Читать книгу Edgar Cayce's Twelve Lessons in Personal Spirituality - Kevin J. Todeschi - Страница 15

There is within each one of us a pattern of perfection that is dormant, simply waiting to be awakened through the use of our own will. As we open our minds, our hearts, and our souls to becoming a channel of blessings, harmony, and cooperation, we naturally attune ourselves to this inner pattern of wholeness. From Cayce’s perspective, this realization of wholeness was perhaps best exemplified in the life of Jesus, a child of God (just as we) who lost sight of himself and made his every thought and deed in harmony with the very best that was within him. By so doing, Jesus took on the “mind of Christ” and became the pattern of spiritual fulfillment for every soul in the earth. This Christ Consciousness was further described as “the awareness within each soul, imprinted in pattern on the mind and waiting to be awakened by the will, of the soul’s oneness with God” (5749-14), and its manifestation is the eventual destiny of each and every soul.

Oftentimes, when individuals hear the terms “Christ” or “Jesus,” right away they may arrive at preconceived notions based on their upbringing or particular religious background. Throughout history, the perspectives people have had on the life and teachings of Jesus have been varied, oftentimes even at odds. Some individuals involved in so-called “new age philosophies” or comparative religious studies have sometimes decided that Jesus was “just a teacher.” Was he only a prophet? Others have decided to disregard him altogether. Members of non-Christian faiths may have ignored his life and ministry. Was he a man who committed blasphemy by thinking himself a God? Others may have said, “Well, Christians have been cruel to me and therefore I’m not interested in Jesus.” Even among those who call themselves Christian there is no complete agreement about His divinity. Disagreements over the meaning of His life and ministry have resulted in dozens of denominational factions, charges of heresy or breaking away from the faith, and countless wars. Was He the only son of God? Was He a God who became man, or always a God? These and many other questions abound. However, the Edgar Cayce material offers a perspective that suggests there is a way of looking at Jesus’ life in a manner that unifies humankind rather than divides us. In fact, for most of us, regardless of our religious background—whether we call ourselves Christian, or Jew, or Muslim, or Buddhist, or Hindu, or even agnostic—the Jesus we were brought up with is not necessarily the Jesus in the Edgar Cayce readings.

Essentially, the readings present Jesus as our “Elder Brother,” a soul who came to show each one of us the way back to our spiritual Source by perfectly manifesting the laws of the Creator. Part of His mission was to demonstrate fully the living awareness of the spirit in the earth—something each one of us will eventually have to do. Ultimately, we will all be challenged to manifest that same pattern in our lives through service and unconditional love. Jesus’ life of service to others provides an example for all of humankind. As one reading states:

For the Master, Jesus, even the Christ, is the pattern for every man in the earth, whether he be Gentile or Jew, Parthenian or Greek. For all have the pattern, whether they call on that name or not; but there is no other name given under heaven whereby men may be saved from themselves. 3528-1

True cooperation, then, is allowing this consciousness of service—the same consciousness that was manifested in our Elder Brother, Jesus—to work through us. The readings called this putting on the mind of Christ:

As we open our hearts, our minds, our souls, that we may be a channel of blessings to others, so we have the mind of the Christ, who took upon Himself the burden of the world. So may we, in our own little sphere, take upon ourselves the burdens of the world. The joy, the peace, the happiness, that may be ours is in doing for the other fellow. For, gaining an understanding of the laws as pertain to right living in all its phases makes the mind in attune with Creative Forces, which are of His consciousness. So we may have that consciousness, by putting into action that we know. 262-3