Using Christianity as a Personal Mythology

Being a Christian Gnostic provides me with a great deal of mythology to help me understand the spiritual path. (The term mythology does not mean that something is made up or false, it simply means “story”). Granted there is a lot of stuff in the history of the Christian church that has not been consistent with the teachings of Christ, and there are many people in the "church" that do not have hearts of love, but amazingly, there is still a great light that shines from the scriptures and other sacred writings and in people's lives who follow the sacred path. 


Jesus was such a great teacher with the use of metaphor and parable. He communicated complex spiritual issues by using simple stories and illustrations. I have found that studying these has clarified many difficult issues in my thinking. If you can tie together the rich heritage of symbols you find in Christianity that you are already intimately acquainted with--and the ideas about gnosis and other sacred traditions, you'll realize that you have a powerful mythology (story) for understanding how to have a deeper walk with God already in place. 


A good example of this is the story of The Vine. Jesus said that unless a branch abides in the vine it would die and bear no fruit. The illustration of the Vine and abiding is really talking about ongoing spiritual practices such as daily meditation, prayer, sacred reading, etc. The fruit that is produced because of the abiding is an alignment of the vehicles, physical, mental, emotional, soul, spirit that results in the flow of the Holy Spirit, which is what produces "fruit" in our lives. It reminds us that we are made of reflective material, like the moon, and that we produce light when we spend time looking at the Source of light. We just have to remember to keep showing up! 


The story of Jacob's Ladder is another good illustration found in the Bible of a connection between man and Source. God provided a bridge between All That Is and me (us). I like that idea. It is a powerful metaphor that reminds me of my connection directly to Source. 


Find a story or parable in the Bible and then meditate on how that connects you to God and to your fellow man. Ask for understanding into The Law of One—the law that we are all connected—and what that means about how you are to serve.