Big Question: Are You Ready to Leave the Physical Self Behind?

Where do perception and creation intersect and become the same thing? No place in this universe. But step outside this universe, where time and space no longer exist, and you will find what has been called in Buddhism, the "paramita" ("the other shore" or "perfection"). This is where you and the Father are one. This is the Garden of Heaven within each one of us.

How can heaven be "within" if it is outside the universe? Hold on to your halos. You're already there, but sound asleep to that fact. The goal is to wake up. This is what the Nazarene teacher called being "born again" of the spirit.

The native location of an immortal spiritual being is that "paramita" location. But we have become seduced by the "dark side" of the force—the intricate, dazzling patterns of physical dichotomies. We have become attached to physical reality. We have been tricked by ego into thinking that we are ego. That is the real "matrix." That is the "self" we need to leave behind.

The solution? Humility and fearlessness in every situation—a rock-solid confidence, not in any one ideology, but in the power of the creator within.

A long time ago—longer ago than anthropologists will admit to being possible—Homo sapiens was created so that the sleeping immortals would have a vessel for contemplation. In dreams it remains very hard to plan and to build. Only with the physical consciousness of these bodies can we create language, literature and civilization—the critical building blocks to give us the freedom and ability to plan our escape.

Thirty thousand years ago, the escape was threatened by another species. The result would have been an inescapable pollution of the genetic base and a crippling of our ability to speak, to think and to build that much needed civilization. That other species ceased to exist at that time. Genesis calls the agency of that destruction, "Noah's Flood." What really happened, we may never know. What matters is that we made it. We now have the crowning glory of God's purpose on Earth—civilization with its worldwide communication, travel, and burgeoning conflict.

The pain of that conflict is an important ingredient. Much as a mother undergoes the pain of labor and childbirth, humanity must undergo the product of ego in order to see it for what it is. This is the mirror we must look into in order to find our true selves.

Many will suffer under the weight of that polarization—us versus them: fundamentalists versus scientists, believers and deniers of global warming, jihadists and their victims,... the list seems endless. And the internet makes it possible for everyone to get into the act, raising the level of divisiveness and egotism to unprecedented levels. This is the spiritual meltdown—the crucible from which the phoenix of our souls will be reborn.

Many will ignore the meaning and purpose behind it all, preferring to cling to the physical—afraid of losing themselves in the chaotic lack of awareness beyond their physical senses. But only by losing themselves will they ever have a chance of finding themselves.

Who among us would listen to the call? If Christ were to return in human form and walk among us, who would listen to his call to follow? Who would give up their daily lives to be close to that fully awake being hovering near a Homo sapiens body? Who would hunger for a chance to gain their own awakening?

That is the great threshold. That is the big question: who will be able to let go of this reality, and not linger to look back like Lot's wife? Who will have the humility and strength of faith to cross over? There need not be a physical death to accomplish this, but we must not fear such death, either.

Who is ready?

The Bible's Hidden Wisdom by Rod Martin, Jr. Now available in Kindle, trade paperback and hardcover.