By Mark Kutolowski
Like the passion and crucifixion, the Easter resurrection is both the story of one man—Jesus—and also a template of the universal human journey. Jesus’ resurrection is a window into our own spiritual destiny and the movement of the soul into transforming union with God. To merely commemorate the resurrection of Jesus 2,000 years ago is to miss the true inner power and potential of Easter to awaken our hearts to the true nature of God and our relationship with the Infinite.
Resurrection—The End Destination of Conscious Suffering
In my last post, I wrote about the power of conscious suffering. To suffer literally means ‘to allow’, or to open to all that life brings us. To consciously suffer is the opposite of the constricting action of the egoic self and all of our psychological defense mechanisms and ‘emotional programs for happiness.’ While it can be tremendously painful to let go of these defenses, each time we do, they lose their grip on our consciousness. When their power has been reduced, a new Self begins to arise within our awareness—our ‘Self hidden with Christ in God’ (Colossians 3:3). At first it may come in small waves—a sacred moment here or a flash of awareness there. With continued fidelity, the old self continues to shed, and this new nature continues to grow in our consciousness. This new identity is more subtle and is utterly at peace with what is. It is not ‘us’ in the sense of our old identity. In a sense, it’s not ‘ours’, but a field of love or a bandwidth of presence that we participate in. In proportion to the degree to which we have died to our old ‘self’, this new ‘Self’ rises within. This inner resurrection is the destiny of all who persevere in the path of conscious suffering, just as Jesus’ resurrection was the final destination of his journey through the passion and crucifixion.
It’s impossible to describe this new ‘Self’ in words, because it is grounded in the Spirit which is infinite. It is spacious and free. It is not afraid of death, because its nature flows forth from the Eternal One and it lives forever. We might describe it through its effects or fruits, as did Saint Paul in Galatians: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” It is not something ‘we,’ in the sense of our egoic identity, can ever possess or control. It is a reality that arises spontaneously from within and guides our being in the way of love and truth. It’s not that we gain the courage or the willpower to act in ways that are loving, joyful, and patient. It’s rather that we effortlessly arethese virtues—they flow forth spontaneously from the spirit of Christ within. When we live in this spirit, we participate in a very real way in the spirit of Christ. Jesus’ death and resurrection become, in a sense, our own lived experience of our soul’s journey to God.
Freedom from Death
One of the most important attributes of this new ‘Self’ in Christ is that those who have awakened to it are utterly unafraid of death. Having tasted a reality that is eternal and immortal, those who live in the spirit of Christ no longer fear bodily death. Many of the early Christians even turned towards death with expectant joy, singing and dancing as they were carried off to their execution at the hands of their Roman persecutors. The writings of the early church are filled with authors writing from this perspective, even scoffing at death in their bold proclamations.
This identification with that which is eternal, and the subsequent freedom from fear of death, empowers people to live in radical love and generosity. Especially in a time of widespread fear and scarcity mentality like our own, inner freedom provides the key to both joyful and humane living in the face of uncertainty. Far from being the end goal of the spiritual journey, the awakening that I’m calling ‘inner resurrection’ in this post marks the beginning of a deeper, fuller, more abundant life. It is at the same time more fully life, even as it feels less and less like it is your life. Rather, God’s life and spirit is living in and through you, and you are a willing participant in this unfolding mystery. This is the spirit that arose at Easter, and that still rises in the hearts of all who walk the spiritual journey through dying to self and rising to new life. It is the spirit that brings new life to our world, as each transformed heart becomes a channel through which Divine peace radiates into our anxious world.
Happy Easter!