We suppose it would be fair to say that insecurity is destabilizing, unnerving, paranoia-generating, and isolation-producing. People who are chronically insecure tend to be emotional wrecks and distrust everyone. Uneasiness and nervousness seem to permeate their thoughts, words, and actions.

The sobering thing about insecurity is that all of us have a touch of it. Fortunately, most people can function with a pinch of insecurity. Unfortunately, insecurity is raising its ugly head more and more all over the world these days. Unemployment, financial worries, Wall Street jitters, natural disasters, distrust in government, health care woes, and increasing instances of terrorism are taking their toll on the human psyche.

We’re going to go out on the proverbial limb and say that all of the insecurities we’ve mentioned above spring from the same source:
We have lost touch with who we really are!

And when billions of people lose touch with who they are, they tend to create problems for billions of people who have also lost touch with who they are. The malaise becomes a global malaise.

The good news is we can change that! And we can change it sooner than you might think. We can go from worldwide insecurity to a world in security. We’re not kidding. We wouldn’t kid you about a thing like that.

Here’s How:

It will require a shift in consciousness. It will positively, absolutely, without a doubt demand moving beyond the reluctance to fully embrace our own innate divinity – and the innate divinity in everyone else! Anything short of that will keep us all in insecurity.

We must honor our shared Core Essence – our universal divinity. We must unhesitatingly embrace the sacred truth that we are all spiritual beings having a human experience. We have all come from the same Source.

We are feeling insecure because we have forgotten our Core Essence. And because we have forgotten, neglected, and repressed our shared Core Nature, we have done things to each other that reflect our insensitivity, fear, and limited awareness.

Our Core Essence is real. It is waiting for us to actualize it.

Philosophers and spiritual leaders have referred to it. But so have psychologists, sociologists, and neuro-theologists. The term ‘True Self’ first appeared in the Zohar, the mystical commentary of the Jewish Kabbalah. Psychologist Carl Rogers referred to it as the ‘True Self’ in the1950’s.

Psychologist Alice Miller, one of Rogers contemporaries, agreed and said that when the ‘True Self’ is liberated it “emerges like a butterfly liberated from its chrysalis and an unexpected wealth of vitality is released.”

Psychologist D. W. Winnicott used the term “True Self” in 1960 to describe a “sense of self based on spontaneous authentic experience, a sense of all-out personal aliveness” or “feeling real. Psychologist Daniel Stern called it the ‘Core Self’ and Eric Fromm called it the ‘Original Self.’

According to the latest research in the neurosciences, Dr. Newberg asserts, “Beneath the mind’s perception of thoughts, memories, emotions, and beneath the subjective awareness we think of as the self, there is a Deeper Self, a state of pure awareness that sees beyond the limits of subject and object, and rests in a universe where all things are one.”

We call it our Extraordinary Self, but also refer to it as: the Wise You, the Spectacular You, the Authentic You, your Deeper Self, the Phenomenal You, the Peerless You, the Exceptional You, the Unparalleled You, the Legendary You, the Marvelous You, the One-of-a-Kind You, the Remarkable You, the Awesome You, the Astounding You, the Stunning You, the Electrifying You, the Sensational You, the Mesmerizing You, the Amazing You, the Spellbinding You, the Hypnotic You, the Fascinating You, the Fantabulous You, the Stupendous You, the Jaw-Dropping You, the Mind-Boggling You, the Dazzling You, the Brilliant You, your Super Self, your Christ Self, your Buddha Self, your Krishna Self, the Enlightened You.

If that sounds like we’re going over-board with those descriptions we invite you to think for a moment about how secure you would feel if people all over the world believed that about themselves – about each other – and about you!

We would go from worldwide insecurity to a world in security. We would all live in security. We would be secure in our relationship, in our indivisible connection with our innate divinity.

Imagine what we could get done from that secure perspective. There truly would be heaven on earth – for everyone.

Generally speaking, background checks have quite a history. They are used to discover and/or confirm information about someone for a multiplicity of purposes. Basically, they bring information about a person from the background into the foreground.

On Wednesday, April 16, 2013, the U.S. Senate blocked a compromise bill that would have expanded background checks to gun shows and Internet sales, but left an exception for private gun sales. The whole issue of enforcing stricter gun control by adding legitimate background checks remains one of the most surprisingly controversial attempts to police gun purchases.

Add to that the mindless failure to ban assault weapons, limit the size of ammunition magazines, and make it impossible for straw buyers to evade background checks by purchasing guns for friends who wouldn’t be able to legally buy guns – pretty much describes the moral dilemmas we create for ourselves because we have failed to acknowledge the most important background check in the world. And it is that background check which is the topic of this blogcast.

The most important – and neglected – background check in the world is checking, and then honoring, our own true background: our innate divinity. We believe it is a background check that would render all of the other types of background checks as unnecessary.

Imagine all of the people in the world honoring their own innate divinity and honoring the innate divinity in everyone else. We would find that we all have the same background – we are all spiritual beings who have chosen a human experience. We would also realize that we are all human expressions of the same Source, the Eternal Presence we call God.

We would no doubt realize that being the best divine being in human ‘clothing’ that we can be is our shared purpose. Taking care of one another while we’re here and seeing that everyone gets back ‘home’ would be our chief calling.

Policing ourselves using background checks like the ones mentioned at the beginning of this blogcast would be unwarranted and irrelevant. We would all have an inner radiance that would shine through the layers of our human beingness without being repressed, ignored, or neglected.

Perfunctory background checks will remain a common practice until we awaken from our sleep. As long as we continue to be God repressing instead of God expressing, we will need formal background checks to uncover what our egocentrism is covering up.

What If?

What if, at some time in the future, say April 16 (you fill in the year), the following news flash would appear:

Billions of people all over the world have expanded their background checks and have found that they are human expressions of the Eternal Presence. The checks were so widespread and riveting that the peace on earth we’ve all talked about so long is now a reality.

Two Things for You to Do—Immediately

1. Claim Your Inner Divinity. We invite you to look into your own background – not your ethnicity or genealogy – but your divine connection. Check out your spiritual DNA. There is an extraordinary you inside of you. It is the you psychologists call your Authentic Self. Neuroscientists refer to it as your Deeper Self. Philosophers call it your transcendent self. Theologians tell us it’s our Divine Nature. We call it the Extraordinary You.
2. Use the “Namaste” technique. ”Namaste” is a Sanskrit term derived from the root  Nam, which carries meanings of bending,  bowing, humbly submitting and  becoming silent. Te means to you.  Thus namaste means I bow to  you. We aren’t necessarily advocating that yo walk around bowing to everyone you see! But try this: as you experience any feeling of anger, irritation, patronizing, or even hatred toward another person, take a deep breath and consciously repeat to yourself, Namaste – I behold the Divine in you. This creates a mental and emotional SHIFTING on your part, which can literally transform the situation. Essentially, you are doing a background check on the other person, and claiming their divinity.

It is obvious from the title of this blogcast that we have included a 10^th Be-Attitude. Although it is not part of the original Beatitudes, we hope you will find it both valuable and relevant on your spiritual journey. We’ll start with the 9^th Beatitude and then use the bonus 10^th Be-Attitude as a wrap-up.

Beatitude #9: Matthew 5:11

The 9^th Beatitude is the last of the scriptural Be-Attitudes that the Christ as Jesus presented in his Sermon on the Mount keynote speech 2,000 years ago. As we have done in the eight previous Beatitudes we shall present what we believe to be a more enlightened and expanded perspective.

The traditional 9^th Be-Attitude complements and completes the 8^th one, but not in the way it is generally written. It’s mistranslated version says: “Blessed are they that are persecuted for righteousness’ sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men shall reproach you and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you.”

This translation asks us to wear reproach and persecution like badges of honor. The implication is that our earthly suffering and sacrifice will be rewarded when we step through the Pearly Gates.

And the justification for taking this abuse is that our loved ones, and friends, and Biblical prophets all went through the same gauntlet of misery for their faithfulness. So, we are to be tough like they were!

The picture the mistranslation of this Be-Attitude paints is a bit frightening. Its focus is on external resistance. It is true that while we are spiritual beings in human form we will, no doubt, face human challenges and ideological attacks; however, this Beatitude was designed for introspection, not external relationship dramas.

The reproaches, persecutions, and false accusations mentioned in this Be-Attitude are all mental hiccups which take place within our own thought universe.

The Christ as Jesus was concerned about our inner spiritual development. His whole ministry was devoted to showing us how we can actualize our innate divinity.

So, what is this Be-Attitude really saying?

We believe the 9^th Be-Attitude says:

Spiritually enriched are those who press on, who do not allow the inertia of past programming and embedded theology to dampen their spirituality. Their devotion to right thinking will pay off.

In his thought provoking book, The Shaking of the Foundation, Paul Tillich says: “The name of the infinite and exhaustible depth and ground of all being is God. In order to take that depth seriously … you may have to forget everything traditional you learned about God.”

We agree with Tillich except for his diplomatic addition of the word ‘may’ to the phrase “may have to forget everything you learned.”

The truth is, in order to understand the depth of the Eternal Presence we call God, we must forget much of the traditional “stuff” we have learned about God as an anthropomorphic deity in the sky.

As we have shared before, much of the traditional translations of scripture are mistranslations. We’re proponents of the truth. We hope you are too. The truth truly makes you free. Free from what? Free from …

• an embedded theology based on mistranslations, and
• free from the misdirection caused by those mistranslations.

In our quest to help you walk the spiritual path on practical, informed, knowledgeable, spirit-filled feet, we unapologetically and enthusiastically invite you to forget most of the conventional things you have learned about the Bible as an inerrant source of spiritual knowledge and God as a white-haired man in the sky who favors some and punishes others.

Our Bonus Be-Attitude

We could even turn that invitation into a 10^th Be-Attitude for your spiritual growth and continued enlightenment:

Spiritually informed are those who have the courage and moxie to forget conventional misconceptions they learned about the Bible and God; for they shall become truly enlightened.

There you have it! Our much too brief metaphysical treatment of the Beatitudes. We hope our perspective has deepened your spiritual growth, and perhaps even confirmed your growing awareness that traditional literal interpretations of sacred scripture need to be explored on a deeper, more esoteric level to uncover the truths they hold.

Our Wish for You

Wherever you are in your spiritual growth, we invite you to:

• continue growing;
• repot yourself;
• find another ‘pot’ if necessary;
• be aware that whatever ‘new container’ you find will always be smaller than your expanding consciousness.

You may find yourself wanting to stay for awhile in a certain ‘pot’ or with a certain ‘potter’ — and that’s okay. Whatever the length of your visit, make sure it adds to your spiritual expansion.

Be willing to be the best, most informed, most aware, most at peace, most extraordinary divine being you can be.

Beatitude #7: Matthew 5:9

The traditional version of the 7^th Beatitude says: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.”

The world needs peacemakers, wouldn’t you agree? It needs them in every country, village, hamlet, and town. It needs them in Newtown, Connecticut—and Boston and Watertown, Massachusetts—and Kabul, Afghanistan—and San Pedro Sula, Honduras— and Caracas, Venezuela—and in every town anywhere in  the world.

The world needs hundreds of millions of peacemakers. But peace on earth begins within each of us. It’s an inside job. Until we find inner peace there won’t be peace in the world around us! And that’s the real focus of the 7^th Beatitude.

If we take a closer look at the word ‘peacemakers’ as it is used in traditional interpretations of scripture we find an inconsistency in its true meaning. Metaphysically speaking:

• ‘Peacemakers’ is a mistranslation of the Aramaic expression abdey shlama which means “through service, work conscientiously to find inner peace.” The Christ as Jesus knew that the cause, peace within us, leads to the effect, peace on earth.
• children in sacred scripture generally represent divine ideas
• childhood symbolizes our developing Christ potential

So, what is this Be-Attitude really saying?

Being true to the original Aramaic meaning and adding a pinch of metaphysics, we believe the 7th Be-Attitude says:

Spiritually enriched are those who work conscientiously to follow a spiritual practice that brings them inner peace, for they will  be shining examples of their innate divinity.

Beatitude #8: Matthew 5:10

Let’s take a closer look at the 8^th Beatitude. The 8^th Be-Attitude as it is normally translated says: “Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Unfortunately, this mistranslation has led hundreds of millions of people through the centuries to accept martyrdom and victimization as badges of honor. It has been interpreted to mean blessed are those who are persecuted for being ambassadors for Christian dogma as expressed in the literal interpretations of Biblical scripture.

Standing for something so you won’t fall for something else is vitally important. And refusing to compromise your principles in the face of criticism or even punishment is, well, heroic! However, this ‘me against the world’ focus, this ‘me, you, they’ orientation, is not what this Be-Attitude is about.

Our spiritual growth is an inside-out process. It demands introspection, self-control, and self-consciousness. And one of the best ways to do that is to use external events as metaphors for what’s going on inside of us. Another good place to start is to make sure translations from one language into another are accurate.

• The key word here mistranslated as persecuted actually comes from the Aramaic word dea-trdepo which means ‘restraining from temptation.’

The only persecution this Be-Attitude is talking about takes place between our ears. And our persecutors are errant thoughts, stale belief systems, and self-defeating habits, which are the chief characteristics of lack consciousness.

• And as we’ve already learned in previous blogcasts the word righteousness means ‘right thinking.’

So, what is this Be-Attitude really saying?

Using the true Aramaic meanings, the 8^th Be-Attitude says:

Spiritually attuned are they who do not allow temptations to deter them from right thinking; for they shall honor their divinity by aligning their human personality with their Christ individuality.

That perspective makes better sense to us than the errors associated with mistranslations and the unfortunate biases generated from wayward literal perspectives.

We invite you to take these two Beatitudes as you’ve taken the previous six to prayer.  See what resonates. Use your open-mindedness and discernment as ‘wings of enlightenment’ so you can soar to new spiritual heights.

We also believe it’s important to honor the integrity of the original meanings of spiritual texts if you expect to use them as baselines for further thought. For the Beatitudes, that means honoring the purity and intent of the original Aramaic meanings. That’s the only way subsequent interpretations can capture the intended voice of the author.

One of those subsequent interpretations is a metaphysical interpretation of scripture. No matter what the faith tradition, a well-thought-out metaphysical interpretation adds immeasurable value to the writing because it takes scripture from an external, dogmatic, parochial bias to an introspective, spiritual intention.

The 5th Beatitude: Matthew 5:7

So, this week let’s take a look at the next two Be-attitudes. The fifth Beatitude, as it is usually stated it reads: “Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.”

Actually we could work with this Beatitude just the way it is—except it is a misinterpretation. To have mercy is a wonderful human trait. Mercy, in all of its forms—kindness, tenderness, empathy, leniency, and clemency—is a soulful thing to offer anyone.

However, the word mistranslated as ‘merciful’ from the original Aramaic is rakhma, which means unconditional love. It means loving people the way they are regardless of who they are, how they are, where they are, and why they are.

It means loving people in spite of their frailties and failures. It implies loving them regardless of their disabilities and defects. It means loving them irrespective of their past actions and current human dramas.

However, it doesn’t mean applauding their bad habits, putting up with corrosive negativity, or condoning verbal and physical abuse. It means loving them through it! Even if it means ‘tough loving’ them from a distance.

Historically this Beatitude, like so many of the others, was a frontal attack at the Pharisees and Sadducees of his day. The Christ as Jesus railed against them for their hypocrisy and arrogance when it came to their mistreatment of Gentiles, Samaritans, women, the Essenes, and anyone who wasn’t Jewish.

However, we’d be remiss if we didn’t offer a brief metaphysical treatment of the historical context we’ve just shared. Metaphysically:

• Pharisees and Sadducees represent thoughts that we allow to bind us to conventional and dogmatic forms of religion.
• Our Gentile nature refers to that aspect of our spiritual practice which is independent of any particular religious bias.
• Samaritans symbolize thoughts that vacillate between spiritual and material perspectives.
• The Essenes represent asceticism and abstinence from materialism.

Forgive us for stepping outside of the ‘Be-Attitude box’ for a moment in order to give you an extended snapshot of the historical context of the Beatitudes. We felt we needed to include a metaphysical snapshot that put the people and groups of people we mentioned in their proper metaphysical places. Because, you see, people, places and things—metaphysically speaking—are traits and aspects within us.

So, what is this Be-Attitude really saying?

That being said, we believe the 5^th Beatitude, correctly interpreted says:

More enlivened and enriched are those who offer unconditional love; for they shall receive unconditional love.

Beatitude #6: Matthew 5:8

Now, let’s move on to the 6^th Be-Attitude. In its traditional interpretation the 6^th Beatitude is a heart-centered message. As it is commonly understood it reads: “Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God.”

This translation implies that if we are good, decent, moral, and virtuous human beings, we will see God when we stand before the Pearly Gates.

Devoting oneself to ‘pure living’ is certainly praiseworthy. However, the implication that we will stand in the presence of an anthromorphic god in the sky one day misses the central teaching point of this Beatitude.

The point was missed entirely by a young truth seeker in the following story:

That is the central message of this beatitude. If we are burdened by ‘stones’ like anger, fear, greed, arrogance, selfishness, unforgiveness, and material attachments we will miss the purpose of the climb.

In the original Aramaic, the correct translation for dadcean is not “pure in heart” per se. It’s more correctly translated as ‘spiritual perspective.’ It’s referring to an enlightened mind. A mind centered in super-conscious awareness. A mind that values the spiritual over the material.

The word ‘see’ as it is used in the standard interpretation of the 6th Beatitude is a mistranslation of the word mikhazoun, which means ‘comprehend.’ So, the ‘seeing’ implied here is not physical sight, but an internal ‘spiritual depth perception.’

So, we believe a more correct interpretation of the 6^th Beatitude is:

Fortunate are those who see things from a more Christed perspective; for they shall comprehend their innate divinity and spiritual worth.

The 6^th Be-Attitude encourages us to lighten our egocentric load so we can see things from a Christed perspective. It reminds us to fill our consciousness with spiritual thoughts and inclinations instead of burdensome material thoughts and tendencies. We will lighten our load when we enlighten our perspective.

Next week we tackle Beatitudes # 7th & 8th — and look forward to the 9th plus a Bonus Beatitude! Let us know what you think so far!

Beatitude #3: Matthew 5:5

The 3^rd Be-Attitude, as it is generally written says: “Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.”

As it is normally understood, meek means modest, resigned, submissive, self-abasing. It suggests a willingness to ‘be seen and not heard.’ To willingly submit to authority. To be compliant and silent.

It appears to promise us that we will be blessed if we are submissive and self-abased! It implies that submissive, withdrawn people will inherit the earth.

We think not! We’re fair students of history and current events, and we can tell you meek, submissive, withdrawn people, no matter how nice they are, seem to be followers and not leaders.

They don’t run for President. They aren’t world leaders or CEO’s of mega-corporations. They don’t coach sports teams or stand out in a crowd. They aren’t top-selling salespeople. They aren’t voted chairs of committees or appointed to top government posts.

So, what is this Be-Attitude really saying?

The first clue comes from the Originator of the Be-Attitudes himself. He was a man who revolutionized the world 2,000 years ago and his message has that same transformative quality today.

It comes from a man who blasted the religious authorities of his time. A man who was outspoken … Who reinterpreted Jewish law … Who became one with his Christ Self and showed us how we can do the same thing.

Clearly, that doesn’t sound like a man who encouraged us to be submissive, self-abasing, and seen but not heard.

The word meek is a mistranslation. It is a categorical boo boo! The more accurate translation of the word praeis has an undeniable connotation of ‘nonresistance’ or ‘unrestrained receptivity.’

And earth, as it is used in this Be-Attitude means our ‘waking consciousness.’ So, ‘inherit the earth’ has nothing to do with world conquest and the wars, politics, and pandemics that go with it!

So, we believe this Be-Attitude means:

Spiritually adept are those who are nonresistant to their innate divinity, who are unrestrained in their receptivity to esoteric perspectives; for they shall inherit a waking consciousness grounded in metaphysical truths.

Beatitude #4: Matthew 5:6

The 4^th Be-Attitude, as it is generally written says: “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.”

The key to understanding this Be-Attitude is a correct interpretation of the word ‘righteousness.’ Knowing what we know about the nature and character of the Christ as Jesus, the religious revolutionary, the man who became fully conscious of his innate divinity, we do not believe he would have endorsed exclusive religious codes, or defended denominational dogmas, or advocated people walking around with pious grins on their faces.

So, what is this Be-Attitude really saying?

Righteousness, metaphysically interpreted, means ‘right thinking.’ It means Christed thinking. It means keeping our thoughts at a spiritual octave. To ‘hunger and thirst’ after right thinking means to dedicate yourself to expanding your spiritual awareness beyond conventional and dogmatic biases.

Walled beliefs and fixed perspectives are the unfortunate benchmarks of a closed mind. Rigid religious mindsets must give way to flexible spiritual scholarship. You must be willing to leave limited perspectives for more expansive ones.

Otherwise, a condition we refer to as religious glaucoma occurs, which blinds us to higher spiritual truths. If left untreated it can become petrified dogma and lead to permanent blindness. When that happens spiritual growth is stifled and religious myopia sets in.

So, if we allow ourselves to take the dogmatic blinders off, we believe the 4^th  Be-Attitude says:

Spiritually attuned are those who dedicate themselves to an expanded spiritual awareness (right thinking),  for they shall fulfill their Christ potential by aligning their human nature with their Christ Nature.

We hope you’ll agree that locked within the pristine waters of literal interpretations of sacred scripture are hidden spiritual truths which truly can set us free – free from dogma and free from religious glaucoma.

Next week we tackle Beatitudes # 6 & 7. Let us know what you think so far!

However, after he fully actualized his Christhood, he did write a few things down. He etched them in the sand, and no one knows to this day what He wrote except the church leaders for whom it was written. Speculation is he scribbled their shortcomings in the sand. (If you are interested in the story check it out in any one of the traditional versions of the Gospel of John chapter 8:6 and 8).

There are those, including us, who agree with Dr. George Lamsa that Jesus delivered a well-organized, well-detailed, well-edited truth talk early in his ministry. It was a literary masterpiece; and it was called the Sermon on the Mount.

Lamsa believes Jesus carefully recorded this talk so he would be sure to capture the important points he wanted to share. (For those of you who are interested, the content for the entire sermon series appears in Matthew Chpts. 5 through 7, and Luke Chpt. 6).

The main portion of his talk is called the Beatitudes (we refer to it as the Be-Attitudes). It is that portion which we will focus on in this blogcast and in the next three blogcasts which follow. However, our treatment will be a metaphysical one because we believe the Be-Attitudes are rich in deeper spiritual meanings.

We believe in the power of words, and in the transforming power of Truth. And the truth is the power of the Be-Attitudes, metaphysically interpreted, can change your life, making the time you have left in this earth experience an awesome experience.

How would you like to have an awesome, fantabulous, spectacular 2013? Silly question, right? If we shared with you something…

• that would help improve the quality of your living; and
• that would help you gain the inner peace, confidence, and wherewithal you need to be successful beyond your wildest dreams . . .

Would you be interested? The hidden knowledge the Christ as Jesus conferred upon us in the Sermon on the Mount can do just that!

Read carefully, and we believe your life will be transformed forever as you let the interpretation we offer resonate at a soul level.

About the word “Blessed”

Each of the Be-Attitudes begins with the word ‘blessed.’ To bless is to ‘confer prosperity upon, to enrich, to enliven.’ So when he uses the word ‘blessed,’ the Christ as Jesus is telling us how wonderful our lives will be when we apply truth principles.

Beatitude #1:

We’re going to share the 1^st Be-Attitude in its traditional literal form and then reveal its deeper, and what we believe to be, more accurate  meaning. In its traditional form, it says:

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

For the past 2,000 years, we have been taught that the first Be-Attitude affirms that poverty is a virtue – that we are to patiently suffer through being poor, and that one day in some future heaven we will find our reward.

You can see where that translation has taken us this past 2,000 years. The truly sad thing is it is based on a gross mistranslation of scripture.

The root word that is translated “spirit” comes from the word ruach  which is more accurately translated “pride, or narcissistic pride.” So, it’s really saying: “Blessed are those who lack pride-fulness, who are not narcissistic, who practice humility.”

Mainstream Bible translators are notorious for toying with semantics. Their literal eyes miss the deeper meanings of scripture. They consistently, whether purposefully or ineptly, use the 2^nd, 3^rd, and even 4^th derivations of words when translating scripture to retail their mistranslations.

In all fairness, we must say that translating one language into another can be, well, rather interesting. For example, here are a few genuine, but amusing, attempts to translate signage into English around the world:

A sign at a Budapest zoo read: Please do not feed the animals. If you have any suitable food, give it to the guard on duty.

A notice on the door to a Calcutta maternity ward: No Children Allowed.

In an East African newspaper: A new swimming pool is rapidly taking shape since the contractors have thrown in the bulk of their workers.

An airline ticket office sign in Copenhagen: We take your bags and send them in all directions.( That one sounds familiar, doesn’t it!)

And finally, on a hotel room door in Japan: You are invited to take advantage of the chambermaid.

Translating from one language to another can be tricky. And Bible translations are no exception.

The second half of the 1^st Be-Attitude says: “for their’s is the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Now keep in mind that ‘heaven’ is not a place we go to but a state of consciousness we grow to! Heaven is our super-consciousnessness – which religious teachers, philosophers, and psychologists are only beginning to understand. The root word for heaven, which is the Aramaic word the Christ as Jesus would have used, means “expanding spiritual potential.”

So, this is what we believe the Christ as Jesus is saying in this 1^st Be-Attitude:

We are enriched when we lack narcissistic pride, when we are teachable, when we are open and receptive to eternal truths, when we practice humility – and it is from that level of consciousness that we shall expand our understanding so we can fulfill our divine potential.

We don’t know about you, but we believe that interpretation sounds like something the Christ as Jesus would have said at his level of spiritual advancement. At the time he delivered this talk, he had fully aligned his human self with his Christ Self. We hope it resonates with you as well.

Beatitude #2:

The 2^nd Be-Attitude, in its literal interpretation says:

“Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.”

This has usually been interpreted to mean that sorrow and sadness are virtues and that we will be comforted when we get to heaven ‘up there.’

Sorrow and sadness are not virtues. We are not put here to be sorrowful. The Christ as Jesus said he came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. We believe He meant the Christ Presence within us is here to help us live happy, healthy, productive human lives!

A closer look at the 2^nd Be-Attitude reveals a different interpretation.

To mourn, in the original Aramaic, means to yearn, be passionate about, to be eager for for something transformative. “Blessed are those who mourn” really means: More enlivened and enriched are those who yearn for a closer relationship with their Christ Self.

And “For they shall be comforted” has nothing to do with sadness or bereavement. It means: we are guaranteed, supplied, see the arrival of unlimited opportunities for soul growth.

When we assemble the 2^nd Be-Attitude it says:

Blessed, enriched, are those who yearn for a closer relationship with their Christ Self,  for they are guaranteed unlimited opportunities for soul growth.

So, a couple of questions we might ask ourselves on our journey toward enlightenment are:

• How can we be teachable, and remain open and receptive to eternal truths?
• How can we practice more humility?
• What does it mean to yearn for a closer relationship with our Christ self?
• In what ways can I more closely align my human self with my Christ Self?

Next week, we’ll share a metaphysical interpretation of Beatitudes 3 & 4.

Yet, for far too many people, those inner promptings and ardent hopes have become detoured by the frustrations and lost opportunities associated with daily living. Many people have given up on what they thought they could be. Millions have settled for ordinariness. Millions more hold onto their dreams but fail to take the necessary steps to make those dreams real.

In this blogcast we invite you to stop majoring in minor things. By that we mean far too many bright, conscientious, talented people get so caught up in material comforts and sink into unfulfilling ego pursuits that they neglect the one thing that will make them healthy, happy, and whole:
getting in sync with their Core Essence, the deeper part of them that is the seat of their higher functioning, their phenomenal abilities, their incredible uniqueness, their realized potential!
Your Core Essence is the Extraordinary You waiting to be released!

Psychologists call this Core Essence your Authentic Self or your True Self. Neuroscientists refer to it as your Deeper Self. Spiritual teachers say it is your Divine Self.

From our experience we have seen that people will not achieve what they want to achieve, be what they want to be, and do what they believe they are put here to do until they get in sync with their Core Essence. Once that “in sync-ness” is accomplished, all of the rest of their lives falls into place.

No matter where you are in life, you want more of the things that you believe will make you happy, healthy, productive, and fulfilled. It doesn’t matter how well you are already doing, or aren’t; how prosperous you already are, or not; how professionally fulfilled you are, or not; how financially stable you are, or aren’t – you have the choice of making the all important connection by getting in sync with the Extraordinary You (your Core Essence).

Making that choice is the difference between your personal and professional success or feeling that you’ve missed the boat. It’s the difference between feeling fulfilled and wondering if you’ll ever achieve anything worthwhile. It’s the difference between the current you and the you you’d like to be.

“Know thyself” is an ancient Greek aphorism that was inscribed in the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. It has been used throughout history as an injunction for all of us to take getting to know our Core Self seriously.

Your Core Essence (the Extraordinary You, your Core Self) is the foundation of your being. It is the wise you; the transcendent you; the you that has all of the answers; the you that has the strength to lift a car off a loved one; the you that can memorize a series of numbers in their exact order; the you that can survive stage four cancer and go on to live a healthy, happy life; the you that can break cinder blocks with your bare hand; the you that can surmount incredible odds to achieve your dreams; the you that can understand the deepest esoteric teachings.

One thing we know for sure – every circumstance invites you to be who you are. Every situation demands your true colors. Each challenge you face requires you to think, choose, and act from the truth of who you really are.

We can categorically tell you from our personal experience and from a thorough investigation of the last fifty years of human potential research that when your “ordinary self” (the everyday you) gets in sync with your Core Essence (the Extraordinary You) you can meet any human challenge with grace and poise. You can achieve things you thought were impossible. You can most assuredly find the happiness, joy, prosperity, and sense of inner peace you seek.

Your choice, of course, is whether you want to get in sync with the wise, brilliant, fantabulous you or sink into the illusions spun by an unenlightened, materialistic, frightened ego.

How Can You Sync Instead of Sink?

1.    Prepare yourself for synchronicity to happen. Going to Headquarters where you strengthen your connection is so important to your receptivity to your inner guidance. It is a chance to align yourself with Truth, and remain tranquil in the midst of whatever the world of outer appearance wants to throw at you. Time in the Silence really is non-negotiable!

2.    Recognize your Intuition … and Listen to it! Once we are in tune, we get all kinds of intuitive guidance, leading us to synchronize with life! We just need to pay attention!

3.    Have the guts to act on it! It’s one thing to hear our intuition … it’s quite another to act on it! Lots of us suffer from paralysis of analysis! We hear that intuitive guidance, and then we try to second guess it! Or argue with it! Or try to make sense of it! We encourage you to go for it! Follow that urging, and see what happens.

As you continue to strengthen your Divine connection to your Core Essence, you will experience the absolute joy of being able to SYNC instead of SINK, as you walk the spiritual path on practical feet!

It is through the acupuncture of forgiveness that we find peace and rest and answers. Before we explain fully what we mean by that we want to share a story about a mynah bird’s cough. You’ll see how it relates in just a few moments.

A mynah bird developed a very distressing cough. So, his concerned owner took him to an exotic bird vet, who listened to the mynah’s cough.

She checked the bird’s throat, and examined the bird’s eyes and feather coating. The vet raised her eyebrows and with a sigh said to the owner, “Let me hear you cough.”

The bird’s owner rolled his eyes, but coughed to appease the vet. It was the same cough as the bird’s cough.

So, the doctor said with a smile, “You get over your cough, and the mynah will get over your cough, too!”

It works the same way with us. If we want to discover the inner peace and happiness we deserve in life we’ve got to get over our ‘coughs.’ That is, we’ve got to get rid of ‘coughs’ like chronic negative thinking, self-doubt, resentments,  anger, and unforgiveness. We’ve got to move beyond self-negating beliefs and bad habits. You know, coughs like that.

By the way, there’s been a ton of research on inner peace and happiness. Both are connected. It seems you can’t have one without the other. And there’s very definitely a strong relationship between happiness, inner peace, and forgiveness.

Interestingly enough, total happiness seems to have three components: pleasure, engagement, and meaning. The father of positive psychology, Martin Seligman, has confirmed that people who pursue only pleasure usually experience only part of the benefits happiness can bring, while those who pursue all three routes lead the fullest lives. (Seligman, 2005). We’ll talk more about that in another blogcast.

It is our hope as Unity ministers that one day people the world over will meet lovingly at the corner of forgiveness and inner peace. They will have become so unified, and will have reconciled many if not all of their differences, and will experience such oneness that when someone cries, all of us will taste the salt.

Until then, we invite you to plan a trip – maybe many trips – to the corner of forgiveness and inner peace. Plan to visit as often as it takes to reconcile any hurts that may have led to an unforgiving heart.

It’s important that you make the trip because, from a spiritual perspective, it’s absolutely necessary that you rid yourself of any ‘coughs’ that interfere with your inner peace and happiness.

What is the “Unforgivable Sin?” (Matthew 12:31-32 Metaphysically Interpreted)

In traditional, mainstream Christianity, one of these ‘coughs’ is referred to as the ‘unforgivable sin.’ Actually, it’s alluded to in every religion. In the Christian tradition it is clearly articulated in Matthew 12:31-32; Mark 3:29; and Luke 12:10. From a literal, dogmatic point of view, there are misconceptions about what the ‘unforgivable sin’ is, so we’d like to share with you a more loving and esoteric interpretation of the ‘unforgivable cough.’

This ‘unforgivable sin’ (unforgivable cough) is not about working on the Sabbath. Nor is it coveting your neighbor’s stock portfolio. It’s not about lying, or bearing false witness, or stealing, or cheating, or killing – as awful as those ‘coughs’ are. Nor is it about cheating on your income taxes. It’s not even secretly replacing the golf ball you couldn’t find with another one and not adding strokes to your score.

According to traditional religious belief the unforgivable sin (cough) is blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. (Read Matthew12:31-32 in your favorite Bible interpretation).

There are two important words we need to consider without belaboring the point: unforgivable and blasphemy. They are central for understanding what this passage means from a more spiritual and not so dogmatic perspective.

Unforgiveness, from an ontological perspective, means failing to give up the false for the true; so, if something is unforgivable:

• It means being unable or unwilling to recognize falsehood or error.
• It means repeating the same error (cough) again and again.
• It means the ‘cough’ is unpardonable because it hasn’t been corrected, it keeps being repeated.
• It means living under false pretenses because ‘coughs’ seem to be more important than peace, happiness, and serenity.

It reminds us of the quip Abe Lincoln used when he asked, “If I call a dog’s tail a leg, how many legs does a dog have?” Believe it or not a few people said five. Abe laughed. “Just because I call a dog’s tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg. A dog only has four legs.”

So, if we continue to live under false pretenses we’ll continue to live under false pretenses. If we fail to correct errors, we’ll suffer the consequences of those missteps. If we choose not to eliminate our ‘coughs’ we’ll continue to ‘cough’ our way through life and rob ourselves of the inner peace and serenity we seek.

Our sins (coughs) are unforgiveable because they are mindlessly repeated. If we repeat errors time and time again and continue repeating them, we’re likely to, well, keep repeating them. It’s the repetition that makes errors (sins, coughs) unforgivable. If you stick your hand on a hot stove you’ll get burned. If you do it again…

Blasphemy is the second important word in the Matthew account. Blasphemy is a powder keg word. As it is used in dogmatic scriptural accounts blasphemy refers to injurious speech against the Holy Spirit. It means attributing the miracles performed by the Christ as Jesus to the power of Beelzebub (Satan, the devil). The Pharisees were, in essence, attributing Jesus’ power to Satan, and claiming that Jesus was ‘Satan incarnate’ instead of God incarnate.

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, from an esoteric perspective, means denying our innate divinity:

• It is neglecting to express our divinity.
• It is refusing to see that we are spiritual beings in human form.
• It is opting out of opportunities to express our oneness with the Eternal Presence we call God!
• It’s being too coy, or too disinterested, to say “I am God expressing through the Christ as me!”

If we blaspheme (deny our divinity), we won’t be able to reconcile the difference:

• between Truth and error,
• between our spiritual self and our material self,
• between being enlightened and being clueless,
• between dogma and higher truths.

If we can’t reconcile those differences we’ll find it difficult to achieve the inner peace and happiness we seek. We will shut off the flow of Universal Substance.

Actually, every time we think or say something like, “I’m no good,” or “I’m stupid,” or “I’m not worth anything,” we blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. Denying our innate divinity –and the innate divinity of others – is truly injurious speech. It perpetuates the illusion of separation and the absence of universal oneness.

Why? Because we’re saying we’re something we’re not! We’re claiming to be less than we are. We’re neglecting to honor our divine status and the divine status of others. As long as we do that we’ll never get to the corner of forgiveness and inner peace. We’ll never get rid of our ‘coughs.’

The Christ as Jesus said, “Choose today who you will serve.” Choose your Higher Self over your lower self. Choose Light over darkness. Choose Love over hatred. Choose truth over error. Choose the spiritual you over the material you.

We look forward to the day when all human error will be reconciled, when there will be such peace, and caring, and loving kindness, and oneness that the only tears will be tears of joy. And the salt from those tears will validate an enlightened humankind, a global citizenry that doesn’t hesitate to meet at the corner of forgiveness and inner peace.