by Monica Dubay
Mary Magdalene – what was her relationship with Jesus?
The Da Vinci Code is about the search for the Holy Grail. As I read this book, unable to put it down, I was amazed at the tenacity of the story, how it kept me absorbed. I haven’t had this experience with a novel in years. The compelling factor was the idea that there is a Holy Grail and it has eluded centuries of seekers on a quest for the contents of it, that it is widely thought to be a chalice, yet the truth is kept secret by a society, a group that keeps alive the idea of the grail but never reveals its truth until its appointed time. The idea that perhaps this book finally reveals what it is was completely captivating.
The story is a thriller, one of murder, mystery, secret societies, and centuries of persecution of “heretics” by the established Catholic Church. It is very well written, with the factual information being revealed in the form of a present-day search through well-known museums and churches of Europe. What fun!
For me, the fascination was that 40 million people had read the book and since I am a disciple of Jesus Christ and a teacher of A Course in Miracles, I wondered what all the fuss was about. I have been following the teachings of Jesus most of my adult life. The idea of Jesus having an intimate relationship with Mary Magdalene was not a new idea having been explored in the movie, The Last Temptation of Christ. The idea seems to me quite beside the point.
Ultimately, my question is: what is the point of his life if his message is still denied even after 2000 years of Christianity? Didn’t he come to save my soul? Does he have an intimate relationship with me? This doesn’t have anything to do with history or blood lines, pagan rituals or even the Catholic Church. It has only to do with me, with my quest for the grail, my search for salvation. I am interested in the experience of enlightenment that Jesus came to bring about on this earth.
What is the point of finding the Holy Grail? Wouldn’t it be of interest to the world to know that indeed there is another Christianity not of the establishment that teaches spiritual transformation and enlightenment? That this teaching is available, and although the church tries to suppress it, the true teaching of Jesus could not be suppressed. This is a fact. I have experienced it. The secret society is no longer secret. I am privileged to be part of it and continue to teach and extend the message of love, forgiveness and spiritual awakening.
I was brought up in a strict Catholic family with very devout parents who attended mass every day…we lived next door to the Catholic church. Yet I left the church when I left home, and found that my spiritual life was of a deeply intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ that had nothing whatsoever to do with established Christianity.
The Da Vinci Code brings out the idea that the Holy Grail has something to do with the blood line of Jesus. That he apparently conceived a child with Mary Magdalene and that his offspring is somehow special and therefore, this idea, along with the idea of the sacred feminine ideal, is what the secret of the Holy Grail is supposed to be. Again, I ask: who cares? How is it possible that the Holy Grail could turn out to be the bones of Mary Magdalene? That is too depressing.
What about the actual teachings of Jesus Christ, resurrected? What is his message? How does this message affect me? How can I use it to achieve salvation? Then it dawned on me–I have been studying the true Holy Grail for 17 years!
A Course in Miracles, for anyone who cares to look at it, is a masterpiece authored by Jesus of Nazareth that corrects centuries of misinterpretation of his teachings and yet has gone virtually unnoticed by the world. It is masterful mind training with 365 lessons that prepare you for your spiritual awakening and take you beyond this world entirely.
It is really quite amusing that scholars make such a fuss over the newly discovered gospels of Judas, Mary Magdalene, etc. and continue to ignore the Course entirely. The university theology departments have yet to offer courses in the Course in Miracles. I wonder at this and hear Jesus saying “How long? How long will you wait to hear my message?”
I am surprised that there hasn’t been a surge in interest in the Course yet. So, what has changed in 2000 years? Nothing! Just as the novel The Da Vinci Code states, this idea of the Holy Grail can’t possibly compete with 2000 years of established history. Yet, perhaps it is time. There are modern day heretics. It is anyone who knows that the churches do not teach the true message of Jesus Christ and truly dedicates his life to doing just that.
I suppose I am a heretic if it means that I do not adhere to the established church’s views of Jesus’ message, so I guess I am because I believe he actually meant what he said: that God is love, that I am the light of the world, and I am perfect as God created me. How about: I am not a body, I am free. It is astounding to me that the actual Keys of the Kingdom are revealed in black and white print! The Workbook of the Course is masterfully designed to bring about the awakening of the Sons of God. It is the most practical and enlightened text that has ever been brought into space and time. And, it works…it actually provides the means necessary for the conversion of your mind from total bondage, to total freedom.
Is this at all interesting to the world? Apparently not, it has been here more than 30 years. Perhaps no one really wants to know, but I did. But because it tells me that I am the cause of the world I see, just as in the Sermon on the Mount, it means I have to take the beam out of my own eye in order to see truly. I have to love my enemy, forgive my brother and give everything away and follow Jesus. I have to resist not evil and judge not, lest I be judged. And this is not easy to do. I have learned through experience that to say these things is one thing, to actually do them is quite another entirely.
Having given all to this awakening, I have received all. I have been given the Keys to the Kingdom: I am whole and perfect as God created me and forgiveness is the key to happiness…this is my experience, first-hand. This world has nothing to offer and is, in fact, my hallucination of separation from God. Yet, I have been taught directly from Jesus that I am not of this world. I know this to be true and cannot convince you of it…you have to want to know it for yourself; and be willing to do whatever it takes to free yourself of bondage to your human ego-identity.
The movie, The Passion of the Christ, shows that the world is still enamored with crucifixion and ignores the resurrection, and now, The Da Vinci Code gives us a thriller that supposedly reveals the Holy Grail as secret knowledge of the divine feminine. How little has changed in 2000 years. You see what you want to see. You are being duped and yet you remain asleep! Just as Da Vinci wrote in his notebook… “Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!”
So the mystery, at the end of the novel is revealed: “for some, the Grail is a chalice that will bring them everlasting life. For others, it is the quest for lost documents and secret history. And for most, I suspect the Holy Grail is simply a grand idea…a glorious unattainable treasure that somehow, even in today’s world of chaos, inspires us.”
Yet, my life’s experience is a living demonstration that God’s plan for salvation will and did work. Glorious, yes, unattainable, no way!
The experience of awakening is what is truly happening on an individual basis. One by one, spiritual transformation is occurring throughout the world in individuals like me who could not take the suffering any longer or the lie that I have to sacrifice in order to be saved.
Perhaps it is becoming obvious that to live a spiritual life is more rewarding than being consumed by greed and enamored with illness and death. Yet, your awakening takes you beyond all your ideas of spirituality, religion, and science and catapults you into an experience of divine love that is not of this world! It is a quantum leap from death to eternal life.
In this world, the idea of death and destruction is being played out more intensely in our wars and our fixation with technology, our need to be entertained and distracted from the truth. We are addicted to antidepressants, to drugs and TV. We believe what we see on the evening news. The young people are wondering what the purpose of life is if it only means perpetuating a meaningless existence in time and space that ultimately leads to death? I knew when I turned 30 that there had to be something else going on…because life on earth is totally chaotic and simply makes no sense.
The Course offers total freedom from this dilemma in which your decision to awaken is all that is asked of you.
This from Jesus:
“Nothing God created can oppose your decision, as nothing God created can oppose His Will. God gave your will its power, which I can only acknowledge in honor of His. If you want to be like me, I will help you, knowing that we are alike. If you want to be different, I will wait until you change your mind. I can teach you, but only you can choose to listen to my teaching. How else can it be, if God’s Kingdom is total freedom?
When you imprison yourself you are losing sight of your true identification with me and with the Father. Your identification is with the Father and with the Son. It cannot be with one and not the other. If you are part of one, you must be part of the other because they are one. The Holy Trinity is holy because It is One.
If you exclude yourself from this union, you are perceiving the Holy Trinity as separated. You must be included in It, because It is everything. Unless you take your place in It and fulfill your function as part of It, the Holy Trinity is as bereft as you are.
If your perfection is in Him and only in Him, how can you know it without recognizing Him? The recognition of God is the recognition of yourself. There is no separation of God and His creation. You will realize this when you understand that there is no separation between your will and mine. Let the Love of God shine upon you by your acceptance of me. My reality is yours and His. By joining your mind with mine you are signifying your awareness that the Will of God is one.” (Chapter 8:4-5)
This new millennium is the beginning of a new era. One in which Jesus’ true message will be brought into the consciousness in answer to the cry from humanity for what is real. Finally, it is time to put your toys away. Jesus is back and he is right now in your mind waiting for you to turn to him to show you the way out of your dream of death.
The Course in Miracles is the means. We welcome you to the awakening of your mind. Do you have the courage to answer this call? You must take your place in the awakening and fulfill your function…you are part of it, your part is indeed essential. I leave you with the full knowledge that you did fulfill it and you are home in heaven. Isn’t it time you began to realize it?
About the author: Monica Dubay is a Teacher of A Course In Miracles. How does this story of the Da Vinci Code relate to Jesus’ masterful manuscript of A Course In Miracles and your own personal quest for the Holy Grail? A Course In Miracles is banned by the Catholic Church…sound familiar? Read it Online at The Miracle Times: http://www.themiracletimes.com