16 Feb Beyond Awakening Q&A – Part Two

Ed asks: Whether Jesus Christ is mythical or a historical fact or even both, isn’t he the very model of the task that lies ahead for all of us in our evolving?

A:I’d have to say no, and here’s why. Which Jesus are we talking about – the one who counsels to turn the other cheek, or the one who rails against the moneylenders? And from which of the gospels? Especially when they contradict one another.

The point here isn’t to start any biblical debates, but to say that we’re all lost as soon as we look to any single being as our model. The world needs each of us to show up in our own unique and powerful way. One of us might need to bring new theories to the world, while another must only dance. The actual best model, I suggest, is the person we already know ourselves to be, but perhaps haven’t yet fully embodied. [pullquote]The world needs each of us to show up in our own unique and powerful way.[/pullquote]

Eric asks: Is there a universal criteria for what is moral not based on ‘belief’ but on root emotivity that isn’t just being wafted around by passing moods and feelings but is rather connected to the Divine through the human emotional body that has not been bypassed or strategically managed around to avoid pain?

A:Sounds alluring, but I don’t think so. Because, since emotions are so internal and subjective, there’s no way to judge whether any one of us is acting out of avoidance at any particular time. If there is such a universal criteria in the abstract, my sense is that it would always allude we humans in the specific. And all the more so if and when we begin seeing ourselves as able to apply it.