Blessed are the Poor

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God." - Christ

The beginning of Christ’s teachings on connection with the in-dwelling Spirit, that provides the immediacy of God’s presence.

This first declaration is a Truth about how one gains access to “the kingdom”. As shall be described in the following words, the kingdom is the representation of wholeness provided by that very real presence.

To be “poor in spirit” does not mean to wear a frown on our faces, nor does it mean that we declare to other men our lack of things. It is a state of existential reckoning that all activity stemming solely from the external world is like eating food with no nutritional value whatsoever. There may be a lot of activity, but none of it will sustain us, nor give lasting satisfaction.

Anyone who has experienced poverty, has found their mind changing gears into survival mode. There are no more luxuries; all activities are based on necessity. Any activities that do not end in sustenance serve only to weaken you mentally and physically, eroding the possibility of your survival.

There is a natural, imminent, and coherent re-prioritizing of any previously held values that do not meet the criteria of survival.

What is it that creates this poverty of spirit?

During all ages, the mind of man has been conditioned into using modes of consciousness that create dualistic understandings of things, and then chooses one side or the other to cling to. This act of clinging, naturally creates blindness to two things; The real nature of things as we perceive them, and the complete realm of possibilities in which we can relate to these things.

The act of building unhealthy attachments creates a distinguished “self” with limited deterministic attitudes, intentions, and actions based off of the way in which we originally perceived that which was external to us. This fractures the continuity of being, that we were created to operate out of, and the realm of all of our actions, and the accompanying results, become ever increasingly drained of vitality.

In our age, the fundamental notions that we inherently cling to have their roots in materialism; the philosophical theory that regards matter and its motions as constituting the universe, and all phenomena, including those of mind, as due to material agencies. Our fascination with matter has birthed a paradigm where all things can be answered by and are validated by objects.

The study of materialism will have to wait for another day, but the point is that this prioritization of what the material world has to offer, even to the exclusion of that which is immaterial, is what creates poverty. In essence, one’s “self” generates this spiritual poverty by it’s primal instinct to maintain relationship with that which it thinks is sustaining its existence.

Is one “blessed” BECAUSE they are poor in spirit?

No. One is blessed when the existential realization of this poverty drives him to seek a way out of this cycle with such fervency that his life and well-being are unarguably dependent on it. One is blessed when he finds that LIFE is found ONLY in that which informs the materialization of matter; the Immaterial, the all encompassing, The Spirit of God, the kingdom of heaven.

Who has access to “the kingdom of heaven”?

ANYONE…. who has stumbled upon this immediate crisis of existence along their journey from birth to death. ANYONE….who challenges the roots of their own thinking, and looks inward to where the Spirit is waiting to be unleashed. ANYONE….who touches upon authentic intention in seeking from where the source of all existence comes.

Peace and Love to you!!

Loren