TOO MANY JESUSES

In the dream I had last night, the character I was talking to, told me that “You’ve got too many Jesuses.” I had to think about what that meant. And then I had to examine if it was true.

Having a lot of priorities is like digging holes for water. If we dig ten holes looking for water then we would more likely dig them to a shallow level. If we stick with one hole for the same time period and invest in that project alone, we would probably have a better chance of finding the water we are looking for in our life.

Sacred cows are another thing. How many things do we believe to be 100% lock-down true? Do we ever ask the question, is what we ’think’ really true? And when we ask the question, is the answer based on what someone told us, or what we read, or that it was said it in some holy scripture? Is that enough? That someone told us, maybe our parents, and maybe that we’ve believed it for generations, is that the basis of what we know? Just because it is a time-worn tradition does not give it the plausibility of veracity.

Women in Somalia or Saudia Arabia, or even Afghanistan, all have a lower status in society not allowing them to drive, go out in public, or get a basic education. The tradition predisposes that there is a correctness to all that. Is that enough?

And the sacredness of holy texts, is there not a difference between what is written and how the spirituality plays out in the world? The realization of the ineffable, enlightenment, and other Being states, are not quantifiable, especially in words, which are lesser vehicles. The texts may be a step away, but they are still a step away. And what is our experience relative to what the ’texts’ say? How unique is our path? Is our path congruent with what is expected of us?

What part of ‘real’ should we be following? The generativity part, or the ‘my parents told me’ part, or the institutional society part that has a bias dating back a thousand or more years? Do we stop asking questions because it is politically incorrect, or, someone is going to get alienated about the questions and the potential change in thinking? Or ‘my tradition’ does not accept that premise?

How open are we to the Truth relative to being compliant with all the above restrictions?

Does questioning unfairly target something that should not be questioned? Is questioning enough? Or is there something more, something more effective we can employ?

Questioning is a vehicle, within the context of the mind, that leads us to a possibly more sublime assessment vis-a-vis no-thought awareness. This is the space we all share all the time. It is the ‘Us’ in us.

This awareness is “mindfulness” without the mind. We are conditioned to see with the mind. This is the starting point, not the end point. As we progress on the development of our awareness, we see more clearly where we have been conditioned to the point of being lost in the mind. Awareness still presides despite the full obfuscation. But if we are constantly abiding in the mind, we cannot appreciate the subtleness of no-mind.

Shifts in consciousness happen when we are no longer a slave to our beliefs, thoughts, and ideas on how things should be. This is no mundane achievement when it is part and parcel of who we all are in society. Compliance is our history, and not the questioning of the most basic assumptions on how things operate. The necessity of changing how we perceive, to change in a significant way, is not the easiest path.

Just knowing, believing, and seeing the fact that our thoughts are not real, is an enormous game changer. And knowing it to the degree that we also contemporaneously understand that our dreams while sleeping, are not real as well. That gets us out of the mind funk. Leaving the false reality of the trance of the mind invites awareness to be Present. The power of the Moment arrives in the Now in this lifetime.

The Academy Awards show just occurred, as spectacular as ever with glitterati on steroids. One powerful Moment that stopped the self-adulation was Graham Moore, a Chicago root, in his acceptance speech. Graham Moore was from a well-to-do and connected family. He had a more privileged education than most of us. What he said, could have shamed himself and his loved ones. This was not something people openly share about themselves in our society.

“When I was 16 years old, I tried to kill myself because I felt weird, and I felt different, and I felt like I did not belong. And now I’m standing here, and so I would like for this moment to be for that kid out there who feels like she’s weird or she’s different or she doesn’t fit in anywhere. Yes, you do. I promise you do. You do. Stay weird. Stay different. And then when it’s your turn and you are standing on this stage, please pass the same message to the next person who comes along.” Graham Moore {in his acceptance speech for adapted screenplay}

This struck a chord in the psyche of humanity. Social Media and Twitter were peaking with support and praise. Graham Moore’s vulnerability was ‘so’ in the Moment. Authenticity blared from this stage.

When we know deeply where we are vulnerable, we handle our shame adroitly and fully. We move through it. We let go of the idea of perfectionism (aka ‘what people think’ and ‘what we think’) and begin to act from fullness versus ‘not enough’. We see clearly that ‘that’ mistake was subsequent to not believing in our True self.

The trance of not being good enough and wrong-headed emptiness, was revealed for all to see and replaced with a confidence that could conquer the world. Graham’s boldness to go ’so’ public meant that he had nothing to hide. This is the awareness that blasts the light into all dark corners. The ‘light’ of who we Are is always ready to come in to displace the nonsense of deleterious thought. It is who we really are anyway.

Even when we have a so-called ‘good life’, that, does not exempt us from the conditioning of the mind and the worship of ‘ideas’. Following ideas too closely, prompts us to abandon the connection of who we Are. The ‘Truth’ is that perfectionism will not keep us safe. It will commit us to ideas and gods that end up eviscerating us in a real way. Vulnerability or full awareness, drives the darkness of shadow self into meaninglessness. Laying it all out is not an idea. It is action in the real world, in a real way.

“Too many Jesuses” is having too many driving beliefs that cause us to misbehave against our own real interests of Being. We have too many ideas that drive us past our ultimate goal of effortless Being. Too many ideas allot gobs of energy to the mind, overlooking the most important deposit we need to be making every single moment of our existence. Everything; mind, ideas, feelings, beliefs, are sourced from Consciousness. This is the Jesus we are looking for and cannot see. “That” is enough.

Embrace Self unconditionally. See It. See Self, Be fearless.

This Iz Daddy’O