Jesus is Just Alright

Jesus has always played a huge role in my life. I used to sit in Sunday school class as a child and wonder how I could be more like him and I assumed everyone else did too. As I grew up, I was challenged by the trials and tribulations of the spiritual path.

We all have moments that encourage us to continue, especially when we experience doubt and pain. Jesus helped me to rise out of some serious pain just after a divorce and maybe this sharing can help you too.

It was in the middle of June at Woods Canyon Lake; a pristine lake at about 6500 ft. elevation on the Mogollon Rim. There were eight of us enjoying a weekend spiritual retreat. It had been planned for months. I was asked to go just a week prior.

The facilitator sat on a stump, the rest on the trunk which extended diagonally toward the lake. I sat cross-legged on a rock at the end of the log facing the facilitator. There was a breeze wafting the smell of pine through the air as we enjoyed the cool mountain air in stark contrast to the heat of the Phoenix Valley.

Ed asked us to 'act as if' Jesus was in our presence. Interesting tactic, eh? Inner turmoil surfaced through facial expressions of the group. The silence was deafening.

After a few moments I could no longer hold back and blurted out, "Try this.... HEY DUDE, GLAD TO HAVE YOU HERE! LET'S PARTY!" Obviously a little over the top and, well, Ed didn't care too much for it. He groveled, and then suggested we do a guided meditation. I had no idea what was about to happen.

I closed my eyes and instantly a vision unfolded. I saw two well-tanned hands come around from behind me. One held a piece of dark bread; the other grasped and ‘broke’ it. Instantly a brilliant light shone from above me. With my eyes closed still, I looked up see Jesus just meters away, about 5 meters off the ground. Rays of light came from his forehead and heart, joining in front of me, bathing me in an iridescent and effervescent feeling.

He began, "I would like to speak through you." Immediately the mental battle began in the words of my adoptive mother, a month prior, warning me about ‘channeling.’ Here was the ultimate connection, right in front of me. What could I do? How could I be sure? Everything in my being was telling me this was real beyond any doubt, yet I was overcome with it.

I broke down and cried. After a moment I took a few deep breaths and relaxed, opened my mouth and simply let go. "Know that I AM with you always." Whew, that felt so great to hear. After a pause Jesus/I continued, "This one's fear is great (speaking of me)." I took issue, began to question him and felt a pleasant whoosh as we left the current scene.

I was totally unaware of my body. This may sound really odd, but he told me our fears were the same. I was dumbfounded. He shared examples of letting go and trusting in All That Is, feeling the LOVE, the limitless oscillating vibrational energy, all around us. Love frees the mind to join with the heart as ONE. So simple, yet so profoundly challenging.

My experience was an internal conversation with Jesus about some very important issues to me: fear of failing ‘my mission’ here on Earth. Jesus shared that our fears were the same and that to anchor in the feeling of LOVE, limitless oscillating vibrational energy, fends off all fear. I simply needed to ‘let go’ and trust…just trust. I saw several examples during the process; short ‘visions’ of how things had already done so.

Next thing I knew, there were branches snapping. I opened my eyes to see the others staring at me with gaping mouths. I looked over to see a couple of hikers coming our way. I don't know what was said to this day. I know what I heard. Others said they saw him, too. Wow, what a trip...

The meditation produced very profound things, bringing us all to a new understanding of what Jesus meant by, “Know that I Am with you always.” The prevailing feeling was that Jesus was REALLY THERE! The entire group sensed His presence and some even swore they saw Him. Imagine what it would be like to have that opportunity? We do. We have it every moment that we choose to focus our attention on our Elder Brother.

What I got was a sense of utter surrender to All That Is, to God, to the Cosmos, to that limitless oscillating vibrational energy which we all are now, have always been and will continue to be. That feeling of connection to everything as ‘love’ is so very challenging to articulate, so we usually just bliss out. In our daily walk we have to balance the bliss with the checkbook, kids, school, spouse and work usually.

Paul wrote about the “peace that surpasseth understanding.” “Shanti” is the ancient Sanskrit word for the “Peace which surpasseth understanding.” Imagine having it all the time. Jesus message, for me, was that it is available all the time as “I Am with you always.”