A note about this version: Thom’s Gospel focuses on (let’s call it) the “Textual Two-Step.”
Step one. Take your right foot and put it out there, right along with the brave effort of making the language make sense for today. For most of us, we’re not occupational fisherman, shepherds, or vintners like they were in the Bible. We don’t come across lions all that much either, and very few of us ride horseback and shoot with a bow. So let’s take time to explain the points that the Teacher (Jesus) may be trying to get across in ways we can understand better.
Step two. For a whole lot of folks, their left foot is not their strongest. In that same way, we want to unhitch the harmonized caricature of Jesus we have. We gotta accept the fact that there truly are differences between each gospel, the letters of Paul, and other Christian writings. This can be quite difficult. We tend to think that everyone back in the Bible was saying the same thing when they really weren't. No judgment if that feels wobbly or tricky, it's so easy to get tripped up over.
But if we're being honest, every author had their own perspectives, ideas, and experiences, all of which I believe were valid. Still, they were not the same. Yet, we can approach the Gospel of Thomas (or any book of the Bible, or extra-canonical text) without projecting assumptions from the harmonized legend of Jesus. We can get a good look at what Thom’s Jesus has to say by letting it stand on its own. To help with this, we’ve even removed some of the religious buzzwords (like Kingdom, Heaven, Father, Disciples, Son of Man) that have changed or lost their rhythm with the original meanings.
These biblical texts and extra-canonical manuscripts do have some really lovely tunes, but when folks insist on playing just one song or record, looped over and over and over… it simply lacks the beauty and inspiration that the whole genre of early Christian manuscripts offer!
So hopefully, the way Thom’s Gospel is rendered will put a fresh song in your heart and help ya feel the music. And I betcha in no time, you'll be dancing like a dream.
(Feel free to use any part of this rendering personally without permission, but not commercially or for profit.)
These are some of the deeper things
that the Teacher shared while alive.
A student, the Twin, wrote them down.
1
“The one who truly gets a hold of what these teachings mean will not taste of the true death.”
2
“You’re searching for something more. I get it. We long for belonging, for home, for wholeness, and for what’s truly Real. In our journey of seeking and finding, we come across troubles, stuff that disrupts our plans and expectations, but then there will be these new perceptions that will amaze us and fill us with wonder. What the true seeker discovers is Oneness, being connected with the Source. Then we will sit with it in wholeness and Stillness, no longer unsettled, but in complete control.”
3
“If someone tries to persuade you by saying, 'Look up to heaven! That’s where God lives!,’ you know the birds are going to beat them to it. If they tell you, ‘Ah Enlightenment; it’s way out there, far beyond, to the other shore,’ then fish will get there first. Instead, Ultimate Reality is right here, both within you and everywhere around you.
“Once you honestly realize your True Self, you'll understand that you are a Living Manifestation of the Living Source. However, if you don’t know your True Self, then this very existence is meaningless.”
4
“Before the child forgets, the elder remembers to ask. Those who race ahead arrive last, and the end stretches forward to meet the beginning, until seeker and sought see that they are one reflection in the same mirror."
5
"The treasure lies in plain sight, disguised as the ordinary. When you cease making the present mysterious, mystery reveals itself as presence. Nothing remains hidden that isn't already pressing against the veil of your awareness. Dawn is always just a moment away from those who forgot they are the Light."
6
The students asked, “Do you want us to do a fast? Is there a certain way we should pray? How much should we donate to charity? Is there any special diet we should follow?”
The Teacher said, “Why would you fake any of this, when you hate it all? Don’t do that. Because in Awareness, everything is completely out in the open and clearly understood. Stop believing that there are secrets that can stay covered up.”
7
“The natural world operates from a deep understanding of freedom. Be like the hunter out in the wild, searching for their prey and taking it down, then devouring even this very understanding down to its bones—its very essence.
“But it’s heartbreaking wherever the illusion and the ego consume us, instead. We wind up believing that that’s who we are. It’s ridiculous to think that merely being humans gives us dominance over all of nature. This is simply not true.”
8
“A person who knows their True Self is like a girl who loves to fish, putting her whole head and heart into it.
“She throws her nets out into the deep and pulls them up. It’s loaded with small fish. But there, in the huge pile, one singular, large fish catches her eye. Of course, she easily knows exactly what to do. All the rest of the fish are tossed back into the deep waters. Only the great fish remains. This is worth understanding.”
9
“Consciousness is also like a worker who is walking along and planting seeds. He reaches into a bag and grabs a handful of seeds, which he flings.
“Some seeds land on the dirt path, where birds grab up and eat them all.
“Others hit solid rock. These might sprout a bit, but none are truly able to take root or mature.
“Some of the seeds, also, land under an invasive shrub which blocks the sunlight and chokes them out. These seeds become nothing more than food for the worms.
“But then again, there are some seeds that land on good soil and grow high up to the sky, producing plenty of fruit. Some even truckloads!”
10
“I’m here to set fire to the entire world,” the Teacher said, “Take a look and see how I’m very protective and attentive, caring for it until the flame starts to ignite and blaze up.”
11
“If your eyes are fixed on the skies, you’re being distracted. Don’t be so preoccupied with heaven. It’s simply the wrong place to look. Once we’ve become truly aware, there’s no going back to that way of seeing things.
“It’s not the dead who are Living, nor do the Living die. Devour what’s dead and it’s made alive—metabolized and transmuted. Whenever one moves into the Light of Awareness, is this not what becomes of ego, what happens to our past perceptions?
“In Reality, we are One, but for some reason, we’ve fabricated this ideal of being separate, of being an other. If we do this, who do we think we are then, and where do we stop dividing things?”
12
The students asked another question. “Once you’re gone, who’s going to teach us?”
The Teacher said, “You might just rebound to whatever religious tradition you came from. Or you might find someone, even within our circle, who understands Reality in a way that I’m explaining it. They’ll have the actions that match and can back it up.”
13
“So,” asked the Teacher, “Who would you compare me to?”
One student said, “Definitely, an Angel sent from God!”
Another said, “I’d say you are like a wise philosopher—or ancient sage!”
Yet the Twin said, “There’s just no words to really explain it, Teacher.”
“Look who’s the teacher, now,” the Teacher replied. “There is a Spring that gushes out from the Source, boiling over from the Fire. You seem to be getting drunk on what I’ve been serving.”
The Teacher pulled the Twin aside and whispered three words. (I AM Om.)”
Afterwards, the others came up to the Twin. “What did the Teacher tell you?”
“I really can’t tell you. Even if I did try to repeat any of it, you’d just hurl things at me in anger. But I’m telling you, that Fire would burst from the things and burn (within) you.”
14
The Teacher said, “You do understand, don’t you, that it’s not about religious rules of any kind. There’s nothing to prove by fasting or praying out loud or showing how generous to charities you are. All of this knocks you right off track. People will even scoff at you and judge you for doing it. What happens then is that you just end up bringing harm to yourself.
“Instead, consider what’s going on as you go inwardly into the heartmind. See what you come across there. And just like you would do towards someone being hospitable to you, be gracious if it lets you inside, and accept what it has to offer. Heal those parts that need healing.
“You see, it’s not what you can talk about that matters, but how you show yourself to be—and towards yourself as well—with humility, gratitude and compassion.”
15
“Once you take a good, hard look at someone or some thing and can see the One, adore it.”
16
“Some people might think that I’m just throwing around ideas about peace, but that’s not what it’s really about. I’m here to teach you how to think and live in a way which separates these ideologies from Reality, to take us from duality into Nonduality.
“Everything we’ve grown up being told—what to think, how to act, who you are, what your own thoughts, feelings and ideas should be—must be deprogrammed. This way you can find your True Self once again, a kind of remembering in/as the One.”
17
“I’m offering you this: There is One, who is beyond what you can see or hear or touch, beyond the conceivable or imagined.”
18
The students asked, “So, what’s it like at the end—you know, like when we die?”
“Have you already figured out the beginning?” asked the Teacher. “The end is really nothing more than the place from which all things rise.
“Life favors the one who takes a good, hard look at the very beginning. They will find stability in transcendence, right there at the end, and true death will be undone.”
19
“They are the ones who are filled with Awareness, even before they become aware of it.
“Anyone who learns from me, really paying attention to what I’m saying, will soon discover they can learn as well from anything.
“This way is different from trying to examine or understand spirituality with man–made and dualistic concepts. That way is dead. True Reality has no beginning and no end. It is only to be known.”
20
The students asked, “Can you explain to us what this True Reality is like?”
“Reality is the smallest kind of seed there is,” the Teacher said, “and how when it has landed on well cultivated soil, it grows and becomes a large, strong plant. One so strong that the birds of the sky would perch and even nest there, and they would be protected from predators, and from those that claim the tree is theirs alone.”
21
A woman asked, “Ideally, what would any of your students be like?”
The Teacher smiled, “To most people, they would seem like little kids playing in a field on someone else’s property. When the owner comes up to them, they reveal their True Selves saying, ‘Leave this spot, it is ours.’ And the owner does.
“You must try to understand what it means to become completely aware. After all, there are those who will try to steal what you have, so stay strong and ready. It will be necessary for you to grow in knowledge and to apply it quickly, just as you would with a delicious piece of fruit. Pick it and eat it while it’s ripe. Otherwise, it’s not any good.”
22
The Teacher noticed a mother breastfeeding her child and turned to the students, “A nursing baby is like those who go inward in order to perceive Consciousness.”
“What do you mean? How does someone turn into a child? Are we to start acting like children again?” they asked.
“When you are able to let go of your separateness and weave yourself as the One,” said the Teacher, “ you’ll understand that the inside and outside are One, Spirit and matter One, man and woman, male and female, One.
“From what (Who) are you able to listen? Change how you see, how you touch and move, change the form, and then you will be able to perceive Consciousness.”
23
“There’s not special treatment for some, but punishment for others. There’s only realizing that it’s all integral.”
24
The students said, “Please, explain to us where your teachings are coming from. It’s really hard to figure it out!”
The Teacher said, “You must listen from the Heart. There is Light from within that shines on everything. When obscured, there is only darkness.”
25
“Show your love for others, just as you would show love for your own Soul. Look after others, protecting and caring for them just as you would with your very own eye.”
26
“Why do you seem so bothered, nitpicking over the smallest thing about others? You’ve got bigger issues which are blocking your own clear view of them. Deal with those first, and then you can see how to help another.”
27
“If you limit yourself to purely material concerns, you’ll never REALize REALity. If you ignore how everything is deeply intertwined, the Source will remain beyond reach.”
28
“I am standing right here in plain sight, in the middle of everything, and it’s like everyone is drunk and couldn’t care less. No one is driven to go deeper. It’s terrible how completely distracted people are, how disinterested they seem about anything meaningful. If only they would wake up, they would find their Self.”
29
“When one believes that everything physical just appears out of immaterial Consciousness, it can seem so amazing! Others may focus on how their mind creates everything, including an illusion of reality people only think is real.
“What puzzles me is how human beings, as magnificent and complex as they are, can be so preoccupied with wondering if we are spirits trapped in a body or bodies that contrive of a spirit, instead of just living fully in both.”
30
“Anywhere you come across spiritual ‘gatekeepers,’ it’s only the little-god banter of pretenders on a power trip. But if you find your Self—your True Self—having realized your Oneness, it’s there you will find me, too.”
31
“Often it’s difficult for others who think they know you to understand the real you. It’s like going to a therapist who happens to be an old family friend. They struggle to make any assessments without presumptions and projections.”
32
“The one who is on top of the hill has an advantage of viewpoint and ability to defend. However, they’re also more exposed and easier to target.”
33
“It’s no different than whatever it is that you have deeply perceived. You shouldn’t feel like you have to hide it, but show how you know it, as well! It would be useless if you hooked up a porch light, only to then cover over it and never turn it on. No! You put it right on the Path, so that others can see it plainly and move along safely.”
34
“In the same way, we don’t expect a complete beginner with no experience to be the expedition guide for another newbie. They would both get lost, stumble and fall, perhaps right off a cliff or into danger!”
35
“Sometimes we find ourselves facing a bad habit that just keeps getting in the way of going deeper. The obstacle is like a big thug, and there’s no way to get inside the house to deal with it. So, what can be done?
“One must first use whatever strength they have to draw the thug outside in the open and all exposed. Restrained there, one can enter unharmed, turning the house inside out.”
36
“It’s important to realize that you cannot deal with anything when you’re preoccupied with trivial things such as meals, clothing, and busywork. These shouldn’t be so distracting.”
37
The students asked, “When are you going to explain exactly who you really are?”
“When you stop pretending, and you rip off your own mask and throw it down, stomping it to pieces like a little kid would,” replied the Teacher, “Only then will you be able to take a brave look at me, and just see a child who belongs to the Oneness.”
38
“You are constantly asking me to teach you, and I can’t stand that you have no one else to learn from. You know I won’t be with you forever.”
39
“Yet here we are surrounded by all these spiritual leaders and religious scholars—they all have the same access to this Ultimate Reality but won’t go deeply themselves. What’s worse, they do nothing to help others find it! So, you will have to become wise and gentle doing this yourselves.”
40
“You see, a seedling that is planted close to the surface and is not tapped into the deeper Source will not grow strong. It’s pulled up too easily and dies.”
41
“You’ve heard how ‘the rich get richer while the poor get poorer.’ That’s just the way some societies work.”
42
“It’s so important for one to be their True Self and not to get caught up in following the crowd or the latest trends.”
43
“Can you remind us what kind of credentials you have to be saying all of this?” the students asked.
“Why would this even matter? Don’t you understand a single thing that I’m saying?” the Teacher replied.
“You shouldn’t be like a whiny, religious hypocrite, who loves a tree, but can’t stand the fruit it bears, or they love the Fruit, but hate the kind of Tree that it comes from.”
44
“One can be dismissive about any organizations and their leaders, even what their message is, and it doesn’t make much difference. Likewise, one might not fit in with its community or followers, and that’s not really such a big deal either. But if one has a disregard for Source, then nothing good can come from them—not anything that benefits themselves or others, neither on a spiritual level, nor with their human efforts.”
45
“In the exact same way that one can’t pick apples from a holly bush or grapes from sticker weeds, there’s no way to harvest any good fruit from the wrong kind of habits and intentions. What you do get is flavorless and lacks any nutritional value.
“Only truly good people who have kindness, gentleness, compassion, patience and so on, already ‘stored up’ in their hearts, will bring about anything useful. Those who speak and behave harmfully do so because that’s what has been stored up inside of them.”
46
The Teacher said, “I’ve had a teacher myself, completely dedicated to Truth and Reality and never shrinking away from threats. Yet the person who has just started to realize their True Self will see Reality at that higher level even than what my teacher had.”
47
“One can’t move forward along two different paths, navigating them both simultaneously. Only one gets their full attention. The methods that were intended for past objectives seldom work in circumstances that have changed. We can’t just project modern meanings onto past perspectives, either. It’s like an ill-fitting, patched-up jacket that will tear as soon as you move your arms.”
48
“Of course, there could be an understanding that coincides and reveals the same Truth as from others. And when this happens, both unity and strength occur, making the things that seem impossible suddenly doable instead.”
49
“Good things come to those who choose to recognize Oneness. They come from Consciousness as equally as they return to it.”
50
“Should anyone ask us where we come from, tell them this: ‘We are from Pure Awareness, where the Light of Consciousness expresses itself, even as everything that we perceive.’ And if they ask for proof, we can point to movement and stillness, itself.”
51
The students asked, “When will those who have already died finally be able to rest in peace, and when will a New World come about?”
“Don’t you get it?” said the Teacher, “All of that has already happened.”
52
They continued asking questions. “You are the One that’s been prophesied about all this time, right? An avatar or returning messiah, the next Buddha?”
The Teacher replied, “Why do you dismiss what I’m saying? Is it because I’m someone living and breathing, right in front of your eyes? Or are you saying somehow that the dead have spoken to you, and told you something different?”
53
The students, again, asked, “So, what about religious practices that someone’s parents offered for them? Are those of any benefit?”
The Teacher replied, “Any benefit you have, you were already born with. Whatever it is that someone is trying to invoke in such rituals has already happened. It’s only one’s own inner intention that matters.”
54
“It’s best to live free from attachment, constriction, and distraction. This is the kind of freedom that leads to realizing what is Ultimate Real.”
55
“You have to allow yourself to let go of things just because your parents believe it. even from what everyone around you is thinking or doing. Instead, drink deeply from the Spring which gushes from the True Source. Get drunk on it. This is what I’m always offering up for you.
“If you can’t accept that and you won’t drink with me, then I’m wasting my time trying to convince you that we are equals, One and the same.”
56
"When someone grasps the nature of materiality as it truly exists, they see it as nothing more than a container—a borrowed vehicle for their journey, devoid of its own essence. Like a lifeless shell, it has no inherent vitality, so there’s no obligation to what is essentially a hollow form."
57
"Consciouness works like a gardener who plants good seeds but discovers that someone else has secretly sown harmful ones that look deceptively similar. Though the gardener can sense something is wrong, they prevent others from hastily pulling up plants, since this might destroy the healthy growth as well. They wait until both plants mature enough to be clearly distinguished, then they can safely remove and destroy the one that’s toxic."
58
“Even though it may not seem so at the time, the struggles we face and make the effort to overcome are completely worth it. These are the living encounters within non-dual Reality.”
59
“Pay close attention to that Living Oneness. This way you won’t face death oblivious to what you’re looking at.”
60
The Teacher said, "You saw the man at the market carrying something living in his hands? While it lives, he cannot consume it. Only after he kills it can it become his food."
The disciples said, "Of course! Otherwise he would become ill."
He said to them, "So too with you. Seek out your own place while you still breathe, lest you become consumed and never find where you belong."
61
“There are two sprawled across a couch. One will die, the other will live.”
The hosting friend said, “Which one are you, coming over here and stretching out on my couch, even after eating at my table?”
The Teacher said, “I am from the One, which makes all of us equals. This is what Consciousness has me doing now.
The friend replied, “It’s because I am from the One that I, too, can say, ‘When one is empty, they will be filled with Light, but if one is divided, darkness fills their belly.' "
62
“I’m happy to point out these deeper things, but only with those who know their value. In this way, one’s left and right hands do not need to explain what the other is doing to still be moving in Oneness.”
63
“Imagine a wealthy man who has a lot of resources. ‘You know what. I'm going to take my funds and invest them and profit even more, and invest that, too, making billions!’ It consumes his thoughts and drives his desires—right up until his death that night.
“Are you catching this?” asked the Teacher.
64
“Now, imagine a woman who has decided to host a party for her friends. She started to prepare dinner and plan activities when she asked her roommate if she could help confirm everyone who was coming.
“Her roommate’s so sweet. So she reached out to the first friend. ‘Hey, just making sure you’re still coming tonight.’
“‘I can’t,’ they said, ‘some business partners owe me money, and they’re swinging by tonight. I’ve got to wait around here so I can get paid. Sorry.’
“The roommate reached out to the next friend. ‘Hey, just making sure you’re still coming tonight.’
“‘Wish I could,’ they said, ‘but I’ve got contractors coming over to my new house, and after meeting with them, I don’t think I’ll have any time left. Sorry.’
“Her roommate reached out to another friend. ‘Hey, just making sure you’re still coming tonight.’
“‘I’d love to, but I can’t,’ they said, ‘I have this other friend who’s getting married soon, and I was asked to set up the catering for them. Sorry.’
“Again, the roommate reached out to more friends. ‘Hey, just making sure you’re still coming tonight.’
“‘Too bad but we can’t,’ they said, ‘we came into this real estate deal, and we’re going over to pick up the rent. Sorry.’
“The roommate returned and told her, ‘Everyone on your list has all these excuses for not coming over.’
“By now, the woman was nearly finished with all the preparations. ‘What? Then please, just go out and invite our neighbors, or strangers for all I care. Anyone who wants to come can come over.’
“Consciousness is not about transactions. There’s no business to be done with it.”
65
“There once lived a man who was a winemaker. Of course, I’m not saying he was a lazy winemaker, but I’m not saying he wasn’t either.
“You see, instead of working the vineyards himself or hiring workers, he decided he could make a little extra money by leasing it to some farmers.
“One day, he sent one of his workers to collect the grapes they had picked. The farmers were furious and beat him up, badly.
“The worker returned and told his boss.
“‘My mistake. I guess they didn’t recognize that he was one of my guys,’ the winemaker said, ‘I’ll send someone who they know who works for me.’
“The farmers beat him up, as well.
“The winemaker was shocked. ‘I’ll show them how serious I am, they have to respect my own son. We were all there together when they signed the lease.’
“The farmers quickly grabbed and killed him, because they knew he was the winemaker’s heir to the vineyards.
“Listen closely to these stories I’ve told you, and try to understand what all of this really means.”
66
“What do you think that religious experts, scholars, celebrities or specialists say about Ultimate Reality? They usually deny the connectedness of everything, dividing it, between heaven and hell, us and them. But in truth, it’s what the entirety of existence is built from.”
67
“Those who know ‘everything’ but nothing about their own Oneness, lack everything meaningful.”
68
“Rest assured. Even those who are hated and bullied will find happiness. Their aggressors can try to reach the True Self, but they will still never get close.”
69
“One who has searched for their True Self is so very lucky. They know Oneness and will be completely filled after hungering for it for so long.”
70
“When you bring out that which is from inside your True Self, this will sustain you. But that which you can’t bring out will be the thing that kills you.”
71
“I’m going to destroy this mental model of where we think we live. I’ll condemn it like a crumbling, abandoned house, leveling it to the ground so no one can rebuild it.”
72
Someone approached the Teacher and said, “You’ve got to tell my siblings that they have to share our family inheritance with me.”
The Teacher responded, “Hold on. Who made me the Great Divider: one to portion out possessions?”
Turning to the students, the Teacher asked, “Am I the kind of person who does another’s work for them? Do I ever take Oneness and bust it into shards or fragments?”
73
“Many out there are starving for Awareness. The crop is massive, but there are hardly any workers. Go and beg the harvest boss to dispatch more workers to the fields.”
74
“There are so many people who are looking for a real connection. Their heads are completely spinning from their separation from Source, but nobody admits it’s making them sick.”
75
“Large crowds are simply standing outside the door of Awareness, but only One is going in.”
76
The Teacher said, “A marketplace vendor had a booth full of merchandise. Upon seeing another with a single, most beautiful pearl, he wisely sold everything he had— merchandise, tent, displays, equipment, all of it—just to buy the pearl. You should be the same as the vendor. Seek out that which is eternal, incorruptible, invaluable, and beautiful.”
77
Speaking as Source, the Teacher added, “I am Light, shining over everything manifested, in it and through it. Everything comes from me, and everything flows back to me. Chop and split a chunk of wood, and you’ll see that I have embodied it. Look to see what’s hiding under a rock, and I am there, too.”
78
“Why have you come outside and gather into a crowd as if waiting for something? Is it to hear some celebrity or icon blow hot air? Sure, they may dress the part, like they’re somebody to idolize, but they haven’t the slightest clue about Truth.”
79
A woman from the crowd came up to the Teacher. “Your mother is so lucky to have given birth to and nourished you.”
“Those who have understood the call of Consciousness, nurturing and looking after it, are the truly lucky ones,” replied the Teacher, “You know it’s just as likely that someone says, ‘Wow. They’re so lucky that they don’t have any kids.'"
80
“Once you have begun to understand this material world, you notice the physical body. Surely you also know the world holds no scale for determining what’s valuable, even with regards to our bodies.”
81
“Let the one who has understood Real Value take control of the All. Let those who know their True power melt into this stillness and bliss.”
82
“If you are close to me, you are close to this inner flame. Some may think I’m just ‘way out there,’ too far off to possibly be right, and that’s fine. But it means they’re distant from Awareness as well.”
83
“Images manifest, appearing from within people, but the Light that’s inside of them is hidden by the Light of Awareness. It will be revealed, but beyond figure and form it stays obscured by its Light. It’s not what you think you see.”
84
“Now, when you do see your own likeness, like looking at a mirror, you’re engaged with it, taking a good look to see if everything’s as you expect it to be. But once you perceive your True Image—which has been there long before you and can’t become visible or die off—it can really feel like more than you can handle.”
85
"Consciousness emerges through its vast potential and endless resources, but anyone who doesn't realize its full Nature that’s hidden in our True Self remains bound by death."
86
"The conditioned mind finds refuge in the familiar, and the ego constructs its protective shelters. But Pure Awareness has no fixed place to rest, because it’s also the very Ground (of Being) in which all resting happens."
87
“A person will be miserable, having to depend merely on another person. Their soul, too, if it has to have an other.”
88
“Consciousness is sending you a message. It’s a free offer that can be redeemed for your True Self. Now, it’s up to you to release the false sense of self, asking, ‘When would you like to come get this imposter? It’s all yours.'"
89
“Do you only wash the outside of your cup? What’s so important about appearances? Who you are matters so much more than just how you seem.”
90
Speaking as the One, the Teacher said, “Come over here. I can help with your heavy load. I can help make your journey a lot easier, and you can finally settle into your rhythm.”
91
A group of people asked, “Who are you? Tell us, so we can believe what you’re saying.”
The Teacher said, “You analyze and judge everything, don’t you, whether it’s religion, science, politics. But you need to recognize what’s right in front of you and how critical of a time it is to understand it.”
92
“If you search deeply, you will find it. There was a time when you were inquiring about things, and I couldn’t go very deeply into it. You just wouldn’t have been able to follow it. Even now, I am willing to explain it all, but you’re still not seriously interested.”
93
“No one should give their own deep Truths to those who aren’t interested or paying close attention. Might as well give their diamond to a dog. You know they’d just drag it out into the yard, try chewing it, swallowing it, or burying it.”
94
“Again, if you would only search more deeply, you’d find it. The door doesn’t open unless you’re first knocking.”
95
“If you find yourself in a spot where you have more than enough, don’t go around lending out to make more with interest. It's much better to give it away to someone in need, without reimbursement or expectations.”
96
“Awareness is like the woman who takes her milk and adds it to the flour to bake large loaves of bread, making it more nutritious and flavorful, as well. Think about what I’m telling you.”
97
“Awareness is like a woman who has been carrying a heavy burlap bag of rice down a long path. Its handles have broken, and rice has continuously leaked. When she has come to the end of the road, she’s home, where she discovers the bag to be empty.”
98
“Awareness is like a man wishing to kill a powerful figure. He takes his knife and stabs it into a wall inside his own house, just to make sure his arm is strong enough and that he has the will to do it. Then he goes and does the deed.”
99
The students spoke up. “Hey. Your family is right outside waiting for you.”
“My family,” the Teacher said, “are those who recognize Consciousness. They are related with me in Oneness.”
100
The group from outside said, “Please, just take a look at this. The government says we owe them all this money!”
The Teacher said, “You should give the government what belongs to them. And while you’re at it, give God what is God’s. Give to me what belongs to me, too.”
101
“Whoever doesn’t completely reject their mom and dad in the way that I do, is not able to learn from me. Sure, my mother gave birth to me as far as my body goes, but in Reality, it’s Consciousness who gave me Life.”
102
“Dogmatists are completely contemptible. They act like territorial pets sleeping on the hay in a cattle barn. It doesn’t eat the hay itself nor lets the cows have any either.”
103
“It’s important to know where a thief will try to break in. That way, one can gather up everything they need and be ready for it.”
104
The students said, “Oh, so we need to be prepared? Then let’s do this. Let’s get down and pray and fast, right here, right now.”
“Hold on. Have I done something wrong that now I need to confess and make right?” the Teacher asked.
“Just wait until somebody walks away from Oneness. Then you can pray and fast all you want.”
105
“Sadly, the one who knows Source and Consciousness as their True Parent will be left out and bullied as an illegitimate offspring of a whore.”
106
“Whenever you make two into One, then you—the child of Consciousness—can face anything, no matter how big it seems.”
107
“Consciousness is also like a rancher who had a band of a hundred horses. When the largest of them wandered off, the rancher searched and searched until it was found. Completely exhausted, the rancher said, ‘I absolutely love you—you’re my favorite one!’”
108
As Oneness, the Teacher said, “Intoxicate yourself from what flows from my mouth, and you will become me. I will become you, too, and anything that’s unknown will become completely clear.”
109
“True Awareness is like a person who owned a field with buried treasure and died not even knowing about it. The child who inherited the field also didn’t know anything was there, and sold it.
“The buyer decided to plow it, discovered the treasure, and began to loan money with interest to anyone who came along.”
110
“Anyone who has learned Real Value and has had a good look at how material value is measured, can forget about the scales.”
111
“There are those who have stacks of books, trying to explain how everything is just a matter of form and function, objects and concepts, science and philosophies. It would be so much better if they only understood how Consciousness can’t be found in something that has a ‘The End,’ instead.
Discover your True Self and you’ll realize how worthless physical things and mental concepts actually are.”
112
“It's terrible for the one whose flesh clings to a Soul! And just as bad for the Soul who clings to its body!”
113
The students asked, “When does Enlightenment happen?”
“It’s not something you can just watch for and wait on,” said the Teacher, "No one can point it out for you by saying, ‘There it is!’ or ‘Oh, that’s it!’ The Presence of Oneness is always everywhere, even though no one seems to perceive it.”
114
A male student said, “We should dismiss the female student, since this isn’t something for women.”
The Teacher replied, “How about this: I'll guide her myself as she continues to show her intelligence, courage, self-control, and honor. That way she will embody Oneness and be an equal.
“Because anyone who recognizes their True Self is wholly transformed by and as Consciousness.”