January 17, 2023 "My heart is your heart"
The place appeared like the vast Cosmos spread out before me. I felt like I was suspended in space and was completely alone. Even though I was alone, I didn’t feel lonely and wasn’t particularly concerned. Indeed, I kind of savored the aloneness because it was deeply peaceful, quiet and healing in a way. This was a welcome respite from the cacophony of the day-to-day world.
After a while, I realized I was no longer suspended in space but was standing in the middle of a vast, quiet ocean. The waters beneath my feet were utterly still, reflecting the grandeur and beauty of the Cosmos overhead. I meditated, sensing into the vastness, the peacefulness.
A figure appeared before me, radiant white; it was Jesus. He appeared to me in much the same way I imagine he appeared to Mary Magdalene at his tomb after resurrection. I immediately knelt before him and he held out his hands, showing me the wounds of the crucifixion. I lowered my head and he placed his hands on my shoulders as he has the other times I’ve met him.
When I looked up, I could not behold his face and got the sense that, in this form, he is not meant to be looked upon. This didn’t mean that he felt impersonal, though. Quite the opposite! After blessing me, he asked me to stand. I got to my feet and stood before him, gazing upon his radiance.
“This place is a sanctuary,” he explained. “I come here when I need to be alone. Please consider it your sanctuary as well and come here as often as you need.”
I bowed to him in gratitude.
“I have called you here for a reason. I want you to know that you can always find me. I will always be here with you. Do you know how?”
I shook my head.
“Because we share the same heart, my child. My heart is your heart. Our heart is one. There is only one heart.”
I should mention that I was crying as he said this. I was deeply humbled and deeply touched. When he reached out and hugged me to him, our hearts were pressed against each other. I could feel the truth of his words: One hearts were one. Our hearts were beating together. Our hearts were radiant light, the light of hope, the light of truth, the light of redemption and healing.
I noticed that, unlike previous times when I’ve met Jesus, I wasn’t squirming inside, feeling unfit. I’ve always felt self-conscious for not being a typical Christian. In fact, I still hesitate to use that term to describe myself. I’m a follower of Christ, a servant of Christ, but I don’t call myself a Christian. Maybe it’s just semantics? I feel like the term, Christian, has become tainted by the activities and beliefs of the mainstream churches. Being a follower of Christ or a servant of Christ is different in my mind. In any case, because I could clearly feel that we share the same heart, I knew that Christ knows everything in my heart and he is unbothered by my alleged sins, shortcomings or other character flaws. None of that matters to him; he just cares about who I am.
When I asked him what he wanted from me, he seemed amused by the question. “I only want you to continue being who you are,” he said. “That’s the most important thing. Just be who you are.” It was sort of the same thing as the modern slang, “You do you, honey.” I couldn’t help smiling. And, even though it was funny on some level, I also get what he means. By being who I am, I am serving his needs because I am serving the truth. And Truth is the most important thing.
When he released me, he was surrounded by a host of angels. I recognized many of them. One of them–the one that I’d made laugh months ago during one of my journeys into the Imaginal–winked at me and smiled. And then he was gone and they were gone.
He did say one more thing, though, before he left: “Stay here and rest, remember how to return here. You need to learn how to return here whenever you need to. That is your practice for now.”
(Why is it that nearly every “higher” being I meet in the Imaginal tells me I need to improve my meditation practice?)
After he and the angels had gone, I was left with a deeper understanding of the message in the Bible. The way it is written has been twisted, I believe, from it’s intent. In the Bible, it says something to the effect that Christ died for our sins. This is sort of correct, I guess, but it’s more accurate to say that Chris is a Bodhisattva: He is dedicated to the elevation of all beings, not just humans. He works tirelessly and ceaselessly to help other beings in all realms, not just the physical.
***
