THE EVOLUTION OF CONSCIOUSNESS PART 2

The following is second in a three part series excerpted from The Christ Is Not A Person The Evolution of Consciousness And The Destiny of Man by J.C. Tefft:

The fact that the vast majority of ancient people lacked the same level of Awareness as the enlightened sages of their day made the teachings of enlightened beings seem all the more incomprehensible, mysterious, otherworldly, and unclear. To compound the problem, lesser lights, failing to understand the deeper meaning of enlightened teachings, tended to add their own spin to works they later wrote long after the enlightened ones were gone. Thus they corrupted the original, enlightened teachings all the more. Instead of finding Truth in themselves, as all enlightened beings have done, they established doctrines, rituals, and beliefs in an effort to inadequately comprehend what they did not understand. This, in turn, has entrapped others into believing that a system of belief will somehow ‘save’ them from the fires of ‘hell,’ when it does not.

Regardless of these obstacles, as Consciousness has evolved, an evergrowing number of individuals have walked the Earth, and continue to walk the Earth, who have awakened in the Light. The earliest of these continue to be revered, even worshipped beyond the rest, as they were the forerunners of a new race who are even now being resurrected out of self into a new dimension of cosmic reality.

It is as true today as it was in ancient times that Man’s ultimate destiny is to evolve in Pure Awareness and thereby discover what Jesus called, ‘Eternal Life.’ Those who fail to respond to the call devolve into what the ancients called ‘hell’ on Earth, as they are ‘cast out into outer darkness’ where ‘there [is] weeping and gnashing of the teeth.’ They do not ‘hunger and thirst after righteousness,’ as they are called to do. As human beings, then and now, we can either support the evolution of Consciousness (which is ‘good’) and thereby awaken in the Light, or resist the evolution of Consciousness (which is ‘evil’) and thus be ‘cast into outer darkness,’ having failed to awaken in the Light.

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When the wheat is removed from the chaff, one discovers that the teachings of enlightened sages, both ancient and new, point to the same fundamental reality, which is an evolutionary unfolding of greater conscious awareness that is presently emerging within Man. They point to the fact that Man’s responsibility is to ‘deny himself and take up his cross’ and thereby participate in his own evolutionary development by surrendering his attachments to old patterns of behavior that are centered in the self. Their teachings, overall, describe a way of living that supports the evolution of Consciousness. They encourage all of us to ‘love the Lord thy God with all thy heart … all thy soul, and … all thy mind’ and to ‘love thy neighbor as thyself ’ because in doing so, we are guided toward a ‘place’ within ourselves where Love and Peace lives.

The attainment of Pure Consciousness does not come about through any effort on the part of Man, but by the ongoing evolutionary work of the Holy Spirit, which is of God. Even so, Man is capable of favorably participating in the process and thereby aiding in its development. Yet, Man is also capable of resisting the evolutionary unfolding of greater conscious awareness by holding fast to the world he creates in the self. Because Man has been given a degree of free will in this regard, his hands, so-to-speak, have been placed on the lever of his own destiny. But this lever only moves in one of two ways. It either supports the evolution of Consciousness and thereby aids in its unfolding, or resists its coming and thereby shuts down on its development.

Jesus stated this evolutionary principle in the following way (I have attempted to elucidate his meaning by adding certain terminology parenthetically):

For unto every one that hath (Awareness) shall be given (even greater Awareness), and he shall have abundance (of same): but from him that hath not (supported the evolution of Awareness in himself) shall be taken away even that which he (originally) hath. (Mat. 25: 29)

In other words, when it comes to the evolution of Consciousness, there is no standing still. One either supports it and thereby moves in the direction of the intended goal, or resists it and is consequently cut off. 

So the question remains in each of our own lives, which way do we choose? The way of self, or the way of the Tao? The way of sorrow, or the way to Nirvana? The way of Adam, or the way of Abraham? The way of Isaac and Esau, or the way of Rebekah and Jacob? The way of death, or the way of Eternal Life? The way of destruction, or the way of the living Christ? The responsibility to choose has been placed in our hands, so which choice do we make? God calls from the Garden, but do we hear His ‘voice’? He waits, but do we respond?

When Jesus was faced with the temptation to live in the self, he responded by denying self, therefore denying the hold that the self would otherwise have had on him. And as a result of this choice, he was baptized by the Holy Ghost and ‘the heavens were opened unto him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon him: and lo a voice from heaven, saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ Jesus, with his hands on the lever of his destiny, passed the test of temptation to live in the self, thus God was ‘well pleased.’ One might say that God is ‘well pleased’ when any of His children pass this test.

To be continued...

The Evolution of Consciousness Part 1

The Evolution of Consciousness Part 3
"The Christ Is Not A Person The Evolution of Consciousness And The Destiny of Man" By J.C. Tefft can be purchased in ebook form for $6.00 here.