Personal Ascension and Healing the Planet By, Christopher Johnson

Personal Ascension and Healing the Planet
Christopher Johnson
First Unitarian Congregational Society
Sept 3, 2017

Good morning. My name is Christopher Johnson

Today’s sermon is about ascension and healing the planet. It is to say at the very least, an intense topic to assimilate in a mire 20 minutes. But I believe that truth when conveyed in any given amount of time will have a positive and hopefully lasting impact on all those present.

I spent many years of my life in pursuit of a deeper understanding of the truth of my existence, of God and what higher consciousness meant. A sensitivity and deep reverence for my spiritual nature, due in part to an Anglican Catholic upbringing, has led me through traditional and non-traditional paths of study and worship. Though I know that many of us ask these questions and look to spiritual teachers or to our particular religions for answers, the depth of my desire for esoteric knowledge and actual spiritual experience from early on, has laid the foundation for my life. I find it no coincidence I am now working for a church.

For those who are not familiar with the subject matter, I offer a very brief explanation for a better understanding. We are not just the ego centered beings that we identify with currently. We are actually multidimensional beings whose consciousness goes well beyond the 3^rd dimensional frequency of time and space in which we now exist.

 Why is it, do you suppose, that we can never really be fully satisfied or feel completely fulfilled? Because our soul, knows this truth. We will always be searching until we remember the rest of our created nature. The rest of our created nature dwells above and beyond our current conscious recognition.

The catalyst for unlocking this door happens when we are no longer happy with, or identify with the reflection of consciousness that forms the circumstances our lives.  As we start to let go the attachments we hold of old patterns of thinking, believing and behaving, we fill that void with higher beliefs and healthier, more evolved patterns of behavior. Know that as we evolve in consciousness there is a direct correlation and change in the manifestation of our physical world. We can allow this gradual evolution of consciousness to be born while concurrently living out our human lives.

There is also, though, available to a few determined souls who are willing to move beyond their human existence, a built in, well documented, evolutionary psychological, physiological process of transformation which quickly propels one to experience the totality of what we are. The beginning step to this process can be activated through an emotionally charged deep desire for transformation and to know what is beyond our current state of restricted understanding. Various forms of intensive spiritual discipline, developmental forcing techniques, or certain teachers can activate this process. This path is contrary to living a human existence. Extreme caution and discernment should be exercised if one is interested in exploring it further. The successful initiate is not happy living in the world of form. He is only interested in the things of spirit and what lies beyond his understanding. He is willing to give up total control over his life for a fleeting moment of God realization. This is the path of many Saints and Sages throughout the ages.

In a few minutes I will tell you a story to illustrate the journey of consciousness.  Lose yourselves in the story. Stay present in the story. When the soul recognizes truth, it has the opportunity to momentarily expand.

Part 2

There once was a village deep with in a valley which sat at the foot of a mysterious mountain. It was said that whoever ventured up the mountain never returned, or if they did, they were never quite the same. Most stayed away from the mountain as the villagers were content to go about their everyday lives.  Some tried to make the village a better place through their generosity and service, while others never quite lived up to their potential and caused great havoc.  In fact this village was not unlike the world in which we now live.

One day a simple monk came to the village. He asked the villagers what they knew about the mountain and was told the tales of some who had ventured beyond the village and gone up into the mysterious mountain. They knew of no one in recent years that had actually ascended the mountain. The villagers did tell of one young man who had gone up years before. The rumor was he had made the summit, but no one knew what had ever happened to him.  The monk seemed perplex at the notion that the villagers were content to live such ordinary lives and not explore what was in their very own back yard.  He announced that he was going to scale part way up the mountain and that he would bring anyone with him who had the courage to go. Most laughed and shook their heads and walked away into the comfort and security of their ordinary lives. A few though, said that they had secretly always wanted to see what lay beyond the village, but that the time never seemed right. There were too many obligations what with family and work and of course the fear of the unknown.

So the very next day at dawn the group set out to scale the mountain. It was a cool, crisp, sunny autumn day. The earth was alive with color and the brilliance of the sun overpowered cool breezes. The group walked through fields of blue green grasses and meadows of fragrant colorful wild flowers that were filled with song birds, and an abundant wildlife population. There was great enthusiasm and a special comradery that they all experienced as they walked. They felt free to share with each other their desires and beliefs and dreams.  After several hours they came across a clearing which had a magnificent view of the valley and village which was well within view but lay far below. Here they all stopped and rested. They felt the indwelling presence of personal power and satisfaction that we all feel when we accomplish something that we hold in great value.

 Perhaps we can recall a time when we have experienced this feeling. May be it was during a stimulating seminar or an inspirational church service that gave us a new viewpoint. Perhaps it was during a march against injustice or during an uplifting meditation. We have all felt this feeling of moving beyond ourselves.  Moving just slightly beyond our comfort level by trying something new is the beginning of greater awareness.

 The great Sufi mystic poet Rumi, whose writings main them is that of union with the Divine wrote: “Yesterday I was clever so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise so I am changing myself”.

 As the day grew cooler and windier, and the sun was now well past its mid-day point, the majority of the group decided that they would return home, now refreshed and inspired from the day’s experience. Most said that they thought their lives would be more meaningful and that they would like to return to this place someday along with family or friends who hadn’t made the journey. So they said their farewells to a few who decided to stay and started the trek back home down a now familiar path.

The monk who stayed with the few remaining climbers said that he knew of a continuation of the path that they could explore. The few were eager to press on.  This path was different than the first. It was windy and cold as it was shaded from the warm sun. It was harder going; Steep and rocky. It seemed that it was void of life except for weeds from rocky out cropping’s. It was not a pleasant climb as the one which they experienced several hours before, but there was a sense that this path was leading someplace; that they really had to see it through.

Most of us have had that experience in our own lives.  Doing something which we knew we needed to do but was not an enjoyable experience. A responsibility that we had to live up to that was being asked of us by something greater than ourselves. Putting the needs of others ahead of ourselves, in a healthy manor, is the dwelling place of Maturity of Spirit.  Maturity of Spirit is born as we act in accordance with our Divine intuition over our own limited ego centered feelings.  Our feelings are controlled by external stimuli. If someone tells us they appreciate us that makes us feel good. If they tell us we are doing a terrible job that makes us feel bad. Feelings are fleeting and a part of the construct of our false ego, a fear based system of being which promotes separateness from the Divine. Intuition is the still small voice of God. If we listen to it we will not be lead astray, even if the illusion of circumstances tells us something different. Intuition comes from a higher aspect of self. It comes from a truth unrecognized by feelings.  It is direction that comes ultimately from God. Intuition is from above. Feelings are from below. Intuition is evolutionary.

Albert Einstein said “A problem cannot be solved with the same consciousness that created it” end quote.

As we move higher in awareness by letting go of our attachments to old beliefs and patterns of behavior, we give up control.  In doing this we will face fear. The old self must be sacrificed before the new self is born. The one who is being born dwells behind fear. The person we are becoming dwells behind fear.  There is no way around it.

So, as the few remaining climbers went higher they were confronted by the fear of losing control over their lives. They came upon a rocky ledge where they all rested. Here they no longer could see the village below as it was obscured by the grey mists of clouds.   As fear was confronted and worked through, there came quietness within their inner world and a sense of peace within their hearts. They found that they were part of something greater than themselves.

The physical world had also changed.  Here they recognized that the physical world was simply a reflection of their own consciousness. Their own light. Their own darkness. They started to remember that they were much more than they realized they were. They were powerful spiritual beings with unparalleled potential. This was a revelation. This pilgrimage was not only about personal ascension. It was also a key to healing and evolving the physical world.

They were intimately connected to the physical world. The physical world they learned was a mirror of consciousness..  That they were magnetic, pulling forth from the ethers everything that they were, both the light as well as that which was unhealed with in them, into the physical manifestation that was their lives.  And likewise, the planet which was their home was not a rock that they all lived on. It too, was a reflection of the mass consciousness of the people who dwelt there. This was a sea of energy formed into a world by healthy and loving emotional intent as well as reflective patterns of destruction born from denial and darkness. This indeed was a revelation. They now held the key to great wisdom.

Jesus said: “Neither will they say look here or look there. For The kingdom of heaven is within you”.

After a time the monk said that he would take the group down the mountain to the village below. All followed without question save one. This one said that he had a desire to go even further, to the top of the mountain. He wanted the mystical experience and to touch the face of God. The monk said that he knew of no path. That if this climber really wanted to reach the top he would have to find the path at this level himself. The monk could only take him this far.

As the monk and the few departed from view for the lower levels there was a sense of loss and emptiness the magnitude of which this lone climber felt more deeply than anything he had ever felt before. It was a suffering and aloneness beyond human feeling and endurance. It was as though death had come and enveloped him. He felt that death had made its home within his heart. It was then that a path opened up for him. The climber wanted to return home though. To the warmth of his lovers touch. To laugh and play and rest. To work at a regular job and to be free from this pilgrimage, that felt now more like a living nightmare. 

This final path is reflected in Christ’s 40 day‘s in the desert when he is tempted by Satan as well as his agony in Golgotha, the garden of olives, just before his crucifixion. 

The lone climber new he must continue. He was no longer a man. He was dust. He was nothing. He climbed higher up rocky cliffs and through thickets of thorns which cut deeply into his flesh. Enduring increasing levels of fear, doubt, confusion, and rejection.  There was no beauty. Only  sadness. Only darkness. Only agony.  As he climbed higher he was beyond pain now, beyond himself, beyond what was once a pilgrimage to know truth and to touch the face of God. There was only numbness and emptiness now. No life.  No more desire to know God. No more belief in anything. No desire. No attachments.  Only awareness…..

It was then the climber reached the mountains summit. He collapsed naked, bleeding.  As this defeated soul lay there, he found that awareness was no longer confined to body. Awareness was dwelling above body now. The mountain, which represents at this level, Karmic retribution, was no longer his adversary.  This awareness that was once a man now dwelt above. Above his physical body. Above the earth.  He realized that life WAS transformation.  Nothing was desired but to exist within the infinite.

Jesus said: “Anyone who loves their life will lose it. Anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it unto eternal life”.

The soul was permitted to stay for a very long time at the summit although time had lost all meaning.  He found he could manifest with a thought. His needs were all met. He needed nothing but the Eternal.  He was home. And at home there was nothing but unmeasurable bliss that encompasses all Love. Bliss kept him fed. It kept him warm. It kept him company. It lived within and it lived without. There was no separation. Then, when all seemed perfect, Divine Intuition told him he should to go back down the mountain and dwell once again in the world of form.  He knew not why. But he knew he must go.

So, he set out down the mountain from the summit. He became a Monk and for many years tried to convey to others the journey of consciousness. He never quite had the words. So, one day he went into a village and took a few climbers up the mountain and away from themselves, so that the circle of life’s truth might continue to live on in the hearts of those who could hear the yearning of the soul.

Epilogue:  One example of practical application of the subject matter.

Think of someone in your past or present who has deeply hurt or wronged you. They have treated you unfairly and caused you great anguish. If you get an emotional response when you think of this person, that’s the right one you should think about.  Now think for a moment that this person desperately needs your help, and that you have the ability to help them. And of course, I do mean help them in a safe and healthy manor. What would you do?

Well if you are anything like me, your first instinct is not favorable. And by the way, I have incorporated this particular spiritual discipline in my own life.

If we wish to walk the path of Light and raise our vibrational frequency, we need to learn to be channels of Gods light in all situations and at all times. If we adhere to this one simple behavioral response, we are always protected and guided.

It is easy to be kind and generous to those who treat us well. Here there is no strengthening test for the soul. Our story’s heroin learned that life is transformation and transformation is the way home.

We achieve the greatest transformation by stretching ourselves past our current, comfortable state of awareness. As we exercise our ability to transcend our self-imposed limitations, the thing which seems hard now, becomes the norm.

Thank you all, for your attention and participation in this, the last of the summer services this year.