| Feeling empty or spiritually unfulfilled | | | | towards religion, until I met a shaman named Charles |
| How many of you often feel empty, or spiritually | | | | Crooks. One of his most prolific quotes is, "You are not |
| unfulfilled, as though something is missing, despite going | | | | separate, but are part of the whole." It all made sense. |
| to church on a regular basis? Have you found that you | | | | When you think of separation, you think of |
| have drifted from one church or religion to another, | | | | disconnection. |
| searching for one that can meet your needs? Perhaps | | | | Revelation 19:6 (KJV) says, "For the Lord God |
| you find one, but it only fills the void temporarily. | | | | omnipotent reigneth." The original Greek word for |
| What does it mean to be 'saved' anyway? | | | | 'omnipotent,' as used in this verse, is pantokrator, |
| From my own experiences, I became dissatisfied with | | | | derived from two Greek words, pas and kratos. |
| each new religion that I embraced, stemming from one | | | | These words mean 'whole' and 'power and strength,' |
| fact. Every church I attended kept telling me, "You | | | | respectively. Therefore, one can discern the intention |
| cannot enter the kingdom of God, unless you are | | | | of the original author of this verse, written |
| saved." Repeatedly, I heard this phrase, declaiming an | | | | approximately two thousand years ago. Since God is |
| action from a source entirely from outside of me. | | | | whole, he encompasses all, including you and me. |
| The definition of 'save,' provides the following | | | | Truth with a veil - never disconnected |
| descriptions: | | | | The Church and many other structured religions |
| - redeem; | | | | appear to teach this same idea. Based upon the Bible, |
| - to put aside; | | | | those systems speak truthfully about this concept but |
| - to rescue; | | | | do not validate the entire truth. It is truth with a veil. Just |
| - to secure; | | | | think about it for a moment. There is a paradox, which |
| - except; and | | | | the Church and others seems to imply, that the spirit of |
| - retrieve. | | | | God is entirely outside of us. If God is everywhere, as |
| The word 'redeem' renders the meaning 'to regain.' | | | | they appear to teach, how can He be outside of us? |
| Does not 'regain' mean that you must get back to | | | | The two foundations do not mix and do not make |
| something from which you have separated? If you are | | | | sense. |
| 'putting aside,' are you not separating yourself from | | | | Most everyone will probably concur that a person not |
| something? The other definitions listed above all | | | | only has a physical body, but also consists of another |
| suggest one of these conditions, implying that to be | | | | part, the inner spirit. Many people refer to this as our |
| saved one must go outside of oneself. | | | | soul. Just about every religion speaks of our soul or |
| The kingdom of God is within you | | | | inner spirit. Most religions believe and teach that this |
| If the kingdom of God is outside of you, then you are, | | | | part will be reconnected to a greater, divine being, |
| undeniably, separate from it and from God. However, | | | | known as the Creator, once we die. However, as |
| the light of God is not outside, but encompasses all, | | | | shown before, if God is also within us, how can we be |
| including the inside. He speaks to you every time you | | | | separate and in need of reconnection? We were |
| receive that little intuitive flash of light. Jesus himself | | | | never disconnected in the first place! Since God is a |
| spoke of such a fact when he said, "The kingdom of | | | | part of us, we are a part of God. |
| God is within you," (Luke 17:21 KJV). Jesus validated | | | | Therefore, since we have always been, and will |
| that God was not apart from you. | | | | continue to be, a part of the whole, or part of God, all |
| God is whole, encompassing all | | | | answers lie within each of us-not somewhere out in |
| I never really understood why I was ambivalent | | | | space. We are not separate. |