Conscious Evolution

This past Sunday, after service, I had an in-depth and thoughtful conversation with a congregant.  I really enjoy it when, after a Sunday talk, someone wants to engage in a deeper exploration of the topic. I interpret it to mean that my talk stimulated some questions and personal exploration, and I feel gratified.  At one point in our conversation she asked me if I thought it is easier for me in my position as the minister of the church, in comparison to those in other careers, to be more consciously aware of my Christ nature in the midst of my daily activities.  My immediate response was “no.”  At the moment she asked the question, images of opportunities I have had to know and express the Truth of my being arose in my mind.  I was keenly aware of the many times I fail to respond from my Christ nature.  Sometimes I am successful, but not always.  However, I have now had time to further consider the question and my answer, and in hindsight I would have chosen to respond differently.   A simple “no” does not capture the complexity of the question, nor does it provide an adequate or completely honest response.  So, I thought I would share some of the thoughts that have come up for me in retrospect.

I realize there are exceptions, but for most of us fully embodying our Christ nature does not happen instantaneously, nor is it sustained constantly.  Living in and from the conscious awareness of the Christ is an evolutionary and transformative process.  The transformation of personal consciousness from the belief in separation, which is the primary cause of suffering, to the awareness of oneness, our Truth, usually happens over the course of a lifetime; however, instances of conscious evolution may occur multiples times each day provided we are willing to consciously and actively participate in the process.  Each person, situation or issue that stimulates suffering, regardless of the intensity of feeling, is an opportunity for us to evolve.  We can choose to meet life with curiosity and commitment, in so doing evolve with it, or we can resist it and continue to suffer.

We evolve, not by ignoring our pain or pretending that we are too “spiritual” to feel it.  We evolve through our willingness to acknowledge the pain, feel it, and process through the thoughts we are thinking about ourselves or another that formulate our belief in separation.  Then, through our willingness to question the belief and discover the truth, we are able to come to the place of understanding, compassion and the remembrance of Truth, ours and another’s.  While it may not be what we commonly think of as such, I consider this an evolution of consciousness, moving from the belief in separation to an awareness of oneness, which we may consciously choose in any given situation.  And, each time we choose conscious evolution we contribute to the transformation of our consciousness.

While evolution is a continual process of growth and change, transformation, though it frequently occurs through a process of growth and change, is ultimately a state of sustained alteration of consciousness. One who has achieved this transformation and lives in the state of realized Oneness is often referred to as “enlightened” or “awakened”.  In the Christian tradition, we believe Jesus was an enlightened master whose consciousness was fully evolved and who fully embodied the Christ.  There are people living today who some believe are living in this state of consciousness, a small list includes Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now; Byron Katie, creator of The Work of Byron Katie®; and Gangaji, teacher and author of The Diamond in Your Pocket and other books.  There are others who are no longer living who are also considered to have been enlightened, such as Meister Eckhart, Sai Baba and Jiddu Krishnamurdi, to name a few.  While a few of those named are believed to have attained enlightenment suddenly, most are reported to have attained this level of consciousness through their commitment to spiritual practice, practices that helped to facilitate transformation one evolution at a time.

If you have read this far, you may be wondering how all of that pertains to the original question.  Well, I do not claim to be an enlightened master who lives fully from a transformed consciousness, yet.  I do, however, assert that I am engaged in the process of conscious evolution to the best of my ability.  So, my answer to whether living from my Christ nature is easier because I am a minister is still “no,” but if asked if it is easier for me to live from Christ consciousness because of my spiritual practice and because my commitment to be in ministry helps keep me focused on my evolutionary process, my answer would be “yes”.   Every day, often multiple times a day, I am presented with opportunities to engage in the process of conscious evolution.  At times, I am tempted to run and hide.  And, to be honest, there have been times in my past when I have avoided it as strenuously and persistently as possible.  But, as I am sure you have noticed, life continues to show up, and each of us has to choose whether we will meet it and evolve with it or resist it and suffer through it.  I am grateful for the tools I have acquired during my years of conscious spiritual study and practice.  Utilizing those tools helps me to, more and more, stay firmly grounded in my Truth and to be the best Christ I can be in any given moment.  I am grateful to be in a position that allows me the opportunity to explore and discuss this transformation process with others as we make this journey together.

The Dawning of Grace

I have recently begun reading Anne Lamott’s book, Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith.  Until now, I have not read any of her work, even though several respected friends have told me about her thought-provoking writing.  As often occurs, a few days ago I “happened” to see a Facebook post of a quote from her.  And, as occasionally happens, I decided it was time to pay attention, so I went to Amazon.com to shop for new reading material.  As I perused the list of her many books, this title spoke to me.

The subject of ‘grace’ has often intrigued and sometimes confused me, so I chose this book in hopes that it might shed some light on the subject. It is a collection of humorous and often touching stories about events and people in Lamott’s life that have in some way helped her to awaken to life’s beauty including her own, even though it shows up in unexpected and unusual ways at times.  In the stories I have read thus far, she doesn’t specifically mention ‘grace’ or ‘faith,’ for that matter, but her stories are filled with the underlying message of what I have come to believe about ‘grace’ which I attribute, at least in part, to the book, Falling Into Grace, by American-born Zen Buddhist author, Adyashanti.  Unlike what many of us commonly think of when we hear the word ‘grace', Adyashanti says, “In essence grace is anything that helps us truly open – our minds, our emotions, our hearts.”  Lamott’s stories convey the essence of ‘grace’ from this perspective.

My former understanding of grace from a more traditional Christian perspective was that grace is a “gift from God” that we do not earn and can never deserve, but that God bestows upon us as “He” deems appropriate.  The commonly used phrase, “There but by the grace of God go I,” which I admit I have uttered on occasion, is usually used as a reference to someone who is experiencing a less than enviable life situation and to whom the one speaking is favorably comparing himself.  This statement speaks of a God who favors some with grace, while withholding it from others.  I no longer believe in a capricious God who dispenses grace on a whim, but in a God that freely expresses (gives) all that It is, constantly and continually, as Its “gift of grace.”

I can best describe my current concept of ‘grace’ metaphorically.  If God were the sun, its rays would be Love and grace the field of ever-present light in which we all “live, move and have being.” (Acts 17:28)  This light is available to us at all times, and if we are willing to open our spiritual eyes, it will allow us to see the Truth of our being reflected in everything we perceive.  When we realize (real-eyes) that we live in the state of grace and that every encounter, every situation, in fact every breath is an opportunity to awaken to the Truth of our being, we will have received the gift of grace.  Grace is the light that dawns upon our conscious awareness and awakens us to the truth of God expressing in us, as us.

 

Join us on Sunday for the 10:00 service as I explore further this concept of ‘grace’ and how it can awaken us - our minds, our emotions, our hearts - from the delusion of a God from whom we are separate.

The Value of Judgments

I have recently noticed myself judging others, and I have found myself judging myself for it.  I don’t think I am alone in that, so I thought I would take some time to explore this issue of judgment.

Many who are on a conscious spiritual path have been taught that in order to be truly awakened or enlightened, one must give up judging others.  To expect ourselves to give up judging, and to hold that as a measure of our state of consciousness, is unrealistic and unnecessary.  I offer that we are actually more enlightened, not by giving up judging, but instead by becoming consciously aware of our judgments and striving to understand their value. Human beings judge.  It is an aspect of our human conditioning.  Rather than attempting absolution of judgment, I encourage us to acknowledge our judgments and invite them to inform us of what we deeply value.

On some level, all human beings engage in value judgments, by evaluating or judging based on our particular set of values.  In other words, we sometimes decide on the rightness or wrongness of persons or situations based on our values.  And, we can find ourselves reacting to the judged person or situation according to our learned behaviors.  Typically, when we judge something as wrong or bad, we criticize, fight against, and/or avoid it.  In short, whatever we judge negatively, we resist.  Further, we most often feel justified in our value judgments and our reactions.  The troubling result of engaging in unconscious value judgments is that we determine right and wrong, good and bad, and we assign labels. Unfortunately, this type of judgment frequently leads to conflict, even war, and sometimes, as has been the case in history and as we are currently witnessing in Iraq, genocide.  Fortunately, there is another way. 

Instead of unconsciously engaging in those types of value judgments, or thinking that we have to give up our judgments, we can learn to appreciate the value of our judgments.  In order to do that, we must first be willing and able to recognize our judgmental thoughts and admit to ourselves that we judge, without judging ourselves for judging.  Instead of making ourselves or another right or wrong, we can honestly observe our judgments and allow them to inform us of our values.  Then, rather than reverting to our base human behaviors, we can consciously choose to engage in behaviors that reflect our values and establish connection rather than create conflict. 

As an example, yesterday I drove into the church parking lot and noticed that our recycling bin was filled to overflowing.  Knowing that it had been recently emptied, and also knowing that there is no way the church had generated that much recycling content in such a short time, I concluded that it was being filled by our neighbors.  I immediately felt angry. I was judging the ones who made unauthorized use of our property as wrong and bad.  One might say that I was "warring" with them in my mind, and feeling the impact of the internal conflict.  As I allowed myself to acknowledge my judgment and connect with myself, I recognized that I value respect, and that I was telling myself that they were disrespecting our property and discounting the expense we incur to have the container emptied every other week.  However, after further consideration, I can also acknowledge that whoever used the container as their recycling receptacle, values care of the Earth and the environment.  I also value those things.  As I continued my contemplation, I realized that I cannot possibly know what is in the minds and hearts of whoever chose to place their recycling in our container.  Rather than “warring” with them, I decided to do my best to connect with our shared values and respond accordingly.  Perhaps I can have a sign made that says something like the following:

“While we appreciate that you share our care and concern for the Earth, we ask that you respect our rental of this container.  If you choose to use this container for your recycling, please respect the Earth by not filling it to overflowing resulting in litter.  Please also respect that we need room for our recycling materials as well.  Blessings to you.  Namaste.”

Appreciating the value of our judgments, rather than unconsciously engaging in value judgments is, in my evaluation, a more accurate measure of our level of enlightened consciousness.  When we are willing to honestly and authentically connect consciously with our values, it soon becomes apparent, that all human beings share the same core values.  Conflict is not stimulated by differing values, but by the ways we choose to live those values. 

Our judgments can, if we are willing to connect with them, give us a great deal of information about ourselves, our values, and how our choices reflect our values.  They can also, if we are willing, provide us with a way to connect with others as we consciously connect with their values.  Our unexplored value judgments serve to separate us, while our conscious exploration of our judgments can serve to connect us at a deeper level.  Instead of attempting to give up our judgments, or continuing to engage in unconscious judging, or judging ourselves for judging, I encourage us to acknowledge, learn to become consciously aware of, and appreciate the value of our judgments that ultimately connect us at our deepest levels.

The Heart of Forgiveness

I am continually amazed by the synchronicity of the Universe.  When contemplating a topic for my message this Sunday, I heard (with my inner ears) “forgiveness.”  My mind immediately said, “What! I don’t want to talk about forgiveness; I don’t really know enough about it to talk intelligently about it.  Let’s choose something else.”  I told myself that forgiveness is one of those topics that has the potential for a great deal of misunderstanding and the possibility of stimulating pain in some.  Further, that I would rather talk about a topic with which I feel more comfortable.  Yes, I still argue with the voice of Spirit occasionally, but only when I get a message I don’t want to hear (smile).  One might think that I would have learned better by now, but no.  Also, one might think that by now I would have learned to immediately trust that when I am open to, and hear the voice for Spirit, I get it.  I know what I need to know when I need to know it.  It is not surprising that when I finally arrived at that realization, which thankfully didn’t take too long, I surrendered and chose to listen.  So, the topic for this Sunday’s message is, you guessed it “forgiveness.”

The synchronicity I refer to involves a post on Facebook.  I was searching for a previous post on some unrelated topic on the “Unify” page, when I happened upon a link that referenced the “18^th International Forgiveness Day.”  When I clicked on the link, I was delighted and amazed to discover that International Forgiveness Day is, lo and behold, you guessed it, Sunday, August 3.  Not only that, but one of the keynote presenters for the event is Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, the creator of Nonviolent Communication (NVC), a process that helps one connect deeply with feelings and needs, and opens the space for connection with others.  I have been studying and practicing NVC for ten years.  When I saw on this website the connection between forgiveness and NVC, I recognized that perhaps I do understand forgiveness better than I thought.  When I consider the practice of NVC and its implication on forgiveness, I realize that from my perspective, forgiveness is more than a spiritual practice that we engage in for the purpose of freeing ourselves from the pain of holding on to the past.  At the heart of true forgiveness is a state of mind that we can attain through the practice of empathy and compassion, for others as well as for ourselves.

Empathy is our capacity to connect deeply with feelings and needs.  NVC refers to the universal things we each value and desire as “needs.”  I prefer to think of “needs” as aspects of our Divine Nature that each of us longs to experience and have reflected to us from others and the world around us.  NVC teaches that everything we do or say is an attempt to meet a need.  I reframe that to say that everything we do or say is an attempt to express or experience an aspect of our Divine Nature, such as love, connection, or well-being.  Further, in keeping with NVC philosophy but stated in my own terms, when our actions or the actions of others do not help us realize an aspect of our divinity, we experience feelings that we might term as “negative”.  These are usually feelings that we would rather not feel, such as anger, sadness, shame or guilt.  Conversely, when we do experience our divinity, through actions of another or by our own actions, we have feelings that we often call “positive”.   These are feelings that we usually enjoy, such as peace, joy, expansion and love.  When we operate with the understanding that we all strive to know ourselves as the Divine through our actions and interactions, we can more clearly see that we all have the same desires.  Unfortunately, there are times when we may attempt to get those needs met in learned ways that are contrary to our highest intention, and this may stimulate pain in others and ourselves.  Empathy is our path to the authentic connection that is required for true forgiveness to occur.

Compassion is our capacity to face our pain, and to meet another in his or her pain.  The best definition I have heard for compassion is from Cindy Wigglesworth, author of SQ21, The Twenty-one Skills of Spiritual Intelligence.  In her book, she defines compassion as “the capacity and willingness to join another in his or her pain with the intention of helping to relieve suffering, while not contributing to or joining in the suffering, thus maintaining inner and outer peace regardless of the circumstances.”  I would add that compassion also includes our capacity and willingness to connect with our own pain, while not contributing to or exacerbating the pain of either one.  In order to achieve true forgiveness, we must be willing to engage in the practice of compassion for the one we are holding as guilty for stimulating our pain.  That may be ourselves or another.  It is often, if not always, challenging to face our own pain.  Most of would rather do whatever is necessary to medicate and avoid it, and others may engage in psychological denial, refusing to admit they have pain.  As the Buddhist proverb says, “Pain is inevitable.  Suffering is optional.”  The experience of pain, emotional, physical and spiritual, is part of the human condition.  We all have pain.  Suffering, however, is the result of the story we tell about our pain.  We suffer when we continue to relive, in our minds, the events that originally stimulated the pain, and continue to tell our story about what should or should not have happened.  Compassion invites us to connect with our pain, meet it face-to-face, and understand that our actions or the actions of another are not the cause of our pain.  Our pain is caused, at the deepest level, by our seemingly unmet needs, or from my perspective, the unexpressed, unexperienced and unrealized aspects of our Divine Nature.  We can compassionately connect with the pain, without engaging in suffering, thereby allowing it to connect us with those beautiful aspects of Divine Nature that we long for.

Empathy and compassion are not intellectual exercises; they are heart-centered practices.  They require that we engage with ourselves and others from a deep connection with our feelings and with our most precious heartfelt desire, our need to experience our Divine Nature.  When practiced authentically, empathy and compassion open our hearts and allow us to experience the outpouring of Love that is the foundation of the Divine expressing as us.  They open us to the awareness of not only our shared humanity, but our shared Divinity, as well.  With open hearts, we are able and willing to connect with each other beyond our stories of right and wrong, good and bad, victim and perpetrator.  As we connect by intentionally practicing empathy and compassion, we learn that we can transcend our original story and begin to tell the story of healing, connection, and understanding. We are able to see each other as spiritual beings who are living a human experience and doing our best to remember our Divinity, albeit sometimes through methods that are in diametric opposition to that intention.  Connecting in that understanding with empathy and compassion for ourselves and others is at the heart of the consciousness of true forgiveness.

I am grateful that I decided to listen to the voice for Spirit prompting me to discover a deeper meaning of forgiveness and thankful for the gifts of synchronicity in the process.  I hope to see you on Sunday morning at 10:00 as we explore forgiveness further.

From Hope to Wholeness

“Your faith has made you whole.”

These are the words that the Gospel writers often attribute to Jesus, words he spoke in response to those who experienced healing in his presence. (Mark 5:34 & 10:52; Luke 8:48 & 17:19)  Jesus did not claim any special power of healing; instead he said it is “faith” that makes one “whole”.

I offer that when Jesus used the word that has been translated into English as ‘whole’ that he was referring to something beyond the physical: he was naming a state of consciousness.  In Unity we learn to interpret Scripture metaphysically and allegorically.  We do not categorically deny that the so-called “miracles” attributed to Jesus actually happened; rather we prefer to understand them as allegory for what takes place in consciousness, so as to make the stories applicable in our lives today.

Jesus, as a master metaphysician, knew that healing takes place in consciousness and that all manifestations demonstrate according to consciousness.  Jesus, as we understand him, lived primarily from the Christ consciousness, the consciousness of Unity, knowing his Oneness.  His mission was to impart to his disciples and other followers the Truth of Oneness.  He stated his mission emphatically in John 18:37 when he said, “I have come to bear witness to the Truth.”  

In fulfilling his mission, he did not bear witness to the demonstrations of a consciousness of duality, lack or limitation. He did not bear witness to disease or death.  From the Christ consciousness he only saw the perfection, the wholeness inherent in all creation.  When he experienced the physical manifestation of the consciousness of Unity, he affirmed, “Your faith has made you whole.”  I assert that perhaps a more meaningful interpretation would be, “through the power of your faith you have remembered your wholeness.”

In Unity, we affirm that through faith, which is understood as our ability to see and know the Truth of wholeness, even in the midst of physical demonstrations that would have us believe otherwise, we can attain the Christ consciousness and know our wholeness.  I offer that Jesus was affirming that through the power of faith we are able to know and to demonstrate physical manifestations of wholeness.

From a consciousness of separation we, “see as through a glass darkly,” and we demonstrate accordingly.  But when “perfection comes;” when the consciousness of wholeness is realized, then “we will see face to face.”  As Paul said, “for now we know only part, but then we shall know as we are known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12) We shall know ourselves as the consciousness of wholeness and we will demonstrate that wholeness in mind, body and spirit.

We claim our power of faith; we exercise our power of faith, and we trust that through faith we remember and are made “whole”.

Transformed by Love

"We are not here to bask in God's love, but - willingly, freely, and with answering love - to give all we have to Love's work of transformation so Love can transform all we have, all we are, to gold. It is in surrendering to this greatest of all laws of alchemy that we discover and become the real gold, the real power, the real hope." - Andrew Harvey, The Hope

Oh, how good it feels to simply bask in God's Love, to sit in the silence of meditation and allow the Light to pervade my entire being, to feel every cell of my body come alive in the remembrance of its truth as an expression of divine Love and Light!  Likewise, I cherish basking in Love as it expresses through all who embrace me in the Love of the Christ. There is no more enjoyable feeling than basking in God's Love as I experience it from within and see it reflected from without. It is an invaluable experience for each of us. Without times of basking in God's Love, we would wither and die as would seeds planted in the earth that never receive the nourishment of the sun's light.

And, as Andrew Harvey so eloquently states, we are not here only to bask in God's Love, but we are also here to allow that Love to transform us so that we willingly and freely answer Love's call to be Love in the world. We must accept ourselves for whom and what we are - God in the world - stop playing small, and be the answer to the cries for help from a world in need.

We allow Love to transform us as we open to the awareness of Love's presence as us, and allow the Light of Love to reveal the illusion of myths, messages and beliefs that keep us playing small.  I saw a church sign recently that said, "God's truth, the best defense against Satan's lies." While I do not agree with the implied theology, I do agree that Love, which is God's Truth, is our only defense against the lies of the ego-identified self and that only Love has the power to transform us into the complete and full expressions of all that we are here to be in the world. God's Love transforms us into fully realized expressions of Itself. From that consciousness of realization, we can do none other than to be Love in the world. Being Love in the world, we give of all that we are, and by giving of all that we are the world's needs are met.

I invite you to take a moment right now and enter into a time of quiet reflection. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and center your awareness in the heart. Once you have centered your awareness in the heart, fall even further into the deeper heart, and bring to mind situations that speak to you of an apparent need, whether in your local community, the country, or around the globe. As you contemplate each of them, be aware of which one or ones call to the depth of Love from your heart. Which one or ones break your heart open with compassion? When you feel your heart breaking open, consciously direct the light of Love from your heart into those situations. Then, ask your heart if there is some action you can take to help meet the apparent need there. Listen for the wisdom that arises, and affirm, "I am the courage to be and do all that I am called to."

Bask in God's Love, allow God's Love to transform you at depth, and awaken to the awareness that you are God's Love in expression.  Allow your expression to be a sacred service to the Divine, to yourself, and to all beings everywhere.

Living on Purpose

I recently began reading Deepak Chopra’s book, The Third Jesus, The Christ We Cannot Ignore.  This is a book that has been on my shelf for quite some time.  I am not sure why, but I have avoided reading it for years.  I suppose that until now I was not yet ready for the message it offers.  However, over a period of a few months, the book showed up in my awareness several times.  Sometimes it takes the proverbial two-by-four to get my attention, but not always.  I am getting better at paying attention; in this case I did.  I believe I am not alone in having the experience of information showing up when I am ready to receive it, further evidence of the truth in the adage, “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”

When I picked up the book and decided to read it, I was not at all surprised that it spoke directly to the place at which I now find myself in my own spiritual journey.  While I am confident that Christianity is my chosen spiritual path, I am still exploring what that means for me.   Further, I am continuing to explore my beliefs about Jesus, historically, metaphysically and theologically. 
I am happy to report that with the help of Dr. Chopra, I am once again allowing the Jesus of the Christian Scriptures to be my teacher from a slightly different and fresh perspective. 

The Introduction to the book begins, “Jesus Christ left behind a riddle that two thousand years of worship haven’t solved.  The riddle can be stated in one sentence: “Why are Jesus’s teachings impossible to live by?”  Dr. Chopra posits that for centuries Christians have tried to live according to what Jesus taught and they have failed, leaving us to question whether the Christian church misunderstood or possibly purposefully misconstrued his teachings to serve its own agenda. 

Dr. Chopra asserts that what Jesus was actually teaching was more radical and mystical than most of us have explored or have been willing to comprehend.  He states that Jesus “wanted to inspire a world reborn in God.” Moreover, Jesus, who had attained God Consciousness, was teaching his followers how to do the same, and thereby change the world and their experience of it.

Dr. Chopra's book has helped me to understand that so many of us have failed to live by the teachings of Jesus because we have, for centuries, attempted to live by a mode of behavioral, moral standards that have been prescribed by the traditional Christian church.  Those who have superimposed these standards upon humanity and those who have attempted to live by them are largely unaware that they can achieve the same level of consciousness Jesus achieved. This awakening is something that the traditional Christian church does not teach, and for the most part, even denies.  Jesus lived in the conscious awareness of his Divinity; however, traditionalists expect to live by those same standards from a consciousness grounded in a religion based on the idea of separation.  It is no wonder so many of us have not been able to achieve and live from the kingdom of God consciousness that Jesus promised.

Unity teaches that indeed Christ Consciousness is the potential.  Each of us already possess the potential to attain the same God consciousness that Jesus realized.  Unity has been teaching this message for over a hundred years.  In fact, the word ‘unity’ has multiple meanings, not the least of which is “a state of being one; oneness.”  When Charles Fillmore adopted the name Unity for what would become a Truth movement, he surely must have intended to capture the more radical and mystical intent of Jesus’s teachings, and for Unity to not be just another denomination of the traditional Christian church. 

As Mr. Fillmore once stated, “Unity is a link in the great educational movement inaugurated by Jesus Christ.  Our objective is to discern the Truth in Christianity and prove it.  The Truth that we teach is not new; neither do we claim special revelations or discovery of new religious principles.  Our purpose is to help and teach humankind to use and prove the eternal Truth taught by the Master.”

I propose that we have overlain the original teachings of Jesus as interpreted by Charles & Myrtle Fillmore with platitudes and jargon that do not serve the original intent of the movement.  I suggest that we reclaim Mr. Fillmore’s defining statement and truly prove that the “riddle” Dr. Chopra claims Jesus left behind does have a discernible answer. 

We can make the conscious choice to attain and live from Christ consciousness, thereby embodying the teaching of Jesus and fulfilling our divine purpose, which is to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and be the Christ in the world. Let us be the ones to prove that it is, indeed, possible to live by Jesus’s teachings.  Let us be the ones that demonstrate the true rebirth in God.  Let us be the ones who establish God’s kingdom on earth.  Let us be the ones to instate the reign of peace.  Let us be the saviors of the world. Let us live our divine purpose.