The Christ is NOT a Person
Acclaim
"For those interested in an enlightened reading of the Bible, I highly recommend this book. It is an excellent work."
- Eckhart Tolle - Author of The Power of NOW and A New Earth, and one of the leading spiritual
teachers of our time.
"I just finished the book. It took me a year, as I savored each page. Easily one of the MOST important books ever written."
- Dr. H. Ronald Hulnick - President, University of Santa Monica, and co-author of Loyalty To Your
Soul: The Heart of Spiritual Psychology.
“This is the best spiritual book that I have ever read in my life ... and I have read some deep ancient wisdom teachings.... This is definitely my new bible.... It sings the Song of Oneness Realization.... What it says: "There is only One Consciousness waking up or evolving, NOT MANY.... In truth we are not individual beings … but we are the expression of ONE BEING, inclusive of the totality of all that exists." If this is your spiritual vision, then this book will blow your mind.... Most importantly the book is filled with scriptures from all the ancient religions, including the bible ... revealing that they are all singing the same Song. The song is the incarnation of oneness ... the immaculate Incarnation, which is Christ as us. ~ I AM”
- Amor Russell - Fellow Spiritual Seeker
“I cannot begin to tell you how much I’ve enjoyed reading this wonderful book. It has been like a “road to Emmaus” experience for me as the deeper truths of ancient scripture are set forth to the point that more light than ever before has illuminated my understanding. How I wish I'd read such a book many years ago. I can see that I'll be rereading it often with profit over the coming years. I've been a student of Christian spirituality for fifty years and have hundreds of books now on this subject. I can honestly say that none of them has spoken to me so clearly about the awesome truth of the Presence of the living Christ in each of us, as this book does. I highly recommend this work to all who are drawn to authentic spirituality. It is one of the best, most comprehensive books on this subject I’ve ever read.”
- Peter Sumner - Editor of The Seer Internet Newsletter, Fremantle, Western Australia
“This is such an incredible book I hardly know where to begin. I’ve always sensed that there was more to the Bible and other ancient teachings than what is customarily taught from the Christian point of view and this book sets forth what that “more” truly is. Breathing new life into ancient teachings, the author makes them relevant once again in our own lives today. After separating the wheat from the chaff, he reveals with great clarity how consciousness is the motivating force behind all creation and how the process of evolution is leading us, as human beings, into a cosmic awareness of who we truly are and why we are here. He points out how all profound spiritual teachings are at their core, one and the same. Much like the enlightened masters of antiquity who spoke truth in their time, his words speak truth in our time, and that truth speaks directly to the spirit within. Truly a remarkable work, I highly recommend it to any and all, regardless of religious background or traditional system of belief.”
- Cherie G. – Fellow Spiritual Seeker
"I was raised a Christian and still attend a Christian church occasionally but have felt for some time that religion is not "the way" for me. Throughout my change of heart, however, I have never rejected the bible totally and always felt truth in the words of Jesus, as well as a strong message in many of the Old Testament stories. This "feeling" has taken on a new energy while reading The Christ is Not a Person. The tremendous presence it took to see past the biblical changes due to translation, changes due to replication and changes due to egoic influence that produced this insightful interpretation is nothing short of enlightenment. Thank you, JC, for allowing presence to work through you in writing this book and for helping awaken the Christ in us all."
- F. A. Jacobs — Canada
"Truly an extraordinary work, it has opened my mind and heart to a deeper, more profound meaning of ancient scripture than anything I've previously read. Layer upon layer of ancient legend and myth is peeled away until the pure, unadulterated truth shines through."
- D.C.H. — Fellow Spiritual Seeker
Why Might this Book be of Interest to You?
Why are we born? For what purpose are we here? The longer we remain unaware of what is flowering within us, along with what drives us toward or liberates us from the bonds of egocentric behavior, the longer we allow what the Buddha called the ‘sorrow of life’ to hold sway. The sorrow of life is the sum and consequence of longstanding identification with the world, as conceived of Mind.
The author of this work comprehensively sets forth a deeper meaning of ancient scripture that likely has not been advanced to you before. He demystifies ancient legends and myths, which allows the essential truth of ancient teachings to shine through. Using ancient scripture as a guide, he insightfully unveils the underlying truth of enlightened teachings, as expressed in ancient times, noting that at their core, all profound teachings point to the same, underlying Reality; a Reality revealed through an Awakening process that is now coming to Light in humankind.
This book is a must read for anyone looking to discover deeper meanings of ancient scripture beyond a literal interpretation of the words.
Brief Summary
Author JC Tefft offers a fresh, contemporary look at a meaning of ancient scripture that likely has not been advanced to you before. He points out that profound spiritual teachings, whether ancient or new, are at their core, one and the same. They all point to a radical transformation in Conscious Awareness as the means by which one rises above self and goes beyond thought. Thus, a new, higher “level” of Pure Conscious Awareness is now Awakening within humankind by means of an evolutionary process that has been unfolding within the universe since time began.
According to recorded history, Man's capacity to realize Pure Awareness within first came to light about twenty-six hundred years ago through at least two enlightened sages we know of — the Buddha in India and Lao Tzu in China — though there were likely others, as well. This new “level” of Pure Awareness that is presently flowering within human beings is so new in terms of evolutionary time that it is just now gaining a foothold within humankind. This partially explains why most humans, even today, are barely aware of Pure Presence, or if so, are aware of it in more limited ways, as if a low light flickering. There are a few, however — the Buddha being one, Lao-Tzu another, and Jesus yet another in ancient times — in whom this new capacity fully matured, flowered, and bore fruit. In effect, as such instances reveal, a new human race is now being born into Pure Conscious Awareness here on Earth.
Awakening unto Pure Awareness is not an expansion of conceptual awareness of Mind, but is an entirely different Reality that is quite Other than egoically centered Mind. Pure Awareness is of a higher order than egoic Mind or self-conscious thought. Pure Awareness is as distinct from egoically centered self-awareness, which is rooted in concepts of Mind, as self-awareness is distinct from simple-awareness of the Animal. Just as an animal born into the world of animal-consciousness cannot enter into self-conscious thinking, so also humans cannot think or reason their way into Pure Awareness. For this reason, it is impossible to communicate the living Truth of Pure Awareness by means of words, concepts, or ideas. Realities in Pure Awareness can no more be explained to the intellect than the intellect can explain finite thinking to a horse. Even so, all “levels” of conscious awareness are unalterably integrated and therefore dependent upon the other. Enlightened beings speak of this integrated, interdependent Reality in terms of the Oneness of the Universe or the Wholeness of Creation.
Over the past several thousand years an ever-growing number of people are realizing ever-greater degrees of liberation from bondage to the world, as conceived and interpreted of Mind, as ever-more powerful insights into the Presence of Pure Awareness Awaken from within. Realizations in Pure Conscious Awareness occur most often when the mind of self is rightly aligned (or in righteousness, to use the Biblical term) with the Presence of the Holy Spirit (or Pure Consciousness, to use a modern-day term) and thereby responsive to, and in service to the Power of the Creative Spirit, which is the Source of All that IS. In other words, as matter comes into greater alignment with the Whole, it likewise comes into greater service to God. What the ancients called God is not a Supernatural Deity who meddles in human affairs, but is the Whole of Creation acting as ONE “body” of integrated phenomenal expressions arising in the eternal Present Moment – Now.
From the perspective of Mind, as Pure Awareness Awakens within, human beings appear to experience an inner transformation from a more limited awareness of self, which is rooted in Mind, into another “level” of Awareness that is beyond self. In evolutionary terms, this transformation from “seeing” the world, as interpreted of Mind, into what appears to be other-than-worldly Pure Awareness might be likened to a butterfly leaving its cocoon. This evolutionary transformation from one "level" of Awareness to the next is what is pointed to in pertinent parts of profound ancient scripture. In the Bible, for instance, examples of the earliest flowering of self-conscious thinking are presented through certain stories included within the first five books of the Old Testament. An ongoing unfolding of ever-greater conscious Awareness is then progressively revealed, with ever-greater depth and insight, through certain writings that follow, leading up to and through the transformation of the man, Jesus, into Christ Jesus, a transformed human being in Pure Consciousness.
Similarly, about five hundred years prior to the time of Jesus, a man named Siddhartha Gautama, after years of wandering in the wilderness, sat beneath a Bodhi tree vowing never again to arise until he found Ultimate Truth. It is written that he remained there in a meditative state for forty-nine days before suddenly, enlightenment burst upon him. Much like when Jesus 'went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him,' so also Siddhartha was transformed into the Buddha, the enlightened one. For as Jesus noted centuries later, 'Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.'
The Christ is Not a Person explores the evolution of Consciousness, primarily as revealed in Biblical scripture, yet the Bible is only one of many, ancient texts from around the world that have stood the test of time. In ancient times, as Awareness in Consciousness unfolded and evolved, it naturally occurred across cultural lines within societies that were not necessarily privy to the teachings of other enlightened beings in other cultures of their day. Consequently, the diverse scriptures that arose over time, though appearing outwardly dissimilar depending on which culture gave rise to them, in their essence share the same core message. What that message truly is, and what it means for us today, is carefully and comprehensively explored in the pages of this book.
Excerpts from the Prologue of "The Christ is NOT a Person"
The art of living has nothing to do with adhering to ancient thinking or ritualistic practices passed down through time, but everything to do with learning to live in accordance with living Truth in Eternal Presence Now. This was just as true for enlightened sages of ancient times as it is today. Enlightened beings do not hold to systems of belief or ritualistic practices to attain enlightenment. Nor do they hope to enter a heaven in a hereafter. Rather, they eschew such systems and practices in favor of discovering living Truth in their own lives – Here and Now.
The institutional practice of converting people to a particular point of view or way of thinking causes more harm than good. Convincing others to believe in such things as a Savior and an imagined afterlife binds people to ignorance and complacency. It has little to do with learning to live an orderly, sane, and intelligent life in this life now. It is impossible to encapsulate God, Life or Love within a belief or an idea. It is equally impossible to attain enlightenment by practicing a ritual or holding to a belief. Rather, a radical transformation in conscious Awareness is required.
There is only One Consciousness evolving, not many, just as there is only One Source of Creation and One Absolute Truth. It is not your truth or my truth, Christian or Muslim truth, Eastern or Western truth, but living Truth. It is this one and only Truth, the living Truth of what actually is so in the Present Moment – Now – that reveals the One Consciousness expressing as all that IS – the One in the many and the many in the One.
In Truth, we are not individual beings per the limitations of Mind, but are an aspect of One Being inclusive of the totality of all that appears in the phenomenal universe. We are born of One Source and empowered by One Power. Yet we are educated from the womb to think of ourselves as distinct individuals and are endlessly challenged to compete against each other to succeed in the affairs of the world. Such is the grand illusion of separateness that perpetuates misunderstandings, legends, and myths that motivate daily life even today.
Numerous ancient and modern sages over thousands of years have pointed to Realizations in conscious Awareness as the means by which the sorrow of life ends, yet the true meaning and message of their teachings continues, for the most part, to fall on deaf ears. The time of deaf ears must come to an end. We, as human beings, must accept the mantle of purpose for which we are born. Jesus pointed to this purpose in this way in the language of his time: ‘seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ Restated in modern terms this might read, seek ye first Awareness in Pure Consciousness, be aligned with living Truth and the mystery of the unknown shall be realized within.
From an egoic, self-centered perspective, enlightenment in the light of Truth is the end of a journey, yet there is no journey from the standpoint of Pure Consciousness, for Pure Consciousness is already Absolute and Whole. Pure Consciousness is not on a journey, it just IS – Here and Now. Truth is, the so-called ‘path’ to enlightenment, Nirvana, or the Kingdom of Heaven spoken of in ancient times is nothing more than a Realization of Truth, Light, Love, and true Being – Here and Now. And, as Jesus often pointed out, the Kingdom of Light and Love is found within, which is to say, within 'you' and within 'me.'
Awakening unto Pure Consciousness does not come about through any effort on the part of humankind, but by the ongoing evolutionary work of the Holy Spirit, which is of God. Even so, each human expression either allows the process to unfold and thereby aid in its development or resists and thereby denies the flowering of Pure Awareness within by holding fast to an egocentric world, as conceived of Mind. This potential flowering tends to move in one of two ways depending on the human energy field in which it unfolds. The respective field either supports the evolution of Consciousness and thereby aids in its development or resists its coming and thereby shuts down on its unfolding.
Enlightened Beings of old, though speaking or writing in dissimilar languages, in the form of parables and metaphors, were ultimately pointing to the same cosmic reality. And without exception, they discovered the living Truth of this Reality, which is Absolute Reality, by means of a radical transformation in conscious awareness within.
In essence, all profound spiritual teachings, at their core, point to the same fundamental truths. That the sorrow of life ends instantaneously when one Awakens unto the Presence of Pure Conscious Awareness within. And such Awakenings do not come about as a result of adhering to any system, method, ritual, or belief. Nor is there any exclusive path to enlightenment. But sorrow ends at the moment there is a clear realization of what actually is SO in the Present Moment – Now – absent identification with any and all constructs of Mind. Quite the contrary, one must be free of any and all constructs of Mind or systems of belief, which is to be, as the Buddha put it, in the ‘highest state.’ This requires that no interpretation, no opinion, no idea, no belief, no ritual, and no judgment be in the way. It requires a mind that is free of all that. In that state of mind – the highest state – sorrow ends. And in its stead, the living Truth of Love and Peace is revealed.
When one with the One, we are Purely Aware, absent identification with concepts of Mind entirely. This is the Truth of Zen. This is Nirvana. This is the Tao. This is Brahmic Splendor. This is Eternal Bliss. This is the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the Promised Land. This is Paradise, as declared in ancient times. Whatever the name, this Truth is the same. It is, as Paul wrote, the living Truth of the “Peace of God that passeth all understanding” of Mind.
