A donated essay
"Inner nature of God’s Kingdom"
by Dominic Daley, Laurel Sherer & Christine Breese
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The following essay is excerpted from the courses "Mystical Beginnings of Christianity"
and "Awakening to the
True Self" as presented by the University of Metaphysical Sciences.
Although spiritual teachers offer answers to
the question of who we really are and paths of how to come to know our true
nature, people need to take the journey inward and experience the nature of the
Divine themselves. In this way, each person is her/his own liberator and
spiritual teacher. Devotion to the path of awakening to the true Self, openness
to the grace of becoming self-realized, and cultivation of spiritual energy are
states of being which help us to experience the nature of the true Self. The
paradox of the situation is that even though we are the true Self right now and
thus do not need to go outside of ourselves to find it, we can not know it with
a mind that is constantly racing between thoughts of the past and future. This
is why spiritual teachers offer us practices as a foundation for realizing the
true Self. Such practices prepare the body and mind to perceive the true Self.
The body and mind can be likened to antennas, which are slightly altered here
and there in order to be better conductors for tuning into the frequency of the
Divine.
Once one becomes tuned into the perfection of
the Divine, there is a grounded peace that emerges. It has sometimes been
likened to finally letting go after trying so desperately to cling to rocks in a
river. Once we let go of our old perceptions of the way we think life to be and
come into oneness with the Divine, we are amazed at the river we are a part of.
We realize it was only an illusion that we were separate from this river of Life
and that we had to protect ourselves from being swept away; for in being swept
"away," we are only swept into the Divine, our true Self.
It is this slight change in our perception that
leads to growth and awakening our divine self. While very similar, sensation and
perception play different roles in how we interpret experiences. Perception is
how we interpret sensation and therefore make sense of the world around us.
Sensation is the process by which we sense our environment, both the spiritual
and visual worlds around us. For example visual perception is how we interpret
what we see, self esteem describes the perception of how we feel. Personal
growth is a sensation that can be associated with the great awakening of the
kundalini 1
or with awakening earth energies within us. Perception itself is imminently
selective which is why meditation is so useful, and it often helps to be guided.
Through guided meditation we are better able to visualize what we aren’t
absorbing and therefore open the transcendental door of perception a little
wider.
We come to the realization that the Kingdom of
God is within us all. The dogma of Christianity and other organized religions
does not provide us with this spiritual foundation or knowledge, really. The
ancients taught know yourself.
We are of a divine consciousness that inhabits physical temples or bodies that
in turn create this material world we find ourselves in. To know ourselves is to
know God.
Thomas Merton says in Mystics And Zen Masters (1967):
"We must never forget that Christianity is much more than the intellectual
acceptance of a religious message by a blind and submissive faith which
never understands what the message means except in terms of authoritative
interpretations handed down externally by experts in the name of the Church.
On the contrary, faith is the door to the full inner life of the Church, a
life which includes not only access to an authoritative teaching but above
all to a deep personal experience which is at once unique and yet shared by
the whole Body of Christ, in the Spirit of Christ."
2
St. Paul compares this knowledge of God, in the
Spirit, to the subjective knowledge that a man has of himself. Just as no one
can know my inner self except my own "spirit," so no one can know God except
God’s Spirit, yet this Holy Spirit is given to us, in such a way that God knows
himself in us. This experience is utterly real, though it cannot be communicated
in terms understandable to those who do not share it. Consequently, St. Paul
concludes, "We have the mind of Christ." Corinthians 2:16. "He who is united to
the Lord is one spirit." I Corinthians 6:17The Kingdom of God finally
comes down to that place of "being within," not a condition we find ourselves in sometime in
the future. No, the Kingdom of God is a present, living condition with many
possibilities for goodness that we have, but hides like a seed within every
individual. It grows naturally, and feeds upon the developing attitudes of love
and practicing kind deeds. Behold, like a new plant, it grows gradually until
you yourself are part of this garden in the Kingdom of God, within yourself and
the world without. Jesus is seen as a prophet who proclaims the Kingdom of God,
but Jesus celebrates that Kingdom as already present with his 12 disciples and
his followers. Jesus proclaims the Kingdom of Heaven is open and available for
everyone.
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About the Authors:
 | Dominic Daley is the Christian mysticism
contributor for this essay. Mr. Delay earned his Bachelor of Arts
in Waldorf Education from Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, CA in
1983. He is an artist, novelist and metaphysical educator. |
| Laurel Sherer is a world
traveler with a deep interest in herbal medicine. She is a course writer and
student advisor at the University of Metaphysical Sciences, and currently
working in the field of energetic and intuitive healing. She contributes her
knowledge of personal transformation and awakening. |
| Christine Breese is the founder of
University of Metaphysical Sciences. She holds her Doctor of Divinity Degree
in Metaphysical Sciences and her PhD. in Metaphysical Counseling. Her
website is at: www.christinebreese.com.
As editor and contributor to this essay she wishes blessings of timelessness,
peace, and self-knowledge to all who visit religioustolerance.org |
Resources:
| University of Metaphysical Sciences, from
which this essay is adapted, is dedicating to assisting spiritual teachers as
they pursue their life purpose, live with integrity and grace, and teach others
to do the same. See: http://www.umsonline.org
|
| Universal Church of Metaphysics is an all-inclusive gathering place for spiritual seekers.
See: http://www.ucmeta.org/ |
Footnotes:
-
Kundalini is a Sanskrit word that refers to life-force energy
that lies coiled at the base of the human spine like a snake. When awakened it
can travel upwards through the various chakras and ultimately awaken the higher
centers of consciousness.
-
 Thomas Merton, "Mystics And Zen Masters."
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (1999). Read
reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store
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Originally posted: 2007-SEP-26
Latest update: 2007-SEP-26
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