Written by Bro. Rholdee L., Spiritual Humanist

“The day I moved a step away from religion, was the day I moved a step closer to God”.
This is the statement that best describes my Path right now. I have abandoned the Path of religion, and searched for the truth within me. Please do bear with me as I share with you this ‘enlightenment’ experiences I have when I moved out from religious dogmas and started my journey towards the Path of Knowing (Gnosis).
I was born and raised as a Roman Catholic, but I am now living as a Gnostic Christian. What is Gnostic Christianity? Some of you may be new to this term, or to some it may seem religious. But Gnostic Christianity is not a Religion. It is very different from the different orthodox forms of Christianity. Thus, it is more likely to be an esoteric form of Christianity – a more intimate and personal form of Christianity where one connects with the “god-within”.
Originally, the early Christians believed in re-incarnation and practiced meditation, but it was change through time by reformations and misinterpretations of the scriptures. Think of Gnosticism as the western path of enlightenment as Buddhism is to the east. In simple terms, it is the path of understanding God as your innermost and Highest Self; or the indwelling Christ in you.
Unlike traditional Christianity that teaches us that the term “Christ” is exclusive for Jesus of Nazareth (Yeshua in Aramaic), Christ for us is a general term for every person who attains this enlightenment. We are not aiming for perfection but Self-realization. No two Gnostics are the same in their belief systems since everyone has a unique journey. The real journey towards spirituality is within. What you practice outward is just a reflection of what you realize inside you. It is like a “Free Thinking Christianity”.
To us, Jesus is an enlightened being just like Buddha. Gnostic Christians believe that Humanity is a transitional state and we are heading towards a Conscious Evolution. When we talk about Mystics, Saints, Enlightened beings or Prophets, we are actually speaking of people who emerged from their animalistic state into a higher state of consciousness. Jesus showed us the way but we do not worship him. Jesus, for the Gnostic, is the model, the future of Humanity. We do not take the bible literally since we believe that the original teachings were passed on oral tradition. The Word changes, depending on the situation, to suit each generation’s consciousness but still retains the meaning of the teachings. We treat the bible and other Gnostic texts (Gospels and apocryphal texts not canonized by mainstream Christianity) as a collection of Myths and legends meant to teach us lessons and reveal to us mystical truths and thus are not all historically correct.
There is still so much to talk about Gnosticism, but this article would not be enough. The short introduction above maybe enough for you to at least understand the Path I am into right now.
I grew up to be a Catholic. I believed that Jesus is God, the only one and true God. Any teaching that tries to question this belief would be considered to be heretical and blasphemous. Anyone questioning this fact would be the Anti-Christ, and the soul of that person will surely go to hell- the place of eternal damnation and suffering. These were the beliefs I had when I was a kid. This was the beliefs of my parents, and my parent’s parents. This might not be strange to you since I live in the Philippines.
Majority of the people here are Roman Catholics. Well, some are members of various Christian denominations, but still they preach about the Godhood of Jesus that ‘anyone who believes in him should not perish but have eternal life’. Sounds fancy, eh?
Well, that is the norm here in our country. What’s funny is that these Various Christian Denominations are in conflict with each other. They always fight even though they have the same ‘core beliefs’.
Why?
Because one sect would claim that they are right, they are the only Religion / Group / Sect that could guarantee your salvation! Almost every religion does that here. But there are also others that would also say ‘Religion won’t save you, but your faith in Jesus Christ who died on the cross to pay for your sins! Jesus already saved you! Confess unto him and you shall have eternal life!’ Well, this may sound comforting but on the other hand what about the other religious traditions? How about Muslims and Jews? I know these two have closer ties to modern Christianity.
What about Hinduism, Buddhism or Paganism? How about those people who follow the path to goodness but did not know Jesus in their life because they are too far from the people who preach Christianity?
Would their souls be tormented in hell just because ‘IT JUST SO HAPPEN THAT THEY DID NOT KNEW JESUS’? It just doesn’t make sense.
I am not personally into reading bible stuff before but I know that in the Gospel of John, he said that ‘God is Love’. A pastor once told me that the Greatest Commandment of God is Love. I see many good people who are non-Christians. They are very loving and living a morally upright life. It pains me so much because I was told that these people would not be ‘Saved’ and ‘have eternal life with God in heaven’. If he is a Loving God, why make man in his image and likeness and yet punish them for eternity without any valid reason?
Why?
Because God said so.
Wow.
What a loving God he is!
Because of this confusion I became an Agnostic to common Christian beliefs. I knew that something was not right. I studied well at school, and found an ally: Science, Logic and Reasoning. At first, it was comforting. I started living without the belief of ‘Jesus’ being God or the Son of God. I still believed in the higher power that is unexplainable by science alone, and Jesus was just an example of how man should live his life.
Things changed when I learned about Metaphysics. I suddenly bumped in to that term when I was looking for ‘Financial Literacy’ videos on youtube. It changed my perspective and found a strong connection between Science and Spirituality. It led me to websites having free online education regarding the topic.
I started watching videos, reading books and articles and I started meditation. I also joined an organization teaching esoteric stuff which I wish not to be named here. It was there when I learned many things about Gnosticism, Mysticism and Occultism. My membership there did not prosper because I felt that there is another path for me so I left them.
I continued my search for truth outside, since I already realized that the Truth is within me. I borrowed a book from a friend entitled: ‘The meaning of life in Hinduism and Buddhism’. I bought bibles, and a Qur’an translated in English. I read those books together with Aristotle’s ‘Metaphysics’. Bingo. It all made sense to me. It was like a jigsaw puzzle, although incomplete yet you can already see the bigger picture.
I received online mentoring from a person named Tau Malachi (California), founder of the Ecclessia Pistis Sophia (Body of Faith Wisdom) together with his deacon Star Toni. Though our mentoring did not last long because of my difficulties when it comes to time management, I still consider these two my Spiritual Teachers and Friends since they helped me understand Christian Gnosticism and Kabbalah (Jewish Mysticism) a bit deeper. They sent me a copy of the book “Gnosis of the Cosmic Christ: A Gnostic Christian Kabbalah” written by Tau Malachi himself.
It was on November 5, 2013 when a tragedy came into our family. Our house got caught by fire. None of us was hurt, but we save nothing of our personal belongings. Oddly, the only thing I got when I ran outside our flaming house was the book given to me by Tau Malachi and Toni. After a few days, our neighbors told me that there were still books inside our burnt house and are still usable. Surprisingly, I saw all the books I mentioned above. They were wet because of the water from the fire trucks, but the texts were still readable. These are my treasures.
That was one of the lowest points in my life. I haven’t gone to work because I had nothing to wear. We can’t eat so we ask help from the local government for food. We didn’t have a home so we stayed at somebody else’s house. Good thing there were people who helped us. They gave us clothing when we had nothing to wear. They gave us food and water when we had nothing to eat and drink. They gave us shelter when we were homeless. Because of this event, I realized so many things in life, so many that this article may not be enough to say it all.
Could it be that God is nothing but the collective consciousness of ‘All-That-There-Is’ in this Universe?
Could it be that Deities are just product of man’s limited understanding to the collective consciousness of that ‘All-That-There-Is’?
Could it be that man created His God in his image and likeness, making God hate the people he hate and love only the people he love?
But there is one thing that was clear unto my senses. We are all Human beings. We are in this world to partake this experience we call life. No matter what you are or where you are, we are all One! This was my realization. It is the human mind that creates its own heaven or hell in this world; in this lifetime.
Why go back to heaven so quick? We came from that realm already! We are created by the same God Particle of this Universal Consciousness. We are here to re-create the beauty and goodness that we are all made off. It is our own minds and actions that create hell. Evil is just an inharmonious use of all that is good. Good or bad, we need to experience and cherish life!
In the book of Psalm, it says that “you are all gods, and you are the children of the Most High” (82:6). We are the gods and goddesses of our lives, but one should not be worshiped. True worship means service to God, and not some fancy Sunday or Saturday singing ‘Praise the Lord’ at churches and yet when you go home, you still live a life full of hatred and pride. True worship means service to mankind. It is by helping others that we can truly serve God, and be truly happy. This is what true happiness means.
God is our Highest Self. It is the spark of the divine inside us that makes us truly human. Behold, the kingdom of heaven is within you. Our body is the Temple of God and our hearts are the altar of sacrifice. These were the words said by our Master Jesus. Wherever I look, I see the face of Allah (Qur’an).
I believe that all religions (including philosophical views: e.g Atheism, Agnosticism) speak a fraction of the truth. There are so many religions because there are also so many people having different personalities, cultural background, I.Q levels and perspectives.
There is no one religion that would save you. The journey is within. The Path is internal. You are really saving yourself from your ‘lower self’. It is the beast in you. Man needs to evolve from being merely an animal into a Higher Being.
This is my enlightenment.
I am a Humanist, a Spiritual Humanist. I am here to partake in this journey called life and participate in the future of the human race. I am dedicating my life to uplift the consciousness of the society. I will continue spreading Love to the world, since I believe that we all came from this frequency.