Can Christians Be Saved:A Mystical Path to Oneness
Edgy, controversial, ground-breaking, inspirational--- all of these words have been used to describe this unique book.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Oneness is the antidote!!!!
Friday, September 9, 2011
Amazing story of Middle Eastern man appearing
We were finishing up our first book “Can Christians Be Saved: A Mystical Path to Oneness.” One morning, when Buck was meditating, an old Middle Eastern man appeared to him. He came in and sat down in the meditation circle. He appeared daily but never said anything. Finally, one day he spoke. “Please translate your book into Arabic. My people need to hear your message.” He left and did not return.
A year later, Virginia was meditating, when an old Middle Eastern man appeared to her. He said:
“I want to tell you how I happened upon Buck’s meditation that day. One morning I was looking upon my house that had been destroyed by an errant bomb the night before. As I looked upon the shambles, I felt the horror and loss of the death of my dear wife and two grandchildren. Never again would I feel my wife’s embrace. Never again would I hold the children on my knee. My son ran up to me and, weeping we hugged each other, and my son said “papaw, papaw, you must come with me to a meeting tonight. A group of us are meeting to decide what to do.”
To support my son, I decided to go. That night we met with about thirty other men in a room deep in the city. In the meeting, the talk was all about retribution; how to strike back at those who had caused the death of our families and friends. My heart was heavy with my loss and with all the talk of death. After the meeting I walked the streets, eventually finding myself staring up at my Mosque, the mosque in which I had said prayers for many years. As I looked, I began to weep and cried out to Al-lah in my suffering and distress. Almost immediately I felt the presence inside and I said “Al-lah dwells in my heart and in the hearts of all persons everywhere. He does not inhabit the places of stone; Al-lah is within me.”
I knew immediately that I could not seek to kill any person, as Al-lah dwells within them, too. But I was still upset and I walked home to the temporary shelter set up for those like me whose homes had been destroyed. That night I sat in meditation, and I cried out to Al-lah again for help and strength. In meditation I was carried on the winds, and was sat down in a circle of people. I know immediately that this was a holy place, and as I listened, I heard Buck talk of his book. I felt that the book had the same intention as my vision outside the Mosque. God is not “out there” but dwells inside my heart. And then I knew. “Al-lah” I cried “this book must come to my people.” Buck looked at me and I realized I had spoken the words out loud, and I was afraid. Buck looked at me and smiled, and he too started to weep, and he took my hand and I felt such hope like never before.”
This vision was very dear to Virginia, not only because she had been thinking of this man ever since Buck had told her of his appearance, but because the truth of the experience of the Divine dwelling within each of us is as universal as eating and breathing.
We wrote this book with the hope of this man in our hearts. Surly Divine’s unity within our hearts can lead us all to raise humanity’s consciousness to higher levels of love, peace and oneness. WE can each be the change we want to see in our world.
Preface to our second book: "Your heart is my Home".
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
SOD- the mystical interpretation
From our book- the foreward by Hunter Flournoy
"Can Christians Be Saved"
Buck and Virginia’s sacred play also revives one of the most ancient methods for understanding scripture. Since the time of Solomon’s temple, scripture was not understood primarily as literal or historical: it was understood as a beautiful garden, a paradise, or in Hebrew, PaRDeS. PaRDeS was an acronym made up of the initial letters of the Hebrew words Peshat, Remez, Derash, and Sod – four levels of understanding scripture, which together move us from a place of reading the word of God, to becoming the Word of God. The least important level, Peshat, is the literal or historical understanding: we relate to the characters of scripture as human beings like us, wrestling with the experience of God. The second level, Remez, is the allegorical understanding: every character, from Adam to Jesus, is a part of our own consciousness, and every story speaks of our internal world. Derash is the midrashic, intellectual, or comparative understanding, looking at patterns of meaning in the sacred teachings of the world. Finally, Sod is the mystical meaning, glimpsed in visions, dreams, and ceremonies. Without knowing it, Buck and Virginia reenacted all of these levels of scripture, reassembled the ancient map set forth by the mystics, and followed that map back into the Garden of Paradise, walking hand in hand with God in the Garden.
The Bible interpreted Oneness- SOD
NIV literal interpretation
John 1: 14 And the Word became flesh and lived for a while among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14 interpreted in Oneness
Jesus said: As I felt myself in the flesh, like all people, I knew that my body was temporary. But the message I was to give to all people is eternal. When they realize who they are, one by one, it shall be the most glorious experience of their life. They shall be like the Father who dwells within each of us, full of grace and truth. For me to have realized the wonderful reality of the divine within and in unity, and to be able to teach others is by the grace and intention of the universe.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Lost Christianity #2
We guessed that the Christian gospels are the hidden place of mystery teachings of the ancient mystery schools. Jesus himself probably attended one or more of the ancient mystery schools. But to get the hidden meaning from these teachings, expressed as allegories usually told by Jesus, we have to experience them with both hemispheres of our brains. When we simple read them they go into our left brains, as a dualistic teaching. But when we relive them, in the present tense, as if we are the characters in the story, they are experienced by the right brain and their mystery is revealed to us. This brings us beliefs generated from our personal experiences rather than on handed-down dogma. This is revealed by the story of the Good Samaritan which is presented in our new book.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Lost Christianity by Jacob Needleman No. 1
Well, the answer to this question is that it depends on the world view of the religion involved. By and large, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are dualistic and because of this they are a force for ill in the life of humanity. The other world view, that of oneness, or a non-dualistic form of religion would more likely be a force of good in the life of humanity. This we explain in our new mini-book: Your Heart is My Home, A Quote from God. I believe that what Christianity and Islam lost was the oneness teaching of Jesus. Judaism was basically dualistic from its origin. But Needleman doesn’t report this in his search for the answer to his question.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
After the Fall
After human had eaten the fruit of the tree of Good and Evil, everything changed. All at once they were 2 genders, and hence human became Adam and Eve. They then started to blame each other for the awful and excruciating feeling of separation they were experiencing. The peace and love and oneness of the Garden was gone, and they felt empty and alone. They saw their bodies as different for the first time and had a feeling of shame. They judged and were angry with each other, and they judged and blamed Spirit for their loss and torment. Everything became hard, and they had lost the flow and ease of oneness in the garden.
Eve expressed it this way: "I am most miserable of persons. The life that I now live is a torment, filled with judgements and anger. I cannot feel oneness with Spirit any more and that is the worst. In the Garden I sparkled with the wonderful radiance of the love of the Divine permeating ALL. But now I have lost my sparkles. I wonder if Spirit will ever let us back into the Garden. I sing the lament of the ages. Our voices cry out for relief."
Next: Spirit's perspective
Virginia
copyright 2011. Virginia Stephenson and Buck Rhodes
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Human arrives in the garden
So when we come to the 2 trees in the garden, we see a reflection there too of the existence of the parts (duality) and their unification as wholeness being called Oneness.
There was the tree of Life (Oneness) and there was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (duality). Spirit made human aware that the tree of good and evil was the tree of the PARTS only and that it was not complete, but it was there as a sign, that we as humans have a choice: to live a partial existence according to the parts, or live in oneness, according to wholeness and true existence.
Human was in fact created with a WHOLE gender, meaning there was only One, there was no male and female apart from what was human.
So human listened to the serpent rather than Spirit and took and ate the fruit of the tree of good and evil. In doing this human wanted to find out what the PARTS were. The word of Spirit was not sufficient for the human to be satisfied with oneness without experiencing the PARTS.
And so human fell from the Garden of Oneness.
Next: What was experienced by human after the fall.
-Virginia
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
The garden of Eden
Creation- As we have channelled and experienced the divine being active in Creation, several things were made very clear. There was much JOY in the act and intention of Creation. When Spirit (my name for the Divine) touched the darkness and it became light, there was still a Oneness between light and dark, and the circuit of the earth around the Sun and the circuit of the galaxies exhibited this. This creative touching was born from the Joy of Spirit in the act of Creation. It was Spirit's nature to create, and as Spirit touched other things and created the World and the Universe and the trees and flowers and rivers and oceans, it was birthed from JOY as Spirit fully experienced the creation and the act and intention of it.
When Spirit created human, Spirit created human to be like Spirit, ONE with Spirit. So human also had the "nature" to create in joy and love through intention.
More on "human" next time.
Virginia
Thursday, April 21, 2011
7 Phrases of Jesus, Part 8
"Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit." (Luke 23:46)
Again, his Father was himself. This statement was a realization and eternal statement of his oneness with the divine and with divine love. But more than that too. He was the world. And in the transcendant moment as he breathed out, complete unity was achieved and he was the God of Love, but also the whole world was also the God of love. We have but to realize this truth to enter into the place of all love and all power which is nonduality, the God Position, complete union with divinity and us. Jesus used the word “commit”. This is his statement of the intention and reality of the union of his spirit with divinity (Father) within him.
Buck as Jesus: Oh what joy it is to have full experienced and resolved within myself all the suffering of human kind. I am free to let go of this body and dissolve this individualized spirit into Love, the Great Spirit, the Creator, and the One.
Space: I cup my hands, and I breathe on my hands. These hands are God's hands. They are consecrated for God's work and blessing for the world. I feel such love and compassion for the world. I feel such love and compassion for myself. I feel such love and compassion for those I know that are suffering. As I lay my hands on the head of God, I realize we are one.
The end.
© 2011 Virginia Stephenson and Buck Rhodes, all rights reserved. This covers all 8 parts of the meditation, 7 phrases of Jesus.
7 Phrases of Jesus, Part 7
"It is finished!" (John 19:30)
In nonduality, what was finished was the ritual of transformation. Through the ritual of death and resurrection, Jesus opened the world so all who seek, will find the way to God, the unity of God and the Self. The pattern was now set and accomplished. The ritual now lives and works within us. A spiritual example now existed (exists) . All the verses of scripture on “receiving” Jesus, and “believing on his name”, and “trusting Jesus”, and even “no man comes to the Father except through me”?. All of these verses mean for us not to worship Jesus as THE GOD, but to honor Jesus by being him. Be Jesus. “Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus”. We are ALL in All.
Now all of us can say “it is finished” with Jesus when we realize that he patterned for us God realization. Now my worship of Jesus is the worship of the God within me, even the Jesus that I am. I do not worship a God out there, but the god inside, that I am.
Buck as Jesus: This, my final initiation is finished. All the earthly initiations are now behind me and I as God, I have fully experienced the full range of earthly experience. I know myself fully and I am one with my creation. I am Oneness, duality is ended.
Space: I am Jesus. Complete and whole. The work is done for my personal transformation.
Tomorrow: "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit." (Luke 23:46)
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
7 Phrases of Jesus, Part 6
"I thirst!" (John 19:28)
Jesus asked for the relic of high ritual. Jesus was totally at one with all and knew of the suffering of the world. Suffering is not JUST the obvious suffering of hunger, sickness, death of family, but the suffering that is grounded in duality, which causes us to judge others and ourselves, worry, or have fear, or to be angry, or to carry these emotions as poisons within us. Jesus was acutely aware of the intense suffering that judgments of ourselves or others cause. As he took the liquid that was then offered to him, he took it as the lord's supper or Eucharist within himself. Giving to the world and back again to him. A sharing of his life force with us and ours with him, a sharing and union with the “Father-place” within his spirit. This is high ritual, the transformation and the raising of consciousness and acting in nondual sacred space. Within his body and spirit the ritual was performed, completed and transcended space and time.
Buck as Jesus: I hear this whistling sound like hot desert air blowing through an open cave. As I grow more conscious, I realize that this sound is coming from my mouth. The sound merges with and awareness of intense thirst – a thirst so all-consuming that no other thought comes into my awareness. I hear myself call out: “I thirst!” A man below takes notice, a centurion with a spear. He places a rag around the tip of his spear and wets the rag with some of the contents of his canteen and then he raises his spear up to my mouth offering something wet. I suck it into my mouth and for an instant I am both comforted and fully aware of the connection the two of us have made. His empathy for me has made him one with me such that even in this state of intense pain and discomfort I feel a great love for this man and know that his life is changed by this very event. A prayer of thanksgiving crosses my awareness. How powerful love can be even under the most trying of moments!
Space: I feel so light, as if I have no weight. I leave time and space as I know it. My body is numb, but my spirit is leaping and soaring through the expanse and limitlessness of existence. My consciousness and Universal existence are One.
Tomorrow: It is finished!
Monday, April 18, 2011
7 Phrases of Jesus, Part 5
He said to his mother, "Woman, behold your son!" Then he said to the disciple, "Behold your mother!" (John 19:26-27)
We are one with all. And the acceptance and discovery of this can start with those we know well. The common interpretation: that Jesus was taking care of his Mother by asking John to take care of her, is entirely dualistic. Mary came from a close and wealthy family, Joseph of Arimathea was her brother. Jesus' word is a nondual statement of universal family. Jesus said in his
Buck as Jesus: Almost blinded with pain I look down onto my mother and John. I see my unity with them and their unity with each other. I want them to know this, truly know this.
Space: Out of my separate space I will realize the ALL. If I am in pain I will help someone who needs healing. When I cannot do it is the time that I can. Let peace arise whatever the circumstance of my life.
Tomorrow: "I thirst!" (John 19:28)
Sunday, April 17, 2011
7 Phrases of Jesus, Part 4
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46)
This is a statement of the complete identification of the suffering of the world. Jesus offered his suffering as a precious gift and offering to the world, the timeless world. This saying is also the first line of Psalm 22, and it was custom to speak a first line of a psalm to engage or activate the entire psalm. Psalm 22 is about suffering, and also about the ascendancy of God in our lives to be the all in all in us. That was the process that Jesus was experiencing. His suffering was the realization of the suffering of the world: the families filled with pain, worry and fear, the homeless children without parents, the thousands of soldiers butchering each other, and the worry and fear that pervades human thought life, and on and on. Jesus felt all the suffering and was standing for all in sacred space. And let us not forget Mary Magdalene, who was standing for Jesus, and feeling his pain and suffering in this moment, as she cried out with him. 5
Buck says: In my pain I hear myself call out asking why God has forsaken me. But I already know the answer because I am finishing the process of turning away from the God of Duality and becoming one with the God of Love or Oneness. It is I who finally forsakes Jehovah.
Space: I know that feeling the suffering of the world is one aspect of the God Position. Feeling this leads to the intention of divinity enveloping all of the suffering. Let all human kind awaken to the fact that suffering can be an initiation into God. As I feel this my suffering is transformed, to be like seeds, planted to bring forth the fruit of compassion and love, peace and joy.
5.It has been my experience in meditation that the relationship between Mary M and Jesus was of a complete love in non-duality. So the relationship was of them BOTH going through the ritual together....as one.
Tomorrow:
He said to his mother, "Woman, behold your son!" Then he said to the disciple, "Behold your mother!" (John 19:26-27)
7 Phrases of Jesus, Part 3
"Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." (Luke 23:43)
The man hanging next to Jesus says to him, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
The fact was that Jesus was “in his kingdom” in the here and now. Even though there was a transformation happening within the body of the ritual, after the centering prayer Jesus was there. He was in the nondual place of standing for others in sacred space. So when the man (I do not wish to use the word thief, we do not know that, he could have been falsely accused?) said that to him it was as if the whole world was saying it to Jesus. Jesus was standing for them, and he heard it and answered the man as if he were the whole world. Today, is right now. Right now you are with me. Right now you are at one with me. The true rendering of the phrase would indeed be: “Right now you are one with me and I with you.” The reality of nondual space was active within Jesus.
The other thing is we see that the man represented the whole world and Jesus represented divine heart and action. The longing for truth and wholeness, and the longing to give it. In the enlightened one these 2 places are repeated over and over in our lives. I want truth and wholeness, and when I receive it I want to give it away. This is the attitude of the bodhisattva. 3
Buck as Jesus: I am called back into my body and earthly awareness by the angry words of the man to my side calling out: “If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.” Another voice rebukes this man and then says to me, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” Then I say, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
I become aware that the angry man has already separated himself from me and from all others and will remain in this state of separation as he is right now and will continue this into the future when we depart our bodies. Also, I am aware that this other man has already become one with me and my suffering as I have become one with him and his suffering. We will depart these bodies together and hereafter remain together. How simple it is really; each gets to choose whether to live and die in separation or in togetherness. And I can accept either decision without judgment.
Space (Virginia): I feel such expansiveness, I have a feeling of non-containment of my consciousness in a certain space, but the expansive feeling of my consciousness enveloping the whole world. TCIM states that “my holiness blesses all the world.” 4
Tomorrow: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46)
3. A bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism traditionally has been defined as one “who gives up enlightenment for the sake of the enlightenment of the world.” I believe this is a mistranslation from the Buddha's intention. A bodhisattva finds enlightenment in this world, but sees the whole world as her/his responsibility. This is the God Position. Therefore a bodhisattva has the intention of the enlightenment of the world.
4.The Course in Miracles , workbook Lesson 37.
Friday, April 15, 2011
7 phrases of jesus from the cross- Part 2
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)
Jesus held no bitterness or unforgiveness toward his tormentors. In non-dual space there is no offense taken toward those who would harm us or oppose us. Therefore I believe this saying was a “centering prayer” for him, not a literal request for the pardon of the Roman soldiers, or any of the others. As he began the time of his transformation to being the God of love, there was the realization of his own suffering, as he stood for the suffering of the world.( 2) He said this phrase as a statement of his nondual place. That he did not accept nor feel any offense. But his phrase represented the work he was doing in bridging heaven and earth (the spiritual and the temporal). The word “Father” did not mean an actual Father -God somewhere in heaven, “Father” meant the divine place inside of him that was perfect, beautiful, all-wisdom place of unitive (non-dual or oneness) seeing, and the object “they”- represented earth and all humankind. In this way he centered and grounded himself in the ritual. He took his eyes off of the ego Jesus and onto the divinity which was him. By this prayer he entered ritual space with all of his being.
Buck as Jesus: I am still seeing the frustration and the anger of all these people who are taking their feelings out on me. This body that I’m in is indeed suffering from the inflected wounds, from hanging here on this wooden cross, and from the great physical tiredness of my last few days without rest or solitude. My awareness lies as much in their suffering as in my own for I know fully the reasons for their angry feelings and harsh, hateful actions – feeling that have been pent up in them because their long suffering and lack of freedom. My soul is joined with the great soul, the creator of all including this very moment. In union with this greater soul, I say for all to hear: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Although they don’t know, I do know and understand their great pain as my own. I suffer for all of us.
Space (Virginia) - I feel my breath is deep. My mind is still. Let all the physical pain recede into the shadow, and let the intentions of the ritual (the alleviation of the suffering of the world) rise to ascendancy in my heart. Feel the breath of God.
2. Standing for others- we have all experienced this as we identify with the suffering of others to see their suffering become less or end. In Oneness we can do this for the world as Jesus did, or for a nation, or for a group, or for a friend.
Tomorrow:"Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." (Luke 23:43)
Thursday, April 14, 2011
The 7 phrases of Jesus from the cross- part 1
Meditation of the last words of Jesus from the cross (in 8 parts)
The 7 last phrases of Christ, as he spoke them from the cross during the agony and joy of his death and resurrection ritual, was the time that Jesus left completely behind the Old Testament God of punishment and judgment, and accepted fully his transformation or realization that He was the God of Love. As he was doing this he was conscious of the fact that his ritual would enable all of us to also go through the experience to become the God of Love and Oneness. He was also very conscious of Mary Magdalene standing in ritual space for him, putting herself as him, standing for him in non-dual space, in the ultimate act of compassion and self-sacrifice. (1)
As I meditated on these 7 phrases, I used the process that Buck and I had developed, and I became Jesus in my consciousness. I felt myself up on the cross, the coarse wood of the cross scratching and cutting into my back, the constant throbbing pain of the nails in my hands and feet, the pressure on my ribs and my lungs from the hanging position I was in. But always in the background, and solid as a rock was the realization that I was bridging the divide between the heavens and the earth, and that I was standing for the world in absolute sacrifice so they too can love, and be free and see the world through my eyes or their eyes as they are changed in a moment to see in nondual time and space. In non-dual time....time is different, so as I meditated I became conscious of the spaces between the phrases. These were between the thoughts of Jesus as he was on the cross. My friend Leeza, who is a teacher of quantum physics, is always taking about the “spaces”, the non-solid places between molecules or cells or other small things, and how the spaces are critical and crucial to the way the quantum world operates. So, in my meditation of the 7 last words of Christ I allowed myself to feel the spaces between the phrases. And some unexpected things were experienced. The process is sitting quietly and feeling myself move into Jesus as he moves into me. This is an internal self visualization journey into the heart of divinity, and into my heart. The place is between the phrases, leaving one statement and before the next, I feel the heartbeat and breath of God.
The reader will note that the results and experiences of my meditation are quite different from the orthodox doctrinal interpretation common to Biblical exegesis. As we internalize sacred texts in meditation we see eternal truths for us which are then filtered through our present consciousness. This “present presence” gives us revelations and assists us to higher states of consciousness. The pathways to this may be different for all of us, but I believe that there are certain consistencies in the revelations that we see. Therefore some of these “revelations” are eternal, unchangeable truths that are true in any time or space. The evolution to higher consciousness is accomplished as we scale the ladder of these truths, and they become part of us, unifying with our consciousness.
So I begin by breathing deeply. Deeply......deeper........my intention is love.......I want to feel with the depths of my being......leaving Virginia behind......surrendering to my consciousness....my divinity.......let me feel Jesus and his last words.........Let me hear and feel the mind of God. Let me experience the breath of God.
1. In our book, we told how Jesus' experience of crucifixion and resurrection is an “everyperson” journey representing our own passage to oneness with the Divine. Consequently, the fact of Jesus actually dying and rising from the dead becomes a question of history, not a question of spirituality. Whichever way it happened Jesus was patterning for us the way to awakening or enlightenment. We are all offered the path to walk away from dualism and into oneness. It has also been my experience in meditation that the relationship between Mary M and Jesus was of a complete love in non-duality. So the relationship was of them BOTH going through the ritual together....as one.
Tomorrow- The first word: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
8-part meditation to begin April 15
I love all of you lovelies!
Virginia