As we progress in the spiritual life, the study of consciousness comes to the forefront of our experience. We gain the revelation that our attraction to the spiritual life as human beings is somehow connected to our created endowment of consciousness. This is because human consciousness is by its very nature spiritual. So when we embark upon the spiritual journey we invariably come face to face with our own endowment of consciousness, and from that time forward our spiritual quest becomes intertwined with consciousness—with learning about it, contacting it on a daily basis in meditation, and allowing it to become an increasingly prominent influence in our human experience. What we often fail to realize is that our interest in and interaction with our own endowment of consciousness is also a faith-based pursuit. In other words, by becoming focused on consciousness we are also exercising faith, and the more we grow in conscious awareness, the more faithful we become; until ultimately we transcend the realm of human pragmatism altogether and begin to live by faith, not by sight.
On its own the study of consciousness might be considered a scientific undertaking. This is because consciousness is impersonal, predictable, and incremental. But when faith enters the picture consciousness then takes on more of a mystical quality. It becomes a spiritual dynamic. Those who have attempted to study consciousness without faith have invariably come to the conclusion that consciousness is a function of mind. And since mind is a biological aspect of our humanity, consciousness must then also be biological. Furthermore, since all biological aspects are born and die, consciousness must also be born and die. But to view consciousness in this light is to greatly limit its scope and potential. It is essentially to box it in and strip it of all its power and majesty.
It is through faith therefore that consciousness takes on a limitless, timeless dimension. Faith transports the study of consciousness into a mystical realm where it can soar with infinite potentialities. By faith, consciousness breaks out of the biological box. It becomes something far greater than a function of mind. It becomes a completely independent function of our created makeup, filled with power and glory. Thus our study of consciousness takes on a greatly expansive, metaphysical quality. Interestingly, metaphysics might also be considered a science, but it is one that defies the natural science mode we have known up until now. It is a science that is not the least bit timid about exploring unknown vistas. And it is faith that opens the door to this expansive exploratory realm.
By faith, we believe that God the divine creator exists as pure consciousness. And not only is God pure consciousness; God is the ultimate evolvement of consciousness—an evolvement that literally has no limits or boundaries. This faith-based view of consciousness and God not only reveals the quality that sets God apart; it also brings to light the true nature of consciousness. It reveals the expansive quality of all manifestations of consciousness, including that which is at work in man. In other words, it reveals that the consciousness at work in God and the consciousness at work in man are one in the same. They have the same properties, nuances, and potentialities. That is what the Bible means when it says that God created man in His own image and likeness. God as consciousness created man as consciousness. The only difference then between God and man is the state of our evolvement. Whereas God is the perfection of consciousness evolution, man is still a work in progress. But the potentiality is identical. That is why the scripture also says of man: “You are gods. You are all sons of the Most High.” (Psalm 82:6). It is also why Jesus could say, “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30). For, Jesus knew that he was made of the same stuff as God—that is, limitless eternal consciousness.
Jesus knew that God is consciousness, but he also understood the vital role faith played in being able to perceive God and learn the truth about consciousness. So it might be said of him that he was both a scientist and a religionist. He taught the metaphysical truth pertaining to God and man, while simultaneously singing the praises of faith. He communed with God daily through inner awareness, while simultaneously exercising faith in order to keep his countenance from becoming fixated on the materialistic world of which he, as a man or biological entity was an integral part. He combined his knowledge of the truth that God is infinite consciousness with the faith that the same infinite quality applied to the consciousness at work in man. In this way his faith became so great that it could literally move mountains. It could heal disease, calm the wind and sea, and even raise the dead back to life.
The great eastern masters also lived according to these same principles. They too understood the nuances of consciousness, and they were not stumbled by the need to exercise faith in order to allow consciousness to soar and attain to its highest potential. The enlightenment they advocated and taught was nothing other than a knowledge of and deep communion with consciousness—both their own endowment as human beings and the divine endowment. They knew that the consciousness at work in man was identical
to the consciousness at work in the divine and that this truth constituted an inseparable oneness between man and God. They advocated meditation as an infallible technique for “touching” consciousness on a daily basis and taught that the meditative state, once reached, was the perfection of being.
One of the most amazing things about all this is that as Jesus put it: “The kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:21). We need not look outside of ourselves for spiritual life because within us we will find our own individual created endowment of consciousness. And when we touch our consciousness, we touch God. Thus both Jesus and the eastern masters totally dispelled the pagan notion that God is distant and aloof and must be entreated and placated through our own efforts and works. God is consciousness, and we are consciousness; therefore we are one. God is the perfection of being already realized; we are the perfection of being in process.
Most of us born into today’s world have been deeply conditioned to identify ourselves with our biological givens—our body, our mind, etc. Thus if we are aware of our endowment of consciousness at all, it is usually in a biological context. This one flaw of perception has brought untold suffering to our world. How? By causing us to live within a strictly biological framework by our own strength—an orientation that not only drains us of vital energies physically; it also can and often does lead to despair and torment of mind. To combat this many have embraced a religious brand of faith that they pray will deliver them from their suffering. But unless our faith is working in conjunction with the knowledge of the truth about consciousness, it is misdirected and blind, and therefore powerless.
Only when we learn to identify ourselves with our created endowment of spiritual
consciousness can all of these aspects of our humanity come into their proper alignment and order and only then will we find deliverance and power. Faith must be combined with our true correct identification. And so this has become a very important step on the spiritual journey. We must break our identification with all of our mortal biological functions and place it squarely on our created endowment of spiritual consciousness. Jesus called this step: laying hold of eternal life; while the eastern masters have stressed it as a foundational step, upon which all other spiritual progress must be built.
Faith is believing. But if we believe in something that does not exist, faith is of little avail. Believing in a God that is outside of us is a misdirected belief, as is believing in a God that is anything other than pure consciousness. But when faith is combined with the truth about God it is a great power. Not only can it accomplish marvelous things; it can cause our consciousness to expand to new heights and thereby bring about the evolutionary thrust exemplified by Jesus and the eastern masters.
Without faith, it is impossible to attain to the evolutionary leap from the Adam man to the Christ man. And it is the experiencing of this leap of consciousness that is our true reason for being here. It is the reason that we have had karma and repeated new incarnations. It is the reason that the earthly plane is like it is—that is, an environment that is not always comfortable or given to smooth sailing. This is what is before all of us to accomplish in this present age. And when we do, this age will end and a new age will dawn.
Yes, it is the evolution of consciousness that will usher in the New Age, and therefore that is where our focus must be. But this can never happen as long as we view consciousness as a biological function of mind. In order to experience this age-long mandated thrust of consciousness from the Adam man to the Christ man, we have to first set our individual endowment of consciousness free from the constraints of ignorance and fear. We have to enable it to break out of its holding pattern and soar to the heavens. We have to allow it to breathe deep and expand according to its created properties and potentialities. And the key to being able to accomplish this is faith. Jesus knew it; the eastern masters knew it, and we too must come to embrace this truth.
Some would say that having faith is too foreign and difficult for them. They are more comfortable with the pragmatism of science and the faculty of reason than the idea of letting our consciousness break out of its boundaries and soar into unknown realms. But is faith really all that difficult to move in? Is believing difficult? No, of course not. Jesus once challenged his antagonists to become like little children and just believe! Believe in God; believe in me; and if this is too difficult for you, believe in the miracles you have seen me work in your midst. In essence he was telling them to have faith in their own endowment of consciousness and thereby to adopt an orientation of faithfulness generally. Why? Because he knew that faith was the key to unlocking our potential for consciousness evolvement. And he also knew that consciousness evolution was our true purpose for being here.
Jesus also compared faith to a mustard seed. It begins as a very tiny force in your life, but the more you exercise it, the bigger it grows; until eventually it becomes a great tree with roots that go deep into the earth.
Consciousness evolution is why we are here. But the story of this age is that mankind has done everything in his power to keep human consciousness from doing what it was naturally created to do. It sounds strange, but it is true. Through ignorance and fear of the unknown we have sought to disable consciousness and render it inert. We have buried it under a mountain of our own resistance. But with faith as tiny as a mustard seed we can reverse this age-long trend. We can move the mountain. Jesus promised it. Now all we have to do is believe!