Jesus said, “Why do you wash the outside of the cup? Do you not realize that he who made the inside is the same one who made the outside?”
God brings forth Creation from within him-herself, and we bring forth our lives from within ourselves. In so doing, the inside and the outside must match. It is not enough to sound spiritual or to appear spiritual on the outside. Rather one needs to be genuinely spiritual inwardly, so that the outward appearance is authentic or real. In essence, the Master is asking us to be real in our spirituality.
One can convert to this or that religion, but an outward conversion will not bring about any real change within oneself or benefit the soul if there is not a corresponding inward spiritual conversion. Likewise, one can enter into an esoteric order and receive the teachings and ceremonial initiations of the various grades, but unless there is an actual change in one’s consciousness and one embodies something of a higher consciousness, it is really meaningless. Whether exoteric religion or an esoteric spirituality, it is only through an inner spiritual conversion or change in consciousness that we progress toward enlightenment.
A radical change in consciousness is necessary to enter into Christ-consciousness. In truth, Christ-consciousness is something more than a change of mental concepts and emotions and the like. It is a transcendence of the mental and vital being altogether; the transformation of the mental, vital, and even physical consciousness through the Divine power that comes with self-realization in Christ. One must actually be reborn and transfigured by the supernal force that comes from above.
The truth is that it is not enough to have spiritual or mystical experiences. One does not acquire gnosis merely by having an experience. Like any other form of experience in life, one must learn and grow from one’s spiritual experiences. The experience must be integrated and bring about a change in oneself—a change in one’s consciousness that leads to corresponding changes in one’s personality and life-display. Otherwise, a spiritual or psychic experience has no more or less value than watching a movie on television or reading a fantasy-fiction book. Authentic mystical experiences change those who have them. Where there is no change, the experience remains, at best, a glimpse of a possible future and nothing more.
We see this in the process of initiation as we pass from one grade to another. Although ceremonies of various grades may be performed and may even facilitate something of the spiritual experience corresponding to that grade, we have not attained that initiatory grade until we can embody and live according to the higher state of consciousness that corresponds to it. The real grades of initiation are degrees of enlightenment and liberation. Unless the corresponding degree of self-realization transpires inwardly, we are not, as yet, a true initiate of that grade.
Initiation means “a beginning.” It is the recognition of something that one must then labor to realize. It is an experience that reveals a new level of the Spirit and Light that one must then seek to embody. Recognition is one thing; realization is another. The initial experience of a new state of consciousness is one thing; embodying the higher state of consciousness is another. The experience of recognition must not be confused with the experience of realization, just as information must not be confused with knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.
We have said that faith is an intuition of an experience not yet had. However, there is another definition of faith that is equally true. Faith is also living according to the Truth and Light revealed in our experience. In this sense, we can say that one must have faith in one’s experience and faith in one’s ability to evolve toward the new level of enlightenment and liberation revealed in one’s experience. When there is an appearance on the outside that is different from the appearance on the inside, then there is typically an imperfection in one’s faith, and certainly an impurity in one’s gnosis.
To speak of washing or cleaning something is to speak of the process of self-purification. My teacher was fond of saying, “The path to Christ-consciousness is self-purification and self-consecration. It is nothing more or less than this!” To say that the path is primarily one of self-purification at first sounds rather negative. However, the truth is that it is an affirmation of the goodness that is in us—the indwelling Christ, for to say that the path is primarily a work of self-purification means that the attainment is already present in us; we only have to remove whatever may be obstructing our recognition and realization of that Holy Being.
We might liken our unenlightened condition to that of a window that has not been cleaned for so many years that it has become totally opaque. Whether dirty or clean, the window is still a window, though while dirty, one cannot see through it. When it is cleaned, it is suddenly transparent and one can see through it. The same is fundamentally true of our consciousness. Any time our consciousness is allowed to abide in its innate purity—whenever we are clear—the Light of Christ shines through us, for Christ is the Truth of our soul of Light and our Divine self. We need only make ourselves transparent to the Lord!
I pray the Holy Spirit empowers you to a true spiritual conversion and that you receive your initiation from the Holy Spirit and, through her grace, bring it to fruition! Amen.