What is confused in Christianity?

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Many of you are Christian or come from a Christian background. Sometimes this causes confusion as your spiritual path opens and develops. I would like to help you separate the wheat from the chaff. The things that may confuse you about Christianity (if not outright run you off) probably did not come from Jesus. As one of his former right-hand people (there were two dozen of us), I would like to try to set the record straight about ten common confused “Christian” beliefs. There is a lot here. Meditate on any that aren’t clear to you.

  1. If you sin, you will go to hell.
    Hell does not exist except in the mind. God loves unconditionally, does not judge, and of course would never condemn. Hell is a creation of the children of God, is fear-based, and is therefore not real. People who live in fear may be experiencing an illusion of hell, but the only thing that is eternal is love.
  2. Jesus died for our sins.
    Jesus left his body at the conclusion of his personal ascension process. He was able to ascend because he loved everyone unconditionally. If we define sin as the belief that we are separate from and judged by God, Jesus along with us was a sinner. His departure from his physical body marked the total release of his sin, or his belief in his own separation from the divine. Certainly, his ascension supports us in ours.
  3. Jesus is the Son of God.
    Yes, he is, but so are you. We are all one. Jesus never said, “I am the Son of God, but you aren’t”. No, he said, “This and more you shall do.” Jesus is like an older brother who has shown us the ropes. He is not someone who is different from us; he simply matured (ascended) earlier. This is not to downplay the enormity of his gift, only to remind you that you will get there, too.
  4. Jesus suffered for us.
    The vision of extreme pain and suffering, which had dominated the story as told by both Catholic and Protestant churches, is a projection painted from a human, separated position. Jesus did not experience pain on the cross. He felt unconditional love for everyone involved. Pain is fear-based; unconditional love experiences only bliss.
  5. The Bible is to be taken literally.
    Warnings exist in the Bible not to worship graven images. What is the Bible if not a graven (engraved) image? We could nitpick and talk about how the original texts were in Aramaic or Greek and how something is always lost in the translation, or that even the English versions differ. But what is more important is realizing that these stories were written by people; God has no horse in this race. These stories were sometimes inspired by the teller’s higher self/divine guidance. Your job is to follow your own intuition when reading scripture. If it feels inspired by love, trust it. If it feels fear-based, it probably isn’t guidance for you today.
  6. Christianity is the only path to salvation.
    All roads lead to ascension. In the last analysis, ascension is a very personal and private thing. No two people will follow the exact same path. The teachings of those who have come before you are for your enlightenment and support, but the farther you come on your path, the more you are on your own (your connection to infinite love). Any religion is as good an entry place as another.
  7. There is no such thing as reincarnation.
    Yeah, you thought that your last lifetime, too. Seriously, this physical plane and the physical body are illusions. They only thing that is real and eternal about you is your soul, your spirit. You created the earth plane to help you heal your separation from God. There is no final judgment. There is not even a starting line. You create each incarnation with what you can use to reach ascension. Or maybe you just came in this time to serve another. Either way, you have unlimited shots (and don’t forget that time is an illusion, too).
  8. Homosexuality is wrong and sinful.
    Let’s all repeat the following ten times: “God has no judgment”. Good. Forgiveness is the key to ascension. Releasing all judgments is central to your healing process.
  9. Only men can become spiritual leaders.
    As some of you already know there were 24 disciples, not 12. We each had a female counterpart. Jesus, of course, had Mary Magdalene, who also ascended. Male spiritual leaders have been more prominent because this male dominated planet has had less respect for women. Meanwhile, let your inner guidance lead you to the voices that inspire you. Reproductive organs have nothing to do with it. Gender is an illusion, also. Your divine self is neither male nor female.
  10. There is such a thing as a righteous (Christian) war.
    I challenge anybody to find a quote attributed to Jesus that supports war. He talked about love, loving your neighbor, turning the other cheek. There is nary a word even about self-defense. This being said, there is to be no judgment of war, simply the realization that it is fear based, not loved based, and not a part of the ascension path.

God Blesses You,

Sanhia

Why is forgiveness important?

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We have spoken about forgiveness with many of you before, but it is a topic that cannot be overdone. Forgiveness could be a daily focus; it is central to all healing. When you hold a grudge or you extend blame toward another or yourself, you block the flow of love from moving freely through your life. Blame and its shadow side, guilt, always are generated by fear, not by love. They are illusions and not the truth. When you blame another, you take the role of victim; you live in the pretense that you are weak and not the author of your experience.

Let us return to the truth of who you are. You are a divine child of God. You are an immortal, infinitely creative, and unconditionally loved being. You chose to believe that you could create separate from your creator. This was an illusion; all is one and cannot be divided. Your creator continues to see you in truth, unconditionally loving and accepting you, but you choose to judge yourself for this separation and to feel guilt and a need for forgiveness and atonement. You created this physical incarnation as a place to heal the guilt and separation.

When it comes to forgiving another, it helps to remember that there is nothing to forgive, that everything in this earth plane is an illusion. The event that is troubling you is your creation intended for your healing. The other people involved in your event are there because you set up their involvement. The aspect of them that is divine agreed to help you out.  Nobody is at fault. As you fully realize this, forgiveness is easy because there truly is nothing to forgive. The event is a manifestation of your belief that you need to be forgiven, but God only sees you in your innocent perfection. There is nothing to forgive.

As you run into judgments of yourself and others repeat to yourself (these statements are graciously borrowed from Ho’oponopono):

I love you…… (As God always loves you)

Forgive me…. (It is only yourself who can forgive and let go)

I’m sorry……. (I’m sorry for choosing fear instead of love)

Thank you…. (Thank you for reminding me that there is only love)

God Blesses You,

Sanhia

Do I deserve to have my desires fulfilled?

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We have spoken about passion. Many questions have come from you on this topic, so we will take another leap into it. Some of you in your spiritual training have learned that suffering is the result of desires. Let’s begin there. I would like to classify desires into two categories which could be called “lower” desires and “higher” desires. The term “lower” is not intended to express judgment, but to merely be descriptive. “Lower” desires are pleasing to the senses and have a more immediate pull on the heart. These might include (but are certainly not limited to) enjoying food and beautiful scenery, listening to music, dancing, drawing, sculpting, walking, having sex, talking, and being with friends. “Higher” desires are often connected with Right Livelihood, the gifts you have to offer to others, your purpose, and ascension.

In those times when you feel blocked off from an awareness of what your “higher” desires are or of the possibility of ever fulfilling them, your “lower” desires exist to help open the doors to trusting the “higher” ones. The bottom line in being able to achieve any aspiration is the belief that you deserve to realize it. Whatever you feel desire for – nurture that feeling and affirm that you deserve to have it fulfilled, that as an innocent, divine child of God, it is your birthright. See it done in your mind.

You may have the fear that if you allow yourself to pursue all of your “lower” desires you will become bogged down in a selfish, hedonistic lifestyle. I wish to remind you that your desires or passions are the way that your God-self speaks to you. Addiction and the self-destructive pursuit of pleasure is the result of self judgment and guilt. Selfishness and greed grow from the belief that there is not enough; that, therefore, what you get must be taken from another. The work that is cut out for you is listening to your passion (both “lower” and “higher”) and following it. Use your masculine side to affirm that there is an abundance of everything for everyone, that you deserve to have whatever comes to you, and that you are an innocent, loving child of God.

The opposite of acting out of passion is doing things because you “should” do them. It is just as important to begin to eliminate the “shoulds” from your life as it is to follow your passion. Each time you eliminate a “should” you create a space which you will want to guard carefully and fill only with a desire. For some of you your biggest “should” is your job. You have a passion to do something else but keep your current position out of fear. Your voices say, “How will I survive without this job”, or “Being a responsible adult means going to a work every day”, or “I need health insurance.” Here we would speak of “lower” and “higher” desires. Sometimes it is easier to focus on the “lower shoulds”, the little places where you say yes, but feel a no. These are perhaps the areas to begin to focus your energies, to remind yourselves that you deserve to do the things you wish to do, and that you are entitled to enjoy your life. You may have to begin by having the courage to change little things before you are ready to confront the larger ones, such as unfulfilling jobs or relationships. Sometimes by transforming the smaller issues the larger ones handle themselves. In other words, as you follow a discipline of obeying your “lower” desires and saying no to the little things, you may begin to experience that your job has improved and that your relationships give you greater satisfaction. You deserve it all.

God Blesses You,
Sanhia

What is the most appropriate way to honor Jesus?

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Perhaps one of the subjects that is of greatest interest to those of you in the Western spiritual traditions is the Jesus lifetime. I wish to make a disclaimer explaining my point of view in relation to Jesus. In that lifetime, I was known as Thomas, who has subsequently been saddled with the nickname “Doubting Thomas”. I recorded some of the commentaries of Jesus. The fathers of the Roman Catholic Church in the 3rd and 4th centuries chose to omit that text from what was called the New Testament and made attempts to destroy all copies. As many of you already know, one of the copies has survived and, though it is a later copy with additions and deletions made to the original, there is still much of value to be found in what is called the Gospel of Thomas. Lastly, as to Thomas, some of you may be aware of others who trace their lineage to this apostle. Understand that it is common for beings to manifest what could be called splinter personalities or multiple reincarnations of the same entity.

But let us return now to Jesus. He came here to teach us about ascension and manifested it in a very public way so that it would be recorded for posterity, even if incompletely understood. What is important for us to comprehend about Jesus is that, yes, he is the son of God, but that you and I are also the sons and daughters of God. We are all one. One of the greatest confusions in Christianity as a religion is the separation of Jesus from the rest of humanity. As Jesus said, “This and more you shall do.” Jesus was not the first to ascend, but it was part of his purpose to show us the way. That way consists of unconditional love, affirming oneness with the Creator, forgiveness, acceptance, and the release of judgment. Jesus modeled unconditional love in a manner that was transformational for those of us who were around him. He saw others in their divinity, in their perfection. As people allowed themselves to be enveloped in this unconditional acceptance and forgiveness they found themselves healed, physically and spiritually.

The most appropriate way to honor Jesus is to use him as a model for your own life, neither exalting him above you nor lowering him to a “human” level. Love and forgive  yourself and others unconditionally. Accept your place as the innocent child of God, and choose and affirm your ascension. It is not necessary to proselytize the teachings of Jesus, but as you live a life of unconditional love you will draw to yourself those who wish to learn from you.

God Blesses You,

Sanhia

Can I follow my passions?

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I would like to talk about passion. It is the term I use to describe the feminine energy. Passion is the way that you focus your love to manifest in the world. The masculine energy, expressed by the mind, has the task of holding a clear image of where you wish to go, accentuating the positive. But it is your passion that determines what that vision is. Your passion is what connects you to your purpose.

There is the generalized purpose, shared by all beings, to ascend, that is, to remember the truth of who you are and to experience that truth as infinitely creative, loving, forgiving children of God. Yet, even as you are all one and connected, you are also unique and individual. You each have your irreplaceable role to play. This is your specific purpose. How do you find out what it is? By trusting, listening to, and following your passion. This would never be experienced as something you have to or must do. Rather, you have a deep desire to do it. The task at hand is to listen to these aspirations without judgment, to believe that you deserve to have them fulfilled even when the mind says that these yearnings are petty and selfish. It is not for you to judge your passions, but simply to give intention for their fulfillment.

Passion is blocked by fear. Fear is old energy. It is a combination of feeling undeserving, guilty, and powerless. It is feeling yourself to be a failure. This fear can block the ability to act on or to even hear your passions. It becomes the job of your masculine side to “create a protected place for his lady”. The mind is to affirm that it is safe to experience your passion, that you deserve to manifest what you desire. Your mind affirms that you have the ability to manifest your dreams and, reminds you that you are innocent, that God loves you unconditionally and supports your every choice.

You do not need to understand the part that your passion plays in the larger picture. It is only for you to trust that your role is of divine importance and that it can only be fulfilled by listening to and following your passion.

God Blesses You,

Sanhia

Are there ghosts or evil spirits?

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A question has come in about dealing with evil spirits or energies such as ghosts. There are several levels from which to approach this question, but let us start by focusing on basic truth. We shall begin with an understanding of who we are and how we operate in these physical bodies on planet Earth. We are children of God created in His image. That is to say we are immortal beings of infinite love and creativity. Each of us is unique and yet part of the divine whole or oneness. In creating and inhabiting our physical bodies we forget the truth of our beingness. It is part of our path to remember that the truth of who we are is divine love.

Anything that does not come from unconditional love is not real. The only thing that is true is love; anything that comes from fear or hatred is illusory. Whatever might threaten us is unreal. There is nothing ultimately that can harm the truth of who we are. This is not to say that the physical body cannot experience harm, but our true selves are eternal and indestructible.

It is time now to deal with the next level, that of the planet Earth being a realm of free choice. We are able through our thought processes and emotions to create any possible experience on earth. First of all, it is important to acknowledge that our experiences are our creations, that by the very nature of who we are we cannot be the victims of any other being’s energy. Another being can only give us the illusion of harming us if we give it permission to do so. We do create the reality we experience in these bodies.

If you are experiencing fear that a ghost or any other entity, including one in a physical body, might do you harm there are clear steps to take. First, remind yourself of your divinity, of your oneness with God, of your immortality. Remember that there is only love, that all else is illusion. Affirm that you are safe, that no outside energy or entity can affect you without your permission. State that you do not give your consent for any entity to harm you. Request that your guides or Spirit protect you from any unwanted outside influence. You are in charge here. Nothing can violate your physical body without your agreement.

At this point in the message it is likely that your mind is reacting with a variety of questions and doubts, and this is fine. I am not suggesting that people have consciously chosen their suffering through the ages, only that the beliefs that they hold allowed these events to transpire. Even today there are many who believe that the greatest gift they can give to mankind is the sacrifice of their lives. God has never asked for such an atonement, but holds no judgment for whatever choices are made by those in the “human condition”. I wish you to hear the humor in my voice as I say “the human condition”. By this term, I mean simply the believing of self to be separate from the infinite Creator.

One more level that I wish to address is for those of you who may wish to take action to support the ghost or entity or person that might be perceived as threatening. First repeat silently the four statements, “I love you”, “thank you”, “please forgive me”, and “I’m sorry” over and over. Ask silently what the entity wants in order for it to feel at peace. Using your knowledge of the nature of reality, guide the entity to choose that possibility for itself. Remind it that it is loved and is a divine child of an infinitely and unconditionally loving God.

Know that you are safe and unconditionally loved.

God Blesses You,

Sanhia

What is the most valuable gift to give?

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The celebration that you call Christmas has roots that go back far before the birth of Jesus. And, of course, as many of you know it is not even Jesus’ birthday; he was a Pisces. The date was originally a celebration of renewal and hope, as this is the time of year when the sun finally begins its return and the days begin to grow longer. There will once again be a time when the earth bursts forth with green, with flowers, and finally with food.

In a sense, this is a holiday that reminds us of our deep inner knowing of our immortality. No matter how dark and cold things might appear to us in the illusion, in truth, there is always hope…there is always life. Many of you were raised with the knowledge of the Christian trinity of faith, hope, and charity, and that is certainly what this season is about.

Faith…. trusting that everything is and always will be perfect, fine, and safe.

Hope…. as we have just discussed, even in the deepest darkest days knowing that the darkness is illusion and that the light is behind it.

Charity…. giving of ourselves without measure.

This trinity provides the watchwords for all time and places, but we choose to focus on them in particular during the Christmas season through creating more time and space to be outside of regular schedules — spending more time with family and friends, and with the rituals of gift giving. The most valuable gift through this season, and indeed throughout the year, is yourself. Truly be there for others, listening to their needs and desires, and giving with a faith and trust in your infinite supply of energy, time, and sustenance. With each person that you encounter – whether they be familiar or a stranger, friend or imagined enemy – look to see what you can give to them, whether it be a smile, an encouraging word, a meal, money, your ear, or your physical assistance. Mark out for yourself on your calendar Twelve Days of Christmas. Try practicing the dharma of unconditional giving during this time. You will find this gift is one that will always return to you in greater measure.

Merry Christmas

God Blesses You,

Sanhia

What is true thankfulness?

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When Americans think of November, their thoughts eventually turn to the Thanksgiving holiday. However, thankfulness is a state of mind I encourage everyone to hold in all seasons and under all circumstances. It may be easy to feel gratitude when surrounded by the bounty of the harvest and your loved ones, but it is equally important to feel grateful when plans and hopes and dreams fall through, when loved ones are lost.

True thanksgiving is in knowing and trusting the perfection of each moment. It lies in the recognition that even though we may not know why or how, we have asked for what we have received. We have done this to help us recognize the truth of who we are, the truth of reality. What we seek above all else is the knowingness of our divinity, our place as the unconditionally loved child of God. This holiday I encourage you to accept your gifts and to know that you deserve far more, but I also urge you to welcome the setbacks, to thank them for being there and to ask them to help lead you to a deeper understanding of the truth of your divinity and your eternal soul.

A suggested mantra:

Everything is perfect.

I welcome everything that comes to me today and I am grateful for this connection to my divine self.

God Blesses You,

Sanhia