Introduction to The New Age of Christ

      The New Age of Christ is based on exploring the ideas of achieving Christ Consciousness and becoming Christ-like in our physical, daily lives, through the actual teachings of Christ; digging to the root meanings, re-evaluating misconstrued perceptions and moving forward into the dawn of a new light in Christ, a new age of Christ. This study is not about Christianity, nor is it about new age, it is about Christ, the teachings of Christ and our perceptions as we awaken to Christ consciousness.

     The New Age of Christ is a dedicated commitment to the rebirth and awakening of our spirit in order to heal humanity, the planet, and all living things through Christ Consciousness, as we evolve into a new enlightened era. When finally we have achieved one love, Christ will have returned. “This is my commandment, that ye love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12 KJV)

     As I said, this study is not about new age philosophy or reconstructing the teachings of Christ but rather reconstructing our perceptions of Christ and the teachings from which we have become so far removed.  Jesus Christ yesterday, today and forever, as the saying goes.  It is not Christ who has become outdated, it is our perception.  We need to listen to and do what he said but first we have to allow it within and then we have to understand it.  The understanding is where we need transformation. 

     We need a spiritual revolution but not from the pulpit, from within.  Fire and brimstone is not the way to opening hearts.  It has not worked thus far and it is not going to work in future generations.  We need the second coming of Christ but sitting around waiting for him to drop out of the sky is not it.  The return is within; within us, within our minds and hearts and spirits, and within humanity and the collective consciousness. We need to awaken to the Christ consciousness within.  This term came to me and when I looked it up I found an entire movement with regards to it.  I had never heard the term but there it was.  I understand it as a merging of our consciousness with spirit, with the Holy Ghost, coined by Paramahansa Yogananda.

     Our spirituality and relationship to God, to Christ, has been kept in a box.  We have not been allowed to free our understanding and open up to the Christ consciousness.  Our ideas, interpretations, and perceptions about Christ have been force-fed through the mold melded by others for the sake of control rather than the sake of personal growth.  If we step out and try to think otherwise, then we are being blasphemous.

 The Bible is open to interpretation.  It has been interpreted over and over throughout the centuries and other than a few obscure later discovered works, is all that we have to go on in understanding Christ and His teachings.

     Can anyone achieve spiritual union with Christ, reach Christ Consciousness?  Yes, with the willingness one will advance because the spirit is already with us, in us.  The spirit never leaves us; it is we who leave the spirit.

     The yogic and Buddhist teachings of meditation enabled me to allow the opening to occur through which I was able to receive the spirit of Christ, or the Christ consciousness and the Holy Ghost.  It was not a Methodist minister or a Wiccan spell (and I have cycled trough all of the spirit-seeking means available).  It is the opening of the heart, and for me, the doorway in was through meditation and two simple words, cultivate happiness.  Of course we are all unique in finding our spirit-path to God.  What works for one may not work for another but if you are true at heart and so desire the way, meditation will open the door. 

     What do you want to call it?  We believe that which resonates within us.  To some it is one thing, to others something else, mostly due to cultural conditioning.  All paths lead to the source.  I spent over two decades in my search after having been raised in the Methodist Church.  It never seemed quite enough for me and there were many aspects of Christianity I just could not buy into because I did not have the broad spiritual foundation that I needed to understand and interpret the teachings, the symbolisms, and the mythological archetypes.  After going to college as well as continuing to study on my own, and studying many religions including Buddhism and Hindi, Native American and nature religions, plus mythology, some psychology and world literature, I had then laid the foundation I really needed to come back and pick up with my understanding of Christ, His teachings and the Christ consciousness.  My search and circle went from Christianity to nature religions to Hindu to Buddha and back to Christ, the typical hero’s journey, bringing what I learned back to my realm to apply to, and understand, my world; in this case, my spiritual world.

     Though I found truths in all religions, I also found flaws, things that just didn’t hold water.  I took those concepts that resonated within and discarded the rest and moved on.  Some things I labeled as pure bunk, others integrated within, becoming a part of my foundation; this came later though.  In the beginning of my spiritual search I had pretty much labeled Christianity as bunk because as I said, I didn’t have the literate foundation to really understand so much in terms of symbolism.  The problems had come when like most people, I tried to take the Bible literally, which is not how it was written to be taken and that is something which I have since understood. Now after studying and understanding many other great spiritual leaders and religions, it is like a whole new door has opened toward the understanding of Christ.  This is where the appeal is, and should be.  Quite honestly, the church has little appeal to people.  They sit for an hour a week listening and singing and praying.  I know that churches do of course offer more for those interested, but it’s just not interesting to many, especially younger people.  What people need to realize is that the appeal, the mystique, lies within them in conjunction with the Christ consciousness.  Buddha showed me this and Buddha is very cool and I believe many people perceive him as so but I do not think Christ has that same perception because of how the church has handled and presented the options.  We are not even shown that there is a deeper meaning, nor the way in.  Buddhism does teach that.  It suddenly became very fascinating to me when I realized that these same teachings and methods could be applied to Christianity and that achieving the Christ consciousness was the same as achieving Nirvana.  Hallelujah.

     Have you been down to the alter? Forgiven? Reborn? What happened? Did you really experience a change or just a mental relief? Were you a changed person from then on?  Did you feel the inner heart open and truly receive the Holy Spirit?  Or did you revert right back to your old patterns a few days or a week or a year later?  If so, this is what you need to understand: there is a whole spiritual world waiting for you, already inside you, you only need to find the opening, and meditation will lead you there, to the Christ consciousness.

    

     There are many roads to the spirit steeped in religion, culture, nature, psychology and mysticism.  It is important to accept and understand the universal truths and archetypes that lead to the inner spirit, to the union with God and All that Is, and their relation to each other.  The more we know and understand and share, the stronger, more compassionate and more enlightened we become.  It is time to look inward in order to move forward outwardly.  Union with spirit, and with each other, is needed to bring us both as individuals, and as a collective, to a peaceful and harmonious place in existence and beyond. 

     Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, nature and tribal religions all share pathways to the inner spirit if one is willing to allow the opening to appear.  The truth lies in many places.  A true seeker leaves no rock unturned, possesses an open mind and is able to process and sift through the mounds of information for the grains of truth that lie beneath.  Eighty-six percent of the world’s population considers themselves to be spiritual.  If this eighty-six percent’s beliefs were working there should be very few problems in the world.  But in many cases these beliefs are not working; perhaps due to a lack of effort, faith, guidance or true desire.  Many people have turned away from organized religion due to fanaticism, church control, and outdated dogma. Extremity in any direction is not positive for it closes the mind and allows no room for growth or truth.  Our search for union with God has been kept in a box too long.  Religions are the means to justify an end, and the end is spiritual union, no matter how you arrive at it, the point is to get there.  What we need is the way to the spirit in the heart. The teachings and compassion of Christ offer the way.  In past teachings we are told what he said, what we are not told is how to get there; how to find the opening, allow the opening where the compassion of Christ may enter wherein we may achieve Christ consciousness and where we too may live in the kingdom of heaven within. The teachings of Christ have been compromised, and until we unravel the truth to see and understand what was truly given in detail, we cannot achieve that which was set before us.

     If you are unsure, or have yet to achieve a union with spirit, I invite you to explore His teachings with me in a new and fresh look at what Christ truly offers, not through the interpretation of bureaucratic dogma but from the soul-level. There is much to learn and interpret with a fresh viewpoint. 

     If you have not yet found your path to the spirit, isn’t it about time you did?  As Christ says, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26 KJV).

Excerpted from my forthcoming book, The New Age of Christ.

copyright Cheryl Bruedigam 2016

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