Thursday, April 15, 2010

Saturday, April 10, 2010

JESUS LISTED # 20


If you look for books about the LAW OF ATTRACTION on Amazon.com, JESUS TAUGHT IT, TOO: THE EARLY ROOTS OF THE LAW OF ATTRACTION comes #20. Not a bad rank at all. Perhaps the reason can be found in a recent review that I found via a Google Alert about the book. The review is by Simona Rich in the UK. Her synopsis is great and she has caught the essence of the book. It is clear why it fits in so well with the WAKING GOD TRILOGY.

The review appears on her web site: http://www.personal-development-coach.net/jesus-taught-it-too-summary-and-review.html

I have quoted it in its entirety for your reading pleasure. Thank you Simona!

Philip F. Harris "Jesus Taught It, Too!" Summary And Review

I was pleasantly surprised by the book “Jesus Taught It, Too! The Early Roots Of The Law of Attraction” by Philip F. Harris.

It's a perfect read for those who want to strengthen their faith in the laws of the universe.

Throughout the book Philip F. Harris quotes the Bible and explains the meanings of some Bible passages which were misinterpreted by religious institutions.

The church tends to interpret the Bible in a way that would give the church more power over the masses.

The church talks about the wrath of God and our sins to instil fear in the masses. (It's much easier to control people who are fearful than those who trust themselves.) The sacred texts therefore appear to be oppressing and cruel.

Philip F. Harris in the “Jesus Taught It, Too!” book offers to view the Bible without any judgements and beliefs imposed by religious institutions. He explains that the Bible was written when the church did not exist, therefore it's not directed at the teachings of the church.

The work of religious institutions

From the very beginning Philip F. Harris in the “Jesus Taught It, Too!” book starts off explaining the widely known but highly misinterpreted Bible quote “The meek shall inherit the earth”. He explains that “the meek” does not mean poor or disadvantaged in some way. “The meek” simply means those people who are quiet in nature and showing mildness. Church came up with the interpretation that “the meek” means poor to exploit people and use them with the sweet promise that when they die they will have all they want.

Philip F. Harris goes as far as to suggest that the Church halts the progress of the humanity and causes wars. He explains that the teaching of Jesus was never actually intended to become a religion that would suppress people rather than let them develop. The words of the great masters are meant to show the way and not be made into institutionalised religions. The great masters are not meant to be worshipped but listened to and understood.

The author of the “Jesus Taught It, Too!” book explains that many societies and individuals throughout ages tried to reveal the meanings of the sacred texts, however mass tortures and other cruel ways were used against them to leave the secret hidden. Religious institutions did not want people to know their real power because they wanted people to believe that religious institutions are more powerful than people. But despite the efforts of such institutions to never let the truth see the light, the secret is becoming more and more available for those who seek.

Philip F. Harris expresses his amazement how long religious institutions were able to convince the masses that it's only the religious institutions that hold the key to the meaning of the sacred texts. However because we entered into the Information Age, it became almost impossible to stop the instant communication between people, therefore the church is losing the power it once had over the masses.

Because of certain movies (like “The Secret”), Youtube videos and TV channels, religious institutions are under daily attack and therefore become gradually weaker. More and more people understand that the teachings of the church are false, fear-based and are meant to make people obey the church instead of achieving enlightenment.

Bible quotes misinterpretations

The “Jesus Taught It, Too!” author explains that in the book he interprets the Bible, but exactly the same truth can be revealed by reading any other religious text, such as the Jewish Kabala or the teachings of Buddha. He says that by studying the sacred texts the author kept noticing not only the descriptions of the law of attraction, but also the law of responsibility.

He also explains that many religious institutions were able to convince the masses of the false meanings of the Bible quotes because they quoted the words of the Bible without the context. This made it easy for them to interpret the quotes in any way they liked. For correct interpretation of sacred texts it's important to follow the stream of thought instead of just picking any quote and interpreting it subjectively.

Interestingly, Philip F. Harris mentions that there are three levels of interpretation of sacred texts. The first level is an objective analysis. These are the literal conclusions that result from reading the text. The second level is subjective. This is a deeper analysis which answers the question “What does this passage mean to me?”.

The third level is the spiritual meaning. Not many get that far in interpreting sacred texts because it is left up to the churches to interpret the texts on this level. To interpret sacred texts on this level requires getting detached from your conditioning and beliefs. It requires you to open your mind to receive a deeper understanding. Such level of interpretation can result in personal revelation.

Wealth

Philip F. Harris mentions throughout the book a couple of quotes concerned with material wealth. The Church likes to interpret such quotes in a way that suggests that wealth is bad. However religious institutions are extremely wealthy which makes their interpretations questionable.

Bible quotes about wealth, as Philip F. Harris interprets, do not indicate that wealth is bad. They simply say that wealth should not be your final destination because if you choose wealth as your final goal you will be unhappy. There is much more to life than wealth. Wealth can be used to achieve something higher, like happiness or freedom, but wealth itself does not make people happy or free.

That's why Jesus said that “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." It's not because being rich is bad, but when you see wealth as the be all and end all, you become selfish and lose your own sense of conscience. So that makes it very hard for you to find the heaven inside, because you got attached to the illusion that all material things are.

Conscious manifestation

The author of “Jesus Taught It, Too!” quotes several passages and concludes that whatever you wish to have is already in your possession in an energy form. Because of that you should thank for it and open your sight to see your desires manifested. If you complain that you don't have something, the universe will provide further lack of the things that you want. If you, however, give thanks for things that you want and see them as already in your possession, you will soon get them.

That's how Jesus was able to heal people. He refused to see their diseases and saw them as already healed. This sight of truth enabled him to heal those who were very ill. So whatever thing you want to manifest, know that it's already there and don't accept the false appearances that are surrounding you.

Philip F. Harris tells that the reason people fail to manifest things is because those things are not what they really want. Most people are so prone to influences that they don't realise that it's not them who make decisions in their lives. Therefore they select goals and wants that do not express their hearts' desires. Because of that they fail to consciously manifest and complain that the law of attraction does not work.

The “Jesus Taught It, Too!” author mentions the importance of sound. When you put your feelings and thoughts into words, they are more likely to manifest. Sound is a very strong vibration that helps materialise your desires and worries. So be careful about what words come from your mouth.

He also explains the Bible quote about the house built on a solid foundation and a house built on a weak foundation. This foundation can be interpreted as our knowledge. If we know the truth, no illusions, no negative words of others can affect us. If, however, our mental house is built on illusion, it's easy for us to get influenced by others.

How to see the truth

The author of “Jesus Taught It, Too!” suggests to wake up every day without any preconceived notions. If you meet each day as it is, without any judgement, you will be “born again”. You will see the world as it is and not through the lens that your ego views the world.

This is, however, not easy to do. We tend to be consistent and behave in the same way every day. We tend to hope for the same things and fear for the same things day in and day out. But if you manage to meet every day and every event without judgement and beliefs, you will see the world as it really is. Your old negative habits will eventually disappear and you will be a changed person. This attitude will bring much more positive events in your life because your mind will not create the unpleasant circumstances.

Philip F. Harris also mentions in a couple of places in the book that Bible often explains that the Kingdom of God is not somewhere in heaven but inside you. It's in every man's heart and it's available now. Don't look for it outside of you because you will be unhappy. The Bible also mentions in parables that you should change the way you look at the world and this will make you a happy person.

The Church, however, doesn't want people to believe that the heaven is in each of us. Religious institutions try to convince people (sometimes successfully) that heaven is somewhere far away in a galaxy and only those who are good and obedient will reach it after death.

The nature of a person

It's very damaging for people to believe what religious institutions talk about our nature. They say that our nature is inherently evil and that we are sinners and undeserving. They say that by being poor you will go to heaven and be rewarded for your lack of money.

In reality every single person is deserving and can have anything he or she wants now. But because most people believe what churches say, they don't think they deserve a better life. And if they don't knock, the doors cannot be opened to them.

The author takes this quote from the Bible to interpret:

“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?”

This quote proves that we are deserving everything this life has to offer. We don't have to work hard to get what we want. We don't even have to worry about our survival (because worry itself creates the things we worry about). Everything is abundantly provided to us but our negative thinking restricts us from becoming aware of the abundance we are entitled to.

However with so many people believing that there is lack in this world, is hard to block out this influence. Even if you think that you understand that there is enough of everything for all, you probably still have some kind of belief in limitation. Your parents passed it on to you and this belief in lack has been instilled in many generations before you. So it's not easy to break out of this mass illusion and experience the abundance that this universe has to offer.

Worry vs. faith

The author of “Jesus Taught It, Too!” emphasises that our worries create all the lack there is in the world. When you worry about something, that thing is likely to happen to you. Also, when you know something will happen, it does.

If you know you won't get a new job, you won't. If you know that you will pass the exam, you will. However it's much harder to believe in something positive to the point of knowing than to worry that something negative will happen to you. This is the case because of the habits that we have.

The author gives another beautiful quote from the Bible:

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

This quote alone proves that the kingdom of God is here and now and not reached when you die, as churches try to convince the masses. If you want to find happiness, have wealth and health, seek the God inside you and all these things will be added to you. All you need is to really want to know and find that place within you and you will be directed to find it because when you ask the answer is always given.

The kingdom of God is not only inside you, but it's everywhere because God is omnipotent and omnipresent. You can see God in every event and in every thing if you look without limiting beliefs and judgements.

Profound quotes

“Ask, and it shall be given to you” is a well-known Bible quote. It is the heart of the law of attraction. However if you ask but don't believe that you will receive what you desire, you won't. So for the conscious manifestation to work you absolutely must have faith in it.

The “Seek and you shall find” quote implies that there should be some action on our part to realise your goals. If you want to find your soulmate, for example, you can't just sit at home and expect him or her to knock on your door – it doesn't work this way. You have to seek for her/him and believe that you will find your second half.

“Knock and the door shall be opened onto you” has a very deep meaning and actually I experienced personal revelation when I was thinking about this quote. When you knock, the doors are opened to you. But the question you should be asking yourself is if the doors you have been knocking on are the doors that will lead you to a good life. Most people knock on the doors that they expect to be opened and don't even bother knocking on the doors that they know would lead them to a great life.

For example, most people search for average jobs because they believe they can get such employment. But just a few seek the best jobs and don't give up until they get them. So use this knowledge to your advantage. Don't knock on the doors you don't want to enter, raise your standards and only set your sights to the destination you truly want to reach.

Don't get discouraged if others will tell you that you won't achieve what you try to. It's very likely they have no idea what the reality is about, they've never heard about the universal laws and their own lives are full of disappointments and negativity.

The “Jesus Taught It, Too!” author also interprets further quotes that talk about the false words and the words of truth. If you listen to false concepts, they will lead you to misery. If you believe that there is lack, you will suffer because you believe that the illusions are true. Only when your mind awakens and sees the illusion will you be happy and experience real freedom.

Further on, the author quotes many Bible paragraphs in which Jesus mentions the importance of faith. If you have faith everything is possible for you. The only reason people don't get what they want is because they don't believe they will.

Jesus also says in one of the quotes that it's important to find your own way and not to follow others. If you believe in yourself and listen to your own heart, you will happiness and fulfilment.

The “Jesus Taught It, Too!” author, after his quote interpretations, gives some quotes for you to ponder on and interpret what they mean to you. He asks you to interpret them independently, without remembering how religious institutions interpreted them.

He finishes the chapter by summarising what Jesus tried to tell in most of the passages in the Bible:

“What you are within, you express outwardly. What you believe, you attract. What you believe, you create. These words and phrases are being echoed like a spiritual shot heard around the world. The Great Awakening is upon us. Fear not, for there is no judgement, no punishment, and none will be left behind!”

Universal rules, gratitude and visualisation

In the next chapter the author gives 33 rules for the law of attraction to work in your life. The law works all the time, but to use it consciously and create the life you like you need to know certain things that the author covers in the rules.

In the next chapter Philip F. Harris explains the importance of gratitude and how to use it in your everyday life. If you are grateful for what you have, more of the things you are grateful for will be given to you. The same goes with things that you are still manifesting. Be grateful for the things that you want and believe that you already have them. Such attitude attracts to you the things that you desire.

In the following two chapters the “Jesus Taught It, Too!” author explains how to visualise to attract your desires. He talks about the mistake people make when they try to visualise something and how proper visualisation differs from simply seeing images in your mind.

The interview with Dr. Demartini

In the next chapter the author transcribes the interview he had with Dr. John Demartini. You may know Dr. Demartini from the movie “The Secret”. He is an incredible person having overcome many limiting beliefs that others tried to impose on him.

The author and Dr. Demartini discuss some of the topics that concern many people, such as negative manifestations, the importance of taking action in trying to manifest your desires and the seven fears that prevent people from being able to consciously create their lives.

Quotes to remember

The author of the “Jesus Taught It, Too! ” (aff. link) book ends the book by providing many quotes of the great Masters to ponder on. These quotes are very deep and some of them cannot be interpreted literally. They require you to set aside all your judgements and beliefs to see their true spiritual meaning.

I think that this book is great for those who want to understand the law of attraction further or are new to this universal law. This book, however, deals with more than this law alone. It shows how the universe works and how you can become awakened by making some adjustments in your life.

I really recommend this book for those who want to strengthen their faith, who are waking up from the illusion that religious institutions want us to buy into and those who just want to read something very positive and enriching.

A link to buy the book is on the side bar of this blog site.