Have you ever pondered Jesus’ parable about the five foolish and five wise virgins? If not, I advise you to do so. It packs a powerful punch into the meaning of conscious awareness, and I firmly believe that interpreting it correctly has the power to change your life.
Since the parable is pretty well known, I am not going to quote it in its entirety here. I’ll simply paraphrase. You can go back and read it for yourself in Matthew 25:1-13 later.
There are ten virgins in this parable. All ten virgins are going to meet the bridegroom for a wedding. The bridegroom is obviously Jesus, and the wedding is a type of union with him. Jesus considers five of the virgins wise because they took “oil in their vessels with their lamps.” He considers the other five foolish because “while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.” At midnight, the bridegroom [Jesus] called for all the virgins to come meet him. The wise virgins went, but the foolish virgins couldn’t go because their lamps had run dry. When they went to buy more oil for their lamps, the bridegroom shut the door and they were left standing outside the kingdom of heaven. Thus the five foolish virgins missed the marriage the mystical union with Jesus.
What could this possibly mean? Like so many other scriptures, I struggled with this one many years ago in church. I heard pastors give well-intended interpretations, but they were not very applicable to daily life. For example, one teaching I encountered stated that the five foolish virgins didn’t have enough of the Holy Spirit represented by the oil in their lamps. This sounds perfectly fine. But what’s the Holy Spirit? And how do you get more of it?
While the Holy Spirit is certainly a key ingredient in this verse, mainstream Christianity fails to understand what that is. In fact, this parable might be better understood if we left the concept of the Holy Spirit out completely. I’ll show you what I mean.
One of the keys to this parable is in the first verse:
“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.”
In Luke, Jesus tells us that the kingdom of heaven is within us. Therefore this parable is about something that is already within you, not something you have to get more of. Failing to understand this concept is one of the fundamental errors of religion, and it’s why Jesus had to rebuke the Pharisees.
The five foolish virgins represent the five senses, which are focused on the outside world. The five wise virgins represent their counterpart: conscious awareness, which is focused inward.
I don’t think there’s anyone who has put the meaning of this parable any better than Eckert Tolle in his book, The Power of Now. I quote:
“…Jesus speaks of five careless (unconscious) women who do not have enough oil (consciousness) to keep their lamps burning (stay present) and so miss the bridegroom (the Now) and don’t get to the wedding feast (enlightenment). These five stand in contrast to the five wise women who have enough oil (stay conscious)…[These parables] point to the transcendence of the egoic mind and the possibility of living in an entirely new state of consciousness.”
Tolle nailed it. This parable has everything to do with something that we all have the power to implement every day: raising our awareness.
Eckart’s book isn’t primarily concerned with properly interpreting scriptures, so you won’t find further elucidation of this parable there. But there are still some important points that need to be made.
What does Jesus, the bridegroom, represent in this interpretation? The emphasis isn’t placed on Jesus the historical man. Rather, it is placed on Jesus as a state of being within us. This state of being is developed through conscious attention, which causes an expansion in consciousness. The bridegroom tarrying isn’t about a literal Christ waiting for the right moment to announce his return and the kingdom of heaven. The tarrying of the bridegroom represents our life as it goes by. Many of us are missing this life because we are too concerned with past and future. Maybe our conscious attention is placed on the weekend. Or a vacation. Or being at home relaxing. Or anywhere but where you are! Sound familiar? If we’re honest with ourselves, we are probably all guilty of this from time to time. But Jesus’ parable is a constant reminder of how important being present is.
So what about the marriage in the parable? The marriage represents the union of your higher nature and lower nature. This process takes place from engaging in constant present awareness, a profound type of meditation. Just like as in the case of the foolish virgins, the door is always shut to this union for those who constantly keep their attention focused on the outside world instead of going within themselves to realize the present moment.
So what’s so special about this present moment? Being aware of the present moment allows you to bath in the joy creation! Learn to bask in its beauty, even in the most unlikely of activities and places, and I promise your consciousness will expand.
When the foolish virgins come back to the bridegroom after purchasing their oil, Jesus responded that the bridegroom did not know them. You are not going to realize this state of being with purchased oil. It is not oil that the world can give you. This oil can only come from within you.
That’s why the bridegroom didn’t know the foolish virgins. Jesus states:
“Afterward came also the other virgins, saying Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said unto them…I know you not.”
How well do you know yourself? To truly know one’s own self, you have to be familiar with conscious awareness. You have to really experience it, and be aware that you are experiencing it. When you come to the point where you realize that you are this conscious awareness, then you can say you are known by the bridegroom.
Jesus also stated in this parable:
“Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.”
Being aware in the present moment is to do exactly what Jesus commands: watch!
The real beauty of in the proper interpretation of the scripture
The real beauty in understanding this parable is how applicable it is in daily life. Let me illustrate with a personal example:
I am an elementary school teacher. I teach in an economically disadvantaged area. Many of the students at my school are on free or reduced lunch. Many of their parents work two jobs and aren’t there when their children get home. Some of these kids are raising themselves. Many of the parents are too young and irresponsible to know how to properly love and nurture these children anyway.
Suffice to say, some, if not most, of these children don’t have any appreciation for education. Even more importantly, neither do the parents. Instead of supporting their child’s teacher, they unconsciously work against them. In many areas of the country, teaching has gone from highly rewarding job to a highly stressful one.
The students no longer choose to behave in a way that is conducive for their learning. In order for a teacher to be successful, we have to constantly adapt and implement new strategies to keep the classroom a positive learning environment. A good teacher can manage this type of classroom, but it takes a lot of energy and creativity. We fulfill the role of parents, counselors, nurses, psychologists, mental health providers, social workers, entertainers, disciplinarians, and teachers all at once.
Recent budget cuts also eliminated substitute teachers, so we have to combine classes when teachers are out. Often, I do not get my planning time or lunch break because the teachers aren’t there to take my class. This uproots children from the daily routine and causes them to get off task.
I am not stating all this to complain. I want to make a point. If I could not stay conscious of the present moment in this highly stressful environment, I would have quit a long time ago. But this job has presented a huge opportunity for conscious growth, and I am grateful for this opportunity.
When I keep my attention on the present moment, there is no time for stress or worry. I am more alert to deal with potential problems as they arise. Engaging in this present awareness doesn’t concern itself with past or future either—only what is NOW. This is rest for the body, mind, and soul, even in the midst of work. It is the truly the Kingdom of heaven, and it is one the secrets to life.
I may choose to move on and do something else besides teach elementary school. Eventually, I think it would be nice to get more involved with spirituality. But I’ll know when the time is right. For now, I am still learning valuable lessons through teaching. It’s a win-win situation. I learn just as much as the kids do!
Wow Joshua, what a challenge and a privilege your work in the elementary school provides and I have no doubt you give your students as much thought and care as you do your blog posts. Even if you don’t see it very often if at all, your presence there makes a difference.
Thank you again for another great post. My younger daughter is an independent professional contemporary dancer currently doing her masters. She told me an interesting fact about the fluid in the spinal column which puzzles doctors because it has its own pulse independent of the heart beat and they have not been able to discover why. This interested her in light of the fact that the ancients called this fluid the Christos or Cristos (you can even purchase an oil called Crisco). Apparently they believed that if one lived their life governed completely by the senses they depleted this precious oil (the Christ) and reduced the possibility of enlightenment. Thus they exhorted their followers to meditation and care-ful (or awareness) living…encouraging abstinence and frugality. Your blog today reminded me of this. Namaste
Rhonda,
Yes, I do try to challenge my students to use their minds. I actually teach 4th grade writing. I make them go back to the text to support their conclusions, and I am proud of the answers they are coming up with.
I am glad you brought up cerebral spinal fluid that flows in the spine and the ventricles of the brain. When energized, it was known as soma or nectar in the East. The Bible calls it milk and honey. I am going to do some blog posts on this soon. There’s a lot of good information that people need to be aware of in order to expand consciousness in this regard. More soon.
Thanks for commenting!
YOU RACIST AZZ WHITE CRACKER, TALKING ABOUT THE KIDS YOU TEACH N YOUR CLASS ROOM LIKE I DON’T WAT RACE DAT WHITE CCRACKER IS REFERRING TO BLACK AND HISPANIC KIDZ YOU FUCKIN HIPOCRITE LOL FOH WHITE PIECE OF SHIT THIS IS OUR PLANET CAVE BOY
Perpetuating racism through a comment such as yours makes no sense. Where specifically in my article do you see racism? That is a rhetorical question.
Josh, that is an excellent example of how we can adjust to stressful situations by being present, which allows otherwise untapped capabilities within us to respond and take some of the load. It may seem to us as if life nudges us into the zone of being present when we are ready to start excercising that skill. Do you have any pointers for how to stay present more continously through the day?
Robert,
Thank you. Learning to stay present can turn almost any activity into a sacred joyful one. And yes, life does nudge us into the proper zone. We need to learn to just flow with it.
Staying present is something that is learned. The more you practice, the longer you will do it. Learning how to place our attention and focus on something is like exercising, just like concentration meditation. But it is also different because it should become effortless with time.
Hi Josh!
I have spent a lot of time focusing on connecting with the “higher self” aspect of myself, as you know by now. I found what works for me is to focus on this “sacred space” within me, and that doing so automatically puts me in the present moment. In contrast, I have not found that focusing on the “present moment” is as helpful or as powerful as focusing on one’s higher self. (For one thing, a large part of the “present moment” often seems to be outside of ourselves. And the focusing on the present moment is a rather vague concept…at least for me.) Furthermore, I feel that focusing on the present moment does not automatically put your focus on your higher self, your sacred space. This is why I have tended to gloss over Tolle’s teachings, even from the time I first heard of him, or read his first book, before I had my own eye-opening experiences. Did not resonate with me all that much…
Regarding the “five careless (unconscious) women who do not have enough oil (consciousness) to keep their lamps burning (stay present) and so miss the bridegroom (the Now) and don’t get to the wedding feast (enlightenment). ” I feel the bridegroom is one’s soul, one’s higher self, one’s true and authentic self, rather than the general “Now moment.” Just my observation.
However, I understand there’s different strokes for different folks. For some people, the “Now” is where it’s at. I also understand that different ways work for different people, and that just changing the way one words something, or the words one chooses, makes a big difference for some people. So, I’m all for all of this…
For me, what’s important re: the Now is that we start from where we’re now at. When you connect with your higher self, it’s most effective to work on the things that are in the present now moment. Those are the issues that are of course most relevant. That’s what I feel is most important about being “in the Now.”
Thank you for being the teacher you are! I have a commitment to help out young people as well. It’s so much on my heart right now. And I’m so glad there are teachers such as you in the world. Thank you for doing your blog and your higher purpose!
Christine,
Thanks for this comment. I think I understand where you are coming from. Maybe Robert’s comment might help bridge the disconnect. I would like to add that being present in the NOW has the benefit of helping you to realize you are more than the ego. I see this process as an internal event. Your are pure awareness itself. Being present also enables you to hear the inner still voice of the spirit.
At first, learning to be more present was an effort for me. This may be where you are having trouble seeing it from the same perspective. But with time it becomes effortless. This is probably because one realizes being in the NOW is about letting go of past and future to enjoy what IS. You also learn to see that everything is sacred. Being present gives me joy even when I am working on something that I do not particularly “like” to do. Does that make sense?
Christine, could it be this discussion is about two different phenomena? One involves the practice of tuning out the world and its distractions to obtain insight from one’s higher consciousness, and the other is becoming fully engaged in the world as it is, with its distractions, moment by moment, without being encumbered by the neurotic problem solving (unconscious) mindset . Both practices are valuable. For the beginner, the former practice is able to probe into the highest levels of consciousness during peak periods, while the latter practice brings well established high levels of consciousness into practical daily use. For the advanced, the former and latter begin to merge.
Joshua, I totally agree that living in the now is where to be for the past is gone, tomorrow may never come ,and the present is NOW! I live for today and even as a kid could not save my pocket money for a ‘rainy day’ as it was impossible for me to do, much to the annoyance of my family haha. May I say Joshua that you are spiritually involved what you do for a living is for the good of all the young lives that you help and it takes someone special to be a teacher plus the other roles that you take on and was not all the great teachers spiritual as like Jesus? Love and light always Selina x
Good point, Selina! Thank you for your comment.
Interesting discussion.
Robert might be right about the NOW being two different things to different people…at least the term of “now” being used that way.
I had tried to focus in the NOW. Not thinking of the past nor worrying about the future. That’s like picking a point on a Map between 2 places (Past and future) and “saying” you are going to live there. It still doesn’t mean that you are fully living in that place. lol Been there, done that…got the Tee-shirt.
What keeps us out of the Now? Fear. Fear has fruit just as Love has fruit.
To truly live in the NOW you have to be walking in that unconditional Love with it’s fruit. It’s only then, that you can fully experience the Now. That would truly be your Higher self.
I had a bit of revelation of this, this weekend. My oldest son is a Drug addict. I had thought he was working his recovery. That all came crashing down last week. My point? I started focusing in on my being an enabler. I had changed some of my behaviors, but it was a bit like looking at a point on a map between two places. Like I talked about the NOW.
I realized, I didn’t “enable” his drug use. What I enabled was his fears. His Drug use enabled mine.
Did that make any sense? I was going about this from the wrong angle. I was seeing it through EGO. I knew where I wanted to be (a point on a map) but you can’t get there through listening to Ego or Fear. Christine is right…You have to be in your higher self to actually live in the Now.
I no longer feel anger, resentment, sadness, judgement…etc… Those are all fruit of Fear.
10 virgins WANTED to be at that wedding. 10 Virgins went to meet the bridegroom (a point on a map). Only 5 were conscious (awake) to BE at the wedding.
LOVE begets LOVE. FEAR Begets Fear. The 5 sleeping Virgins were fearful and acted on that. Trying to Make it happen themselves, by trying to buy more oil. Fear was their motivation. That’s why Christ didn’t know them.
Unconditional Love is different. I’m just starting to catch a glimpse of this and what it really means.
I hope I made some sense with that. I guess I’m trying to say that this all tied in for me and was exacted what I needed! 🙂
Laurie,
I am sorry to hear about your son. It seems like you have learned a valuable lesson and will know what paths to take here on out.
You bring up a good point about the ego. All fear is rooted there. When you are fully present there is no room for ego or fear. As Tolle remarked in his book, when you are fully present, what, at that moment, is possibly wrong? The answer, nothing. Problems are products of the mind. This is where suffering begins. When we become fully present, there is less room for the mental chatter that leads to suffering.
Thank you, Josh. It’s not an accident that I’m his Mom and that he is my son. This little dance didn’t just start with him. 😉 I’m fully aware of that. This is one of the reasons I am here. This is one of my major Life lessons. I’m not sorry. I see it for what it is. Did that make sense?
I have so enjoyed your Blog.
Laurie,
And I appreciate all that you are adding to the discussion. People learn through different perspectives and you guys teach what I could not with your own individual experiences!
Blessings.
For me focusing on the Present moment is not so much about focusing on the present circumstance or event, but rather being consciously present/aware within the Present moment (Not bing caught up in the mental/mind traps– Past/regret and Future/fear) regardless of what form the Present moment takes on.
I feel that it is within the Present moment that the Higher self has it’s being. If I focus on the Higher self it brings me into the Present moment. And likewise, if I am consciously present/aware within the Present moment it brings me into the presence of the Higher self. It’s a win-win situation.
Love & Peace
Darius,
You stated:
“I feel that it is within the Present moment that the Higher self has it’s being.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself!
Darius, that makes sense! Thank you.
Hi again Joshua,
I hope you don’t mind, but on following all these interesting comments from all these wonderful people I realise why you said my email was so in sync with your topic in this blog. So in hopes it blesses someone I’ve added it.
It occurs to me that “NOW” and “BEING” are so intimately connected that they are almost indistinguishable…..for every possible use of the word Being has an immediate sense, is always referring to something in the Now of experience. I’ve never read Tolle apart from a few quotes here and there, but I think I may have to check him out:-) Namaste
Two Possibilities
“In every moment there are two possibilities. One possibility is to have all of our curiosity, attention, and passion focused on what is happening. The other is to have that same curiosity, attention, and passion focused on what is not happening, what is not present, or what we think should or shouldn’t be happening. In every moment, the question is: What are you giving your attention to? Are you allowing what is or going to battle with it, trying to change it in some way?
When our focus is on what is, our experience of what is opens up and becomes bigger, richer, and more complete. But when it is on what is not ( the past, the future, or any thought about what is) (e.g. the grass is greener on the other side of the fence), our experience of the moment contracts and becomes narrower and full of suffering and struggle, because inherent in a focus on what is not is a struggle with what is.
When we look we discover that most of the time we are in opposition to what is and oriented toward what is not. Life is mostly about how to make things better and get more pleasure or how to get rid of things that are painful. We are constantly evaluating our experience, looking to see what’s wrong with the moment or on what could be added to it to make it better. As a result, our attention becomes very narrow and our awareness limited.
Once we see how much time we spend struggling with what is, the tendency is to go to battle with that – to try to fix that tendency to try to change everything. But that only changes the content of our struggle: Now we are struggling with our tendency to try to change things. We suffer over the fact that we are suffering.
The other possibility is to just notice how much you suffer, without trying to do anything about it. Just allow the fact that you don’t allow much. Just recognize that that is the way it is. This struggling with what is, is just what we were conditioned to do, and this conditioning is also a part of what is.
Once we stop being in opposition to what is, it is possible to see how all our struggling comes from the idea of a me. Without the assumption that something is my experience, there wouldn’t be much point in trying to change anything about the moment. Our effort and struggle to change what is only makes sense if there is a me. It is all in service to maintaining the idea of a me. In fact, the struggle is the me. When there is no struggle, there is no me. All of our suffering is the result of having and maintaining an identity. (Doesn’t this sound very close to Pauls commentary on the inward struggle of the ego vs the Christ consciousness?)
Once we realize this, the tendency is to try to fix this – to try to change our belief about who we are. We focus on getting rid of identification, which is focusing on what is not again. We are still suffering because we are at war with our tendency to identify. Instead of accepting what is (our tendency to identify), we are oriented toward how we think it should be: “I should be better than to be caught in identification” “I should know who I really am.”… ( I should be thinner, taller, stronger, married, single, wealthy, healthy etc. ad infinitum…)
Another possibility is to be really present to this tendency to identify without making any effort to change it. If that’s what is happening, then that’s what is happening. You just let it be that way. You can even be amazed by it all, including the fact that there is a sense of a me. You see how unreal this me is, but you don’t struggle to be rid of it. There’s no longer an assumption that something is wrong that needs to be fixed.
When it’s finally okay for the moment to be just the way it is – including the fact that we identify with a me and therefore battle with the moment – then more of our experience can be recognized and included in our awareness. If we are willing to be present to and allow our identification and whatever else is happening, then it’s also possible to notice something beyond identification, something beyond our struggle and effort to maintain a me. What that something is, for lack of a better word, is Being. ( or God, Spirit, Source, Higher Consciousness,…)
Along with awareness of identification and the struggle and suffering inherent in that, is an awareness of the larger ground of Being in which everything is happening. When we see that all the me(thoughts, ideas about ourselves) is and ever has been is a lie, but we don’t turn away from that awareness or judge ourselves for it or try to get rid of the me, then we can notice that, along with the struggling inherent in the me, there is a beautiful, rich Presence, or Being, that is allowing everything, including the experience of me. We come to see that the me’s struggle is only a tiny percentage of our entire experience and that this struggle is happening in an ocean of allowing. This allowing is Being.
When we are allowing, we include in our awareness what it is that is allowing, and that is Being, which is who we really are. This realization can be a jolting experience or a quiet one, since Being is actually very familiar. Every moment of allowing has actually been a moment of experiencing Being.”
An excerpt from “Essays About True Nature” (Nirmala)…
bracketed comments my own
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Reading the above had me pondering the following…
“For in Him (God-Being) we live and move and have our being”
“Be still and know that I am God-Being”
Jesus said, “I and the Father- God- Being are ONE”
He also said “The words that I speak are not my own but I speak whatever the Father-God-Being tells me to speak”
At the Passover table he said as he broke the bread “this is my body broken for you.” (who’s body is it, a man who lived 2000+ years ago or is there a larger truth this is pointing to? Who is speaking…Father-God-Being…or a man…or both…I and the Father-Being are ONE in which case there isn’t even a ‘both’ just the perception of it)
In 1 Cor 10:16 Paul asks “ the bread which we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is One bread, we who are many are One body, for all of us share that One bread.”or as another version puts it “ we who are many are one bread and one body”. Ok…who or what is the body of Christ?…a man who lived 2000+ years ago or the truth of our own Being? Infinite awareness broken into a many membered body?
“Christ IN you…the hope of glory” …Awareness of Being in you…the hope of glory…peace,joy,love…
Scripture also says this Being – God – Awareness is LOVE-TRUTH-LIGHT a description of which is in the beautiful and oft quoted and completely ignored 1 Cor 13…
Being is patient (not has patience is patient. Another version puts it “Love/Being never gives up”)
Being is kind…(not has kindness is kind, another version says “cares more for others then for self”…Being does not have to look after itself for Being is infinite and can contain all things without being diminished in any way no matter what the experience. Being can pour out a constant stream of unconditional loving, patient, kindness and have no less supply of it then it had in the beginning for it IS loving patient kindness)
Being does not envy …(or “does not want what it does not have” or “is not jealous” …does not desire that which is not in it’s individuated experience for Being contains all experiences)
Being is not boastful…( or “puffed up”, “doesn’t strut”…knows all is One so where is the need for boasting)
Being is not conceited…( or another version “doesn’t force itself on others” or “is not indecent”…again all are One so conceit is moot “whatsoever you do for others you do for me” “do as you would be done by”…for the other IS you, just another slightly different version “Do not judge for the measure you judge another you will be judged by”…because you Are the Other and you receive the judgment in yourself)
Being does not act improperly…(Being is infinite where all things are…improper is a very narrow truth confined to individual/cultural perspective) (now that’s an idea that would produce anger in some quarters)
Being is not selfish…( or “isn’t always me first” or “is not self-seeking”…for it is all things and has no need to grasp for itself )
Being is not provoked…( another version, “is not inscensed” or another “doesn’t fly off the handle”…for being infinitely expansive there is room for all experiences and all experiences are a part of the whole of Being so what is to provoke?)
Being does not keep a record of wrongs…( another version “Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others” and another “is not taking account of evil”… for Being Is all things, contains all things, knows all things. “Wrongs” are again a matter of the limited individuated, cultural and circumstantial perspective. Being knows ALL things about EVERYTHING that is…the why of everything, Being is the everything…who or what is Being going to keep a record against apart from Being? )
Being finds no joy in injustice or as another version puts it ‘when others grovel’…(small minds/thoughts/beliefs/prejudices, quench the expansive truth of Being)
Being rejoices in truth…(another version “takes pleasure in the flowering of truth”… this is why the bigger the truth the wider and more expansive will be the perspective, and the more the Heart will be open)
Being bares all things…(obviously for Being IS all things, another version reads “puts up with anything”)
Being believes all things…(Being encompasses all things ergo another version “Being trusts Being always”…)
Being hopes all things…(or as another version puts it “expects all things” or another “always looks for the best”)for as stated in Exodus I AM THAT I AM encompasses ALL things and in it’s original language is more closely interpreted as I AM BECOMING THAT I AM BECOMING…implying a continual eternal going forth and expansion of Being.)
Being endures all things… (or “never looks back but keeps going”…)
Being never ends…(or in another version Being “never dies” or another …”is never lapsing”)
Your articles are very pleasing to read. I don’t mind reading them online. I know this is 2013 and many suspect that books are dying out. I don’t believe they are. I would like to buy your book/s. Would you kindly put ALL of your articles in Volume I and find a worthy publisher… Floris Books are honest; Hay House perhaps; Sounds True maybe…
Then continue with your message online until you have enough for Volume II.
Perhaps put out a survey on each new article “tick here if you would also like this and other articles in book format”.
Thanking you in advance for your kind consideration of this matter!
Heather,
I would love to find the time to write even an e-book. I will get around to this eventually, but I just can’t find the time quite yet. Thanks for your encouragement and I hope to get this done sooner than later. Blessings.
Hi Joshua,
This is a beautiful post and it showed me a lot I did not know. I never really knew what to do with this story, so the fact that the five foolish virgins symbolize the five senses which are directed outward made everything suddenly clear.
I think THE problem in christianity is that people equal Jesus with the Christ. While I certainly believe that Jesus became the embodiment of Christ, I think that Christ does not automatically mean Jesus. Christ is potentially in you and me and everyone and all of us can embody the Christ. I believe that is what Jesus came to teach and show us. I think it also means that Christ can be found and realized in other traditions as well, so we should start looking for what we have in common instead of fighting over who possesses the Truth.
Hi Anny and Joshua,
Not only CAN we embody the Christ, that’s what we are here to do, that’s what’s required of us at this time during this “Great Shift in Consciousness. When we connect and “integrate” with our higher self, we connect and integrate with Christ consciousness, we are following in Christ’s footsteps. And I believe this is no longer an option, it’s what our souls are calling us to do, to complete the part of this Earth Experiment (the part where we learn through suffering) and to create a new world.
Many Blessings!
Christine Hoeflich
Thanks for commenting, Christine. Good to see you back.
Great post, I truly appreciate and resonate with this interpretation.