Consciousness of Christ – Part 4
Living with Christ Consciousness in the everyday, material world can sometimes be a challenge. Even with one’s most loved, dearest and trusted others, there can be a significant gap in understanding which can sometimes lead to difficulties.
Perhaps the greatest chasm in understanding comes in the subject of tragedy. An individual living in Christ Consciousness will have a *completely* different idea of what a tragedy is than someone who is not. Let me present a few examples of this.
One person has a family member who is seriously ill, and diagnosed as terminal. They will naturally consider this to be a tragedy. Another close friend, or even family member who is living in Christ Consciousness will not only not see this as a tragedy, but may experience it as a joyful process, the reunion of a suffering loved one with the Infinite. Depending on the level of tact of the person in Christ Consciousness, they may be able to empathize with the pain of impending, apparent separation that the survivor is experiencing, but it would not be unusual for them to feel forced to lie about their perception of the experience.
Does this seem less than Christ-like? Consider the adage, “Misery loves company”. Perhaps the truth is more like, “Misery demands company”. The person in Christ Consciousness could be ostracized from the family unit, reviled as unfeeling and generally treated as a pariah for ‘flaunting’ the truth of their feelings in the matter.
In matters such as this is where we see the great depth of difference in perception between the person who is experiencing Christ Consciousness and their fellows who are not.
What of the situation, grown far more intense in our modern day, of the compulsion to earn money? The individual in Christ Consciousness understands what a transient condition wealth is, and may find it actually cumbersome and distracting. A simple life, unimpeded by conspicuous consumption or the cravings engendered by the media is far more likely to be sought after, in order to focus on matters that have a more long-term effect. Matters such as love, compassion, ethics, sharing, etc. These are issues which can take a lot of thought and focus and, to the person experiencing the consciousness of being something more than a body, are of far greater consequence than how many accumulated pieces of monetary paper one can put together.
I have seen it occur that for some individuals, they may actually forget how life in the material world works. This is perhaps more common for those who have had this consciousness “sprung” on them, such as is the case with near-death survivors. The impact of the new awareness of life after death, of a clear subjective reality of being a spirit and not a meat body, can drive a lot of the old thoughts right out of their heads. This is where there are a great many social gaffes, faux pas, and foot in mouth disorders may arise. For instance, it may not go over well to burst out laughing in the middle of a solemn church service. Imagine how often this can happen under these circumstances (a lot!).
The individual facing these situations, of being so completely out-of-step with the world around them, has choices, of course. Some may be able to live in their old world, pretending to be what they once were, or to find ways to take an interest in matters that no longer really concern them. Others can feel more relaxed in an alternative life style or community, such as an ashram, or an artist’s colony. Much depends on why this person is still here in the physical world with us. Most often it has to do with a need to share their perspective with others, and to learn further lessons in love and sharing.
Oddly enough, the circumstances of daily life may only be of passing or infrequent interest. For many on this path, or at this awareness level, wherever they end up is where they need to be. Perhaps this is the most dramatic indication that we can see of this consciousness. There is often a complete lack of fear in the areas of life where most of us exhibit our fears and insecurities. Therefore, enjoying being wherever they happen to be, doing whatever seems to be called for at the time, is not threatening to these people.
Imagine what it is like to be unconcerned about what life may hold for you in the next year, week or hour? To know that you are invulnerable to the trials of everyday life, because you are not an object, but an immaterial, yet very powerful spiritual being. To understand that you really are immortal, and that physical death is simply a release, like taking off a set of overly tight clothing. To feel the reality that whatever you can conceive of in mind, is what you can manifest in physical reality, because your mind is far senior to physical reality.
This is Christ Consciousness, the level of reality that Jesus Christ stated we were all heir to, and that is our natural state.
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