Former athlete, teacher, and entrepreneur, JC is now an author, video producer, and teacher who corresponds with students worldwide. A student, himself – first of his enlightened father and later of world-renowned teachers Jiddu Krishnamurti and Eckhart Tolle – JC's own investigation into the nature of Life and the Universe led to Realizations in Pure Conscious Awareness that ultimately led to the writing of his critically acclaimed book, The Christ is NOT a Person: The Evolution of Consciousness and the Destiny of Man. He has since written and produced a series of video presentations entitled, Pure Consciousness: The Last Frontier, about the nature of Mind, Awakening, and Enlightened Being that can be viewed FREE of charge from this site. Just click the "Video" tab above, then select either "Video Episodes" or "Video Lessons" and click on which videos you would like to watch from there.
As fortune would have it, I was raised by an enlightened parent. Not a churchgoer in his youth, my father loved literature, which eventually led him to the Bible. Immediately drawn to its stories, he sensed there were hidden truths mysteriously veiled between the lines. He attended Yale Divinity School in search of answers, but did not find them there. Nonetheless, in due course, he eventually accepted a ministerial post at an inter-denominational church.
While a minister by vocation, he was first and foremost a seeker of Truth. In this regard, he had difficulty reconciling religious doctrines, rituals, and beliefs with the actual teachings of Jesus. By age thirty-seven he was a bit depressed and out of sorts. While in the midst of considering what he might do, his younger brother called. Aware of his dilemma, his brother asked if he’d be willing to meet someone who might help him find his way.
That 'someone’ turned out to be an enlightened, spiritual teacher whose Presence transformed our lives. Taking a sabbatical in the summer of 1953, he worked intimately with this enlightened soul and returned home a changed man. As I was barely seven years old at the time, I was unaware of what had taken place. Even so, I shall never forget the family gathering following his return in which he declared that he wanted only to support Love and Peace in the world and he would forever stand with us in this regard. From that moment on he devoted himself to that end and we were the beneficiaries.
A few years thereafter he left the church to forge his way in the world on his own. He led classes of one kind or another and received any and all who wished to counsel with him. Our home was regularly filled with happy hearts assembling to hear him speak. During these gatherings he shared with us his insights on how to support the flowering of Love and Peace from within.
Toward the end of his life my father held special classes devoted exclusively to the stories and teachings of the Bible. He had never held classes quite like this before. Over the course of several months he presented twelve lessons in which he brought to light a deeper meaning and message of ancient scripture than is typically understood. His love of the Bible shone through, as he shared with us enlightened insights of underlying truths that went well beyond the meaning of the literal word.
A few years prior, I had begun experiencing spiritual awakenings of my own. I had spent my college years primarily engaged in self-indulgent activity, lusting after things of this world, thinking that I would tend to the better part after sowing some wild oats. I had not yet learned that what we sow is what we reap. I thus unwittingly established patterns of behavior that needed to be transformed before any meaningful goodness (as in God-ness) could come to life in me. I managed to descend near the bottom of the barrel before being led back home.
The first meaningful awakening came suddenly in the form of a clairaudient 'voice,' coupled with what I can only describe as the 'Hand of God' being placed on my head, lifting me up and proclaiming, 'it's about time.' This, after some prodding from a friend, was in answer to my first-ever verbal declaration that from this moment on I would dedicate my life to God, not knowing what that meant or where it would lead. The God I speak of here is not the imagined God of ancient times, but the living God, which is the Source of Consciousness Itself out of which all ‘things’ arise, including internal leadings, such as the one just then experienced.
Soon thereafter I returned to university in pursuit of a Masters degree in history, which was the field of study I most enjoyed at the time. During this period, I also read ancient scripture, various 'guides to enlightenment,' and an assortment of books concerning spiritual awakening. I soon discovered that I had a specific interest in learning all I could about the evolution of Consciousness and the awakening unto what I now call Pure Awareness in humankind. At this stage of my inquiry I found it useful to move away from the all-too-familiar Biblical language in which I had been raised to allow for the discovery of the deeper message and meaning of other works that emerged out of different cultures in both ancient and modern times.
I approached these works, as best I could, with an open mind, without prejudging what they might mean in the literal sense of the words. Rather, I consistently questioned what their respective languages, symbols, and metaphors might actually mean beyond the literal meaning of the words. This practice gradually liberated me from the notion that I 'knew' the deeper meaning of Biblical teachings with which I had been raised. I may have known them conceptually or intuitively, but not truthfully, actually, in a living way. Throughout this process I delved into open-ended questions such as, what is the ego, the self? How does the sense of an egoic center come about? What is Love — truly, actually? What is forgiveness? What does it mean to sacrifice? What is the Soul of man — not as a concept, but truthfully, as a living reality? What is the Kingdom of Heaven, and where, how, and when does one find it? How does the Kingdom of Heaven differ from Nirvana, the Tao, Zen, or the Christ? I was less interested in what other people said about such things and more interested in discovering the living Truth to which these words point from within. I generally waited patiently for insights to arise.
While in the midst of these inquiries, I came upon the writings of Jiddu Krishnamurti and was immediately drawn to the purity of his teaching. I soon set all else aside and attended solely to his works. After discovering he was still giving talks in Ojai, CA, I sought him out to 'sit at the feet of the Master' for as long as he was here. Krishnamurti is the purest, most enlightened human being I have ever encountered, in life or in print, and I unashamedly bathed in the Truth of his Light.
The Light/Energy emanating from Krishnamurti was substantial. I went through numerous transformational ‘moments’ while in his Presence, ranging from the complete cessation of psychological time, to insights arising out of a pure, white Light, to absolute freedom from conflict in any cell of my body — so much so that at one point I thought 'I' had permanently 'entered' the ineffable Peace of God spoken of in ancient times. But this proved not to be so, as the Peace gradually subsided, as egoic tendencies returned. Like my father before, I began to consider abandoning all worldly affairs to once again sit at the feet of the Master until Peace returned.
While in the midst of wrangling over what to do, Peace did, in fact, return, only this time with a message (for lack of a better word). 'Worry not,' it seemed to proclaim, 'I AM is always here, but you are not always aware.'' This was not 'spoken' in words but was simply a 'knowing' that was in the Presence of the moment that cannot otherwise be explained. Glad to say, however, that since those times the illusion of separateness from the Source of All this IS has faded away.
While attending my father's Bible lessons some years before, I recorded extensive notes of his teaching and for several years thereafter, read the Bible fervently to sort it all out. In the midst of this endeavor I began to sense that I might write a book that would incorporate my father's insights of what the message and teachings in the Bible really meant with those of my own that were then coming to Light. Throughout this process I never informed my father of my work, even though we had since become best friends. Our father/son roles had faded over time, allowing us to be together absent the ego in play. I was a prodigal son who returned 'home' in more ways than one.
In the late 1970's my father was diagnosed with cancer and by 1983 was on his last legs. Taking a leave from work, I attended his bedside for the final six weeks of his life. Many wonderful moments were shared during this time. Even so, I had not yet made mention of the book I had begun to write. One day when we were alone, he asked that I come close to him and we ended up in an embrace. He held me near, stroked my hair with his hand and said, 'Sonny, drop the idea of writing a book. It's not yet time.' Awash in tears, I replied, 'okay,' and that was that. Upon returning home I boxed up and shelved all my written notes in honor of his request. He had come to know of the book intuitively by means of the Presence of Pure Awareness and universal Intelligence – for the topic had never been discussed prior to that time.
Not long thereafter, a former colleague came to see him to pay his respects. In the course of their conversation he told my father that despite working with him only briefly many years before, his ministry had made a significant impression on him. He had not since encountered another minister as authentic and enlightened as my father. He then asked what it was that had changed him so — how had he come to see the Light? Having never been asked this question before, my father took a moment to reflect. 'I'd have to say,' he finally replied, 'it was when I realized that the Christ is not a person,' hence the title of the book.
Some years ago, after shedding numerous worldly possessions, I was somewhat adrift. While in the midst of this transition I began to sense that the time might be ripe to re-engage in the writing of the book, yet I remained unmotivated to do the work. One day, while wandering about in this rather uninspired state, I stumbled upon Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now. I had not read a so-called 'guide to enlightenment' in years, but this book virtually leapt into my hands. Turning back the cover, I began to read. Not since Krishnamurti had I read such a powerfully written teaching as this. I immediately purchased a copy and returned home.
The Power of Now was the catalyst that finally opened the way to write, The Christ is NOT a Person: The Evolution of Consciousness and the Destiny of Man. It was five years in the making and while in the midst of writing the work, ever-greater Clarity continued to come forth. During this process it eventually showed that I might not only write a book about the nature of Consciousness, as pointed to by enlightened sages of ancient times, but also create a contemporary series of visual presentations that might better express the holistic nature of Consciousness, the nature of Mind, and the nature of enlightened Being expressed in contemporary, rather than ancient terms. In this way an all-inclusive bridge to a better understanding might be built that would not only span, as much as possible, the great divide between modern science and ancient spiritual teachings, but also reconcile ancient teachings with so-called ‘new age’ teachings of today.
The underlying purpose for creating these works was not merely to satisfy the inquiring mind regarding the nature of evolving Consciousness, but more importantly to aid in one’s own discovery of the living Truth of what Actually is so in the eternally Present Now. Awakening unto the Light of Truth requires a movement away from egoic attachments to manifestations of Mind unto the Light of Pure Awareness Itself. Awakening unto this Reality, which is Absolute Reality, is what enlightened beings have pointed to since ancient times as the essential, underlying purpose of humankind.
JC Tefft
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