There is this recurring idea in modern Christianity that has been floating around forever: because Jesus said he was “one with God,” he must have been claiming to be God himself. Yet throughout so many of his quotes and teachings, Jesus repeatedly makes a distinction between himself and God the Father.
He is not walking around simply proclaiming, “I am God.” by saying he is “One With God” Instead, he is telling people that God is also within them, waiting to be accessed through the right steps and effort. He teaches his disciples how they, too, can become one with God and experience the presence of God, and the bliss of heaven, within themselves.
This is a heaven that can be accessed now, not merely some post-mortem reward, as I have repeatedly emphasized on this website. The sooner Christians recognize this, the more likely they are to take the appropriate steps toward experiencing this euphoria and bliss, states that other spiritual traditions have described with terms such as Nirvana, Satori, and Enlightenment.
The similarities between the path Jesus taught and the paths found in traditions such as Buddhism are no accident. The roadmaps are remarkably similar because they point people toward experiencing the bliss of heaven within themselves by following teachings that are, at their core, universal, regardless of whatever religious label someone has placed upon themselves. For those claiming the Christian path is superior because “Jesus died for their sins”. Jesus never taught that proclaiming this belief was a prerequisite for accessing this bliss and unity within all of us.
In fact, it is vitally important to eventually discard these religious labels altogether. How can you fully declare your unity with all your brothers and sisters here on Earth while constantly separating yourself from them through labels?
The sooner you recognize and embrace that unity, the closer you come to experiencing that oneness with God, and the “heaven” within, that Jesus spoke about so often.
For those in deep denial about the fact that Jesus was also teaching his followers to also experience oneness with God just as he did. He said so in no uncertain terms.
“That they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you, that they also may be in us.”
— John 17:21
“The glory that you have given me I have given them, that they may be one even as we are one.”
— John 17:22
“I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one.”
— John 17:23
There are other statements in John that fit this theme:
John 14:20: “I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”
John 15:4: “Abide in me, and I in you.”
John 17:26: Jesus says he made God known so that God’s love “may be in them, and I in them.”
John 10:34–36: Jesus invokes Psalm 82—“I said, you are gods”
These are not ambiguous statements. They are clear and direct: Jesus wanted his followers to experience the same oneness with God that he had experienced. This state of unity, bliss, and enlightenment was not exclusive to him. Your goal is to experience oneness with God—the same oneness with God that Jesus achieved.
And the ripple effects of that realization extend far beyond your relationship with God. To experience oneness with God is to recognize your fundamental unity with humanity, with your brothers and sisters here on Earth, and ultimately with the universe itself. The illusion of separation begins to dissolve.
Jesus describes the Kingdom of God as something of such extraordinary value that nothing should stand between you and it. He even uses shocking hyperbolic imagery about cutting off a hand or removing an eye if it causes you to stumble. He often spoke in deliberately exaggerated language to drive home a point, and the point here is clear: do not allow anything to stand between you and the Kingdom of God.
Do not allow your ego, attachments, judgments, resentments, possessions, fears, or even your religious identity to prevent you from discovering what is already within you. Seek the extraordinary peace, euphoria, and bliss of what I interpret Jesus as calling the Kingdom of God within: unity and oneness with God.
Other spiritual paths have given their own names to experiences of awakening and liberation; Nirvana, Satori, Enlightenment, and others. The terminology may change, the minutia may change, but the roadmaps may differ very slightly in their details, but they are ultimately pointing toward the same profound realization: the dissolution of separation and the experience of a deeper unity with God and everything that was there all along.
Jesus experienced this oneness. He taught his followers how to pursue it. And he wanted you to experience it too.
It is critically important for Christians to understand that Jesus frequently spoke through metaphor and symbolism. When he used terms such as “kingdom” and “heaven,” he was not, in this interpretation, describing a literal realm or distant destination, but a state of enlightened consciousness accessible within us all. His language can easily obscure this meaning when interpreted too literally: heaven is not somewhere we go, but a higher state of consciousness we awaken to within ourselves.
The steps to accessing this heaven/enlightenment within us are straight forward.
- Relinquish control as much as possible, your ego demands and insists on total control your life and future. Instead declare to God that you relinquish control, asking the holy spirit to take the wheel and keep us sync with our Father’s will. This is exactly what Jesus was saying when he said “let they will be done” but it should be declared with more specificity in your prayers. This helps eliminate all fear of the future when you know God is in control.
- Accept your unity and oneness with all your brothers and sisters here. Ask our divine father and Holy Spirit to erase all illusions of separation between us. Declare “I am united and one one with all our father’s children” Do not see anyone else as being inferior or superior to you. “We are all one” Make this declaration often. Everyone else here are your beautiful brothers and sisters. Declare that we are all our father’s children here on earth. Jesus never claimed to be the sole son of God, on the contrary, he literally said we are all children of our father. For those disputing this statement, feel free to find the verse where he makes the claim to be the only son of God. He reiterates instead that we are all God’s children.
- Eliminate all judgements from your life. They come in the form of racism, prejudices from your life. These all act as a form of judgement as you are constantly and implicitly saying others are inferior to you if you have embraced any form of racism and prejudices. This can also come in the form of judging others for not subscribing to the same faith of you. Seeing others are not equal to you or not one with you, is in itself a violation not judging others while also breaking the very simple instruction to not see others as your brothers and sisters.
- Ask the spirit of God, what we refer to as the holy spirit, to take presence within your mind and body, guiding you appropriately while always keeping you in perfect harmony with the God’s plan for you whatever it may be, especially since he knows the best possible path for you. A path that you cannot see due to our limitations, but trusting that those plans are perfect and have your best possible interest in mind.
- Give to others whenever possible. It’s easy to be selfish in today’s society, but please be selfless in whatever way you can. Care for others. Put others before yourself. Assuming other people have hit rock bottom being their own fault is both a judgement and demonstrates an unwillingness to help. Being selfless and empathetic demonstrates actual caring for your brothers and sisters. It helps reinforce that you see all others here as being one with you while also not judging them. Do not impede any efforts that would help people who are down on their luck.
- Letting go of all attachments. Not only does this include your material possessions, like money and property, but also attachments to your body and life. It’s why Jesus said a poorer person has easier access to spiritual enlightenment than a wealthy person. They own less things. All things are fleeting including your life, so accept the inevitability of death and the passing of your body. This alleviates all fear of death as well. When you know the end comes, you’ll be totally fine. A genuine acceptance of death and a release of all fear of death is critically important. It also shows a lack of attachment to your mind and body. It’s why Jesus uses the extreme of example that it’s better to cut off a body part than risk losing access to the bliss and euphoria you are supposed to achieve while here on earth. That heaven (aka Nirvana, etc) is accessible here and now. Not when you die. So why not enjoy it now?
- Forgiving others is essential. Letting go of attachments to people who have hurt you and forgiving them helps bring peace to your life. It is absolutely essential when forgiving them, to think about the times you guilty of the very same thing you are on the cusp of forgiving them for… Perhaps, you’re in a situation where you had a broken and nasty relationship over something they did, perhaps it was infidelity. Think about whether or not you were not exactly faithful yourself, either in that situation or in prior relationships. Perhaps you were flirtatious with others, and you dabbled in infidelity despite never cheating on your partner. This is the essence of the section of the lord’s prayer where Jesus teaches people to ask for forgiveness, as you forgive others. The goal here is self-reflection and honest introspection. Don’t be hypocrites. Make peace with anyone in any way that you can, even if it means humbly accepting you were not exactly perfect yourself.
For mainstream Christians who think all you need to do is say you accept or believe in Jesus: this is not what he taught. He gave very specific instructions for how to live and what it meant to follow him (see the aforementioned list). Yet over the course of 2,000 years, those teachings have often been reduced to simply declaring that you believe in him.
In short, it has become about saying you belong to the tribe of Jesus rather than actually living his teachings and embracing your unity and oneness with all humanity. Anyone telling you that all you need to do is say you believe in Jesus has either misunderstood his teachings or was incorrectly taught what it means to follow him.
As he said, Faith without action is dead. Simply saying you believe is meaningless if you are unwilling to actually practice what he taught.
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