There Is A Process

I know some of you have already heard about those who had a taste of immortality. Those ancient Christians who's bodies were incorruptible, who levitated, glow with heavenly radiance, where found in multiple places at the same time, people who manifested godlike characteristics. Now, what you probably didn't hear is the process by which they acquire these things. No, they were not going about declaring, "I am immoral, I am immortal".

Yes, their goal was deification, they wanted to attain godlike attributes. But they were not going about declaring, "I can levitate, I can be in multiple places at the same time, in fact I am already everywhere at the same time, I am omnipresent, I am Christ, I am the Holy spirit". My dear, those things would not help you, they are just vain noise. The best they would do for you is make you sound and look weird and even crazy. Well, some people enjoy looking crazy, but what real benefits is that to you. 

True maturity is not going about making noise. Moreover, those things are not attained simple by declaration. Nobody have ever attained it through declaration. These mystics were not making noise, they attain these things through a method that took decades to develop. During those times there were two major kind of theology; the Orthodox theology and the Mystical theology. The Mystical theology took centuries to develop. These people didn't entered into these manifestation by mistake. It didn't just jump on them. 

They were intention, it took them generations upon generations to develop the method and intentionally practiced them. Yes, attaining deification requires a tedious process. You have not attained anything, and you are going about making noise. Those who even attain these things didn't make noise about it. They were even ashamed whenever they start levitating in the public. It is childishness that makes one go about making noise. Alright, I will quickly go through the tedious process that the mystics applied in attaining deification or divinization.

It is a three step process namely; purgative, illuminative and unitive. Purgative is the process of purging yourself of sinful habits and tendency. This is the first process of the way of the mystics, and according to them until you are well established in the purgative step the other steps would be futile to you. You need to strive for holiness, and maturity in virtual before you can truly gain anything from the other process. Illuminative is the process of pursuing revelation. Today, this is the only process we emphasize, but to the mystics after attaining revelation there are still other things that must be done.

Yes, these things does not come simply by revelation. You need a radical shift of consciousness, however the mind is a very stubborn thing. This radical shift of consciousness does not come simply by getting some knowledge or making some declaration. You are saying, "I am immortal, I am immortal", yet you are living among mortal people. Every day you are interacting with mortal men, you are discussing with them, you are watching them acting so mortal and always talking about mortal things. 

These things are robbing off on you and contradicting your declarations. Your mind is absorbing all of these things day after day, as such you declarations are like pouring a bucket of water on a hard concrete solid wall and hoping that it will break. To attain this radical shift in consciousness those mystics separated themselves from society. They went into desert and caves, and they spent most of their days in meditation and contemplation. Yes, the mind is very stubborn, if you want this radical shift of consciousness you will have to be violent about it.

Anyway, I don't believe you have to go into the desert or caves to do that. However, declarations alone is not enough. You need to go through serious exercises if you want the kind of radical shift of consciousness that will bring about this manifestation. After the illuminative stage is the unification stage where they have meditated to the extent that their consciousness begins to transcend the mortal realm and enter into oneness with God. This stage is characterized by ecstasy, sudden and unexpected supernatural manifestation.

One thing I admire about their method is the emphasis on holiness. To them, deification is not about manifesting the supernatural without virtue. Rather, it is the virtue that is true divinization/deification. Yes, the expression of divine love—a love so pure that it is totally out of this world, a love that could only come from the heart of God heavenly. These are the things we must strive for. So my point is that these lofty things require a process of vigorous pursuit. Don't sit there and expect that someone would just lay hands on you, or that you will just attend some program and these things will just jump on you.

Yes, you can have first experiences through those things. There is a difference between having an experience of a dimension and possessing that dimension. You can have a taste, but to truly possess it you need vigorous exercises. These are the things I take my students through in my course "Oneness With God". Our goal is to possess the fullness of God, to attain deification and divinization; manifesting the divine love together with the divine power.