

I mean, if I had a child, I wouldn’t want him/her to fear me; I wouldn’t want it fear my punishment. How is it possible for me to truly love and be loved by someone who I fear will punish me? If my motivation is to avoid punishment, I am not doing it out of love; I’m acting out of fear, and I am already living in hell. It seems that perfect love casts out fear—and isn’t it Love that casts us all out of hell?

And I was thinking about Jesus. I don’t mean, the mild-mannered Super-Jesus with the magical, wondrous power robe who dodges crosses and is faster than a speeding nail; I am talking about the fully-human who lived the way; lived the truth; lived the life and in doing so realized, recognized, and experienced God by living from the core of his true-self which was, is, and will always be Divine.

A friend sent a clipping from the Washington Post re a lecture to a couple of thousand people in GW re Al Gore’s latest book, The Assault on Reason. As the reporter perceived it he speaks a language impenetrable to large numbers of people, probably the majority: too many 5 dollar words all grouped together. So it was with William Blake.

People as well read as Gore can understand his language. To understand Blake you might best be acquainted with the Bible, Homer, Plato, Plotinus and the other neoplatonists, the Gnostics, Boehme, Paracelsus, Shakespeare, Spencer, Milton, and a few other writers. His poetry draws on all of the above.

Now you might spend years reading Blake with ever increasing pleasure, but the time might come (you might be about 80) when you feel led to look at some of these sources.

In that case your best bet would be to get a little book by Kathleen Raine called Blake and Antiquity. It’s actually a condensed version of Vol II of a much larger book, part of the Bollingen Series, called Blake and Tradition (long out of print).

In particular Raine gives a study of four myths:
The Cave of the Nymphs
The Myth of Psyche
The Myth of Persephone
The Myth of the Great Year

Taken together they give a good glimpse of what Blake is really talking about. She provides many illustrations from Blake’s works, pictoral and verbal. With Raines’ help you can see the underlying meaning in each of them.

You might also feel led to go to Ram Horn’d with Gold for a systematic (forbidden by Blake) overview of his writing. You might even reach the point of giving the author a hand in his ongoing revision.

One of Amazon’s key to success has been their “Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought” program. What they’ve done is linked similarly themed items together - an extremely effective cross-selling and up-selling method.

I really am surprised that Google hasn’t found a way of doing the same thing. Sure, they have a “Find pages similar to the page” feature, but it’s not very effective. It lists other pages which use some of the same phrases, but it’s nowhere near as effective as Amazon’s program.

As a simple example, imagine if, after searching for “enlightenment”, you were presented with alternative phrases like “awareness”, “comprehension”, “critical thinking”, “philosophy”, “expanding the mind”, etc. Wouldn’t it be fantastic to see a little phrase saying

Googlers who searched for “enlightenment” were also interested in “ancient wisdom”.

Man, that would be astounding!

Well, until they develop this feature, I’ve manually extracted themes similar to those on this site, using a nifty piece of software called KeywordElite.  This program queries the Google, Yahoo, Ask and other databases to provide statistics on what people have searched for in the past 30 days.  It provides a unique insight into what other browsers are searching for.

All of the posts in this category will provide download files of related searches.  Useful stuff.