A Spiritual Declaration of Independence

NOTE: This is adapted from the text of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. Much of the words are written here just as they were in the original text. This is just my sense of the freedom and liberty we can all declare for ourselves - every day. 


In HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS, July 4, 2012
The unilateral Declaration of the Unified State of Divine Harmony

When in the Course of mankind's events it becomes necessary for a Person to dissolve the metaphysical bands that confine it to a Mortal Mind and to assume among the powers of the Universe, the separate and unequal station to which the Laws of Spiritual Nature and of God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of the Person requires that it should declare the causes which impel it to the separation.

I hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by God with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are eternal Life, absolute Liberty and permanent spiritual Happiness - That to secure these rights, God institutes governance over Man, deriving its just powers from the first chapter of Genesis, from which God created All that was made and has dominion, - That whenever any Belief in an alternate Form of Governance that becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the Person to abolish it, and to institute the real Governance, laying its foundation on divine Principle and obeying its powers in such form as perfect obedience shall effect its Safety and Happiness.   Prudence, indeed, will dictate that divine Governance long established should not be changed for any reason; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the mortal, erroneous forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abusive and usurpatative suggestions, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them to absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Governance and to provide new Guards for their future security - Such has been the patient sufferance of Human Consciousness, and such is now the necessity which constrains it to alter its former Governance. The history of the present evil belief, Satan, is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over this Consciousness. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

 - He has refused his Assent to Divine Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the good of mankind.

- He has forbidden mankind to uphold Divine Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them, for he knows that doing otherwise would result in his destruction.

- He has refused to recognize Divine Laws for the accommodation of mankind, unless mankind would relinquish its divine right of Representation in the Kingdom of Heaven, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

- He has called together many children of God at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Good Deeds, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures, which include Sinfulness, Diseased Thought, Sickness, Reliance on Hygiene and Material Methods, as well as Death both Physical and Spiritual.

- He has dissolved God-worshipping assemblies repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the divine rights of the people.He thrived in the Presence of one solely, in order to generate Fear and Submission to his Despotism.

- He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Divine Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to mankind at large for their exercise; the State of Human Consciousness remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

- He has endeavoured [sic] to prevent the population of these heavenly States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Entrance to the Kingdom; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands in this Kingdom..

- He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing God as the only Judge in Human Consciousness.

- He has made mortals act as Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. And ofttimes, the payment for Good Deeds seems to result in Disease and Erroneous Conditions upon the Human Consciousness under his control, to make guilty those who are created Innocent.

- He has erected a multitude of New False Beliefs, and sent hither swarms of Mortal Beliefs to harass our people and eat out their substance, which is found to be Divine Spirit.

- He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our Sentinels, which stand guard in our Consciousness.

- He has affected to render the Militant Mortal Belief independent of and superior to the Divine Power in our Consciousness.

- He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
     For quartering large bodies of Mortal Beliefs among us:
     For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States of Human Consciousness, whether they be Physical, Moral or Spiritual:
     For cutting off our Trade of Divine Ideas with all parts of the world:
     For imposing Tax on our minds without our Consent:
     For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by God:
     For transporting us beyond our Consciousness to be tried for pretended offences:
     For abolishing the free System of Divine Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these States of Consciousness
     For taking away our Charters of eternal Life, abolishing our most valuable Divine Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governance:
     For suspending our own self-govenrment, and declaring Him invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

- He has abdicated Governance here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

- He has plundered our seas of spiritual thought, ravaged our coasts of morality, burnt our towns made of divine Love, and destroyed the lives of our people.

- He is at this time transporting large Armies of False Mortal Beliefs to compleat [sic] the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized consciousness.

- He has constrained our fellow Beings taken Captive on the high Seas of Spirit to bear Arms against their Kingdom, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

- He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured [sic] to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Savages of Sin, Sickness and Death whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our mortal brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their mortal authorities to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here in Heaven. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mortality, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the unified State of Divine Harmony, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the universe for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good and perfect Beings of this Consciousness, solemnly publish and declare, That this unified Consciousness is, and of Right ought to be a Free and Independent State of Divine Harmony, that it is Absolved from all Allegiance to the Crown of Satan, and that all political connection between it and the State of Death, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as a Free and Independent State of Divine Harmony, it has full Power to levy War against Satan, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which an Independent State of Divine Harmony may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our eternal Life, our Fortunes of blessings, and our sacred Honor.

Loyalty

My first full day back from my Association meeting, committed anew to my developing practice and to doing the practice, I sat down early this Monday morning to read the Bible Lesson about "Sacrament." The thought came to me about the word "loyalty."

It is known that the word "sacrament" comes from an old Latin word meaning "pledge" or "oath," which implies loyalty or allegiance to something (in the case of the old Roman Empire, it was loyalty to a superior officer in the army).

After I read and pondered the Lesson for a short while, it occurred to me to open the Bible at random and read the first passage that came to me. I did so, an my eyes fell upon Ruth 1:1-18, the description of Naomi, who lost her husband and two sons and was lefgt with her two daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth. This was certainly a case study in loyalty or allegiance, when Naomi insisted her daughters-in-law return to their native countries to be with their people, yet Ruth "clave unto" Naomi, insisting that she was going to be loyal to Naomi, her homeland and (noteworthy here), her God. Orpah left Naomi, however.

I saw this is a description of our lives - we have to watch our thought and make sure we are loyal to God, good, who is Spirit (John 4:24) and Love (I John 4:8). To me, this means our thought and our lives should always be spiritual, loving and good, and we should always be denouncing and rejecting those thoughts or beliefs that don't fit those criteria. Any time we think of something that is not spiritual, loving or good, we are breaking our promise, our oath, showing disloyalty to God.

You notice that Ruth stayed and committed to helping Naomi, while Orpah left and did not come back. Ruth was all in, for better or worse, committed all the way. Orpah committed too, but she committed herself to her homeland, her people and her gods. She didn't vacillate between two perspectives - she didn't go back to Naomi when things got rough at home, just like Ruth didn't leave Naomi's side. If we think about it, I think many of us every day make decisions to be loyal to God/Spirit/good one minute and to matter/evil the next. We love our friends but hate our enemies. We are grateful to God for all we receive, but then we're envious because someone else has more than us. We believe that God is the final arbiter of justice, yet we feel vengeful when we've been wronged. We thank God for our health, but as soon as we don't feel well, we go to the doctor or take that medicine that is believed to "cure" the problem.

Let us not be disloyal. Exodus 20:3 says "Thou shalt have no other gods ..." This is the ultimate oath of loyalty. We shall not have any thought that is not of God. The sacrament - whatever form it takes, whether is be spiritual, material or ritual - will mean nothing if we don't follow through on our commitment to be loyal to God and His Allness. If He is infinite All and is spiritual, loving and good, then we should keep our own oath and be that in our own thought. After all, we are the children of God, made in His image (Gen. 1:27).

Today, I will work on my loyalty to God. Join me and pledge allegiance, one moment and one thought at a time. If you fall, make a new pledge with the next thought. Your progress is guaranteed.

Hey, Did Jesus Really Call Abraham a "Liar" and a "Murderer"?

This struck me today as I was reading the Christian Science Bible Lesson dealing with "Ancient and Modern Necromancy," - or basically, error. Jesus seemed to be making disparaging remarks about the patriarch of three of the world's great religions, trying to make a point. In effect, what he was doing was calling out the subtlety of error, also known as a "devil" or Satan..

In the third section of the lesson, the eighth chapter of John was mentioned, when Jesus met with several Jews, Pharisees and his disciples and he was speaking with them. Jesus said to the gathered Jews, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." The Jews responded with, "We are Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man:" Jesus then said, "I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father." When the Jews responded with, "Abraham is our father," Jesus set out to teach a lesson.

The main point: Jesus knows who his Father is, and he reminds the Jews (and everyone) that we all have the very same Father and to never refer to any mortal person as our father.

"Ye are of your father the devil and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."

Wow. Is Jesus calling out Abraham, the patriarch of the Jews, as a liar, a murderer and the devil?

Here's the message that came to me. The Jews called a mortal being, Abraham, as their father, when Jesus knows only God as the Father of all. The liar, devil and murderer isn't Abraham himself; it's the subtle lie that led them all to believe that Abraham was their father - a mortal ancestor. And everything those Jews believed was based on the erroneous premise that Abraham was their father. Evil, error, is the murderer, the devil, the liar and the father of it. It's not about Abraham; it's about the erroneous thought and belief that all the Jews bought into that a mortal man is their ancestor. The same error that convinced Eve to eat the fruit.

And it's the same error that has many convinced (even today) that Jesus is God; or that Jesus is our Savior, or that Jesus is our Messiah. Jesus is a mortal, just like Abraham. God is the only God, and God is the creator of all.  It is not the mortal man, Jesus, who is our Savior and Messiah; the Christ, the spiritual idea of God, incarnate in Jesus, is our true Savior and Messiah.

We should never look to mortal beings for our ancestry or our salvation. We should always look spiritually, to the one Spirit in the universe, the only creator of the universe, God, to His idea, known as the Christ (or Comforter, or Holy Ghost).

Jesus sent a strong message. He tends to do that when he knows the Truth of being.

Love, Hate and Post-it Notes

Not long ago, an old high-school friend of mine (and I don't mean "old" - I mean "lone time ago") shared some sensitive personal stuff with me, but let's just say hate was involved.

Now, I do have a post about "rhetoric" and "hateful" words on this blog that came in the wake of the Gabby Giffords shooting a year ago, and some of this still applies here, but perhaps it might be helpful to address this from a more personal level, not just a generic environment that comes from political "rhetoric," a "call for civility," or "hate speech."

What if hate was very personal, like in the case of my friend?

The principle mentioned in the previous post still applies, but rather than working on a 30,000-foot view of the world and praying for a loving presence in it, let's bring this down to the ground and look at it from an individual level.

Hate is a demon, a devil - something that was cast out by Jesus. How? By love. He loved, loved, loved. But he didn't just love the person who was hateful, he loved everyone and had a loving presence about him - he loved everyone he dealt with, everything he did had a loving intention and effect.

We, as children of God, who is defined as "love" (in I John), are naturally loving. That is our personhood - loving, gracious, merciful. And we're perfectly so, because our Father-Mother, God, is perfect Love. Love is very personal in that it's part of our identity and how we identify others. Hate, on the other hand, is very impersonal - it comes from nowhere. It was not created by God and no one was created to be hateful. Hate can be a demon that infests anyone at any time. Love is part of who we are as persons, children of God, and is a natural part of each of us, all the time.

A Christian Science teacher and international lecturer who is a friend of mine discussed hate or most other "evils" or "demons" in an impersonal sense - as Post-it Notes.

When you are dealing with a "hateful" person, think of them as being covered in those ubiquitous Post-it Notes. A perfect, loving, child of God is standing there with evils on Post-it Notes. Why Post-its? Because they are not part of who we are; we weren't born or arrived in this world with Post-its on our bodies! On these Post-its are words like "hateful", "arrogant", "angry", "greedy", etc. Or, in this example, maybe every single Post-it says "hateful." We can take three steps in our thought to help us think of this person in the way Jesus would.

Detect - Detect the Post-it Note on him, the one that says "hateful."
Detach - Detach it from the person. Just go to him and pull it off his body.
Destroy - Throw away the Post-it Note. Or better yet, burn it! Fire is a Biblical symbol of purification!

You continue this process in yoru thought until all of the Post-its are removed, and you behold the perfect, loving, merciful and gracious child of God that is your brother or sister in Christ.

Love is personal because it is part of who we are, individually. Hate is very impersonal. When you know and realize that, any "hateful" things that are said or thought about you have no power - they're just on a Post-it Note that can be easily detached from ourselves or from others.

The big step that helps this is love. Just love, love, love. The more you love yourself and the more loving you are in your words and actions - not just to the "hateful" individual, but to everyone with whom you come into contact - you will take away any power that "hate" is believed to have. Without God behind it, hate has zero power - unless we decide to give it such. But if our thought and life is so filled with love, there is no place or time to give hate any attention - and thus, no power.

Love is the power in the universe. Keep it that way in your thought, and hate will show its weakness.

Pick a Side - Black or White?

Sometimes, there seems to be gray areas in life - no decision is "just black and white." Lots of variables come into play when making decisions. But do they have to?

This post comes to mind as I read a recent Bible Lesson, which denounces "mesmerism and hypnotism," also known as mortal mind or error - beliefs in powers other than infinite God, good.

I realize that I am guilty of finding the gray area sometimes - I would do this, but for this condition ... I would not do that, unless this happens too ... et cetera. But from a spiritual perspective, there is no true gray area - when one is thinking about spirituality, there are two options - infinity (all) or nothing.


Online Business and the First Commandment

It was interesting that a recent Bible Lesson was about God, because I had an experience recently that brings home the differing perspectives of Christians regarding God, His power, and the First Commandment.

 I was sent a package in the mail, upon request, for me to look into a home-based, online business. I put in the DVD and it was a glossy propaganda piece about a "proven marketing system" that ensures success for everyone who gets involved in this business - one that apparently is run by a "major company" (though the name of the company was not mentioned) and is looking for people to sell its "wellness products" (which, again, the video did not describe - other than a couple of testimonials that claimed that using a certain product caused them to lose weight, lower their cholesterol, etc.).