“He tried to name which of the deadly seven might apply, and when he failed he decided to append an eighth, regret.”
― Charles Frazier
For centuries religion has abused the term „sin“ as an instrument of control and coercion often instilling feelings of guilt in the believer. Apocalyptic images have been evoked by preachers of the „sinner” being condemned to the eternal fires if certain codes of conduct or beliefs were not adhered to.
The original concept of sin
The term „sin“ is central to many Christian teachings of the “original sin” inherited at birth down the lineage of humankind when Adam and Eve were expelled from paradise for disobeying God. From birth the human was by basic nature “sinful” or evil and salvation could only come by following certain moral doctrine.
It is the establishment that we humans are imperfect beings. Moral judgments and dogmatic concepts of “truth” have destroyed countless lives in the name of religion.
In contrast the awakened mind is liberated from concept, and acts in the realm of cause and effect or karmic responsibility.
If we look at the origins of the word “sin”, which was translated from the Greek and Hebrew texts of the bible, we find some interesting aspects that have little relevance to traditional Christian dogma.
In Greek ἁμαρτία or hamartia means to miss the target and in Hebrew chata’a or chat’at means going astray or missing the path.
The German term “sünde” stems from the old German “sund” which describes a narrow strait between two landmasses. Sailing off the mark meant wrecking the ship on the rocks and drowning.
Missing the point or going astray
If missing “the point” or “straying from the path” is at the core of the term “sin” we can ascribe a whole different layer of meaning to God and the approach to life. In the old testament God was often seen as a strict vengeful, punishing father figure.
But if we look at it as finding meaning and purpose or a goal in life that is at the essence of one’s reason for living, then God has chosen you to live a life in which you strive to fulfil your destiny in becoming who you were meant to be from the day on which you were born, guided by a loving, caring and compassionate God.
Living in accordance with core values
One reason we are seeing so many job burnouts is that the activities performed are often incongruent with the core values of the individual. Every person at heart wants to grow, develop, evolve and manifest into the authenticity of their own core values. When job descriptions leave little room for individual expression there is stagnation.
What is termed as a “midlife crisis” is often the point in a life where the individual realizes that he or she has all the time placed the ladder against the wrong wall. The job, marriage, location of residence, political and religious belief system is incongruent with the soul path. In the “middle” of life there is then not that much time left to make the effort in lifting the ladder and placing it against another wall.
The “effort” part appears so insurmountable that the individual prefers to settle down into a life of quiet misery of the status quo. But the universe or God will keep on sending you messages in the form of dream symbols, maybe through the wise advice given by another human being or even by means of serious illness that will act as a “wake-up call”.
At a point all the doors open wide where everything falls into place. This is when soul consciousness meets with human consciousness. Head Mind meets with Heart Mind. You are closest to God when you connect with soul purpose and consciousness. It is that space of unconditional universal love, the awareness of the divine presence within.
There is a “Kairos” moment of truth where there is a complete paradigm shift. I’ve seen it happen to some blessed few individuals deep walking during days of solitude on the Camino.
Mostly however such a shift comes in small steps of gradual change, minor adjustments and adaptations. When looking at the path walked in retrospect the change is immense. It is one of the slow walk into the rhythm of who you were always meant to be.
Reino Gevers – Author. Mentor. Speaker
One more thing…
You might be interested in my 40-day Online training course LIVING TO BE which covers such aspects as defining your “core values”, removing distractive clutter, and boosting your vibrational energy to a new high.
As a subscriber to my Blog you can check out a FREE condensed version of the course.
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