Thoughts on Christ Consciousness

In what follows, I intend to offer some inchoate, perhaps contradictory thoughts on the subject of “Christ consciousness.” 

I am going to do this extemporaneously, without any quotes or notes. I find this a very strange and difficult topic to explore. This is a rough version of what might become a more polished essay at some point. 

I am not approaching this subject pretending to be in any way “holy” or “spiritually advanced” or “wise.” I am no better than anyone else, and I am worse than many people. 

I feel the need to write about this subject because I realize I have been circling around it and avoiding it for years now – distantly alluding to it here and there. 

As you read this, wherever you are, I wonder if this idea of “Christ consciousness” has any particular resonance or feeling for you (let me know in the comments)? Or is it something you scoff at, or dismiss out of hand? 

When I feel and sense into the abstract idea of “Christ consciousness” what comes to me is a sense of something gigantic, vaguely spherical, like a vast cloud of white light flecked with gold. At the same time, I sense something very particular and individual, idiosyncratic. An identifiable personality and a will — a profound artistry, also. 

I cannot say that I am Christian (although Rudolf Steiner and Gurdjieff, both “esoteric Christians” are major influences on me), and I most likely will never be “born again.” Yet I take Christ – Christ consciousness – seriously. I feel intuitively convinced that Christ was an actual person and, at the same time, a divine avatar, a carrier of revelation.

Is that simply belief or faith, hence dismissible? Perhaps so. 

I suppose I am inspired to dive into this now after writing about the deepening schism in American society that has a religious basis, and, also, after taking another look at Jordan Peterson, who often pontificates on Biblical myth when he isn’t Tweet-shaming plus-sized models. 

I find the American evangelical or Fundamentalist version of Christ to be completely bizarre and antithetical to my understanding of what Christ was trying to accomplish. I do not think you attain salvation by mindless faith in Christ’s divinity. My sense is that Christianity, for the most part, represents an Archonic deviation from Christ’s essence. While it has produced great beauty (cathedrals, choral music, and so on), Christianity is a trap set for humanity, and the vast majority of Christians fall into it. 

Some of the worst people in the world drape themselves in Christian pieties. Vladimir Putin is Christian, his brutal war blessed by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. Clarence Thomas is Christian. Brett Kavanaugh, Mike Pence, Sarah Palin probably go to Church every Sunday. It is quite a “miracle,” in itself, the extent to which these people have contorted Biblical scripture – admittedly, the Bible has a lot of gnarly stuff in it. And of course, ironically, Christ predicted that exactly this kind of disaster was inevitable. 

I am just going to give you my personal perspective on Christ, for what it is worth, take it or leave it (and no worries if you prefer to leave it).