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grounded in a mystical, interfaith-Christianity inspired by Emanuel Swedenborg
The Joy of Uncovering the Divinity Within
Our spiritual teachers have a very important job to do and when they are fruitful in helping us awaken to Spirit and Love we can’t help but rejoice, this is because intrinsic to the Spirit of God (known by many names) is joy. We recently saw a joyful and historic teaching moment when one of the world’s foremost spiritual teachers, Pope Francis, along with various Catholic bishops met with indigenous people from Canada over the course of a few days. During this visit, the indigenous peoples shared their stories and the lasting impact that residential schools and other colonizing efforts have had on them and their friends and family. The trip ended in a heartfelt speech and apology from the Pope, affirming the indigenous peoples’ experiences and expressing how much he’s learned in those few days, vowing to be a partner in decolonization and with indigenous peoples. In this example, we see that even the Pope has a learning journey and that often our best teachers are the most overlooked, as the humble and oppressed have some of the most potent messages to learn. The very light of our own being is similarly too overlooked and disregarded, but hopefully, we can change that just as the Pope is seeking to continue to listen and learn.
Humanity’s Natural State? Children of God (Known by Many Names)
It says in the scriptures that God gives light to everyone and is the true light. This clearly metaphorical phrase, although perhaps also literal, seems to point to a number of things that we call light: truth, wisdom, understanding, spiritual insight, perception – which all come back to the most fundamental light of all, the light of consciousness itself, without which none of these could be perceived. Despite being so prominent in the Christian scriptures, delving into this line of thinking and further inquiry seems to often take a backburner to more surface understandings of Christ, which can keep God at a distance from us while also limiting our understanding of the shining unity at the core of most religions. Even more pluralistic approaches can miss this important point, that God is the pure light of consciousness itself – at no distance from our seat of perception – and that coming to better know this Alpha and Omega of our lives can awaken us to all to our birthrights as children of God, not stepchildren.
Swedenborg’s Secret to Awakening to the I Am
The 18th-century sage, Emanuel Swedenborg, has greatly influenced many impactful, peerless thinkers and influential progressive radicals (from Immanuel Kant and Helen Keller to Emerson, Blake, and William James), but he himself is little known to modern history. And although there are countless biographies of the ground-breaking scientist-turned-mystic, there is one important aspect of his history that I think could use a little more exploration and emulation, his spiritual awakening. His deep meditative approach to his quest for the seat of the soul resembles the types of inner inquiry that many ancient and modern sages invite in order to awaken from spiritual slumber, into what a Swedenborgian may coin “angelic flow,” or “Christ-consciousness,” or just plainly, Buddha.