By Benjamin Raven Pressley

Since the dawn of all creation, there has been a struggle in the ether to maintain a balance, the Great Balance. What is the ether of which I speak? The ether is that which is all about us and in every living thing. It is a vast invisible ocean that fills us all with life and connects us to the Creator. Within it there are often storms but it is always filled with the ripples caused by each created being’s choices good and evil and even those things that are basically neither good nor evil. The most peaceful and enlightened among us still send forth a steady ripple, an energy that stabilizes the instability in the ether. We are all connected. All we do affects every other thing. Our actions cause the greatest ripples of all but have no doubt our very thoughts also affect all living things and all creation. For all actions are preceded by thoughts. Potential actions present themselves every day to the courtroom of our minds to be tried by us, then we make our choices. It all begins with a thought. Some would say there are some things that affect our world more than others and it may seem so but the reality is every thought, every action, every choice has no less effect than another. How can it? We are all created and began as a thought in the Creator’s great mind. What is this ether?

It is truth, it is reality…it just is. From it every living thing proceeds. And everything is a living thing. Truth is from the Creator and the Creator is truth.

It is not as complicated as most people and religions make it out to be. In fact the less we think about it the better we understand it. I like to picture all religions as branches connected to the same tree. Problem is religions end up making the branch more important than the tree it is connected to. Can a branch survive apart from the tree it is connected to? Of course not. Yet religious people continually pick up those dead branches and use them to beat their flocks into submission with. Basically, they worship the creation rather than the Creator. The reality is unless that branch is connected to the tree it is dead.

Let me go a step farther with this analogy. What about those dead branches still connected to the tree? Well, they aren’t fooling anyone because the other live branches are bearing life, leaves and fruit. What happens when a good wind comes along or the gardener comes by with his pruning shears? They are cut off and burned. These dead branches are like all the religions through time that have come and gone throughout history. They had their time. They tried to prove a point and failed. They preached life for all who were part of their branch and even preached life apart from the tree, “just believe in our branch and you will live!” And many believed and even after the branch fell to the ground some still clung to it and placed it in a place of reverence while the living tree called to them in every breeze that blew and every branch that the tree shed that no longer received life from the tree.

Religion is basically creating God into whatever image that is palatable and self-serving to the creator of it. Fact is anytime someone creates a system for understanding God they fall out of intimacy with God. People are spiritual beings and relate to spirituality in some form or another and throughout time the more creative and influential ones have exploited this. We all were meant to connect to and have a personal relationship with our Creator but a lot of people (dare I say the majority of?) are lazy and would just as soon let someone else figure it out and just invite them to ride along; again trusting in a created being rather than have a direct connection to their Creator for themselves.

We were created to come to the table with everyone having something to contribute not depending on this person or this entity doing all the cooking and we just eat whatever we are served. That kind of dynamic usually ends up pretty fattening and unhealthy and every now and then you hear about the server serving poison like a few cults are famous for doing. Life is supposed to be like a pot luck dinner where everybody brings something to eat. When people gather together even if there are only two or three the Creator is supposed to be in the midst of them all, not some individual playing like they know it all.

Religion is a self-serving system that only benefits those in charge. Religion historically has been used to control people and stop them from thinking for themselves. And their weapon of mass destruction and control is ‘God said______’ (You fill in the blank). And it is usually pretty effective because deep down inside we have this innate fear of ‘God’ because we have been programmed and taught that this all-powerful supernatural being will punish us if we fail or if we question what he says, which is usually not what he said at all but what some self-serving body says he said. People be like ‘Well if God said it, it must be true’ and never even question that what another human being says might not actually be God speaking. People either do this out of fear or they do it because they think it excuses them from responsibility. I guess they think that if they ever stand before God they can blame someone else. But guess what? We are all responsible for ourselves, our choices and what we do and don’t believe.

People have wanted to be their own gods from the very first human beings on Earth. Think about it. Go back to the story of the Garden of Eden in the Bible. It wasn’t a literal fruit that was tempting to Adam and Eve it was the temptation to be as gods.  God, the Creator, quite literally walked and talked with human beings at one time. He taught them what was best for them. He designed them and he wrote the user’s manual. If anyone should know what is best for their creation the creator of it should know, right? That is true for a computer, an automobile or a human being. People don’t like being told what to do though. When we look at instructions to assemble a bicycle or something we don’t question ‘screw A goes in hole B’. If we try to put screw A in any other hole it isn’t going to work. We believe and could even word the instructions ‘Thou shalt put screw A in hole B’ and have no problem with it. We even welcome that the designer took the time to write instructions on how to assemble the bicycle. But you always have those few that don’t ever look at the instructions and insist they can do it themselves with no instruction. Every now and then they get it right but I wager to say that is only because of the experience they have obtained either directly or indirectly from an instruction manual somewhere sometime.

So, who is right and who is wrong? If you are talking about any particular religion or system of spirituality the answer is nobody. If you are talking about any given individual anywhere in time, any place on this planet who sincerely turned their hearts toward God whomever he, she or it is, sincerely acknowledging a Creator and seeking their guidance in how they should conduct their daily lives….then you have a winner.  That does not mean anyone anywhere can makeup whatever they want and sincerely believe it and be right. I’m just saying there are individuals everywhere, even in faulty belief systems and religions that are right because their heart is sincerely toward God. For example, Native Americans did not all go to hell before the European missionary came to North America. Even in the Bible a well-known character named Abraham who was formerly known as Abram and was a young warrior warring for the spoils of war and paying tribute to an immoral warlord’s faith was counted as righteousness way before Jesus Christ and Christianity (Romans 4:9; Romans 4:22; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23; Genesis 15:6;). Another verse though kind of ties it all together in Titus 3:8 : “This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.” See the difference? A sincere belief in God will never be selfish or harmful to other human beings it will change one’s heart in such a way that we treat others as we would treat ourselves. So any time you consider a belief system or movement that puts other human beings in a place of inferiority to another human being(s) it is not from God and should be dismissed, exposed and resisted no matter its origins. If it is being misused in this fashion it is not from God. An example would be Christianity as it was presented to the Native American who were told they were savages and until they cut their hair, stopped speaking their native language and wore the clothes the missionary wore they would not be saved. Christianity was created by human beings as a distorted religion loosely based on the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. Jesus was not the founder of Christianity and he did not come to start another religion. He was against organized, controlling religion and sought to connect human beings back into relationship with their Creator which he acknowledged as Father.

So, in the beginning, was this great ether in perfect harmony and balance. It was not some impersonal force but indisputable and pure truth that was and is. This ether was where all things emanated and originated from. All created things experience the warmth of light and the rain that falls equally. There were also those creatures who knew and accomplished only the purpose for which they were created and never deviated from that path…but there were those in creation who had been given the power to choose. Those that were created with the power to choose were given the power to choose out of respect and love for them in the hope they would choose respect and love for the Creator and fellow created things, for this only would be true love if those with the power of choice choose love of their own volition. Anything forced or coerced cannot be love or truth.

That which was created included sentient beings like spirits and humans. Spirits were created before humans for the purpose of serving the Creator and humans. All things were in great harmony until two rebellions took place, one among the spirits and one among the humans. Not all spirits and humans rebelled but some did. As a result of this rebellion against harmony and the Creator, a great disconnect and fall happened. The spirits that rebelled were cast out of the heavenly, favored presenc e of the Creator and forced to live as demon spirits that would not repent and further sought to mislead humans in all kinds of creative ways. Some of these spirits masqueraded and presented themselves as gods before humans tempting them to believe and follow them with all sorts of promises of power if they would but worship them. Others engineered human thinking and created all the religions as well as witchcraft and sorcery. They were and are good at deceiving humans and appealing to their lusts for sensuality and power. They created self-fulfilling prophecies that they manipulated to cause humans to believe many erroneous things. The spirits that remained loyal to the Creator were and are commonly known as angels. They both go by many different names but still may be divided into loyal and disloyal to the Creator.

So what humans rebelled? Well, the original couple. They are called Adam and Eve in the Bible. They go by different names in other cultures (Wurugag and Waramurungundi in Australian Aboriginal lore, Kanáti and Selu in Cherokee lore, etc.). Don’t get hung up on the names of things. Focus on the account and the lesson to be learned. I personally prefer the account of Adam and Eve because it doesn’t just tell an origin story it connects to a greater plan of future consequences and redemption. This story accounts how we as humans lived in perfect bliss with all we needed, a garden of Eden. The Creator even came down in some form daily and chatted with these first humans. He gave human beings the power to choose so they could choose life, love and wisdom but there were other choices to be made or it would not be a choice at all. In the biblical account, the choices literally or perhaps allegorically appear as trees, one with good fruit and one with bad fruit. One is the Tree of Life, the other is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He tells them not to eat of the fruit of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Enter one of those spirits we talked about overstepping his bounds and choosing the form of a serpent basically saying the Creator can’t be trusted and that he just doesn’t want you to eat that fruit because he knows you will be as gods like he is. These first humans basically choose to be their own god over the life they could have by listening to and adhering to their creator and designer’s instructions. This is often called ‘the fall’. It disconnected humans from the close relationship they had with their Creator. More specifically it disconnected their spirit effectively from the Creator in a sense bringing about a spiritual death.

Some might argue the point that the Creator/God described in the Book of Genesis was just trying to keep something from us or keep us enslaved. When God said not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil  He was not trying to keep something from us that was good for us. And He certainly was not trying to take away our power of choice. He was a loving God trying to teach the first humans something very important. He was trying to keep us from having the burden of having to decide what was good and what was evil. He was basically saying, ‘trust me, I want only the best for you and let me show you what is evil and what is good’. He created us. He knows what He built into us and what is best for us. He wanted us to have the most fulfilled life we could possibly have. The creator of all living things including human beings spent time with the first humans instructing them, loving them, teaching them and as time went on He instructed certain people to write down His Word so it would always be available to future generations. He saw human hearing becoming more and more dull and though they would not hear His voice He made sure they had a point of reference, an authoritative written word we could trust. When Adam and Eve partook of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil they didn’t just eat a fruit they took right and wrong, good and evil in their own hands for them to decide. Then where does that leave us when flawed human beings decide what is right and wrong? Moral Relativism. In Hitler’s mind he was right and everyone else was wrong and he felt completely justified in killing six million Jews. Where does it end? If what is right and what is wrong is decided based on the ‘flavor of the day’, where does it end? Who is right? So, where does that lead? Our lives become based on some menu handed to us to decide who we will believe and WHAT we will believe.

This disconnect from the Creator via a death of our spirits caused human beings to wander in more ways than one. Humans came up with all kinds of crazy explanations of things and came up with all kinds of religions which divided us and divided us again and again. Humans became baser and more sensual and made their choices largely based on our sensual appetites and what served us or made us feel good which led more and more to a pursuit of instant gratification and an appetite for that which would not ever satisfy. It was like drinking water that only temporarily satisfied our thirsts. Unfortunately, the thirst and appetites of humans centered more and more around selfishness, lust, power and sensuality. What humans needed was a rebirth and reconnection of our spirits.

This pattern played out most of human history. The sum of human choices is responsible for the world we live in today. But the Creator did not leave humankind to just reap the consequences of their choices and actions for all eternity until they destroyed themselves. He came to humanity in human form, one that is called the Son of God and Jesus Christ in the Bible. Other enlightened prophets and teachers pointed to and foresaw this event. Humans had basically built up a huge debt of trespasses against their own kind and the planet they were given. All were guilty either directly or by association. No human born could undo the mess humans had made to their own families and nations. No one could undo the mixed up divided madness of what had now become millions of religions all proclaiming their way was the right way. Only the Creator could see clearly what needed to be done and only the Creator could do what needed to be done. He paid the price by paying a sacrifice in blood of himself. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is more than just a story of a prophet being martyred for what he believed. The Creator is the master of life and death and only he could do that which was impossible for any created thing to do and that is to die and rise again. And this combination of flesh, blood and God crossed all lines and redeemed all that human beings had undone. But still in his love, he still would not take away humanity’s power of choice and just made redemption a choice and a gift to receive. The Bible calls it being ‘born again’ which is a good way to put it for our spirit which was dead could now be reborn a new creature, reconnected and empowered.

In conclusion, I would like to say. True Spirituality is more all-encompassing than most think. It is also more universal than most think. God has been God before the beginning of this planet. God has expressed himself in many dispensations. In that process, he has NEVER contradicted himself. Humans, on the other hand, have basically interpreted these dispensations in ways that very much contradict one another usually to suit their own comfort zones. Humans have related to God in many different ways; some just walked it out and believed everything they did went up to the Creator and their very life was a prayer going up to God, others built tabernacles and validated forms of approaching God such as kneeling, going to church, etc. Humans too often let the way of approaching God became more important than God himself and this leads to all the origins of religions we have today and in the future. Jesus fulfilled them all by becoming the Word made flesh, the way, the truth and the life. The Holy Bible records on a small scale of time and place universal truths for all time and all places. ALL interpretations and spiritual truths hinge on and are checked by the truths explained in the Holy Bible chiefly on the teachings of Jesus and as detailed by the apostles. For our modern times and purposes, the line drawn in the sand was Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. There is a reason that all human history is B.C. Before Christ or A.D. Anno Domini The Year of Our Lord. Our atheistic culture tries to change that time designation but they cannot change the truth that all time was split in two at that moment before and after Jesus entered our world. On his words hang all truth and any contradiction of his words are not truths at all. He designed us. He knows what is best for us. We would be wise to follow his design for to do otherwise is to the detriment and ultimately the destruction of life as it was meant to be.

NOTE TO READERS:
This article originally appeared in my newsletter. Normally my content in my newsletter SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING and my blogs are two different things but I felt this article was important enough to repeat in my blog in case readers don’t get my newsletter. I do encourage everyone to subscribe though and get even more great content.